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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!
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!!!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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
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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