Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Hi Everyone, was so glad to find there are other people out there who have also experienced this. I stopped taking the pill 18 months ago when my husband and I were trying to fall pregnant. I was taking Monofeme and started taking this when I was 14. I was 28 when I stopped and had no idea of the side effects I was letting myself and my husband in for. Over 18 months of Depression and Anxiety and I had no idea it was due to stopping the pill. It got so bad I actually left my husband as I was so unhappy and depressed. It affected all aspects of my life, I even quit my job! As soon as I moved out of our house, I started taking the pill again and 7 days later it was like a switch was flicked in my head and I just couldnt figure out what was going on or why I had been feeling like this. After doing some research I found some information relating to the Pill and Depression. My husband and I have now reconciled and want to again start trying to fall pregnant, but what do I do? How can I stop taking the pill again? I DO NOT want to feel like that ever again. Are there any solutions out there for hormone replacements? Obviously my body got so used to the daily intake of hormones it has forgotten how to produce them naturally! Has anyone else found successful solutions to this?? 

Hi everyone! Like all you I was so happy to find this forum months ago... I thought I should come back and post to tell everyone that I am recovered!! Not too many people actually come back with a recovery story, so in hopes that I can help someone out there I want to let you all know that this actually does go away and  you will be back to your old self! I had all the same symptoms... the horrible anxiety and panic attacks, the depression, the depersonalization, the constant fear and worrying, the negative thoughts.. all of it. But you will all be okay, this is NOT permanent! If anyone wants to email me please feel free... I think it is really important that we start getting the word out about what this pill can do to you. I would be happy to help any of you in any way I can!

Dear All - please also all remember that besides many side effects of hormonal contraception - pills and some other “birth control’ methods like intrauterine device (coils) very often act in anty-nidation way – while using them, a woman can still have “breakthrough ovulation”, which occurs in millions of women each year. A woman can still conceive a baby (embryo), who because of synthetic hormones cannot attach to the uterine lining and dies!

The pill’s third mechanism is to change the lining of the endometrium (the lining of the womb), which creates a hostile environment for a newly created human life. The tiny baby cannot implant and is spontaneously aborted by the body. 

The best way is to follow natural family planning methods of birth control as they are very safe reliable, healthy and ethical is used properly, and if you have any doubts or fears about natural family planning, I recommend Lady-Comp or other intelligent fertility and cycle monitors....we use Lady-Comp and it is really great...it is not only natural, non-invasive but very reliable and accurate in prediction woman's fertile, non fertile and ovualtion days...it has everything for natural family planning without contraceptives and side effects...

Allie thank you so much for coming back and telling this! There should be many more people like you. If I can ask, how long did it take you to regain normality? thank you again!

Hi! So the process of getting better is very very gradual, so it is hard to say exactly when you feel completely back to yourself. All of us were on birth control for different amounts of time, and also all our bodies work very differently. I know its frustrating, I remember wanting to know a specific time of when it would all be over, but its important to just stay patient and know that this is temporary. I went off of birth control at the end of february. My semester ended in the beginning of May, and I was still having a lot of trouble then even though it was better than it was at the beginning. I remember on the fourth of July being able to go to a party and see the fireworks and feeling pretty normal again, although there were still times once in a while that I would feel a bit stressed. But its gradual and gets better and better so during those times that you begin to feel better you gain enough strength to push through and get to the end of it. Its like you start to notice these moments of feeling better, or calm or normal. Even if they last just a couple seconds. Then eventually these moments turn into hours, then these hours turn into whole days, then the days turn into weeks, and eventually you feel better most of the time, with an off day once in a while... Then you will just feel like yourself again.. But don't get frustrated if you are already 3 months in without feeling too much better, and also don't assume that it will take you 3 months to feel better.. Its very different for everyone. I remember reading that after 3 months I would feel better so I sort of was hoping for that and when I didn't feel like myself after 3 months I was sooo frustrated and upset. You just have to give yourself time to let your body get back to its natural state.

Imagine how it feels when you have a horrible fever, or you broke a bone. It hurts so much, and its all you can focus on. Its not like you wake up all of a sudden and feel completely normal. Its a gradual recovery and you will start to remember how it feels to be normal again!

