anxiety attacks after stopping birth control

hello! Thank you for this. I’m almost 6 months off and my biggest problem is definitely the feeling of falling out of love with my boyfriend! For some reason I can’t shake this feeling. I hope I get better soon. I was also on Junel fe but for a very short time and decided to get off of it because I felt depressed and emotional on it!

I have just found this thread. I have had EXACTLY the same symptoms.
I went off the pill on May 26/17 and since then it has been a roller coaster. Granted I controlled it well at first. Small waves of anxiety I could shake off with distraction. But 5 months later?
Panic attacks, more hair loss than normal, loss of appetite, fear of things I've never been afraid of before, thinking about suicidal situations that did not involve me but scared that I could get to that point even though I have no intention of doing so. That one scared me. I have never had thoughts about death before. I am normally very happy go lucky, happy, chatty, excited about life, I get excited about a pretty leaf or rock for goodness sakes. It seems though that large social gatherings, and big changes also had a part in triggering this response. I was also on my period all 3 times I had an attack. I am so relieved that this was the answer I was searching for. I was on Yasmin, Zarah, and one more that is similar. I had no emotional or mental reactions on the pill like I have off the pill. Going to see my family doctor tomorrow to get her blessing to go back on the pill to eradicate this horrible experience from my life.

How is everyone feeling??

I AM SO RELIEVED TO HAVE FOUND THIS THREAD!
So I am going through the exact same thing as well. Here is my story.
I'm 19. For the past year i've been on the mini-pill (heather) due to my "history" with migraine with aura. (I've only had it happen a few times, and when i was around 14-16 yrs old). This June, I decided to go off of it because it was breaking me out. All was cool, aside from some hair loss.

Then, two months ago (september) i decided to go back to the gyno and see what I could do about my acne. She suggests that I go back on the combo pill (which I used to be on for about a year). I say okay fine and she puts me on the brand Sronyx. I took that for a week and felt ABSOULTEY bad. I was a zombie and I was experiencing derealization and anxiousness. So on the 6th day I quit it and by the next day or two i felt completley fine and normal again. A few days later I went back to my gyno to ask for a brand that I have previously been on (Ortho Tricyclen-Lo). I took that for about a week until the 6th day I got a migraine with aura! So i just decided to stop taking it that day and be fine with it. Then, about 30 minutes later I have the WORST and BIGGEST panic attack of my life, so bad that I went to the ER because I thought I was legit hallucinating/losing my mind. I had every symptom that could have happened with a panic attack. Since that day, (October 1st), I have been feeling absolutely not normal. My main issue has been dissociation/derealization and that throws me into anxiety/panic attacks. I had my blood tested for hormones, thyroid, iron deficiency, etc. and everything came back "normal".

October 27th I decide i've had it and try to see if going back on the mini pill will help (since it has no estrogen). I'm convinced I have a hormone imbalance or my body isn't producing hormones correctly. Unfortunately I think going back on the mini pill screwed things up a little more, making me paranoid and depressed on top of my dissociation. So after a week and a half, (November 7) I quit taking my mini pill again.

Since then i've been taking two fish oil a day and also evening primrose oil, and I have a therapy appt coming up but honestly I have no idea what to do. I'm guessing switching between so many brands of birth control in such a short amount of time has really messed me up, so i'm trying to just wait it out now. I've read that it can take up to 3 months for your body to figure everything out again, and I believe things will get better. I really really hope they do.

Thank you all and good luck to everyone!

