Thank you for the information regarding your story. I am in my 40's and had been on the pill for over twenty years. I have been off it for about 2 weeks. I feel like a zombie, tired, depressed, bloated, and forget things all of the time...Please let me know what has helped you, because I can't imagine dealing with this for 6 months!
Hi ,
I know you posted this one over a year ago, but now I just found out about it and I am experiencing majority of the symptoms you described. Would you let me know how you overcome them and how are you doing right now?
Thank you so so much
Thuy
your post is inspiring, how are you doing now after going off the pill for over a year?
I am having a hard time after 3 months off the pill ...
Thuy
Is your blog still up and active? I could not pull it up using the link provided!
are you still doing the research? if yes, I would like to participate, I am experiencing hell since I stopped the pill (I hope it is the pill!).
Thousands of women complain about dangerous complications from Mirena IUD birth control.
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I use Lady-Comp natural birth control monitor and can say it is a great, natural and healthy alternative to any invasive contraception :-))
Wow, I had no idea this was so common. I also had no idea I would be this affected by coming off of BC (I've tried pretty much every generic out there of Yaz). I had to get off of it after having taken it for 7 years (I'm 25 yo now) because of a dog attack and the ensuing blood clots/pulmonary embolism that were most likely caused by the freaking pills. Ugh.
The first month after the attack and coming off the pill, I didn't notice anything but extreme cramping (I had to stop the pill cold turkey mid-pack, so that didn't help) but otherwise I attributed my moods to the emotional and physical pain around what had happened.
I would say I'm definitely an emotional person, but that swings to both sides of the spectrum. I can be extremely excited about the simplest things, and I always try to have a personal project going on that sparks my creativity (I'm a photographer/graphic designer). But lately I just don't get excited about things like I used to, even though I have a lot of shoots coming up most of which are my creation and should have every reason to be ecstatic about. I even ordered some clothes online, which is a sure fire way to get me excited! But still, I have the urge to cry, and just sit here sad and unmotivated. I do start my period around the 5th, so in about a week, which makes me think I'm just PMSing, but these symptoms fluctuate all month. And either way I'm not myself, and it just seems to be way worse around my period.Before the attack I was an extremely active person, going to the gym at least 5 times a week, taking kickboxing classes etc that I loved, but that obviously had to be put on hold with the injury to my leg (three deep gashes where his teeth sunk in). That in and of itself made me sad, that I couldn't go to the gym and be active. But it's been about 2.5 months and I can now jog and stuff, but I just have zero motivation to go do anything. Now throw in coming off of birth control, I'm really starting to notice that I'm not at all myself. I too have been so tired, was late twice in a row to work because I overslept (hubs watched me sleep through 4 whole minutes of my alarm before doing anything) and I also now have bacterial vaginosis--which I read above someone else had had but I think it's also because I was on three different antibiotics for about 2 months solid and it just wiped out all my good bacteria.
At any rate, I do feel better knowing I'm not alone. It amazes me how little help your doctor really is. We all obviously know the problem lies with messing with our poor hormones...and I have no idea how to get through this. I do have a supportive husband thank God...they're so lucky not to have to go through this c**p! Thanks for reading all that, and I hope all of us can move on and get back to our normal selves :)
My name is summer and I am 22 years old I have never had a problem with anxiety depression or panic attacks in my life until birthcontrol. I would however consider myself a bit of an anxious high strung person. I have been through alot in life but it has never seemed to affect my mental health. I have tried almost every kind of birth control out there and everyone has given me some sort of strange side affect after a few months. The last pill I was on was the worst. I was prescribed Microestrin Fe contunious dosage for endometeriosis that the doctor never could really diagnosis do to me not wanting surgery. This pill is the generic to loestrin fe and the contunious dose means i would take it for three months with no break then have a break. I started it in about march 2013 and the only side affect i noticed was headaches, I also started an asthma med called sigulair cuase i had all of a sudden developed asthma. after a couple months i started to gain weight only around my stomach area and this was not normal for me but i thought it was my sigulair so i deregarded it. i got my first period and it was only spotting and very short. Then I went back on the pill and by ausust i was so fed up with the wieght i stopped taking the singulair. come mid august i started having these aweful night sweats but i didnt think much of them until Aug 22 i was at wrk attending our normal morning meet when my heart started to pound and my thought were racing and befor i knew it was being rushed to the hosptial by ambulance they checked my heart everything came back fine they gave my ativan in an iv and send me home. I was fine for 3 days then it started happening again only this time it lasted much longer and came with sweats chills and shaking and stomach pain and diareeah i saw the doctor the next day they said i had the flu sent me home to rest these attacks came on every hour or so all day and night for 2 more nights before i couldnt take it and went back to the hospital I have had numerous doctors appts and every inch of my body checked and everything has came back normal including hormone blood test. However I work in behavioral health so i started to do my own research and ask the doctors at my wrk what they thought and if it could be birthcontrol cuz i noticed it all started around the time of this pill they said absolutly so i stopped taking it. The first 2 days were hell!!! then i got my withdrawl bleed which was very painful but only lasted 2 days. after that every day i started to feel better until around day 28 when i was do again I developed a strange rash on back and then then bacame depressed again and then started having anxiety and trouble sleeping again i saw a therapist yesterday he said this absolutly sound hormone related. I started my perid today and i am feeling alil bit better but extremely nuasious and still kinda anxiuos i see a psych on monday to c about maybe getting a med that will level me out while i go through this becuase ive heard it can take 3 to 6 months before ur hormones level. I would like to know if anyone else has been through this and has taken antidepressants just to get through it if so how did it go? and how long did it take to feel normal again. I have also lost alot of weight have no appietite will that come back?
