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birth control pill causing anxiety/ depression??

I was just wondering if anyone has been on birth control pills and have suffered from anxiety or depression issues? I have been on the pill for 11yrs now and cant take how I am feeling anymore. I went on the pill for irregular periods, but since then I have been feeling blah, libido has decreased severely, I have sinus problems- I found out I have no allergies- so I think it is related to axiety, I worry constantly about everything; I get so nervous I get light headed sometimes. I thinkk I am going to try and stop the pills. I was just wondering if anyone had similar side effects from birth control pills. Thank you!
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Avatar universal
It's been so helpful reading these answers, it's made me feel like I am not alone with the way I'm feeling. But opposite to most of you feeling depressed whilst taking the pill, how have you felt after stopping it? It's been 10 days since I took my last pill, it was the end of the packet so I saw no harm in stopping there. The reason I stopped was because my sex drive was plummeting and I thought another method would be easier. I had my period as normal, maybe 2/3 days after I stopped taking the pill. In the last maybe 6 days I have not stopped shaking. I'm having extreme anxiety about death. These panic attacks have been the worst thing I've ever experienced. I'm only 17 and had only taken the pill for 3 months but now I feel like I'm going insane. My mum thinks that it's the imbalance of hormones and I really hope it is because I can't cope with these thoughts. Everything I see or do I get these feelings. When will it stop? Has anyone had this same reaction? I haven't been able to eat either, I'm suffering with extreme stomach pains, diarrhea and headaches but most importantly it's my mind that's going insane. I just want my normal self back. I felt so happy a week ago and now I don't know what's happening. It's extremely hard to put up with especially with living with my boyfriend even though he's the only thing keeping me sane. Planning on seeing a GP in the next few days. Please let me know if you've ever felt this same way!
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Oh my God. This is exactly what I am going through... My side effects/symptoms started almost exactly a month after I started taking the pill. I started getting dizzy and then diarrhea and nausea came the next day, by the third day I couldn't eat at all and I was barely getting enough water in me. I went to the hospital and all of my tests came back perfect. They told me it was probably just a stomach virus. So I waited and waited and the symptoms barely stopped. Still extremely dizzy but the nausea went away. I now have this weird feeling in my stomach like nothing digests and I feel really gassy but it never subsides. For the past week I've been suffering extreme anxiety and panic attacks -- My mom keeps trying to reassure me that it's only my birth control because the tests came back so good. -- I think something is severely wrong with me and that if I don't go to the doctors I'm going to die.. It's honestly the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life.. I've never felt depressed or anxious like this. I've always been a really happy and bubbly person and now all I do is worry. It's absolutely horrifying and I hope my doctor tells me that it's only the birth control and that I should get off of it.
Hello. Not sure if you'll still see this but I felt the exact same way. Everything you said was on point. I'm wondering how you are feeling now?
Hi there, currently feeling these exact symptoms that you are 6 weeks after coming off the pill! Was wondering if these symptoms have been relieved and do you feel better? Any response would be appreciated
Avatar universal
I had the exact same experience!!!!

WHERE IS THE MALE BIRTH CONTROL???? WHY IS IT ONLY FEMALES WHO HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH THIS, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY LEFT ON OUR SHOULDERS ALONE?
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Avatar universal
I HAVE RECOVERED! And I want to share my story because I went searching for answers all over the internet when these problems were happening to me, and not many people had comments about being better. I'm sure many of them just moved on with their lives as I almost did. But I came back to these forums to post so that whoever is hurting might know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep hope alive. I did not have much hope at that time, but now I am absolutely fine :)

It all began when I went on birth control as suggested by my gyno because my periods were not happening every month like clockwork and this concerned her. But after awhile, I started getting bad headaches, so I quit them cold turkey after 3 months. Well, I was fine for awhile until a few weeks passed. Then my world changed forever.

One day I randomly started feeling extreme anxiety, a problem I have never experienced in my life. I could not eat or sleep no matter how long it had been since I had eaten and no matter how tired I knew I was. My body went haywire and it scared me to death. I was terrified, questioned my faith and my salvation, and did not want to be alone in case I died (irrational thoughts).

