anxiety attacks after stopping birth control

Yes, it used to be constant for me but not as much any more. I typically only have it now during my pms week and maybe for a day or so around ovulation. I’m almost 4 months off. Where are you at in your cycle? Are you taking any supplements?

Hey

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.

Hi there. I’m really thinking it’s pms or ovulation related. I’m currently pms-ing and really notice the floaty/disconnected feeling and trouble sleeping due to the hormonal fluctuations. I’ll also have like 5 days straight of heightened anxiety during my pms week and then my period starts and I feel much better. Maybe also start incorporating a vitamin d supplement? I’ve noticed major improvements in my mood since I started per my naturopaths recommendation. I was severely deficient and used to have scary thoughts and depressed moods during pms/ ovulation and now I really don’t have any of those issues anymore. I completely relate to being so over this- it sucks. I tell my husband every day I will be the most grateful person when all of this is behind me, and I know it will be one day. It really does get better with every cycle. I’m approaching my 4th cycle off and can already tell how much I’ve improved month over month. Hang in there and know you are not losing your mind- easier said than done in the moment- but you will get through this and you will start to see consistent improvements soon.

Thanks, I really do hope so. I’ve become so anxious the last couple of days that I can barely sit and have a normal conversation. Like I constantly have to be on my feet. And these last few nights when I’m laying down I get this faint, uneasy tingly feeling through my whole body like I’m going to pass out. I pray so hard every night for this to be over. I will never complain about any anxiety or stress ever again once this is over because nothing compares to feeling this way. The depression is also very crippling. It makes me cry because it is such a scary feeling not wanting to be alone, but not wanting to be around anyone at the same time. I’m so sick of crying to my family because I feel like a burden. Sorry for the rant, I’m just overwhelmed.

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?

You may want to try GABA for the anxiety. It helps quite a bit with the restless feeling. I have definitely experienced the faintish uneasy feeling I still get that pretty often where it feels like the life is being drained out of you in a "whooshing" motion. No need to apologize, I have ranted to at least one person every single day of this whole experience, its the hardest and most frustrating thing and no one understands except the people on this thread. Therapy has helped me quite a bit, I'm not sure if thats something you've looked into but it helped me when I was feeling like a burden to my husband and family. I take 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 per the recommendation of my Dr. which I believe is the maximum recommended amount to take in a day.

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 still stay at home with my parents and sister. My mom has been sleeping in my room with me because I just do not want to be alone. The being alone part has gotten some better for me, but I still don’t like being alone because that’s when my mind wonders and I feel more anxious…but at the same time when I get around a group of people I get anxious too. Before all this, I wouldn’t usually call myself lazy, but I wish I could be lazy like I used to lol. I can’t even sit and watch a 30 minute tv show because I feel like I have to constantly be moving. I love binging my favorite shows and I haven’t been able to the last 2 months. I want to be able to sit and relax, but I can’t. I don’t like to take Benadryl, but I do take it when I feel a panic attack coming on because that’s the only time I get some relief.

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….

Hey it’s me again…the poster from above. I ordered some Olly Miss Mellow and am going to try it. It’s supposed to support a healthy hormone balance and better mood. I also may try their stress relief gummies because they have gaba in them. Do you think it would hurt to take them both and see what happens? One part of me wants to try them because what is there to lose? Then one part of me says what if it makes everything worse. Ugh.

I’m glad you have your family around to support you, that’s great! I’ve been back and forth to see my parents and sister quite a bit through all of this and Ive noticed family time definitely helps. Does your restless feel like tremors/ shakiness? I would have these internal tremors that made it feel like my body wanted to do anything but sit still but my anxiety would be so crippling I couldn’t even get out of bed for weeks. I feel like the gaba would for sure help- it just kind of mellows you out. The one I have is by the brand Thorne and I believe it’s available on Amazon.

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.

Thanks for the info. I’m just so anxious all the time that I don’t even know what to do anymore. Like, I want to take the supplements, but then how will I know when to come off them

Oh wow… it’s me again from the post above. I typed out a while long paragraph and it cut it off on my last post. But, anyways… I was saying I take plenty of vitamins right now, but I’m scared to keep adding because when will I know when I don’t need them anymore? That’s something that stresses me out too. I have my regular 6 month check up appointment on Friday and I’m going to ask my doctor what he thinks about the GABA supplement as well as the Olly Miss Mellow. I’m also going to ask him to run more blood tests on my vitamin levels to see where I’m at too.

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 wouldn't let the supplements stress you out. There are people who take vitamins every day their entire lives and they are designed to help, not harm :) My Dr. has me on this supplement regime for 2 months until my next appointment when I will do another blood draw to see if I am still deficient. If my levels look good then I believe I will be able to move towards a daily multivitamin. I think giving the supplements a shot for a solid 2-3 months will only help you to feel better. The pill depletes so many essential nutrients from our bodies which is often times why these symptoms occur in the first place. Dr. Jolene Brighten has an interesting book called Beyond the Pill which goes into more detail on what the pill actually does to our bodies.

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.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I’m trying to be patient. I know it’s going to take time because that’s all I have read in these forums, but I know you know how hard it is. I literally thought I was losing my mind. That feeling has lessened some, but occasionally there, and it’s the worst. I guess it’s just hard for me to accept it because I am a person that likes to know everything about everything that is happening/going into my body (side effects, uses, ect). I never knew side effects could be so harsh from birth control. I also like to know timelines…and when I can’t pinpoint exactly when I will feel like me again, that makes my anxiety worse. Thanks for listening to ne again.

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

Nice to meet you as well, Kayla. I'm very sorry you are going through this. Wow that sounds absolutely terrible. I'm so sorry you had to experience this both on and off of the pill. I really feel like you are through the worst of it. You were only on it for such a short period of time I feel like you are getting over the hump, you just have to hang in there for a bit longer. I weirdly never experienced any negative side effects that I knew of while being on it. I just noticed over the years my hair started to thin terribly. I used to have the thickest head of hair. I have also lost a lot of weight in the last few months but my appetite came back in full force once I began month 3 of being off so there is hope. Have you tried to meditate or listen to a guided meditation or sleepcasts before bed? That may also help just get your mind off of everything so you can fall asleep easier. My doctor said sleep is the most essential thing to heal your hormones in addition to the supplements. What kind of magnesium are you taking? I'm taking 250 mg of magnesium glycinate for sleep and it really helps.

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