You also might notice the recovery coming in different stages... For me, at the very beginning it was like I didn't even have the negative thoughts or anything.. Instead it was just this overwhelming physical feeling that I needed to cry and I was feeling sort of anxious but I didn't know what was wrong because mentally I felt fine... Then after that I started to get all the crazy thoughts, the paranoia, the anxiety, the depression, and the negativity and fear... I was so scared all the time, and my mind was just constantly racing.. Then after that I had this depersonalization feeling... Reality looked so scary and so unreal, and I thought I was really losing my mind which just brought more anxiety... But then I started to get the moments of feeling happy and grounded.. and these moments grew and grew until overtime I could look back and realize that I was out the other side. This will happen for all of you, I know that you will all come out of this as happy, insightful, compassionate people. I will be sending positive thoughts to all of you going through this, because it is just not right that we have to go through this because of a stupid little pill! Hormones are very strong, and it makes perfect sense that this could happen, we just weren't given any warnings and the doctors can be very frustrating. But stay strong, because this is temporary! You won't feel this way forever! :)

I hope this helps... If any of you have questions for me, I will be happy to answer them and help in any way I can!

Hey, Its so lovely to read your post. I have been on the pill for about 5 years and I have just come off as I have had issues before when the pill has intact caused my anxiety and depression. Therefore I decided to stop taking them and for about 3 weeks I felt great, my anxiety went and my mood picked up again. However 2 months off the pill and i'm going through hell. My anxiety is terrible, it comes from absolutely no where and its really hard to function now and just feels like i'm never going to get better. I'm so depressed and just feel so numb with everything and I have no idea why i'm suddenly feeling like this. Also my skin on my face is so greasy all the time now and my hair gets greasy really quickly as well. This is something I have never had an issue with before. I went to the doctors and they have put me on a low dose of Anti depressants. How long did you go through this?

Hi! It's definitely normal to suddenly feel the side effects two months later. This doesn't happen to everyone, but after two months your body is beginning to produce it's own natural hormones again so this is a big shift from still being reliant on the pill to being reliant on your own body (which hasn't had to do this for itself in 5 years!) so don't worry that it has started up suddenly after feeling great for a couple months.

Your symptoms sound very familiar to me, before I was at the point where I really couldn't function much because the anxiety and depression were so overwhelming. I lost about 20 pounds because I was so anxious all the time and I literally just couldn't make myself eat... and I love food normally! I also have heard of many girls having problems with their skin and hair.

I would say that for me the very worst part was the week before my period every month for about 4 months or so. In between my periods was also very bad but those weeks in particular were unbearable. I still did feel symptoms after 4 months, but they became more and more mild, as this is a very gradual process. Once the symptoms begin to feel more mild it really gives you strength to believe that this IS caused by birth control and that it DOES go away. This strength just speeds up the recovery and you will have more and more good days until you have mostly good days. Then after that you still might have an off day once in a while, just like everyone does. But these thoughts and feelings don't haunt you anymore.

I know the feeling that this will never end and your life is over, but this is actually just a symptom of the anxiety and a side effect from the pill. So I know it feels impossible to ignore that idea, but its not true! We will all be okay and healthy!

It is hard to say a specific amount of time because it's not like you wake up one day and you're completely better, its very gradual. It's also so different for everyone, so try not to get attached to one general idea of when it will be better, because if you don't feel better by then you may just disappoint yourself and make it harder. Just try very hard to listen to your body and listen to what you need. It's so important to exercise, (try) to sleep well, eat healthy food, and just relax and do what feels best for yourself. It may sound selfish, but you just really want to be kind to your body. Just know this will pass, it is not permanent, and your life will be back on track again:)

Good luck!! Let me know if you have more questions:)

Hi there, have just joined this site because of the invaluable advice on this thread! I came off Yasmin 3 weeks ago - without expecting any side effects - and also started a tough new job around the same time. Since then I have had the most intense, frightening panic attacks, constant surging adrenaline, jittery shakey hands with tingling, thumping heart, gasping for breath half the time, plus no appetite and a constant feeling of dread. It is so overwhelming, I haven't been able to cope with my new job (something i can usually do) and have a panic attack before I go in every time. I can't sleep, I am drinking to try to relax, the list goes on and I can't see an end. Am so glad to read of your experiences and know that I'm not alone and that things should improve... I have been on some form of Pill all my adult life, and wanted to come off it for fear of blood clots, but never associated it with the lifelong anxiety issues i also have. I've been depressive since I was 21 and now am 36, and at the same time have always been on the Pill... And now I've stopped the Pill I feel dreadful. Is there anything I can do to help myself get some balance back? 