I’ve been following this forum for a while and was going to wait until I was fully healed to post my experience but it’s taking a little longer than I would have hoped and I could really use some reassurance. For reference, I am 22 years old and a recent college graduate. I was on birth control for 4 years in high school to help with intense and painful periods and never had any real problems aside from total loss of sex drive. I stopped taking birth control for about a year then got back on once I graduated. I was on it for 5 months before any noticeable symptoms occurred. I was slightly more on edge and would get nervous for no reason from time to time, but I figured that came with the stress of graduation and job hunting and it didn’t have any significant impact on my everyday life at that point anyway. Then the pharmacy switched my birth control to a supposedly ‘identical’ pill and things kind of escalated from there. Around April of this year I had my first panic attack while sitting in bed, and was up until 5 AM in a state of extreme panic, shakes, nausea. I chalked it all up to low blood sugar (which may have played a part) and tried to forget it, but I just felt very off and anxious for the weeks following. Then it became a cycle. For a couple of weeks I would be in a constant state of extreme anxiety, derealization, depersonalization, super detached from everything, with constant intrusive thoughts about life, death, the meaning of it all, the universe, thoughts I had never had before, fears I had never had before. I would look in the mirror and literally not recognize myself. It was terrifying. I would also be super nauseous all day long and would throw up at least once a day. These spells would last for about two weeks, and then for another couple of weeks I would feel fine. This went on for about 3 months and I never once suspected that it might be my birth control. I didn’t know what was wrong with me and was beginning to think I was losing my mind when I found this forum. I quit my birth control cold turkey and immediately the nausea and vomiting stopped. It took a week or so for me to feel back to normal emotionally, and the next month was great. Then my period hit and it all came back. I just ended my 4th period since quitting birth control, and while things are nowhere near as bad as they once were, I still don’t feel anything like myself. Even when I don’t feel particularly anxious, I just feel like a completely different person. And if I’m not anxious, I’m hopelessly depressed and near suicidal. I never used to be like this and every day I’m so scared that this is just the new me, that the birth control triggered something in me that I can never reverse. It’s so hard to stay positive sometimes. Even on my best days there is still a sense of dread in the back of my mind preparing me for my next hormonal breakdown. My boyfriend and friends have been incredibly supportive through all of this, but the truth is they can never fully understand how I feel. I’ve seen some posts about chat/email support groups in here, but they’ve all been censored for whatever reason. I know I haven’t been struggling nearly as long as some of you guys, but honestly it feels like a lifetime. Who knew hormones could do this to you?!

I totally get how you feel. I was only on the pill for a few months, but I started getting panic attacks, and eventually suicidal thoughts and depression. I stopped it and there are improvements, notably, I'm not a psycho, but I do still get depression and thoughts around that time of the month.
I will say that its worth seeing a doctor to have your hormones tested (you literally have to demand it) because sometimes they get messed up from the pill. It's also worth seeing a therapist for the depression.
I'm actually starting an antidepressant because to me, it's not worth feeling bad when there's ways to make it better, so there's always that route too.
Just know that you aren't alone in this and we're all here for support. I hope you feel better!

I’m a 21 year old who’s recently (4/5 weeks) come off the pill after about 2 years on. I began having panicky thoughts/feelings and on two occasions a full blown panic attack. I’m not a panicky person, or have ever suffered with feelings of depression etc. I honestly thought I was seriously ill. I feel generally quite tense because the thoughts of anxiety and fear/paranoia never really go away. Sleep is difficult. This thread has seriously helped me. I’m not crazy, seriously I’ll or alone. I’m hoping this will clear itself up in another few weeks, otherwise I might get a blood test just to see what my hormones are actually doing. This is horrible and I’ll never go on BC again unless I absolutely have to!

Hi, just wondered did u eventually start to feel better after the pill? As I'm going through same thing

Hi. Just wondered how you been feeling since as I just recently come off the pill and feel the same way.

Also, since stopping birth control my MAIN issue has been extreme paranoia (like about being drugged, about my boyfriend doing things i dont know about, hypochondria, etc) and depersonalization/derealization. Both of those things will then make me have a panic attack or make me dizzy, lightheaded, i havent been able to eat like i used to, and i have brain fog. My hair has been falling out too. I was NEVER like this before stopping birth control. Does anyone else experience this?

