Hello! You are DEFINITELY not alone! I have been going through this since I quit Ocella (generic of Yaz) back in July 2012. IT DOES get better! Guaranteed I have had all your symptoms. It seriously is like postpartum depression/anxiety - the medical community just isn't up to speed with what the pill does to women (or refuses to care because of all the money it generates). My symptoms were awful the first 3-4 months coming off. I literally thought was going crazy. Since then I've had a lot more good days, but the bad days do come around with ovulation and menstruation. There are a bunch of ladies who actively support each other on another forum. It's called the Aphrodite Women's Health Forum. Under the "Contraception" section there is a board called "The Effects of Stopping Birth Control (part 4!)" - google it to find it (they won't let me post the link here). I'm on there (my name is Sierra) and we're all there to support each other and calm each other down in times of panic, as well as share what supplements/vitamins/therapies are working for us. You are NOT crazy and this does all go away! Recovery time just depends on the individual. For some it takes a few months, others can take a year or more. My recommendation is to keep seeing your naturopath, make sure you start taking a high-quality b-complex vitamin, D vitamin, and an Omega-3 supplement. Hope to see you on the other forum!
Sierra,
Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I google'd the other forum and I'm going to join! I thought I was loosing it when I started to feel the way I do and I felt like I was the only one. I started taking Vitamin B Complex and Fish Oil with Omega 3 fatty acids. Have you heard or tried anything regarding Hormonal Creams? What about Biofeedback for the anxiety? We women have to keep strong. This is crazy and ridiculous that we are the ones having to put our bodies at risk. I'm determined to go about this naturally but for the meantime I'm going to have to take the Xanax to live my life.
I have not tried the hormonal creams yet - and I'm not sure if I will or not. I may see if I can balance them without it, but if not then I'll definitely try them. One of the girls on the other forum (PinkLeopard) uses them. I'm sure she'd answer any questions you have about them! Glad to hear you're joining :)
Hi Sierra,
I tried logging into the other site but for some reason its not going through. :( I have so many questions to ask the other women.
Oh you know what it might be... I saw this at the top of the page "To reduce spam, please note that all posts by new members are moderated. This means there may be a slight delay until your post appears in the forum."
So you could create an account right? But the post didn't show up right away? If that's the case that may be why... stupid spammers :( Hopefully it will post soon! What's your screen name on there so I'll know when it does?
No I couldn't register on the website. I would hit submit and then nothing. It dosn't allow me to post a comment either. I'm going to try from my house computer but in the meantime can I share my contact info? My email is the same smfb1363 and i'm at aol.
Yeah definitely try on your other computer - it may be the browser. I know it works fine in Google Chrome. If you still can't I can get you links to the moderator and you can message them and see if they can help you out. Sorry you're having trouble :(
PLEASE HELP ME - My life has completely changed since stopping microgynen. I am 25 and was on the pill for short of 10 years. I came off the pill in September 12 and felt completely fine until early Dec time when I started worrying as my period had still not appeared. I felt completely 'normal' within myself at this time though. Happy, eating the same, going to work etc etc. I then went to the doctors had blood samples taken. My LH hormone was high but unknown to us as I had not had a period for around 3 months that I was actually ovulating. A few days later 12th Dec 12 I experienced my first panic attack. I had to leave work and was hysterical. I managed to calm down over that weekend albeit expericing some anxiety and went to docs on the monday and was prescibed propananlol for the anxiety. Then walla, the nxt day (18th dec 12) my period arrived and I was absolutely over the moon and felt great. Life went back to normal, I felt myself again. Then I was completely knocked sideways on Fri Jan 11th 2013. Went to bed and suddenly felt a rush of anxiety and had a full blown panic attack. I was straight back to the doctors on the Monday and was signed off work for 2 weeks as the anxiety wasn't easing at all. I am still going through theses awful feelings everyday since (on day 11 now) and feel so depressed, I cannot eat, I do sleep ok but feel like I have no energy at all and generally feel like I am losing my mind. I feel lost, not myself at all. I have been given a low dose of diazapam for the anxiety which do work. My period should have arrived last week but no sign of it and defo not preg as I have tested. I feel like these symptoms should have started when I first came off the pill, not 4 months down the line. Any advise on this would be amazing. I have convinced myself I have some sort of scary mental illness as I keep overthinking everything and feel like I will never be the same again. Doc has advised maybe a very low dose of antidepressants to help control the anxiety and mild depression symptons. Please repsond if you have experienced any of this. Thank you x
I was on Ortho Tricyclen Lo for 2.5 years and experienced my first panic attack. I stopped the pill and struggled to regain a normal period for several months. Then I got married and went back on the pill. Throughout the past months, my anxiety and nausea have worsened. It also turns out I have been diagnosed with a thyroid problem. My thyroid produces too much hormones. I think BC affected my health. I'm scared to stop the pill again but deep inside I feel this is best. When I stopped the pill, my doctor checked my thyroid and everything was okay.
