anxiety attacks after stopping birth control

Thanks good to know that the anxiety will pass in due time when my hormones straighten out a bit, it only sucks that I had my first attack in my dads car and i'm scared at the thought of getting back in his car lol, it seems weak. I've considered just taking my xanax before I get in his car but still.


I guess this is some good news.

But i've also been off of it for almost a month and a half, i still have some anxious feelings though not as strong as when I first came off of it.

I posted my story a few months ago (as a guest) and just wanted to post an update! :) 

I stopped taking birth control in May 2015, and overall, my anxiety has improved and I have learned to better manage it. I have noticed that it greatly follows my cycle. Here's an article I read that helped me understand more of what is happening and why anxiety is affected by our cycle at different times due to the estrogen/progestin at the time. 

I still have bad days where I feel like I can't control it, but I know that I am strong for being able to deal with it. I decided to not take any medication and instead, change my lifestyle. My family and loved ones have been such a help. I started eating healthier (Fit Girls Guide!), doing yoga once a week, taking multivitamins daily, trying to do light exercise 2-3 days a week (most weeks), eliminating caffeine intake and drinking at least 64 oz of water a day. I've noticed alcohol makes my anxiety slightly harder the days after I drink (unless I have 1 beer or 1 glass of wine), though that could just be the anxiety talking here lol. Also, sleep plays a great factor for me too. If I get less than 7 hours, I know it's going to be a struggle. Chamomile tea also seems to help calm me down.

The headaches and foggy-headedness are almost completely gone. Some days, rarely, will they come back, but ladies, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Stay strong and find what works best for you. You are all strong women and we can get through this! Wishing everyone the best of luck!

 

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Exact same here I have been off bc for 12 years. Bu with each period started having crazy symptoms then panic, anxiety gyno begged me to try bc. So I finally did I just started my second month and blood pressure going sky high outta blue feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack and cant sleep. So I just stopped taking last night and the anxiety is Horrible! I am 41 and really do NOT know what to do now

Hi Heather,

Is there any way to contact you personally? I really could use someone to talk to.

Thank you

I am going through exactly the same thing. I have not felt like myself since I was on the pill. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to stumble across this explanation, finally, and read the stories of so many brave women dealing with all the same issues and feelings as me. I am starting to feel "normal" again, so thank you.
:)

I have been on birth control (mostly YAZ and generic YAZ since I was 16). After I turned 25, I stopped taking the pill. I experienced extreme anxiety and panic attacks for weeks. I've never had a panic attack before and suddenly I would get them just sitting and talking to people. It's been about 7 months and the symptoms have definitely lessened. I still have anxiety and I know when I feel a panic attack coming on. I take Busipron as needed, about 5mg in the mornings to help ease my anxiety. Vitamin B complex is supposed to help, but it's hard to correlate whether or not it does, or you just had a good day.

Hey girls,
You are SO STRONG. Can I just take a moment to tell you to look into yourselves and what you are going through and see how strong you are? NO ONE ELSE COULD DO THIS. Anyone who says you're being dramatic has no idea what you're going through. This is hell on earth.

Mine began when i went off birth control (nuvaring) and a week later had the worst experience of my life in my apartment. I was in the shower and BOOM. My entire life changed. I had a panic attack, couldn't eat, lost weight, withdrew from my friends, developed a phobia of my apartment, almost dropped out of school, refused to travel, the list goes on. That was in Match 2014. After trying to stick it out without anti depressants, I relented in August 2014. They changed my life. I was able to go things again.

FLASHFORWARD to June 2015 when I went off Celexa. Everything had been going well, except that my cycle was very irregular and wasn't normal and still isn't in Oct 2015 (over 1 year later). I went off Celexa (my anti depressant) and it was totally fine. I was completely off by Jul 2015. It is now Oct, this is my first period off Celexa (took 5 months, I told you I wasn't regular) and I am having major anxiety and panic attacks.

At the beginning of this journey I would read stories of women who had suffered for years and I didn't believe them. I hope that is your story. I hope that it is short-lived and you can go back to your normal lives. But that's not my story. And it is an unlikely story. This is a long road. It's a marathon. It's a long march. Prepare yourself for that. But you will get through it. I promise.

Every one of you girls needs to get saliva testing for hormones (NOT BLOOD TESTING as they're inaccurate). Don't let the doctors tell you there's nothing wrong with you. You are fighting. Keep fighting. We have a facebook group set up for us girls, join if you'd like. 

Love to all of you! Keep fighting!

 

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Hey girls,
You are SO STRONG. Can I just take a moment to tell you to look into yourselves and what you are going through and see how strong you are? NO ONE ELSE COULD DO THIS. Anyone who says you're being dramatic has no idea what you're going through. This is hell on earth.

Mine began when i went off birth control (nuvaring) and a week later had the worst experience of my life in my apartment. I was in the shower and BOOM. My entire life changed. I had a panic attack, couldn't eat, lost weight, withdrew from my friends, developed a phobia of my apartment, almost dropped out of school, refused to travel, the list goes on. That was in Match 2014. After trying to stick it out without anti depressants, I relented in August 2014. They changed my life. I was able to go things again.

FLASHFORWARD to June 2015 when I went off Celexa. Everything had been going well, except that my cycle was very irregular and wasn't normal and still isn't in Oct 2015 (over 1 year later). I went off Celexa (my anti depressant) and it was totally fine. I was completely off by Jul 2015. It is now Oct, this is my first period off Celexa (took 5 months, I told you I wasn't regular) and I am having major anxiety and panic attacks.

