Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Hello!! How are you all coming along? I know the forum has been pretty inactive for months now but I’m hoping that it’s because everyone is doing well. I make officially 3 years off the pill next week and I can’t believe how the time flew by!! Time really does heal all and I hope that all of you are okay especially during this pandemic. Sending hugs :)

I’m about 4 years post birth control and in the past 6 months I’ve finally started to feel like myself again. I still have some anxiety and depression around my period but it’s usually not bad and on the rare occasion that it is I actually feel capable of dealing with it and I know now that it won’t last forever. Sending lots of love to anyone who is struggling! But you WILL feel better eventually! I promise!

Thank you for replying! Sorry for my late response, this year has been quite hectic lol. I’m very glad that you’re feeling better and seeing progress!

I’m 3 years off the pill and had been feeling like myself for a while now. But I’ve been having an anxiety spike for the first time in forever regarding the first theme of intrusive thoughts I ever experienced back when this all started. Last year I accidentally stumbled upon something very disturbing and my sticky brain decided to make it seem that I’m a horrible person. I eventually stopped thinking about it because I know my true intentions, but I randomly remembered it a few days ago and now I’ve been super anxious again. I’m sure the anxiety could be hormonal because the exact day I remembered it, I got my period. Now I’m just so stressed and keep questioning myself even though I know who I really am. I hate this :(

I can definitely relate. I started struggling with severe intrusive thoughts about a year ago but I feel like I’ve come so far since then. There’s a woman I follow on Instagram who posts about her experience with OCD/intrusive thoughts. I’ve learned a lot about how to deal with them from her. I’m in my ovulation period right now and struggling a bit. I usually experience an uptick in anxiety around this time, but I’ve also learned that I can deal with it no matter how much it sucks. I’ve been through much worse. We all have. And we’re all still kicking a$$ out here! :)

Thank you for this. I’m definitely gonna check out that Instagram because my anxiety has been coming back lately, sometimes in a pattern of my cycle and sometimes just randomly. The root of a lot of our intrusive thoughts is self-doubt so I really want to work on that. She’s also amazing and discusses her experiences with anxiety. I hope you’re doing well! :)

Hi, I am dealing with these symptoms after coming off birth control and I have some questions, if you don't mind.

Hi, I have been dealing with these same symptoms and I feel so lost. I have some questions if you don't mind! (I sent a message earlier but accidentally from the Guest account)

I found this website purely by chance and I have to say that it’s seen me through some very dark days.
I came off the mini pill in late March (it’s now July) after having worries about blood clots. I went cold turkey , mid pack.

What I have experienced has been a living hell. I was in bed for 2 weeks to begin with with what I though was a sinus infection with MAJOR head pressure and dizzy , nearly passing out spells which felt like I imagine a stroke could be like. Went to emergency room and everything came back fine. Had tingling hands / feet so saw rhenatologist that wanted me on steroids after all tests came back fine for any immune disease or infection. I didn’t take them.
Then researched and thought maybe this is menopause - still made no link to coming off the pill suddenly - and doctor gave me HRT which I tried once and made me feel so weird I stopped (wasn’t convinced and bloods came back normal levels for oestregen and LFH) I’ve had 3 periods in 3 months so pretty sure I’m not menopausal yet. Meanwhile the head pressure I was getting was debilitating and I became a hermit , insomnia and not leaving the house , foggy head , sore eyes , feeling of vagueness , feeling vacant and dizzy , depressed , anxious , wired at times like I had an electric current in me and just generally utterly awful.
Then found this place ... everything fell into place for me. Every symptom explained and suddenly an answer. The relief to know I’m not dying. I’m on month 4 and I’m feeling better now - magnesium and multi vitamins for hormones have helped massively.
Drove my car for the first time in 2 months and have been walking round my area for a week or so now to build up my strength - I’m so weak now !
Please please please get the magnesium in you if you have the head pressure / aching muscles .. it’s been a god send and it calms everything down including my anxiety within an hour of taking it.
Make sure you have someone to talk to everyday - my mum has been amazing and here morning noon and night for me every day.
I’ve cried and cried and cried and I’ve sat here wide awake night after night after night. It does get better but it takes time. I’m on month 4 now and seeing progress with my mood and symptoms but I’m still not myself. I’m unfocused quite abit still and my anxiety is still there and I’m thinking this whole experience gave me PTSD. But I am feeling better on the whole ... edging towards the old me slowly even though I’ve still got a few symptoms that are lingering but much less severe than at the start.
Have faith that you will recover from this ... it’s not permanent and it takes time but you’ll be back. Please share your stories to help other women through this hideousness ... I’m going to take this further when I’m fully better , it’s an outrage that we can go through this and doctors have no idea about what the pill can do to you. Take it with EXTREME CAUTION !!!

