Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Soraya, I feel the same way. I'm glad I found this post and now know that others are going through the same thing. I was on birth control for 5 months and just got off it a week ago. Since then I have been having horrible pannick attacks, I feel really hazy and forgetful and I feel extremely depressed and helpless. this feels like I'm going crazy and I'm never going to get better. Thankfully I read the posts on here and everyone says that it gets better. God I'm praying that this goes away. I really related to your post. Do you know if there's any natural remedies to take to regulate your body after getting off the pill?? One thing I'm trying to do is a liver cleans and take muli-vitamins.

I am so happy to have found this forum just like everyone else! I was on birth control for 5 years (16-21). Getting off of them is literally a nightmare. It all started with an immense panic attack that happened OUT OF NOWHERE at work. I was rushed to the ER, and just like everyone else, all of my electrolytes, ekg, and thyroid testing came back NORMAL. This is just the tip of the iceberg though. I started getting panic attacks almost everyday which would last from 20-30 minutes! My mother is a nurse and while I was having an attack, my blood pressure would go from my normal of 115/70 to 185/92, which is unheard of for an active 21 year old. My eyes were super sensitive to light and it would be so painful to be in a bright room. Oh, and the worst parts would definitely be the depression and the depersonalization (feeling like everything around me is fake and unreal). Nothing and no one makes me happy anymore. I don't get excited like I used to. I am constantly thinking about my anxiety and feeling like I'm in this dream world. I got off of it February 2012, it is now almost May 2012 so around 3 months I've been off of it. I still have panic attacks but only severe ones about once a week. When I go to sleep, my chest feels tight but I'm able to overcome that now. I still have some depression, it really depends on the day. Some days I'm so happy and some days, like today, I'm miserable. I've also felt like I was going crazy. Like i was developing signs of schizophrenia or something! The thing that upsets me the most is how this is effecting my relationship. I've been with my boyfriend for 2 years and I've always been so certain that he is the one. But after stopping birth control, I find myself constantly questioning our relationship. I know I love him, but I don't have that "in love" feeling anymore. I've done lots of research about depression and have found this is common so I'm not going to end things with him until I can see what my true feelings are without this fog that stopping the pill has gotten me in. I am happy though to see that women actually can improve from this. My doctor wants to give me medication, and I have taken the occasional xanex when my symptoms were bad, but I am not going on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety. Natural is how I want to do things but my mother, boyfriend, and doctor keep trying to push more meds! Isn't this what got me here in the first place? I'm going to research agnus castus and primrose oil like many suggested.

Hello

I have similar problems. I took a birth control pill for 5 months to balance my hormones after the first 3 months it's side effects started and I tried to tollerate them but after 2 months I gave up. I stopped it about 3 months ago and 2 days after i stopped I started feeling thirsty alot more than usual for about a month it was like that and then after the first month on some days i felt very thirsty and some days very hungry. but since last night i have had loss of appetite i didn't eat breafast today nor lunch and it's not dinner time yet. about 2 weeks ago my doctor told me that my hormones balance out and they might not and that it might take 6 months. it's been 3 so far that i've been off the pill. how do you feel now?

Callshea: I realize it's been a year since your post but perhaps you'll still get this. I happened upon this site, and your post in particular, when Googling my symptoms (for the millionth time, to little avail).
I stopped taking Ortho-Tricyclen about a year ago (after about 15 years on). I'm 33 now, live a very healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure if my symptoms started at the exact time I stopped taking the pill or soon after, but my body is very different than it used to be. I haven't experienced the weight gain that people are talking about. What I have experienced is skin and hair dryness that I've never had in my life. I come from an Italian family where people have oily skin until they're very old, or forever. And I too, have always had oily skin, supple shiny full hair. Now my skin is so dry the only that keeps it even presentable is slathering pure shea butter (a couple of times a day!!) and my hair, like you said, seems like old woman hair- brittle, lack luster, so sad. Also, interestingly- my eye sight had changed! My contacts and glasses are no longer the right prescription (though they have been so for nearly 10 years) and I strain to see.
I'm curious, since it's been a year- have you had any resolution or learned anything new about all this? Or does anyone else have any insight?