Thank goodness for this thread! I have been off the pill for about 4 months and only recently I have noticed the depression and anxiety creeping in. Last week I had to take the day off work because I was shaking, feeling sick and anxious, couldn't concentrate and crying for no reason. Just utterly depressed. Then I swung to calm then depressed then hyperactive all in one day! Since then I don't feel quite right and am really aware of my moods and I have to sit down and talk myself out of feeling sad multiple times a day. Acne is insane, weight gain in annoying, periods are anywhere from 22-29 days apart, I have been getting night-sweats too. I feel like a damn hot mess!
I wish I had time to read EVERY reply in this thread because it helps me see I'm not going crazy!!! I'm 28, been on bc since I was 24. I was put on microgestin about 6 weeks ago - I only took it for 2 weeks, almost immediately I started to have panic attacks and depression. I linked it with the pill right away as this is the 3rd different pill I've tried in 4 years of religiously taking BC so I know when it's my body's reaction to something. But what I didn't expect nor was I told this would happen - after going off the pill and being pill-free for 4 weeks now I feel like I'm going insane with panic attacks, anxiety, and depression up the yin yang. I love my life, I'm very happy with where I am, yes there are things I'd change, but we all have things we'd like to be different. I'm in college and that ups my stress, but it never makes me feel so paranoid, shaky, and like I'm losing my mind. I've reached out to spiritual counselors and considered other meds, but I don't want to add more medication to my body, and I want to believe this is all hormonal and not a bigger issue because it seems to line up perfectly with what you ladies are saying. Loestrin, and microgestin, appear to be the type that trigger panic and depression. My doc could've told me that before she gave it to me.. But it also would've been nice to know that once you go off BC your body spirals into an even bigger mess than before! I guess it has to get worse before it gets better..but I hope it gets better soon because this is terrifying at times :( Hugs to all you strong women. What we go through just to try to limit some pain and displeasure from our periods and ward off risks of pregnancy.
Thank you for posting this from a year ago!!! I will definitely check out your blog. I am so glad to have found this thread and hear from so many other women the challenges of stopping BCP's. I will add my story in more detail on the main thread, but the short version is that I stopped the pill about 1 1/2 months ago after being on it 20 years with a 2 year break in the middle to have a child. If I knew now what I know about what they truly do to the woman's body, I NEVER would have used BCP's!!! It's scaring coming off them and I'm in the process of getting my body balanced hormonally now. Reading this blog helps ensure me that my symptoms are not imaginary or abnormal, and there is hope they can be addressed with time.
-> (For those open to herbal supplements) - added Vitex, DIM, & Maca
-> Added a good whole foods multi-vitamins that include Iodine, Calcium, B vitamins (especial B6), etc
-> Added an adrenal support supplement - to help reduce/manage impact of high cortisol etc. - Need to keep cortisol down to help body make right hormones - especially Progesterone
-> Eat eggs regularly - need cholesterol to make hormones - I don't eat read meat and other high cholesterol foods
Here's what I have experienced so far.
MONTH 1: On and off unusually high stress feeling throughout the month, foggy brain, tired, prevalent feeling of "blah" about everything (except nice high sex drive mid cycle - wow!), ovulation pain for a week, mid-section thickened mid-cycle, then after ovulation, increased moodiness for almost 2 weeks until my period started surprisingly on time in 28 days. I had 2 REALLY bad moody PMS days, while other moodiness came and went through the month.
MONTH 2 (first half only): Stress/anxiety is better than last month's cycle, but still unusually high. Foggy brain is worse! From period day 1 up to ovulation, I felt "low estrogen" if that even make sense. Dry, no sex drive, empty. Then ovulation kicks in and everything changes... my mood is high, sex drive kicks in, etc. It is at this time I remember what it feels like to not be moody or "blah".. I realize I have definitely been in a funk (but less so than Month 1). I feel like my body is starting get in the groove on hormones a bit. We'll see what happens with everything when I enter the second half of the cycle.
That's if for now… my journey to balanced hormones continues. :-)
SO HAPPY I FOUND THIS SITE!!! I have been thinking I have been going insane, or I am in the beginning stages of developing some type mental illness. I am 25 years old and I stopped taking Junel (which I believe is the generic of Ortho-tricyclen low) about 3 1/2 months ago after being on it for only 1 year. I have been in the WORST FUNK of my life. I can't even begin to describe it... at the time of going off the pill, I had dealt with some life/future changing circumstances.. so I just thought this was normal. Since then I have suffered from extreme anxiety, panic attacks, TERRIBLY negative thoughts, depression, not wanting to get out of bed, insanely clouded mind, crying, thinking I am losing my mind, no motivation to do anything- grocery shopping, going places due to anxiety/panic attacks, etc. I have a 5 year old and I'm a single mother.. Everyone thinks I'm basically crazy at this point and its so hard to explain what is going on because I haven't had any answers!! But now atleast I have some hope!!!! I went to see my PCP on Monday and she prescribed me Lexapro and Ativan. I am yet to take either one of them because I have never been depressed in my life, I don't want a crutch I just want to get through this, and am slightly anti-meds unless there is a FACTUAL/KNOWN underlying illness. I'm usually a really happy, outgoing, caring person and these past few months have turned me into something I have never imagined I could be. These feelings need to go away soon! I just got my period yesterday which was my 3rd cycle since I've been off the pill. The entire week before my period was horrid... I want this to pass soon. I will stay posted on here and let you all know how my progress is. If anyone would ever like to talk about this please e-mail me and lets figure out some answers and educate women what can potentially occur from these damn synthetic hormones!!!
Hi! I absolutely know what are you going through...you are like me and it is so hard!!!It is little bit over 3 months for me and still not better:( The hardest thing in my hole life really...