I went to a psychologist, tried herbs, everything... My regular doctor and gyno wanted me to either get on a drug for anxiety/depression, or get back on birth control. But my mom reasoned that I was fine before birth control and learned from researching online that birth control was probably the cause of these problems in the first place. We decided to stay away from more drugs and wait it out.

My episode of terror lasted a week the first time and I lost 13 pounds. I did not want to do anything, even get in the shower or change. I felt frozen in place, paralyzed by fear, but was still miserable sitting still. I seriously felt like I was going crazy. My heart seemed heavy and sometimes a muscle in my neck hurt too. Any little symptom scared me because I was in an irrational state. I thought I might just drop dead or pass out. Well, instead I dropped out of my last semester of college and moved home.

I thought maybe I was out of the woods when my week-long episode ended, but exactly a month after the first week-long episode, I had another one, this time at home. I was also having some sort of light bleeding every 2 weeks, which was abnormal for me. The feelings of anxiety and fear returned and I went another week without eating or sleeping much at all. Now I really began to worry that I was ruined for life. The world looked so scary and I did not want to live because I was scared of what I would have to deal with - I felt incapable of handling it. I did not want to die either because I was scared of that too. I hated birth control and was mad that I could not talk myself out of these crazy/racing thoughts going on in my mind. I prayed and prayed and felt sort of abandoned to be honest. Why couldn't I feel like my old self? Would this condition last for years? And why couldn't I handle this better?

I was really tempted to go on Paxil or birth control that time, but decided I would wait it out one more time. It felt like hell during these episodes but as long as I ate when I could, laid down at night, and just kept breathing in and out nothing serious was really happening even though I believed it was. I did dry heave a couple times but that was from panicky thoughts and was the least of my worries. Anyway, I was still having weird bleeding every couple of weeks and my acne was really bad, so I knew it was indeed hormone related and most likely the birth control that started all this.

SUMMARY: I quit birth control July 16, 2012 and had the 2 week-long episodes of extreme anxiety/depression. However after that I only had a couple more episodes! This time 3 days long and not as severe. November 10, 2012 was the last time I felt that abnormal/irrational anxiety feeling. Today it is January 7, 2013 and I feel completely fine. The weird, light bleeding is no longer 2 weeks apart. Instead I have relatively normal periods like I used to be before all this happened that are a month or more apart.

I feel like the same person I was before experiencing this except I have some questions about my faith. It humbled me for sure. But I am searching for answers, and I know God is faithful. This terrible ordeal will only make me stronger in the future. I believe it is getting better and better with time and that all this was caused by synthetic hormones which caused an imbalance in my body. This seriously altered the messages my brain was receiving. Hormones are more important than I knew before.

I suggest not going on drugs unless you have to and to wait it out. Doctors can help, sure, but also be your own advocate. Search online and consult the ones who care about you the most. If you do not have a history of anything like this, it is probably not really your mind but your body that is sick. But I am not a health professional. Just don't be too hard on yourself like I was. You are not the only one who has gone through this. Surround yourself with patient people who love you during your anxiety or other symptomatic episodes and if you don't have those people, pray to God and just breathe. Time will go a long way to heal you because it did for me. Hang in there and eat when you can, sleep when you can. Don't worry about the rest.

I am so sorry if any of you are going through this. I hope it ends soon. But if you are, know that it is most likely temporary. Don't try to fight it and question everything about your universe - just keep breathing. A better day is ahead.
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Avatar universal
I'm a guy, but I would like to share my story about my girlfriend and her experiences on the pill. We have been friends since high school and we first got together about three years ago, she was kind, caring, loving and sociable - everyone who met her fell in love with her, including me.

For eight months, our jobs meant that we had to be in different states and only see each other two or three times a month, but during this time she still managed to make me the happiest man on earth. Finally I was able to move states to live with her, and for one blissful month everything was perfect. We both got tested, and then she started to take birth control pills so that we would no longer have to fumble with condoms.

Over the course of the next few month, my sweet, kind, loving girl turned into an insecure, withdrawn, unhappy jealous person completely alien to me. It was as if she had turned into a completely different person. She was paranoid about my every move, and constantly accused me of cheating on her, wanting to leave her and not loving her. She became needy and unpleasant to be around, it was as of I didn't know her anymore. She also became angry at the smallest thing, and believed close friends and family were out to get her, and even became troubled with suicidal thoughts.