At the beginning of this journey I would read stories of women who had suffered for years and I didn't believe them. I hope that is your story. I hope that it is short-lived and you can go back to your normal lives. But that's not my story. And it is an unlikely story. This is a long road. It's a marathon. It's a long march. Prepare yourself for that. But you will get through it. I promise.

Every one of you girls needs to get saliva testing for hormones (NOT BLOOD TESTING as they're inaccurate). Don't let the doctors tell you there's nothing wrong with you. You are fighting. Keep fighting. We have a facebook group set up for us girls, join if you'd like. 

Love to all of you! Keep fighting!

 

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Hello all! I am so happy to now that all my problems are "just not in my head" like people like to tell me. I think I started having anxiety problems when I started using the Nuvaring, I started having weird palpitations and occasional tachycardia, but they were mild and would come and go. After 5 years of using the ring I decided to switch to the pill. After about a year I noticed that I was gaining weight and having acne problems, so I decided to stop birth control. I started having major anxiety and sleeping problems within weeks of not taking the pill! It's been about six months and the problems have not stopped, I have noticed though that my anxiety and other symptoms get worse about ten days before I am supposed to get my period. Some of the symptoms I have include panic attacks, occasionally feeling lightheaded (usually when working out), tingling on my head or left hand, lack of sleep, eczema (or some sort of itchy and flaky patches on my skin). Blood work (thyroid, etc) came back normal...I can't take it anymore, so I am going back to the OBG this week to get back on some sort of birth control in order to regulate my hormones and my period. I hope it is the right decision... I have a healthy diet and work out regularly, so I just do not know what else I can do. I will update you on how things go after starting birth control again. Did any of you try to go back to taking birth control and did your symptoms go away?

Hi!
I have not gone back on BC (been off for about 5 months) but I did do some on and off before deciding to quit entirely. I was on it for a year, then off 2 months, back on a month before stopping. From everything I've read about hormones and how BC works, this back and forth was not a good idea at all. I had horrible anxiety, insomnia, depression, crying all the time, and just feeling physically bad most days (my naturopathic dr. said this is really hard on your adrenal glands too). You have to do what you think is best for you, but I will never be going back on BC again, it definitely has its perks but the thought of going through all this again is too much. I'm someone that already has some baseline anxiety so I think any little change in hormones is enough to really send my anxiety into overdrive. I had blood work, thyroid checked, all came back normal. Also, I would go to a dermatologist about your skin, BC can cause an overgrowth of candida and this can show up externally on your skin. I had an itchy flaky rash and that is what it turned out to be. It's easily treated with prescription cream or an oral pill. There's another forum, Aphrodite women's health where post BC stories are discussed. I've seen a lot of posts where girls have talked about Nuvaring issues. Hope this helps! It's been a really hard few months but it does get better in time.

I'm major hormonal problems. I had been on bc pill most of my life. The last two years I was on I was on Yaz. I did great but I got off bc of heart racing after I ate which turns out don't think was Yaz. Body freaked n got misdiagnosed. Hormones n health have been a wreck for years. Not working n in bad shape physically n emotionally and hormonally like bad. Help?

Hi,
This sounds like you are having extreme low progesterone. Went through the same thing last year. I took Vitex, it helped a lot. You should go get your hormones tested with a Natrupathic doctor. Hope this helps.

hey. contact me

Im so glad I found this thread. I am 18 years old and I was on the pill for roughly one year. I started taking it to cure my acne, which it did! I felt fantastic on the pill. I had very light periods with no PMS at all, clear skin, and general heightened mood. It had also made me pack on some pounds which was great since I am naturally very skinny. I stopped taking the pill september 2015. Immediately a few days later I had an anxiety attack. Shaking, pounding heart, hysterically crying, it even made me throw up! That night my insomnia began. Every time i tried to fall asleep my body would start to feel extremely anxious. I cant really explain it. I managed to only get 1 hour of sleep. For the next few weeks I suffered anxiety attacks everyday. I started having generalized anxiety as well. I was anxious throughout the whole day. Horrible scary intrusive thoughts. I had a constant "spacey" dream like feeling. I had a constant pounding heart. All I could think about was my anxiety. It was extremely self-inducing. I lost 13 pounds! i completely lost my appetite. And as i mentioned before, I am already naturally very skinny. Then, probably the worst of all happened. I was getting such little sleep that my body was going into REM rebound. Every time i tried to fall asleep i would being dreaming the second my head hit the pillow. I would feel my body falling asleep before my brain did. The best thing i can compare it to is lucid dream. This lasted for about 2 weeks. Slowly I started getting better. When that ended, I was starting to feel like myself again. I thought it was finally over. I had a great November, I suffered a few anxiety attacks, and I had some depersonalization. But for the most part I was okay. And i felt myself constantly getting better. I was also gaining my weight back. Then out of nowhere, about a week ago, I was struck with crippling depression. I felt out of control. I couldn't even comprehend what i was feeling. My anxiety came back in full force too. I was unmotivated, nothing made me happy. Every morning I wake up with racing heart and a horrible feeling of uneasiness. My intrusive anxious thoughts are constant, feeling like i'm "trapped" in my body. The depression began to fade when I finally got my period that I had missed the month of november. Any anxiety symptom, you name it, ive had it. Its extremely scary for a young girl to be going through, especially since i have just made a difficult transition to college, and even lost my boyfriend in the process of all this anxiety. I am trying to stay positive. I am sure this is the hormones. Our hormones are EXTREMELY powerful. We have to remember that eventually our bodies will level out. we will be okay!