Long Term Side Effects of Birth Control and Depression/Anxiety

[Aadrian824]

Hi hoping some of you may have experienced something similar or have any suggestions...
I am 19 years old and have been on birth control pills since I was about 15 due to severe cramping and shortly after had my first serious boyfriend. Everything had been going really well until about a month and a half ago.
I had always had small anxious episodes about school work or my busy schedule, normal college teenager things but in the past month they have been more frequent and about nothing really. My anxiety attacks come out of nowhere. One second I'm fine and having a good time and the next second I just can't seem to clear my mind and my stomach starts hurting and I just worry. I feel nervous about everything in my life for a couple minutes and then it subsides again. I decided to go off the pill because there was a two week period last month where I would just lay in bed and cry for hours at a time because I just felt so overwhelmed. Its really starting to interfere with my daily life. I don't want to leave my house as much as I used to and I find myself canceling plans with friends . I have read that in most cases it takes about 3 months for hormones to regulate after stopping the pill and so far its only been 15 days, but I'm still having frequent anxiety and crying attacks. I have no family history of depression, but do you think this is something caused by the pill or should I seek further help and look into antidepressants?

[emwcee]

The pill can deplete your Vitamin B6 levels, so you may want to try supplementing with 100 mg. of Vitamin B6 in the morning and 100 mg at night.

[thatquietgirl]

It may or may not be the pill.  You're right at that age where depression and other mental illnesses tend to set in, so it's hard to tell.  I would report these symptoms to your doctor and see if your doctor thinks you need a referral or should wait a while.  Even if it is the pill, you could still need some short term therapy to help you learn coping mechanisms. All I really know, though, is the longer you ignore depression, the harder it's going to be to get out of it.

I usually hear about people getting depressed when trying to find the right pill for them.  I can't say I've ever heard of it causing depression to get off it.  Have your doctor check hormone levels as the pill may have been masking an issue there.

Journal, keep track of mood fluctuations, when you experience them and when you don't, triggers, sleep patterns (how much, quality, when to bed), etc.  Try to go to the bed at the same time and sleep at least 8 hours if possible.  Avoid caffeine.  Try to get out and exercise.  Be around people despite the urge to be alone.

Best luck!

[KimLopez]

Hi cici I know exactly how you feel. I myself started taking birth control at a late age when I was 7 because I thought it would help with the constipation I was having. I would leave a spoon in the freezer every night so when I woke up In the morning I would shove it up my anus (butt) to help ease the constipation. I began to find that the freezing spoon was actually making it worse because it was so cold it would cause my anus to tense up. So I began putting the spoon on my stove burner and heating it up real high I mean really freaking hot cici! Once it was hot enough I would shove it up there but the heat was to much to handle and was causing burn marks in the shape of spoons on my anus (butt). Once my mom found out about my burnt anus she would say things to me like "sup fire anus" or "sup burnt anus". It was embarrassing she told all my friends and teachers at school. I went to the doctors to ask him why the birth control pills I was taking were making me so constipated. When I got there he said to me "who are you? Do you have an appointment ?" I responded saying "no". He than said "how old are you like 6 ? Where is your parents?" I knew what he was trying to do the pills he gave me were obviously defective and was trying not to take the Blame for them or get sued. So I said to him " listen you little ***** if you don't tell me what's really going on ill ***** slap the **** outta you!" Security than processed to take me out of the room. But let me tell you cici if I felt like it I could have whooped the security guards little ***** ***** to but I didn't because I'm a good person. Finally to relieve the stress I was having from the day I went to rite aid to buy a fruit punch to take the edge off, when I noticed some weird **** cici I saw the pills that I have been taking on the shelves!!! I started to think that maybe my doctor has been buying out these local stores and putting the pills on the shelves to make all the women of the world constipated!! Do not buy the birth control called "Tic-Tacs" no matter what color they are!! They will make you constipated and make your mouth orange! (If you take the orange kind) . That's all I know for now cici but I'll continue the investigation. I will report my progress as time goes on. Ta ta for now

[Aadrian824]

Thank you for you input! I am sorry to hear about your ongoing struggles with antidepressants. The fact that there can be so many negative side effects and that they are very hard to quit without withdraw symptoms is the main reason why I have tried to steer clear of them. I think I will give this more time before I look into getting involved with any medication. I should keep in mind this could just be hormonal. Good luck to you. Thanks for the info!