Wow, your post sounds like something very similar that Im going through, im glad I came across it. Have you found much help or improvement since you posted? I know i feel that fogginess every single day since having my panic attack.. Talking and journaling about all of the very difficult things going on in my life helps, but I still dont feel much relief from the fogginess after about a year which is why I definitely think that a hormonal imbalance is the main contributor to that feeling. I am also suffering from amennhorea, so I know something is not correct hormonally for me.
Anyway, I'm curious to see what has helped or not helped for you, and if you have gotten any progress. I commend your courage and strength through this tough time.

Hi everyone. I really need some help... I came off the Nuvaring about 4 months ago... things have been awful... I first came off of it to see how I would feel off of it, it had affected my sex drive greatly and also caused vaginal pain during sex. Since I've come off my sex drive has returned, and I don't feel the pain anymore, but... I find that I look at my boyfriend (of 2.5 years) differently.

I began to doubt the way I felt about him... I start to get these awful cyclical thoughts that just won't leave me alone... I'm scared to death that we will break up but I don't want that I don't understand WHY I feel like this all of the sudden... I feel apathetic about everything and like I could explode into tears at any time... I don't want to be around people and don't really get excited about anything... but what hurts me most is how indifferent I feel towards my boyfriend, when never before have I doubted my feelings for him... I don't want to lose him, I feel so alone.

I just want to know  that I'm not going crazy... my heart keeps beating so hard it feels like its coming out of my chest, I dont know if its only the anxiety or what but I feel constantly terrible and alone... I hate this

Hello everyone! I had been on BC pills for 5 or 6 years and decided recently to go off of them to give my system a break. I NEVER expected to have symptoms...which maybe was a bit naive of me but I didn't know anyone else that mention having symptoms beyond not getting your period right away or more cramps. But everyone is different of course. I took my last pill mid February and had my first real period mid March. I had crazy body aches the day before my period but otherwise it was relatively normal. After however, I started to feel mildly anxious and by 3 days after my period I was extremely anxious...tight chested, heart palpitations, light headed, headaches etc. It caught me off guard but I immediately googled symptoms of going off BCs b/c this was beyond any anxiety I had felt in the past and as you already may know, I learned a lot from others who had posted previously. I was having withdrawals!! Other symptoms I experienced were: foggy brain, light headed, head aches, pressure behind the eyes but not the same as a migrain, loss of appetite (I would lose about 3-4lbs each couple of weeks the symptoms would last around my period), nausea, diarrhea, fatique, body aches, back aches and neck tension. It was a vicious cycle...anxiety made me nauseous, not eating made me tired and weak yada yada. I felt crazy, sick, paranoid and some days it was hard to hold my body upright b/c my body ached and the anxiety caused me neck and shoulders to be so tense! I honestly would have tried anything. My doctor also recommended anti-anxiety medication...which I refused (twice). I did take his prescribed ativan (for panic attacks) in case I was desperate or at work etc. I only took half a few times when it was really bad but as a last resort. Things that I found helped that were natural were: camomile tea (calming), bach rescue remedy (calming), lemon/ginger (nausea), b vitamin complex with folic acid (BCs deplete your body of vitamin B...I think I was super low by the time I got off of them), omega 3 for women (the one I got also has primrose oil in it...research omega 3 if you are not already familiar - they are good for many things, incl. metal health), 5HTP (depression) - start with a very small dose...I think I took more than I needed initially. Again research these or talk to a naturalpath or your doctor before taking them. They may not be for you and some may not be good to take if you have other medical conditions or are on other meds. I also went for acupuncture and saw an osteopath (to get hormones back in balance and deal with muscle tension and pain). I would recommend doing the acupuncture a week before your expected period and maybe every couple weeks initially if you can!. I already see a massage therapist frequently but continued this as well. Exercise - yoga especially and eating right don't hurt either. I am happy to say that I just had my third period and the symptoms this time around were mild in comparison to the last two. I still had bad cramps and back aches during my period and a tiny bit of nausea but nothing lasted as long or was as intense. I currently take 50mg of 5HTP in the morning and 2 omegas and a b complex vit with folic acid after lunch (I wouldn't recommend taking b vits on an empty stomach or late at night)...occasionally I take more omegas at night - i don't need to take them with food. Hope this helps ladies! Wishing you all the best. Hang in there!! P.S. if you lose ur appetite or get nauseous I recommend Gatorade, booster juice or jugo juice, vega one shake and lots of water. I still take half a scoop of vega one powder for breakfast every other day to make sure I get all my vitamins and veggies. Especially important if you can't get food down regularly.