After about 9 months of struggling to make this work (I really did love her and had moved states and quit my job to be with her) I finally could take it no more and made the hardest decision of my life to leave her. It was an incredibly painful time for both of us, but we just couldn't carry on living that way.

I cared deeply about her and desperately wanted her to be ok, so we kept in contact after the separation. She stopped taking the pill after I left, and it was as if I had my wonderful sweetheart back again. I was very wary of trying again, even though I wanted to, in case it was me that caused these feelings in her. A female friend suggested that the pill could be to blame as she had had a similar experience and that is how I found this website. after four months had passed, we saw each other again and it was just as it had been before. It seemed almost too good to be true, so we agreed to take things slowly. But things were so good that I proposed to her a few months later, and now we are expecting our first baby in November this year. I wanted to share our story so that other couples out there don't give up hope ans so that these terrible pills don't have the chance to ruin any more happy relationships.
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Thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences. I was not able to relate the changes in my life to the BC pill until lately when I found myself with anxiety and at the edge of losing control and fear of having a panic attack due to being suffocated, not able to breath, in a confined place and suffered symptoms of Claustrophobia (irrational fear of confined places like subway, trains, elevators). I started tri-cyclen-lo 4-5 months ago. I can relate to many of the experiences you have shared.
Avatar universal
i am Bella Tina, from USA, I promise to share this testimony all over the world once my Husband return back to me, and today with all due respect i want to thank dr.olu for bringing joy and happiness to my relationship and my family. I want to inform you all that there is a spell caster that is real and genuine. I never believed in any of these things until i loosed my husband, I required help until i found a great spell caster, And he cast a love spell for me, and he assured me that I will get my husband back in two days after the spell has been cast. Three days later, my phone rang, and so shockingly, it was my husband who has not called me for past 6 months now, and made an apology for the heart break, and told me that he is ready to be my back bone till the rest of his life with me. Dr olu, released him up to know how much i loved and wanted him. And opened his eyes to picture how much we have share together. As I`m writing this testimony right now I`m the most happiest girl on earth and me and my husband is living a happy life and our love is now stronger than how it were even before our break up. So that`s why I promised to share my testimony all over the universe. All thanks goes to Dr,olu for the excessive work that he has done for me. Below is the email address in any situation you are undergoing a heart break, and I assure you that as he has done mine for me, he will definitely help you too.contact him now on email ***@**** or call +2348104244364
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Contact him today for your help and you will be happy for ever.
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Avatar universal
p.s I'm 19 now,and started birth control when I was 16. I never had any noticeable mental problems with it until stopping it and going back on it. I will ask Doctor if it would be better to stop it again( which I don't want to do because my depression will get worse and I don't want to take antidepressants. )
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Avatar universal
I stopped taking the pill(ortho-cyclen) last July because of issues with optum RX and my pharmacy not being able to carry the prescription anymore. A couple weeks later I began to have anxiety attacks, and I didn't make the connection at the time. I later started to noticeably lose my appetite;still not linking stopping the birth control with my problems. This continued for the whole summer, and I built up more anxiety about my loss of appetite. I'm only around 107 pounds so this was a major cause for concern. In the beginning of October I got depressed and started having suicidal thoughts for no reason. This is when I made the connection finally-I knew it had to be my hormones gone haywire after stopping the daily dose on birth control. I started to take the birth control again (ortho cyclen) and started to feel a little better and not so sensitive to knives and running in front of cars at least. It's December now, and after a lot of initial brain fog and headaches from starting the pill again, I have been on a hormonal roller coaster. Some days I feel like myself again and other days I get really anxious and start having suicidal thoughts. I know this isn't me and I just have to keep reminding myself that this will pass. I'm going to the doctor on the 30th to get my thyroid and hormones checked out. I just hope that I will be back to my old self soon. It seems like such a long time ago, even though it was just 6 months ago. You know yourself the best which is why you must see multiple doctors to find the right one, that doesn't downplay your feelings. Don't lose hope because it will get better and you are not crazy! Birth control affects emotions and your whole body in a drastic way, which is why stopping it or starting it can be really tough.
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Avatar universal
Reading all these comments gives me such relief. I've had the implant since April 2015 and around the beginning of July I started suffering from stomach pains. Another two months after that, I had my first panic attack, then two more, and then started becoming depressed. Mind you I have never had depression or anxiety EVER in my life, so when it came out of nowhere  I didn't know how to cope. I even saw a therapist and was prescribed Xanax because my anxiety became worse. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me then I realized it could possibly be my birth control. I have not had any changes in my life, I exercise and eat well. So I'm thinking the nexplanon is the culprit! Ladies stay away from this implant! I'm getting it removed in a few days and I can't wait to be back to my old self!
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Avatar universal
yes .. talk to doc and get off pill im assuming. I am currently going through the same thing and its killing me.. im planning on getting off
