Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

awww sweety! i'm so sorry you feeling like this. the question is , did you feel like this about your BF before going off the pill? where you on the pill when you guys met? I have read on a few websites about how the pill affects mate selection based on pheromones. so to put it very silly, they "smell" a certain way to us when we on the pill or off the pill if that makes sense. The other thing I think is that if you didn't love your BF this wouldn't be causing you so much anxiety.

Ive been reading up on some amino acids.... apparently GABA helps with the OCD / negative thinking and the physical symptoms of anxiety. I read a book called the Mood Cure by Julia Ross , who talks about the various amino acids. There is also a website called _[removed]_


When I have bad days, I think back to how I was before the pill and remind myself its just the side effects of coming off the damn thing.

Hey Kamzin0318,

I was on the pill since 18 and met my boyfriend at age 21 and i am now 24. And since we change and evolve so much during those years i just dont remember the person I was before the pill!! But yes I met my boyfriend when i was on the pill :( Hope this doesnt change anything.

For those interested in hollistic methods for recovery, i watched a documentery on netflix called HEAL. It really helps to focus on our mental state to help our bodies recover. It made me feel better on the power I have to heal myself.

Thanks for your answers girls,
Kay, Im sending you lots of power and love too! We can all go through this and come out stronger.
xxxx
Emma

HI Emma, it only explains why you struggle with ROCD but it doesn't change anything.
I DO AGREE with you , we will get through this.
I know diet helps and so do vitamins and minerals etc. and gyming (walking running cycling) it helps with detoxing the body. Ive mentioned Dr Jolene Brighten a few times on this forum, google her, its really worth the read and will help with understanding why this happened and how to fix it.

Stay strong girl you not alone!

Hi Emma,

I am sorry to hear that you are struggling. I am 10 months off BCP today. I was on the pill for 8, almost 9 years. I completely understand where you are coming from when you talk about ROCD. I am engaged, and our wedding in in October of this year. I too, have felt at times that I should break up with him and it would be better, it would make the ROCD all go away. But then, I have times where he is gone for 4-5 days due to work and when he comes home I am all smiles because I cannot stand to be alone and isolated since all of this. It just goes to show how untrue these ROCD thoughts are.

There are other times when I am having a bad day, and the intrusive ROCD thoughts are really bad, and in my mind I keep telling myself, break up with him, this isn't what you want, but then as soon as I let my mind wander to the fact that "today is the day I will break up with him" I panic, I get this awful sinking feeling in my stomach and feel like I am going to vomit. Clearly that is not what I want, because if I truly didn't care, I wouldn't be feeling like I was in a panic or about to get sick.

My fiance and I have spend almost 8 years of our lives together. It is so sad to think that one tiny little pill can almost ruin 7 years of a relationship that I could never see myself without.

One thing I have noticed is that when I am stressed, really tired, or alone for more than 6-8 hours is when my thoughts start to get more intrusive. Trying to keep your mind busy, talking about your feelings with your BF, and writing a mood journal has helped me to track where I am at during my cycle. But it also helps me to physically see my really good days without any ROCD thoughts and my bad days where I can tell my hormones are shifting throughout the month.

Keep in mind, that since coming off birth control 10 months ago, I have only had 2 periods. So I am no where close to balancing. My first period was at month 9. Then 14 days later I had another period that lasted 12 days. As much as I want to try and tell myself that this isn't hormonal, it is clear to see that it is, even on those bad days when I feel like I cannot continue to keep going. When those days come around, I literally look at myself in the mirror and see all the acne that I have. That is also a big indication that my hormones are not where they should be.

Keep fighting Emma. We are all in this together, we are all here for you and to support you and one another!

~Brea

Hi girls, just wanted to update my symptoms!!
Im on my 4th cycle but have skipped a period- I'm on day 49!?! However since skipping it I have been feeling great. My dizziness has gone, no anxiety, no fatigue. Dreading when it comes and hits like a brick wall!
I've recently gotten glasses since this whole thing damaged my eyesight. Feeling a lot better now everything is in focus.
Ive also had an eye infection. It's like this has weakened my immune system because I've never had one before, and keep getting small weird infections happen.
Been having some random eye floaters / stomach problems/ aches and pains / nausea, but overall it's been loads better (until my next period at least)
Stay strong xxx

Great to hear you feeling good :-) I pray it continues and that your next period will be a good one with no weirdness. We keep going, one foot in front of the other. At least we not where we started!!! Time indeed heals

HI Brea it def is hormones. I've thankfully had a cycle every month, the first 2 months off I got TERRIBLE breakouts and each month has been getting better... my back still breaks out a bit. I've already started spotting the last 2 days so my cycle should be in swing by tonight. feeling a little brain fog today , but then again I've been struggling to sleep the last few days. something common from before being on the pill.
Have you tried anything to help regulate your cycle? Dr Jolene Brighten is great with advise on what she calls Post Birth Control Syndrome.... maybe google her when you get a chance. she also has a range of supplements.

