Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Thankyou this is so reasurring :( I've been off since august and had symptoms since september... It's been so long and getting very little improvement!

Thanks SO MUCH for the advice! gosh this means a lot. I Never dreamed this was even a possible reaction to coming off birth control and all because I was excited to have a baby. Now the thought of having a baby scares me, I don't want the possible hormonal imbalance after birth. Thanks for the info about St John's Wort, was wondering about it for a while now. Will get some for sure. Have you tried GABA at all? apparently that helps with the physical and mental anxiety , especially the intrusive thoughts.

Thanks so much for caring and returning to the forum to post updates .... most of us just want to hear from someone that finally came right. You are an angel.

Not sure what supplements you taking if any... but I cut all coffee and sugar out cause it made things worse. I started on , Vit C 2000mg , Omega 3, vit b 5, b6 and b12, magnesium, up to 1500mg per day, zinc. lots of fresh food as in no processed food. lots of water, sleep and mild exercise like walking or cycling. Epsom salt baths for detox. Hopefully you not struggling with any of the anxiety and depression, if you are, then the supplments along with a cleaner diet will def have improvements. I noticed mine improved in 2 week increments....

Oh my god I used to get like this too!!!! I literally could not get my thoughts together when I had to write papers for my classes and even for some exams but eventually it improved. I also wrote a while back about how my memory was horrible, somehow I’ve noticed I’m able to remember things from my past better now. Don’t worry, the brain fog goes away!!

Of course!! I’m glad I can help you guys. I agree, I’m sure almost all of us are worried about the future especially about having kids but I feel like the worry will go away in due time. i’ve never tried GABA! I’m currently taking no other supplements except for Vitamin D and Zinc for the acne the pill left me with, but if I ever have a setback I’ll definitely try out GABA.

Hey ladies, how are you all feeling?

Hi ladies, I figured I’d post on her because I used to love when people would come back and share their success stories with me. Let me tell you, this experience was so rough & I still wouldn’t say I’m 100%. Some days I feel 100% but others I feel like I’m back to the beginning. It’s been such a long roller coaster but I’ve been true to myself and my beliefs and tried to to let this get the best of me. I’m almost 2 years off the pill. I’d say I started to feel BETTER about a year ago. The biggest problem for me was the ROCD. I was constantly checking in with my feelings for my significant other, always trying to find something wrong, always trying to feel the love but really just felt nothing. I was an emotional mess for a while and also emotionally numb for a really long time too. I used to be on this forum constantly because it’s a wonderful feeling to know that other people are going through the same thing as you (although I wouldn’t wish this on anyone!). There is so much I can say because this experience really changed my life for the longest time- I felt like it was never ending. BUT, I got better. There are certainly days where I have anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts, yet I don’t let these things consume me like they used to. I almost felt stuck in this new world that I was living in, like I would never get out. ROCD was my biggest symptom but I had anxiety, depression, some numbness in my legs, insomnia, and some irregular bleeding. My biggest advice would probably just be to pull through because you can do it. Know that you are stronger than the thoughts and never for a second doubt that the pill did this to us. I tried vitamins, working out, eating healthy, yet time is the only thing that truly heals. ALSO don’t let this forum consume you, it’s better to trick yourself into thinking everything is OK, rather than coming on her all the time knowing that something is wrong. If you have any questions I’ll probably be checking this board until later on today, and I’ll be on here occasionally. Best of luck to you all, you’re stronger than you know. Xoxo

Thank you so much for giving us hope!!! How long were you on the pill? And did your symptoms start immediately after coming off or did they start at like 2-3 months off?

I was only on the pill for a few months. Maybe about 3-4 months! i actually started to feel “odd” while being on it and I noticed this within the first couple weeks so I thought getting off would be a quick relief to feeling like myself again. Boy was I wrong!

Wow!! I was only on it for 6 months, first time taking it in my life and I got hit with the ocd/intrusive thoughts at about 4 months off. I had really scary thoughts for those first few months of symptoms but luckily they’ve sort of faded away, now I’m just scared of the memory of them. It makes me obsess about if I’m gonna be like this forever but I’ve been trying my hardest to remember it’s my hormones. I’m currently feeling so crappy and I’m assuming it’s because I’m ovulating, I’m 11 months off and have felt better since October but I just feel so weird during ovulation and menstruation.

Yes totally normal to have bad days during those times when our hormones are fluctuating. It was my first time too. I was 18 at the time and went on for the obvious reasons, really didn’t have any knowledge about the nasty side effects. Will certainly never be going on again.

I went on because my gyn told me it would “regulate” my periods lol big mistake. I get really angry and regretful from time to time but it’s all in the past. I’ll just have to let time be the healer

The gynecologist will never admit to it being the pill either. They even tried to get me to go back on after I told them my awful experience. Best luck to you, you’ll be ok.

Exactly! Thank you so much

Hey girls, hope all is well. I’m ovulating again and feeling so crappy :( I only have my college classes 2 days a week and when I’m home I do 2 online classes so I’m assuming being home without sunlight, other people, etc. is what makes me feel worse. Yesterday I had such a great day on campus and with friends and even when I came home! But today a bit of anxiety hit me as soon as I woke up. It’s not really the scary/graphic intrusive thoughts I had when I first came off the pill, it’s just anxiety about the anxiety and the same feeling I had where everything feels unreal and like I’m trapped or something. This always happens during ovulation/menstruation and a part of me knows it’s homones but another part of me tries to say it’s not!

Anyways, I’m 11 months off and I’m just praying that I become 100% again. I know a lot of our mental symptoms can stem from our personalities: I’m usually a worrier so coming off the pill made it worse, now I’m “worrying about worrying” and it just becomes a cycle. I need to get myself to go out more, exercise, distract myself, etc.. we can make it through this girls!!