I'm glad to see this thread is still active. I've been on the pill for 9 years (started at 16, now 25) - generic versions of Ortho Tri-Cyclen for 7 1/2 years, switched to Safrayal, then generic Yaz, then back to Safrayal. Sorry if TMI, but since my last year and a half on Ortho, I have been having spotting issues for 2 weeks in addition to my period. Since switching pills didn't help, I have come off them in a hope that my almost constant spotting will go away.

I took my last placebo pill Saturday, so Sunday was my first day not taking the pill. The past 3 days I've been pretty dizzy which I'm starting to think is due to coming off the pill. I wanted to give my body time to regulate itself now before DH and I start TTC in a few years (in case I ended up being one of those ladies where it takes a year or so to get back to normal). Here's hoping I don't end up with all the anxiety and depression most ladies on here have experienced.

I wish they would do studies on this type of stuff. If I had know this is what was coming when I stopped the pill, I don't know if I would have stayed on for so long (or started at all, however at 16 I don't think I would have cared).

Good luck to anyone currently dealing with this. Hopefully we all go back to normal quickly. It would be great if those of us just coming off the pills could come back and keep updating each other on our progress.

After reading through this whole page it is making me nervous. I have been taking Yaz for about 5 years and have not experienced anything the other posts have said but I am curious as to if this will happen to me when I decide to go off?

Bambiabmi - everyone is different so unfortunately there is no way to know what is going to happen to your body when you stop taking BCP. As my post above your says, I just stopped taking the pill Sunday (finished my last pack Saturday). I will definitely come back and update how it's going once it's been a little longer.

Hello im honestly so relieved to have read ur post.. everything u have posted i have pretty much have and still am experiencing... but what worries me is will these side effects go away and did they go away for you .. please post back if u read this .. thanks .. :)

Not to be unoriginal, but I'm so thankful I found this forum! I started taking Mononessa (generic version of Ortho Tri-cyclen) a few weeks ago. I'm getting married this summer and had heard it was important to get the pills "in your system" so that they're effective. After 8 days of taking them, I stopped due to the negative side effects. Within the first few days I was having mood swings, headaches, and breast tenderness. Toward the end I was crying on my fiancé's shoulder every night because I felt depressed and hopeless. The worst part was that I began feeling indifferent toward him, and considering our marriage is coming up, that part scared me more than anything else. That was when I decided to quit the pills and look for another option. The first 3 days I was off the pills were glorious. I was happy, feeling normal, and even giddy about the wedding. Then I began spotting and started my period, even though it wasn't time for my cycle yet. That began a whole new world of aches, pains, and overall depression. I began bleeding more than I ever had before, had horrific cramps and backaches, and began feeling indifferent toward my fiancé again. After the second night of tears, my fiancé and I both decided that I wasn't going to take pills again. I'm currently feeling slightly better (though still not good), and am hoping the bad feelings dissipate after my period stops. Like nearly everyone who has posted here, this whole experience has made me doubt my sanity. I have hope that there will be relief once my body adjusts again, but I can't know for sure, and it's one of the most frightening feelings I've ever known. I'm so glad that I found this forum early on, which helped me make the decision to not risk my hormonal health ever again.

I haven't heard any responses on my post yet, but I figured since I'm possibly an unusual case (was only on the pill for a total of 8 days), I would give everyone an update. Hopefully it raises the spirits of those still suffering who see no end in sight.

To Paperstar:

It's past midnight, and I've now been up about 72 hours straight.  I am SO exhausted, and yet no matter what I try, I can not fall asleep.  I just toss and turn in bed, and every little sound is driving me nuts.  The only connection I can think, is 2 weeks ago I stopped my BC (Yaz), and perhaps my hormones are running amuck and somehow seriously effecting my sleep??  I've been online researching, and while I see so much about depression and headaches, I'm not seeing people suffering from sleep issues.  Am I alone on this one?  I was on Yaz for about 2.5 years.  I was on Marvelon for about 8 years, and stopped in 2008 to start my family, and was pregnant in less than 2 weeks, so now I'm thinking I maybe got lucky and missed and side effects due to a quick pregnancy creating more hormones!  I have a doctor appointment in 10 days, but don't know how I'm going to last if I don't start sleeping!