I’m 10 weeks off bc this week. It’s been 47 days since my last cycle. I’m hoping this is my period coming. This will be my second off the pill. I’ve never had a regular cycle, so… but I have been using my health app in my phone to track symptoms.
I take a womens probiotic, Super B Complex, a multivitamin, fish oil supplement as well as magnesium at night.
In addition to the disconnected feeling, I have been a lot more anxious the last 3/4 days. I feel like I can’t sit still. ImIt’s also hard for me to fall asleep because I feel on the verge of panic. I’ve been taking melatonin and it’s been helping me sleep when I need it. All of this just makes me literally feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m so over it.
How many mg of the vitamin D do you take?
Also, do you ever have weird things going on with your hearing. It’s like your hearing will go on and out for a few seconds?
Yes! I have had ringing in my ears which is pretty common amongst everyone else in the thread and lately I have felt like I have water constantly in my left ear. It's definitely common to have hearing issues it sounds like while going through all of this c**p. Do you live alone or with other people? I have definitely found that my anxiety and other symptoms are heightened when I am alone if my husband is at work or traveling.
I’ve started therapy, but I don’t know how I’m going to like it. They don’t say that I am wrong about thinking it’s the hormones, but they say they’ve never heard it cause it these feelings before. So I kind of feel like I’m waisting my time….
I’m sorry about your therapy experience :/ is there any way you could switch therapists or get paired with someone who deals more closely with hormone related issues? My therapist specializes in treating postpartum patients and it’s been helpful to be validated that your hormones can cause these feelings. I actually have the olly stress gummies and they do help! It’s a small amount of GABA in them so idk if it would necessarily hurt to take them both? Obviously I am not a doctor so don’t take my word for it but I was grasping at straws to take anything I could to feel better. Xanax gave me some relief with the panic attacks but I did not want to be on anything that strong so I’ve only used it like 3 times in the first month off when the attacks were almost daily. There are some other natural supplements for anxiety that I’ve also tried and that’s helped a bit too. One is by the brand NaturalCare called Anxiety Relief and those are just homeopathic quick dissolving tablets that go under your tongue. I think those can be purchased at Walmart or Amazon.
I’ve lost hope in doctors to a certain extent because I’ve been blown off by 2 doctors saying I just need anti depressants and that the pill could not be causing these feelings. I really feel like it is because I noticed mood/emotional changes on the pill for the 3 1/2 months I was on them and my anxiety got progressively worse the last month I was on it. Even my obgyn said there is no way the pill could have this effect on me. I don’t even know if I want to go back to her.
I’m trying to calm myself from a rush of anxiousness that’s just randomly came over me for no apartment reason. I just want this to be over.
I've also lost hope in western doctors- they dole the pill out like candy without even explaining potential side effects. At the end of the day healthcare is a business and these doctors are benefitting from big pharma companies who make these pills which is why no doctors want to put blame back on the pill. Do you have any integrative or naturopathic doctors in your area you could see? I would not go back to that obgyn. I had a similar experience when I was first off and my obgyn said I had a virus...lol. You will get there, trust me. It just takes time but know you are in the thick of it right now. The first 2.5-3 months were the worst and then slowly but surely every day got a little less intense. Just know it is not you, it's your hormones. These feelings are completely valid and experienced by so many but it's just not talked about enough. It wasn't until I told my extended family and friends what has been going on that I learned how common this is. My grandmother had a terrible time coming off bc after she was done having kids. I never even knew she was on it! It's a personal thing that I feel with the rise of social media people are beginning to talk about more. You are stronger than the anxiety and one bad day or moment does not mean you are moving backwards in the healing process. Just remember with each passing day you are healing and that much closer to being through this for good. I'm also reminding myself that this is the only time I will ever have to do this because I will never go back on the pill.
What symptoms are you having at 4 months off?
By the way, my name is Kayla.
Oh I know, being patient is much easier said than done. There were so many days I just wanted to give up and I didn't think I could go on for another second. But somehow you do and somehow you just learn to accept what comes your way and hope it ends soon. I am the same way, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac just because I have never had any physical or mental health issues so any slight thing that would ever come up I'd obsessively research. Not having a set timeline is soooo difficult I literally say this to my husband daily. If only I knew when I would be 100% cured it would make it a little bit easier. But you also cannot compare where you are in the process since everyone is so different. I was on the pill for 10 years so I'm trying to accept the fact that it's probably going to take months before I feel 100% again.
At 4 months off I still have some slight anxiety during PMS but not really at any other points in my cycle. My sleep is improving, my hair is still falling out but not as bad as it was before, I have developed body acne on my back, I still feel sort of weak at times, my digestive system is still kind of funky, I sometimes get waves of nausea, I sometimes get aches in my legs and hands, headaches, dizziness, and sometimes I get overly emotional. I am still working through some irrational fears with my therapist regarding pregnancy and postpartum and the fear of all of these symptoms coming back but I am no where near as bad off as I was before. I'm just happy the panic attacks have stopped and the anxiety is limited to a few days as opposed to every single day. My name is Lilly by the way and I live in Chicago.
Nice to meet you, Lilly. I wish it was under other circumstances. I’m from North Carolina.
I was only on my birth control for only 3 1/2 months this time around. It was the brand Junel Fe. I should have read all the reviews about it before I started because most of them are bad anyways. My symptoms were gradual while I was taking the pill… no motivation (like never wanting to get out of bed, literally), angry at everything..and I mean everything, I was even arguing with my mom all the time and we never argue. I was on the verge of moving out. Towards the last two weeks being on it, I was having panic attacks and hysterically crying which lead me to going to the er. I thought I was dying. I had never had panic attacks before, so I didn’t know what was happening. Nothing in my life had changed besides taking that pill. I had no additional stress or anything to be feeling down about. In the following weeks I couldn’t eat at all, I couldn’t hold anything down, I couldn’t sit still, I cried every day because of the constant feeling of doom/dread. It was awful. I’ve lost 25 lbs over the last 2 months.
I also am an over thinker and a hypochondriac. I google everything too. Like, everything. I’ve gotten some better about it, but I still find myself doing it. Every symptom. So of course I though I had bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or some other mental disorder. Not that there is anything wrong with people that do have those disorders. I just thought I had developed it in a short period of time and it was very very severe. I would be crying and my family would try to hug me (I appreciate it, I really do), but it made me feel trapped.. like I couldn’t escape, causing me to cry and hyperventilate more. That is also just now getting some better for me. Just on Sunday I had a blah day at work and felt like I was going to be stuck feeling like this forever. It’s the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. In the beginning I would scream on the way home from work because I felt so trapped inside of myself. The depression is no joke. I pray for everyone who has to deal with any depression and/or anxiety.
Although I have gotten better, it’s just hard when the anxious feelings are constant, especially at home….it has invaded my personal and safe space. I felt like I had no safe space besides when I’m sleeping, then the sleeping problems started. I’m grateful to have melatonin or Benadryl when I need it. I keep trying to think of the future and how I will be able to look back on this and hopefully it will make me a better person because I can sympathize with other people.
10 weeks and counting!!!!!
- Kayla
I am someone who thinks there is a reason for everything so I really think this experience has humbled me, made me appreciate every good day, the little things, and to have more empathy for people struggling with any illness, both mental and physical. We will be better people because of this experience and we will get better! - Lilly