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It's a bit overwhelming the number of women reporting the same symptoms isn't it?!  I'm on here because my own health is declining and i've been looking for a connection.  As well as the anxiety symptoms which people are reporting I have chronic stomach issues and i'm really keen to hear if other women using the contraceptive implant or pill are experiencing the same conditions.  I have never suffered with IBS before.  I've been using the implant since 2011 and steadily over the past three years my symptoms have worsened to the point where i am now gluten intolerant and possibly unable to digest lactose too.  I suffer with bloating, stomach pain (most / everyday) an inability to tolerate certain foods, such as roasted potatoes and meats, wind and crazy gurgling sounds and poor bowel movements...if this sounds similar to your experience i'd love to hear from you...I'm seriously considering removing my implant just to see if there really is a connection with both my anxiety levels and my IBS symptoms
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Avatar universal
I literally feel like i'm insane! and I feel so horrible that my bf has to put up with it. i literally feel so on edge when i'm not with him. I am always anxious and irritable and I can't sleep anymore unless I'm either with my bf or basically so exhausted I can't keep ,my eyes open. I am questioning my every thought and emotion and am so moody. I feel like a psycho! I'm on Minastrin 24 Fe right now and am thinking of switching to the shot. the first month of the pill was horrible, I threw up all the time and had headaches and was super horny. The second and third month I started having anxiety and depression setting in. Now this month I can barely function! Anyone else feel this way. I've also noticed OCD like behavior.
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oh my god, I can't believe someone feels exactly the same as I do. I felt so alone until i found this forum and read this comment. I have the same problems. I've been with my bf for 6 months now, i've started taking BC when we were approx. 2 months together. The start of our relationship was great, we both felt great in it i was so happy, never cared bout his female friends, didnt mind if we didnt talk for 3 hrs, he was always willing and wanting to see me.., but as soon as I started taking BC i literally turned into a psycho gf. At first it wasnt that noticable but now its getting so out of control that its making us both crazy. I turned into a monster, i crave his attention litteraly 24/7, am so jealous at every single female who just looks at him, i beg him for his attention so much that its making him crazy, he even lost the interest of seeing me that often or invite me anywhere because im so clingy and always beg him to go somewhere with me ofc he wants his free time with friends etc.. Its starting to ruin our relationship. I am so hormonal I dont even know myself anymore.  taught I was crazy but now i finally know that im not alone in this. Now im 100% sure to blame the pill for my attention cravings,anxiety etc. because i never craved this much attention from any other boyfriend i had( this is my first time using BC), i have never had anxiety nor do I have low self- esteem. So I went off the pill, its the second day and I hope things will start to change
Avatar universal
I am taking the same birth control and the SAME thing happened to me! I had been on it before, then got back on it and it was okay the first couple of months but then it got bad. I didn't even THINK the crazy anxiety and depression was my birth control until one time I didn't take it for 2 weeks because I couldn't get it, and I felt totally myself for the first time in 3 weeks I wasn't anxious at all! Then when I took it again, all of a sudden I was anxious again. Needless to say, I'm getting off of it for good.
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Avatar universal
I am SO glad other people have had similar experiences. So I've been taking birth control for years but this past summer, out of nowhere I had a crazy panic attack and I ended up in the ER because I had no clue what was happening. After that, I had three weeks of absolutely crippling anxiety and depression. I couldn't physically make myself smile and I also couldn't stop crying no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't sleep but I layed in bed all the time because I was miserable. I've always been incredibly normal and never had anything like this happen so I didn't understand how I all of a sudden developed anxiety especially when I was at the happiest point in my life. I started back to college and I almost took the semester off because I thought I was going crazy and I couldn't handle it. After one week of being on campus, I started to feel like my old self again. I went to the doctor one week after my panic attack because I couldn't stop being anxious 24/7 and she told me that panic attacks throw your body out of wack and it takes a few weeks for your body to level back out to baseline. So I knew it'd go away and when it did I was so relieved! But then after feeling completely normal for 2 weeks, all of a sudden out of nowhere the anxiety hit me, just not as bad. I then realized that it just so happened the 2 weeks I felt normal, I was off my birth control because I couldn't get them. Then the anxiety just so happened to come back when I started taking them again, so I pretty much just came to the conclusion that it is most likely the pills. So I am definitely going to get off them for good. It ***** because I have such heavy periods and painful cramps but I would SOOO much rather deal with that than anxiety!!!
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Avatar universal
I was on birth control for over 10 years ... I am currently 29 I have been off my pills now for two years and have been trying to have kids with no luck. Girls beware, do not take the pills for that long unless you NEVER want to have kids.
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UPDATE 1: So I've decided to regularly update my progress/regress as I detox my body of BC. Hopefully, some girl out there panicking about when the anxiety will stop will find some sort of comfort in this, because I know an organized & well-documented timeline of when this will end would really benefit me. It has been three days since I have stopped taking BC, and I got my period and so far have been experiencing medium anxiety levels. Not full blown panic attacks, but higher anxiety levels compared to how anxious I felt on BC. In an attempt to preemptively prevent another meltdown, I took the advice from this forum to purchase Plum Flower Free & Easy Wanderer teapills. So far they were a fantastic investment. After taking the recommended dosage (8 pills), I genuinely felt better.
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Avatar universal
