Anxiety/Depression Symptoms from Kariva??

[orengehart]

Hi-
I am a 17 year old girl and I have been on birth control pills for a little over a year and a half now. I was originally prescribed Ortho-Tricyclen Lo but was switched to Kariva in May of this year because it was said to be the "less expensive generic brand" of Tricyclen Lo. I always felt a little more irritable and noticed my skin got a little more sensitive when I originally started taking the pill, but nothing too bad. But it seems ever since I have switched to Kariva, the symptoms have been increasing intensely and fast.

For the first couple of months I experienced less enthusiasm for things I used to do, greater irritability, and slight feelings of depression from time to time, which I wrote off to having friends leaving for college in the fall and other stressful situations in my life. But recently the symptoms have gotten so intense that they have stopped me from enjoying many parts of my life. It goes from feelings of not being able stay focused, my stomach being in knots from feelings of extreme anxiety, bouts of very crippling fatigue, and many times very intense feelings of depression. I feel much more sensitive than I used to be and also more paranoid. My stomach also seems to be increasingly bothersome with feelings of nausea or "butterflies" (except worse and for longer periods of time). Overall I feel much more "out-of-it", irritable, and sad than I used to be and it seems to be worsening as time goes on, with symptoms similar to depression or anxiety.

I went to my doctor and described my symptoms and she suggest I do some bloodwork and then see a psychiatrist as she believes I suffered from depression or anxiety. After doing some research of my own I am starting to question if these symptoms were brought on or intensified by the Kariva I am taking. I really am in need of help because many times my symptoms get so bad that it feels I would rather not feel anything than feel the way I do.

[Kimidawn]

I always feel that way on birth control pills.  They are horrible for me.  I heard there is a new one out called Jaz that also combines an antidepressant.  Good luck to you

[Brian0357]

Try not to stress about that (I know easier said than done right?) but many of us suffer from these problems day to day but it will get better. You just need to take the steps (seeing a doctor and moving forward with that) but things will get better! I am unsure of the correlation, my anxiety seemed to spring up pretty randomly though so its hard to say.

[Paxiled]

I can't say what your experiencing, but hormone imbalance can cause all the problems associated with anxiety or depression.  I would trust your instinct and go off the birth control and see if the problems go away; that'll answer your question about whether it's the cause or not.  

[RubyWitch]

OK, first of all, I don't like your last sentence AT ALL and this is the most worrisome part of your post!  
I'm glad you saw your doctor about your symptoms which sound to me like classic depression. I think your doctor was right in having some bloodwork done, no doubt to see if this birth control product is messing with your chemisty. Since your symptoms have worsened dramatically since starting the Kariva, it's POSSIBLE there is a connection. But.....she hit the nail on the head when she suggested, strongly I hope, that you should seek out therapy for how you are feeling. I'm not entirely sure you need to see a psychiatrist at this point, most psychologists are more than capable of dealing with depression, but that is a personal feeling and perhaps has no place in this post. Bottom line, I agree that you need to see someone about your problems and the sooner the better.
Peace
Greenlydia