Hi guys, I looked at this forum a little over 3 months ago when I suffered with severe depression and anxiety attacks after stopping bc. I was taking the lowest dosage of Junel/Blisovi when my SO noticed my mood swings when I would miss a pill. I didn't think anything of it and continued use until I missed a few days at the end of my pack for some reason that I can't remember and it all went downhill from there. I started experiencing extremely disabling panic and anxiety attacks fearing about irrational things and ultimately having suicidal thoughts. They drove me insane to the point where I couldn't drive, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, etc. I became depressed and didn't leave my bed. Every little thing triggered me. I was such a happy, bubbly person that loved spending time with my friends and family and they noticed me going downhill and concluded it being related to me stopping BC. My mom made an appt for me with my gyno and she KEPT pushing pills on me when I said no. I had an anxiety attack in her office and ran out. My mother was livid and began her research, detoxing my body with turmeric, vitamin B, and maca root. I didn't think anything would work because I was suffering for SO long but every week I got a little bit better. 4 months later, after detoxing for two months and taking stress management courses, I can finally say that these damn pills have left my body and my hormones are back on track. Please, whatever you do, don't go back on BC!! It was detrimental to my health and sanity. I cannot stress this enough. Those were the darkest times in my life and I finally self healed but don't give up, it might feel like the end of the world but I promise it isn't. Stay positive and work through these tough times! Detox your body and liver and eat healthy! And finally, don't stress about anything until it happens, I know this is hard to understand in your position, but it DOES end! These hormones are dangerous to our bodies but I promise you it will end! Stay safe and strong!!

Could you go into detail as far as what exactly you did to detox. Diet, supplements, etc. also did you get worse before getting better?

Hi!
My mom is really into clean, chemical free detoxing and helped me a lot and did a bunch of research for me, so I'll try my best to explain from a third person point of view.
I went to the Vitamin Shoppe and Walmart and stocked up on these items:
1. turmeric - detoxed my liver. I got a huge container for cheap, took 2 a day for 2 weeks.
2. red beet juice - I drank this once a day for about 2 weeks.
3. maca root - I bought a powder and made myself a powder drink every night when I couldn't sleep or stressed myself out to the point of a breakdown. It really helped me sleep naturally.
4. vitamin b complex - I took these along with the turmeric, the smelled awful but they gave me energy every morning to get out of bed and go to work.
5. I also got some essential oils to drop on my tongue when I was having an anxiety attack in public and it really helped.

Besides the detoxing, I ate a fresh diet with no preservatives for a month. I ate only fruits and vegetables and fresh foods like organic fish and GMO free chicken. I'm a foodie so it was a hard transition to a strict diet for such a long time but it really did give me energy. I only ate about once every two days during my depression until my detox started working and made sure to eat lots of protein like avocados and legumes in order to get enough energy in my body to get it back to normal.
I still got anxiety and panic attacks during or right before my period for 2 months but they slowed down significantly and I was finally able to cleanse my body. It didn't really change for me, I didn't really notice myself getting worse but I did notice myself getting better. That entire time was a blur to me but my mom and boyfriend did notice me extremely weak and tired before getting on a healthy diet. Supplements help, but I wouldn't depend fully on them, I'd stick with a diet of healthy, clean foods in order to cleanse your body so they work better.
I also helped FOUR people quitting BCP and wanting to detox and they are also back to their normal selves! I hope this helps you.

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Did you juice your own beets
?

I understand you are going through . My pharmacy switch my birth control and told me it was the same dosage . I understand what you mean. After stating the new brand, I had intrusive thoughts about life and death and other things and I never had these thoughts before . I was so scare and my anxiety heighten when I had these thoughts . Currently I’m off my birth control for three months now and some days are okay while some say are terrible. I had a panick attack a couple days ago and I was so scared . I didn’t have any to talk about it and I felt really lonely . I thought I was crazy for the way I was feeling. I’m so glad I read these posts to know I’m not alone because it’s feels like I am sometimes.