Hi ladies! I am so so so relieved to have found this forum. My experience has been a little bit different than the rest of yours, but I know it's rooted in the same problem - the fake hormones. Earlier this summer I took Plan B for the first time, and was perfectly normal (I didn't even experience too many side effects), but low and be hold, three weeks later I experienced everything everyone here has been talking about. I had the most severe panic attacks I have ever had. I couldn't sleep at all, and would go days without sleep. The insomnia was terrifying. I was exhausted, but for some reason my body wouldn't cooperate. The racing/irrational thoughts, and tingling in my extremities made me feel like I was losing my mind. This went on for about two weeks, and got slightly better, but was still pretty awful. I suspected it was the Plan B's hormones, but I was not sure, so thinking it would be a good idea to start regulating my hormones to fix this, I got on birth control (Microgestin). MISTAKE. The entire time I have taken BC (1 and 1/2 months), I have felt tired/hazy/not myself/depressed. It made the panic attacks go away, but I still feel mild anxiety around when I go to sleep, so I have been taking over the counter sleeping meds religiously. Today is the first day that I am not going to take it, but I am so stressed and worried that I am going to go through what happened after Plan B. I am starting my first semester of my Sophomore year in college, and I really hope it doesn't affect my grades/life. I wish that I had never taken ANY of the pills. I was so mentally healthy and stable before, and now I feel like a complete wreck. Please wish me luck, because I know it's going to be a long road ahead of me.
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Avatar universal
seriously, all of you women and all of these comments have changed my life.
I take tri cyclen lo, I had been on tri cyclen for 4 years when I was 19 and it was GREAT. And then off the pill for 4 years. And now on it again for 5 months and it HAS RUINED MY LIFE! Depression and anxiety is normal in my family as it is for most millennials these days and I have learned how to deal with them quite well. But the extreme extreme depression and extreme anxiety that I have been experiencing these past few months has been out of this world! I have been moody, snapping on my friends, crying for no reason, mildly self-destructive, extremely sad, scared of everything, skeptical of my boyfriend, mean to my family and I had no idea what was happening to me. I won't be taking my pill tonight and I'm giving up on them for good. Only thing I'll miss is the boob enhancement it gave me haha!
Thank you everyone for sharing! This (8 year old!) forum is such a blessing and thank God for the internet! I finally know what's wrong with me, I feel like I have a new lease on life!
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Avatar universal
This has helped me a great deal, thank you for sharing your stories!
I have been on microgynon for around 4 months and for the first few months I didn't really notice any changed, I actually loved my pill as it helped with period cramps and regulated my periods. However, last month I skipped my pill free week due to a vacation, and around the time I should've had it I began to feel really anxious for no reason, cry at the drop of a hat, didn't feel like going out with my friends even though I'd had it planned for ages  and actually began to have heart palpitations. Then a few days later I started to feel the opposite, instead of feeling over emotional I felt slightly numb and began to question whether I loved my boyfriend even though we were actually having a lot of fun at the time and there was nothing to trigger the thoughts. Then I became obsessed with these thoughts and began analysing everything, making myself feel sick as I started to believe that I wasn't attracted to him, didn't love him and he was just annoying me beyond belief. However I knew these thoughts weren't rational because on the rare occasion I could relax I knew that I loved him just as strongly as ever. I began to think I had become depressed and was putting pressure on my relationship due to a stressful time at university, but this didn't satisfy me I couldn't fully accept that I would be feeling so bad because of stress. The emotional rollercoaster of obsessive thoughts, over emotion and numbness carried on for a few weeks until my mum suggested it might be the pill and I started doing research into it.
I discontinued my birth control around 3 days ago and I'm already seeing differences - I can think clearly and know how I actually feel rather than how my hormones made me feel. I'm not 100% yet obviously as it will take time but even knowing that there's a possibility I wasn't bonkers made me feel so much happier.
Looking back, I was never fully the same even in the first few months when I "liked" the pill. Now I think about it I got mad over things I never usually would, spent less time with my friends and family, didn't want to have sex with my boyfriend, took a lot of time off college due to not being able to face it, basically became a recluse. At the time these were not drastic enough especially since I've always been moody but looking back I wasn't myself
Good luck to anyone suffering, it WILL get better. I suggest coming off of your pill, even if it's just a break from it to see if that really is the problem. If you can't live without it after your break try a different pill :) x
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Avatar universal
Reading everyone's comments has been so helpful!  Between the way I feel and reading all of these stories, I decided to go off of birth control two days ago.  I've been taking it for about 8 months, first I took lo loestren fe for about 3 months, and then gildess fe 1/20 for the last 5 because my insurance didn't cover lo loestren.  At first, I felt completely normal (minus being slightly moodier around my period but I didn't really think it was the pill at the time) but since starting gildess, everything has slowly been changing.  I've always been a relatively anxious person, almost a hypochondriac, but over the past five months I went from occasionally worrying about my health to it being a constant obsession.  Every time I felt a small pain anywhere in my body I would immediately think the worst and then almost fall into a panic attack about the possibility of me dying or that I was without a doubt going to get really sick all of a sudden.  Which is ridiculous, I'm a healthy 21 year old woman with no medical problems! I've also felt chest tightness and tension on and off for the last month that I've been on the pill.  My anxiousness had started giving me physical discomfort even when I didn't feel very panicky.  