 

By the way, when I started my internet search for self-help answers to my anxiety and adrenaline surges, I had no idea it might be linked to Yasmin. It was only because the Yasmin issue kept popping up in my online searches that I ended up on this website. Now it seems to all make sense... This thread has been invaluable. Thank you.

The only thing you can do is WAITING. Time will heal everything, I'm sure of this. Moreover, I advise you to take multivitamins in order to speed up the process of healing.
But, again, TIME seems to be the only effective cure!
I'm 7 months off of birth control and only in the past two months I noticed improvements.

I just went off BCP after being on them for 30 years with only one break. I made the mistake of starting to discontinue my antidepressants at the same time. I have aches and pains, fuzzy cloud feeling, heaviness in my head, trouble sleeping, increased sex drive, and suicidal thoughts. Bumped my antidepressant back up and it help a bit. I read an article about depleted vitamins and minerals from BCP, especially once you stop them. The supplements seem to be helping me after only few days. See if it helps. 

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Thank you for that. I guess I'll have to be patient. Am off to buy some multivitamins to help me on my way!

Hi
Would love to email you - are you able to pass your email on? thanks

Yes of course! You can contact me, I would be happy to answer any questions you have:)

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i cant find this web site, i type it in but it takes me to a page with a list of other things like car insurance and other unrelated topics..although it says at the top bcpsurvivors.. ? id love to read your blog

im currently going through the same after stopping 3 different consecutive pills i took in 6 month. from april 2013 i took loestrin, then yaz then stopped and immediately took mini pill cerazette,(progesterone)  felt the odd panic attack creep up and my mood change so i blamed the mini pill and stopped. its only now i realise that it was prob the coming off yaz thats done it? in a post on page one of this discussion  there is a post by "callshea" , very good post, but now im totally confused, as i was thinking id made myself estrogen dominant and thats the cause of my panic/deprtession, as im getting period pains from my period and it continues for weeks after, and i suffer cramps in legs still which is why i went from yaz to mini pill, i had to go to hospital with leg pains thinking it was thrombosis. the doc said it was the high dose of estrogen that was causing the intense period pains and leg pains.    now reading "callshea " post saying our ovaries stop producing estrogen when we put the pill form in our bodies so when we stop it takes time to regulate and produce our own estrogen again.... has anyone else any more info on any of this , its just that im currently not eating , i cant eat all day and when i get my appetite up at night im terrified to eat milk, chicken, eggs, cheese, even the flaxseed ive been taking has estrogen in it! im on day 14 today and i had a brill day yesterday and should have had another 5 days of goodness, but i had xmas dinner yesterday with turkey, beef , mash and tukey gravy, and the same again for my supper , which was the most ive eaten in 4 weeks, yet i woke with a panic attack and was "high" on stress, hormones, i felt soooo hormonal, was vivid dreaming and sweaty..and ive never had this at night before, always sleep through since this panic/depression has kicked in 3 month ago... im blaming the sudden surge in estrogen from my poultry. the same happened when i had 2 boiled eggs the other nigh before bed, i woke with horrendous panic and stress! ? im terrified to eat incase i spike my hormones because i cant handle going through those feelings of adrenalin and panic and having to concentrate so hard on making myself distracted. its been a long 3 month, and now my depression is getting worse, im on my own with 2 kids and no one to have around, im in my room a lot and i feel trapped. ive no get up and go to do the yoga i keep telling myself to do. ive spent hours studying on the net to see if im estrogen dominant still from the yaz(cos of the period pains and leg pains i still have that were caused by the yaz in first place) now to find im probably estogen deficient... what do i eat/avoid eating!! help