birth control pill causing anxiety/ depression??

[torque]

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!

[Lilmissmarcher]

I started back on the pill, this being time number 3, a couple months ago and I'm back to the depression again. My biggest issues are if I'm having a bad day, I'll randomly break out in hysterical crying episodes, uncontrollably. The last two times were when I was driving home from work. I'm usually a very laid back and optimistic person, but this is turning me into a bag of tears. I'm not sure what to do. I'm only on it for cycle reasons.

[SamanthaO]

UGHH THANK GOD FOR THIS SITE! I thought I was going crazy. I've been on Sprintec for about 5 months now and out of nowhere I started feeling depressed and have been having anxiety. Thoughts of suicide even crossed my mind. I've been trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I dropped out of school and quit my job (I thought I was overly stressed) and suddenly started questioning my boyfriends loyalty, when in reality we've been completely fine. Its been 2 weeks since I've stopped taking BC and I already feel 10 times better. I mean it really does sound crazy and I don't know if its a mind thing, but I feel like I just got my life back. There were  days when I would wake up and just sit in bed and cry knowing that I would be alone all day. It was so sickening lol. Sprintec had cleared my acne and made my breast a bit larger, but since the 2 weeks i've been off it, I broke out with pimples and my breast went back to their original size (unfortunately). I don't care though, I rather have a few pimples and smaller breast than live my  life as a bi-polar maniac.

[hipgoddess77]

Doctors want to make money, so they don't tell us! They just tell us to take anti-depressants and anti anxiety meds instead!!! I am glad you realized it sooner than I did. I always thought the problems were me. But it was my pill...what a shock this was...

[hipgoddess77]

I was on birth control since I was 16, and I am now 34. I am off of it now. I have came to the conclusion that birth control caused my depression throughout my life, because now that I am off the pill, I am not depressed. And yet not ONCE in my life did a doctor/ psych/counselor EVER suggest it could be caused from the hormones. They just like to prescribe meds to make money. I don't know the damage done to my body at this point in my life from all of the anti-depressants I have taken, but I do know I wont be taking any birth control pills ever again. I use cyclebeads, a natural method I bought online, plus a application on my iphone so I know my cycle, and I have some extra stuff like the sponge and stuff. Of course for me if I get pregnant I don't mind at this point since I am married, but I will say that if you are getting depressed, get off the pill for a month before you start taking all of that other crap (meds)...I wish I did sooner..

[heller123474]

My Dr. put me on birth control pills because for some reason (possibly related to childhood anorexia) I have low estrogen levels, and do not have a period unless I am taking birth control.  I notice a distinct difference in my relationship with my husband, and in my sanity level when I am taking birth control, and when I am not.  My husband hates birth control lol, and so do I. I have tried just about every type there is at some point in my life, and always end up stopping because it makes life simply unbearable.  I wouldn't say I'm suicidal, but I also wouldn't say I want to live.  And, I have always been a super energetic happy person (albeit with mood swings) before my birth control days.  Whenever I'm on birth control, after about the 3 week to 1 month mark I am so depressed, and just can't think of a reason to be alive, and it just gets worse with time.  I cry all the time, start fights with my husband, and just make the both of us totally miserable.  I just stopped taking my pill 3 weeks ago, after a major meltdown ( hating my job, hating my life, hating where we live.... etc etc) and now I feel amazing. I have energy to work out, and am in a great mood.  I was always super thin with visible abs, and birth control has given me this gross cellulite on my stomach that I'm trying to get rid of now.  When on birth control, I definitely gain weight.  I think I eat more because of the constant PMS symptoms when on the pill, but I also think it causes me to put on abdominal fat.  Thank you all for sharing, and I hope my story helps you too.  I don't have a solution, other than don't take the damn things!  :)

[realworried1987]

WOW. This has made me feel so relieved. I have been on Safyral for a little over a year now. I had panic attacks and mild anxiety before being on the pill, but my anxiety/depression/and paranoia increased greatly after about five or six months of being on the pill. I got distant from my boyfriend and very irritable towards him. My jealousy increased and I began to resent him. Luckily, we have a strong relationship and he is sympathetic to this problem, but in the past couple of months, my PMS has gotten extremely worse, with me becoming enraged at him for no reason. I began to think that something was really wrong with me, that my anxiety has just gotten worse as I've gotten older, but then I began to wonder if it was the b.c. Anyway, I'm wondering how early I can go off of it... does anyone know if you can stop in the middle of your pill packet, or do you have to complete the cycle?