I've been off of it for two days now and I already feel much more like myself.  I still feel the anxiousness in my chest a little, but I'm hoping and praying that that will go away with time.  So lesson learned, my body and hormones are not worth messing with.  The negative effects of the pill surely seem to outweigh the positive.  
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much your story makes me feel like I am not going through this alone. I am on the same BC as you and 3 months in I cant stop crying. I stopped taking my pill today does anyone know how long it takes for these feeling to go away?
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for posting this! I just started JOLIVETTE because my previous birth control had my blood pressure really high. I am having the same feeling. Do I WANT MY BOYFRIEND ANYMORE? I can't even lay down without feeling like I can't sleep. THE PILL really isn't worth it at all. I have had so many issues that me and my boyfriend chose to abstain completely from sex. It isn't worth it to us. My whole mental and emotional state has been trashed and  I AM working hard to get back on track. I totally agree with everything you said. They don't describe or explain the side effects too much and I think they should emphasize that more.
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YES MOST DEFINITELY! I just started a new birth control pill and I had an extreme anxiety attack yesterday. My boyfriend was scared and I was panicked. I stopped my pill immediately and refuse to take it. I will just abstain from sex. No pill is worth my mental state at all. My boyfriend and I are just super careful. If you are worried about the the condom breaking or so then you can always check to make sure the condom didn't break by filling it with water once you are done. If it has a leak or a tear then you know you need to get plan B ASAP.
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Avatar universal
Finding this forum has been so relieving!
My story is that I started Microgynon back in June 2014 but swapped after two months to Yasmin when I noticed my skin broke out in spots.
I was then on Yasmin for about 3/4 months but took 2 packs back to back, had a break week, then did another 2 packs back to back to avoid a period on special occasions. And it was on a special a occasion that my mind just suddenly switched.

