( Backstory )My actual question pertains to the popular Yaz birth control. My doctor practically forced it down my throat. "Are you on Yaz, first of all?" he asked. "No? You are a perfect candidate for it! Let's try Yaz!"
He basically was as enthusiastic and smiling as one of those women from the Yaz commercial, and I was surprised that a bevy of girls did not show up from under his desk to sing and dance about their amazing periods and pulmonary embolisms. I was immediately skeptical. He hadn't even looked at my chart or asked me any questions about what I wanted from my next birth control. It seems like these days, if you go to the gynecologist for a birth control pill, you get Yaz. Yaz seems like it's developing a monopoly on the birth control market. If Yaz doesn't work, then you are introduced to other options.
I asked my doctor some more questions about it, and he tried to defend his suggestion. Yaz apparently has some kind of innovative new kind of progestin in it, which is supposed to lessen the side effects for most women. However, I feel like this Yaz-dominated world is driven by their aggressive advertising (I've seen a few commercials for NuvaRing, but I see commercials for Yaz
all the time) and probably some very pretty drug reps--not necessarily a life-saving new ingredient. Overwhelmingly, I've heard horrible things about Yaz:
I've met a lot of people on it, and I've only met one person who wasn't a crying, cramping, awful mess. One of my better friends became suicidal after the first three months, I've heard horror stories about breakthrough bleeding and moodswings here in VP. One of my friends became convinced that she had PCOS because her periods were so horrible. I know that side effects vary greatly for different people, but I feel like the odds are stacked against Yaz. Less than 1% of the people I know liked it. Yeah, side effects are different, but if there's such a negative trend, then there's a good chance that it wouldn't be the right birth control for me either!
However, I also know that people usually don't sing the praises of their birth controls. So perhaps I just don't hear from all the people who are quietly and happily on Yaz.
From you wonderful ladies at VP, I ask the question: what is your Yaz story? Good or bad? Maybe if I hear from a larger sample, I will let my doctor convince me to try out this miracle progestin. As it stands, he prescribed me Necon 7/7/7, after I told him that I'd like to try a Yaz-less route. We'll see how it goes.