If you hear of any remedies for anxiety please let me know. I am trying to avoid xanax or any additonal meds. I'm over meds now.
In late '06, I stopped taking Ortho Tricyclen, which I had been on for a few years. I was 34 at the time, and I had been off and on birth control pills since age 14. Very early in '07, I started having these weird dizzy spells, and I'd get sort of nauseas, too. I thought I was drinking too much coffee, so I cut way back. I was also in college finishing up my degree which I had started in my late teens. I was actually enjoying it, so I do not think it was stress causing the weird feelings. Then, one day on the freeway, I was about to drive through a tunnel I'd driven through a million times when I suddenly felt panicked about it. I was extremely dizzy, all of my limbs tingled and went numb (not a fun thing when you are operating an automobile at high speeds!), and I was scared out of my mind. I went to the doctor and had all the tests-- inner ear balance, MRI on my head, EKG, blood tests, etc. Every thing was fine, so they told me I had anxiety and put me on antidepressants. Those helped some, but I still had anxiety and panic attacks. I also gained about 50 pounds, which I am still struggling to get rid of in 2013. I don't remember how I got the idea that going off the pill had something to do with it, but I found a bunch of forums with other women describing the same thing happening to them. Well, I asked my OBGYN, a few of them, in fact, and they all thought it sounded strange.. and they offered to give me more birth control pills to see if that'd help. I haven't gone back on the pill, I have been off antidepressants for a few years, and I still have anxiety and panic attacks, which get worse before my period.
I tried changing my diet to all organic, whole, healthy foods, going off coffee, sugar, and processed foods, and although I felt good in some ways, I still had the anxiety and kept the weight on. I have no answers for you, but either do the doctors. I am using progesterone cream and have read "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause" by John R. Lee, M.D., Jesse Hanley, M.D., and Virginia Hopkins. I haven't been able to follow all of the adice to the letter, but I think this book can help- even if like me, you only do some of it, the advice helps and there is a lot of good info on hormonal balance and women's bodies. Good luck to you all.
I just want to say that everyones experience coming of the pill is different, so don't compare yourself to other women. I suffered with EXTREME anxiety after coming off the pill for a month. It came all of a sudden, I was anxious about being anxious, depressed about being depressed, feeling i was losing control. I felt like i was losing my mind, not my self at all. I began to over analyse myself, thinking I had developed a mental disorder overnight. Unfortunately its hard to find concrete studies about the relation between ceased OCP and anxiety, but the number forums about anxiety and coming of the pill is plenty to help re-assure us. So i decided to go back on the pill and take vitamin b complex. Now i have a little anxiety, and feel more myself.
Greetings Sierra, I have been reading all the posts on Aphrodite women's Health forum for months and have badly been wanting to post but the site won't let me register. When I register, it takes me back to the home page as if I didn't even try to register. I wanted to email them for help but they said to get help, you have to register and message the board! Any tips? I relate most to you out of all the other women and was glad to see you on another forum. My story is really intense and I would love to share with the other ladies to get the support. Let me know if you can help. Thanks.