I was having a romantic dinner for my birthday with my boyfriend ( had be going out for a year at this point) in November 2014. And all over a sudden like you, Collegegirl92, horrible thoughts started racing through my head 'Do I love him anymore? Do we have a future together? Is there any point?' All alongside an empty feeling in my stomach, much like being nervous or anxious. This came completely out of NOWHERE. I am utterly in love with my boyfriend and we plan to move in together in the next year which is obviously exciting and a first for me. The reason I know these emotions, anxieties, moods are not my own is because my rational conciousness is fighting to get rid of them and I'm able, some of the time, to know the difference from my own emotions and these intrusive horrible thoughts. But these thoughts, none the less, hinder my mood and outlook on a daily basis.

I swapped to Loestrin mid November, known for not causing as strong an emotional response and to begin with, felt ok, but not 100% like myself.

By Christmas 2014, having gone home to spend the holidays with my parents, being away from my boyfriend made me crazy. Our phonecall on Christmas day had me in tears because I missed him so much. For someone who was a month before having intrusive thoughts about the 'status' of their relationship, i was now being needy and clingy wanting him to phone me all the time.

My mind now, Feb 2015, has reverted back to those thoughts of how much do I love him, how much am i attracted to him? Whilst i miss him intensely (we live in different cities at the moment) and I look forward to seeing him every weekend, These conflict of emotions is really taking its toll. I am emotionally stable, I'm not going to do anything drastic, but i do not feel like my normal self, and hate myself for not feeling overwhelmed with passion and love for my boyfriend like i did before - and i miss it!

Im just about to start my 4th back of Loestrin as many pamphlets/other pill users/doctors/nurses/websites say that symptoms tend to subsided after 6 months of continuous use (and i have not stuck out a brand of pill for more than 3-4 months) so i truly am hoping for the best. If it continues on like this, my boyfriend and I have said that we will return to condoms, begrudgingly.

To add insult to injury, the pill has decreased my sex drive which hasn't gone unnoticed by myself or boyfriend and only adds to the whole 'do i love him anymore?' thought if i'm struggling to get into the mood to be intimate. But i can see a connection between starting the pill the and down spiral of sex drive and depressive mood within myself.

All in all, the pill isn't what its cracked up to be. Yes, its there to prevent pregnancy and that's all it claims to do, but all these added side effects are just not worth it.
1. Spotting mid pill pack that last longer than the break week bleed! effectively 2 periods a month
2. Depressive mood and intrusive thoughts. Who knew that the pill could put specific thoughts into your head, and not just an overall feeling of melancholy.
3. Loss in sex drive. Kind of defeats the whole point of being on the pill if you don't want to be intimate! Also, maybe not much information, but the ability to self lubricate when aroused as gone, not helping with the whole intimacy issue.

You would think all these things would amount for me wanting to stop the pill straight away, but like i said, i am going to give it one last go and at least reach 6 months continuous use and see if anything changes. I just can't believe there isn't a wider knowledge, awareness or discussion about what the pill can really do to a womens body. The whole putting on weight, bigger boobs and spots is nothing compared to the actually emotional turmoil all these artificial hormones do to the mind.
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Avatar universal
I am SO GLAD I finally read this thread. I started Ortho Tri Cyclen 3 1/2 months ago in hopes of taming my acne. Despite my doctor and dermatologist claiming that Ortho Tri Cyclen was totally safe and practically guaranteed to decrease acne, it only got WORSE as well as making me incredibly anxious and depressed. I've stopped wanting to socialize, go to classes, or even leave my room. I've gained weight. I haven't wanted to go anywhere, I don't want to try new things, and nothing seems to make me laugh or feel happy. On top of that, I've just felt like crying all of the time. I kept thinking the problem was something I was doing wrong, so it is a relief to hear that the only thing I've done wrong is taking the pill.

I have *never* had any sort of depression, but these past few months have been crippling; both to my self esteem (acne related) and my overall moral. Like so many women before me on this post have said: I WANT MY LIFE BACK! I plan to stop taking the pill, and hopefully by doing so I'll finally feel normal again.  
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