Thanks for responding. I have looked into Jolene, i am actually seeing a hormone specialist, who is more on the naturopath side of things. She currently has me on progresterone cream, because when I tested my sex hormones I was at .003 progesterone. I literally had almost none.

Do you ladies ever find yourself on some days just feeling absolutely empty? I am really struggling with that today. I find myself confused, sad, and just empty. I am not sure how else to describe it. Today I am tearful, and just don't understand why this is happening to me(us) and why I(we) aren't getting better. I just want to go back to my happy laid back self.

I just feel incredibly blah and empty today. I have not had a day like this in a long time.

~Brea

Anyone else have like crazy irrational thoughts ? Like I feel like a crazy person! Things I can’t even say out loud cause they are just so irrational and scary. Also thinking I have a mental illness like schizophrenia or something but I know it’s the hormones. Just drives me nuts.

This was my main symptom! The irrational thoughts that I obsessed about led to me also being obsessed with the thought that I had schizophrenia, bipolar, a personality disorder, etc. Trust me it’s just the hormones. Although I’m not 100% yet I can look back and laugh at those thoughts and realize it really was hormonal. Now I just deal with the “thought of the thoughts“ that weirds me out during ovulation but I think it’ll fade away as the months go on.

Wow, I've spent the fast week or so making my way through this thread and I'm so happy people are still posting.  

I'm two months off Loestrin 20, and I feel like I'm making baby steps of progress.  First period off the pill was four days and what I would consider normal (not that I really know what my normal period is) but the second was only a day and half followed by three days of spotting! My main issue is ROCD combined with anxiety and days of depression and it terrifies me.. I'm trying to ride it out naturally for as long as possible, and also because I'm terrified of the what if nothing happens if I try this med or that supplement, y'know? I'm scared that I will never get better and never be deeply in love with my partner like I was before I stopped taking the pill.  That devastates me because we were SO happy, we had the normal relationship spats but now it's like I'm dead inside, bar a few days of clarity and happiness. We got engaged at the beginning of Feb and on that day all my feelings came flooding back for the entire day, and then the next day they were gone again.  Have any of the new girls who are posting had success in beating the rocd and getting the in love feelings back? 

Thanks you all so much for replying, it feels so good knowing that we arent alone! When I try to tell my girlfriends no one really understands (everyone is still on birth control!) and I am ashamed of doubting my feelings for my boyfriend.

I must say that for the first year or so, I DID NOT HAVE ANY FEELING OF PURE LOVE for my bf.
But now, I do. I do have those moments where i forget and that there is just plain and pure love for that person. I really do love him and I am ready to fight like the biggest soldier ever for our love!!

But it does take time.
Now that I am better in terms of getting to FEEL the love, I have more anxiety about relationships and days of rocd and intrusive thoughts.

I feel like since I have been obsessing over rocd for a year and a half, this fear has developped and somewhat affects me more.

I dont know how to stop it. I compare myself and my couple to other couples in movies or my friend's relationships... And if I feel someone is more in love or looks happier than me, Im automatically think I should break up and puts me in great distress. A few days ago I had a terrible day of ROCD, and like you, I felt sick and couldnt eat because I thought we had to break up. CLEARLY ITS NOT WHAT I WANT.

I try to remember that I should focus ONLY on MY relationship and move forward hand in hand with my partner.

A psychologist once told me " are you scared of winning the lottery?" I said no... and she explained that we are only truly scared of the thing WE DONT WANT! this helped me a lot.

Anyways, I ordered Dr Jolene Bright's book on amazon... I saw that it was a best seller on amazon, WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT ALONE!!

Currently on day 14 and woke up anxious because I had a dream where my relationship was falling apart :( A few intrusive thoughts today as well...

Keep strong girls.
xxxxxxx
Emma

I’m on day 11 of my cycle and feel so empty and down:( I’m off a year but just feel so sad. Is this ever going to get better ? I’m so exhausted and was never depressed before going off bc. I feel like this is my new reality

I find after my period is when i feel the worst, about day 4 - 20 unfortunately. Dont forget mood swings with hormone fluctuations are normal and don't mean you're damaged or broken. Also it takes 1-2 years to fully recover so you have so much time left to see improvements! This isn't permanent and you will get better but hormonal changes like menopause, post natal depression, puberty etc all take 4+ years so it makes sense you wouldn't be feeling normal just yet. The sadness will lift, I get it too but it always gets better. Take it easy and don't put pressure on yourself to feel 'normal'!!
I also think the pill stifles our emotions so while I was on it I didn't get extremely sad/anxious but also never felt euphoric happiness. So hopefully now I can experience all these emotions both good and bad X

Hey girls, so I haven’t gotten my period for this month yet (I’m supposed to get it tomorrow) and during ovulation I felt like c**p. I feel better now but for some reason I have like a bit of anxiety and like I just keep questioning everything in my life. Does anyone else get like this? I literally think like “do I really love my family” etc even though deep down I know I 100% do lol ugh these hormone fluctuations always make me feel so weird. I think it’s just some sort of numbness that makes me think a bunch of what ifs. Hopefully I keep getting better each month, I make 1 year off on march 17th!