I’m relieved to be free of it now.

wow reading this brought tears to my eyes. I’ve been experiencing the exact same thing since I stopped the pill in late April. I was only on Yaz for 2 and a half months but the “withdrawal” has been a living hell. Do you know if the length of time you were on the pill affects how long the withdrawal period lasts?

I’m afraid to say I don’t know about time frames but it shocks me that even women on this poison for a few months can get these awful side affects. I’ve been off the progesterone only pill now for about 4 months. (4 years on it) I’ve been through a hellish nightmare. I didn’t sleep for weeks and weeks and I thought my foggy head would never leave. My head feels weird every day and still does now ... but that’s more a pressure issue than the foggieness I had for a couple of months.
I wouldn’t wish this experience on my worst enemy ... I feel daily like I’m close to death and I worry 24/7 about my symptoms. My family have kept me focussed on getting myself well but it’s hard and exhausting.
I’m definitely better than I was 2 months ago but it’s a slow process.
I’m so sorry you’re going through anything similar to what I’ve been through ... it’s just awful and I long for the old me to come back - I used to love life and now It’s like I’m stepping through treacle each day to function. I wish I cciukf just sleep until this is all over.

Hello! I’m one of the women on here who had this horrifying experience after only being on a low dose BC pill once in my life for 6 months. Just know that in due time, you’re going to be okay. I began experiencing this in 2018 when I was 5 months off the pill and I know exactly how you feel. I was severely anxious, had very bad intrusive thoughts because of it, became depressed for a few of those months, etc. it was AWFUL. I have PCOS so I think the pill masked certain things/created new issues in my body. But 3 years later and I am doing so much better.

I still think about my experience from time to time and can’t believe it ever happened. I used to question every little thing like “why did I ever go on the pill” “would this have happened even if I didn’t go on it” but I’m okay enough now to not stress over it as much as I did. It really does take time. Your hormones are going haywire especially because you were on it for 4 years. I think it took me about 1.5-2 years to fully feel like myself again. I do still have my moments especially with regular PMS symptoms during my cycle, but it’s nothing as horrible as what I experienced in 2018. I could go on and on for ages about all of this lol but please write on here if you ever have any questions because we have all been through it. You will be okay eventually no matter how rough it gets :)

Thank you for your kind message xxx

I came back to recommend something that has really given me back some clarity since I’ve tried it.
HOTTEA menopause herbal tea - it relaxed me straight away and made me feel like me again! Felt clearer within an hour and really helped with all my muscle aches and pains and head pressure. Highly recommend !!!!

Hi i too was one of the people who was experiencing these symptoms in 2019 it took me about 18 months to start feeling better. I have lately been experiencing anxiety again and OCD intrusive thoughts.
Is this something you experience still ? I normally get it during PMS it’s not as frequent as it was but still comes and goes.

Hey, I do still get intrusive thoughts at times but nothing as bad as when this all first started. Intrusive thoughts are very common and it’s how we react to them that matters most. Ever since I came off the pill I’ve learned that the best thing to do is simply let the thoughts pass in the moment we think them, even though this is easier said than done. I’m PMSing right now so I’ve been a bit anxious but I just let the thoughts float by. And I’ve experienced a bunch of traumatic OCD themes but I just remind myself a lot of it stems from my hormones. i hope you feel better soon!

Hi all -

I know this thread hasn't been updated in a bit, but I have been reading through your experiences and it has been comforting to me over the past few months as I have dealt with a very similar experience.

Long story short, I had a baby in July 2021 and went onto BCP shortly after as I had been on them before & never had issues. I stopped them cold turkey in January 2022 and 2 weeks later, the bottom fell out in terms of my anxiety. I was having issues sleeping, had a constant sense of anxiety/dread/doom that couldn't be shaken no matter what, loss of appetite, etc. This developed into an almost depressive state because I felt as though I was stuck/broken for good. I've had a few weeks that have been totally normal in this 3ish month stretch, but then other times where I just wake up with the anxiety and can't shake it. I was even admitted to an inpatient hospital stay where they started me on medication to help the worst of my symptoms, and that has helped.

I am just hoping to hear back from a few folks on this thread about how they are getting along & if things have gotten better for them. I was supposed to get my third post-pill period last week, but nothing has come (and I'm def not pregnant), so I know that things are still balancing. I'm seeing from some other threads here that 4-6 months seems to be a standard "feeling better" timeframe, and I'm hoping I can look forward to better days ahead. The weeks/days where I have felt normal are really encouraging, I just hate feeling the anxiety creep back in.