Infants? In MY Vagina? Birth Control Megathread: Now w/ free BC for all! THANKS OBAMA

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Infants? In MY Vagina? Birth Control Megathread: Now w/ free BC for all! THANKS OBAMA

favoritehello: Sep 17, 2010

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post this in, but I figured it must be since it is regarding birth control. (I searched the forums and I have looked a bit online--either nobody has asked and/or the detailed information is not easily available or I suck majorly at searching.)

RE: Yasmin and Potassium

I am currently on a daily treatment taking a supplement pill called "Sierra Sil" for joint pain. I take 3 times a day. It says on the bottle "Joint Forumla14 supports joint health and mobility. Start feeling better in 14 days or less. JF14 contains SierraSil, a pure, all natural mineral power with essential minerals including calcium, iron, and other trace minerals such as silicon, potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc...etc etc" I bought it at a health food store after my boyfriend looked into it and thought it would help ease my chronic wrist/hand pain. I didn't think about the potassium issue until recently stumbling across it while reading information about Yasmin. Apparently Yasmin has potassium in it, and potassium supplements should not be combined with the birth control.

Now Sierra Sil is not purely a potassium supplement. Also, the bottle of Sierra Sil I have also does not say exactly how much potassium is in it. It only says what I quoted above and that each capsule contains: "SierraSi...667 mg" Helpful I know.

I am not sure how much potassium conflicts with Yasmin, and I was wondering if anyone knew more information about this. My guess is that what I am taking probably doesn't strongly conflict with it but it's only a guess. I'll talk to my doctor when I can to find out more. Any links or information you can provided would be very much appreciated (especially those saying how much potassium conflicts with Yasmin). Sometimes my doctor does not know much and the last time I asked him questions he told me to further research it on the internet. He's not the best doctor but there aren't many in the city that are accepting new patients.

Thank you for your help.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2011 06:38

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 10:30

favoritehello: Sep 17, 2010

DRP Solved! posted:

I wholeheartedly support what some other posters have said about discussing this with your pharmacist, but I figured I might be able to elaborate a bit.

First, I'd like to say that, given the contents of the supplemented listed on the product website (http://www.sierrasil.com/composition.php), this supplement is unlikely to do anything at all for your wrist and hand pain.

Second, Yasmin does not really itself contain potassium, but contains a hormone that is very similar to spironolactone, a potassium-sparing diuretic. This means that the Yasmin can cause you to retain more potassium, and possibly too much potassium, which could lead to heart arrhythmias. Honestly, if you're on Yasmin it's a good idea to get blood tests every few months or so at first to make sure that your potassium levels are in check.

Anyway, according to the product website, you only get about 20 mg of potassium per day (less than contained in 1/20th of a banana) from taking 3 pills daily, so it's not a very large amount of potassium.

tl;dr: The supplement won't help your wrist/hand pain. The supplements don't contain very much potassium and shouldn't affect your potassium levels much. Go to a doctor about your wrist pain and get some routine bloodwork for your potassium while you're on the Yasmin.

Thanks for your input. I'm curious as to why you believe that the Sierra Sil won't do much. I've talked to doctors (many) about my wrist and hand pain. They say they can't do much, and that if it hurts I should just take an OTC anti-inflammatory like Tylenol which is why I figured trying the SierraSil couldn't hurt. If nothing else it gives me a little boost in some iron.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2011 04:00

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