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Generic Yaz problems?
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anroque posted:
After taking Yaz for about four years, this month I was given the new generic version, Gianvi. I've never had problems before with generic meds, so I didn't think much of it. However, after five days I've started spotting, which has never happened before. Could this be due to the generic, or should I be concerned it is something else?
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katt11 responded:
Same thing is happening to me! Wow, really makes me want to switch back to Yaz. It is not worth it.
 
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NatGan replied to katt11's response:
I also started taking Gianvi just one week ago and am switching back to Yaz TODAY. I'm not spotting, but I have felt absolutely anxious and on edge this entire week. My body/brain seem very sensitive to changes in hormones - I started taking Yaz in the first place for PMDD. I know Gianvi is supposed to be identical, but I have felt noticeably different this entire week - anxiety/depression, difficulty concentrating, paranoia, trouble sleeping, and loss of appetite.Maybe it's just a coincidence, but this is very similar to how I felt during PMDD and exactly why Yaz was such a good thing for me. The ONLY thing that has changed is the birth control. I would not have gone off Yaz had my mail-order pharmacy not sent it without asking...and I'm back to Yaz starting tonight. My wonderful gyno gave me a few months' samples of Yaz to get through to my next prescription, since the mail-order pharm sends three months at one time.

Anyway, very curious to know if anyone else has had similar problems so far. It's so new, there really isn't that much information about it from women who have used it. I think that's why I wanted to share this information. Thanks!
 
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uclahapagirl replied to NatGan's response:
I'd been taking Yaz for 2 years and just switched over to the generic. However, I'm already having problems with it. Yeast issues and heavier bleeding/cramping during periods. How is this possible if they're the same?
 
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friesianlover replied to NatGan's response:
I have been taking Yaz for 4 years and was switched to Gianvi.... I did not want to take the Gianve because it was so new but the insurance company rep told me it is the exact medicine in the generic so I agreed to take. This generic is not identical to Yaz or I would not be in such a mess. 1 week into taking the Gianvi I was spotting and had extreme Anxiety, also I had a feeling of dread and I was vert irratable, nobody wanted to be around me. I take Yaz for hormones as my tubes have been tied. It is not right that they can say that a medicine is identical when it is absolutely not. I called my doctor and she put me back on the yaz immediately...... I have been back on yaz for about 3 days and I will not be taking anything different again.
Scary Stuff
 
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jhkla replied to NatGan's response:
I'm so relieved to have found these posts. I switched from Yaz two months ago to the generic. I had been given 6 months of Yaz from Dr. and went to fill rx, and was told a generic was now available. I thought this was great news! Now, not so much. I have been feeling the same way that NatGan described. I also had changed nothing except my pill. I talked to my pharmacist, who had no good explanation. He said it shouldn't be different, but I really think it is. I feel horrible. I am switching back in a few days after I finish this pack. At this point I don't care how much more Yaz costs. I can't continue to feel this horrible. The last 2 months I thought it was just me. Thanks ladies for putting this info out.
 
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HappyDisposition replied to NatGan's response:
I know I am getting in on this late, but I just googled Gianvi to see if anyone else out there feels weird on this stuff. My god, today I went from frustrated to incredibly angry, to deeply emotional (wanted to bawl my eyes out) all the while i was full of anxiety. Last night I had insomnia and I have been obsessing about things that just don't matter to me on a day to day basis. I am feeling dead inside sometimes, and the rest of the time anxiety surges through me like an electric current. It is this pill, it has to be. I am not a moody, angry person. This incident today happened while I was floating on the ocean in one of my favorite places. So bizarre. I felt totally chemically imbalanced. I hate it and I hope it gets out of my system soon.
 
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whathappenstomorrow replied to HappyDisposition's response:
Hi Ladies, I can totally relate to all of your experiences. I also went from using Yaz to having my mail order pharmacy send me the generic Gianvi (which I at first thought was awesome because it was so cheap!). I had gone to Yaz after trying pretty much everything and found Yaz was the only BC that kept my Endo in check. One week on the Gianvi and I was having ovarian pain, nausea, mood swings and sadness/dread again. Needless to say, I decided that my life is worth more than saving money on a generic. On Yaz I feel normal. I feel like myself. I was shocked to see how much I am going to have to pay now that there is a generic out there, but my happiness and quality of life are worth it to me. I'm done messing around with my hormones. Good luck to all of you...hang in there, you're not alone
 
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buckeye510 replied to HappyDisposition's response:
I was on Yaz for 2 years with no problems and then a month and a half ago I switched to Gianvi. I didn't really feel anything different until a few days ago, I just snapped. Now I feel depressed, unmotivated, tired and terrified that something is wrong with me. I also feel the "dead inside" feeling that you mentioned. I used to love coming home to see my dogs and now I just can't FEEL it. Like something cut off my sensors to the outside world. My family and I think that it MUST be the pills, because normally I'm such a happy, content person. Is it out of your system yet? If so, how long did it take to feel normal again? Any advice or input you can provide would be MUCH appreciated.
 
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An_194648 responded:
I was given Gianvi a month ago after being on Yaz for two years. I had bleeding and spotting every day during the month I was on Gianvi. I am back on Yaz for the last 8 days and no spotting at all. It gets me really mad that the pharmacy told me that there is no difference between Yaz and Gianvi - there absolutely is! I don't mind generics in general but this one is awful, and from what I've read, lots of other women have the same problem with Gianvi.
 
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scrubs_89 replied to whathappenstomorrow's response:
when i took yaz the last week i bled for 9 days ? how long does gianvi give you ?
 
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emily13708 replied to NatGan's response:
The same thing happened to me! I didn't eat for two weeks because of anxiety. I was almost going to drop out of school because I almost couldn't function. I couldn't sit still, had the worst parannoia, and couldn't sleep. My gyno also gave me samples of Yaz and I went on Lexapro for a month. I've been off Lexapro for 2 months now and been on regular Yaz for 4 months and I've had no anxiety (knock on wood). I've heard anxiety wasn't a normal side effect from birth control and thought I was just crazy, but I'm almost positive that it was caused by the birth control. It was the worst 2 months of my life.
 
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iowa2011 responded:
I was thrilled to find out there was a generic to Yaz a few months ago - saves me 30.00 a month! But from day one I've noticed changes that I'm not liking at all. I went from years getting the Depo shot to Yaz. I was on Yaz for about 4 years maybe and everything was great - no periods, never having PMS issues, etc... Then like 3 months ago I switched to generic and now I start getting a headache the week before I am to start a new pack, I get annoyed with everything for no reason, my face and back have been breaking out like crazy when before YAZ kept my skin clear and I started getting crazy periods again. Like have spotting one day, then fine the next, then heavy for 1/2 a day then nothing for a few days and then back to spotting. I never had issues like this before. I was told by pharmacy that my insurance wont cover YAZ as well as they did before b/c of the generic. Anyone else told this too?? I'm going nuts but cant afford to spend a lot of $ on YAZ.........
 
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confusedconfused responded:
I too had problems with the generic version of Yaz. I had more breakout problems on face and back, longer periods, more cramping, and irritability. I started with Yasmin, switched to Yaz, then the horrible generic, and now i'm back on Yasmin. I'm wondering if there is anything better than these bc's?
 
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helzxbelz replied to confusedconfused's response:
Same here. At first I did not make the connection thinking that generic is identical as brand(not necessarily true. Unfortunately now my insurance wont cover the brand anymore and to top it off the pharmacy just filled it as Loryna instead of Givani, so god knows how this will make me feel. Has anyone else had a hard time switching back to the the brand name Yaz?


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