Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

I took my last pill 8-26 of this year. I guess I'll be off 4 months this week. My anxiety started to subside or lessen 3 weeks ago, I mean I still felt it a little it was a lot more manageable though and I actually began to forget about it, but I started my period 20th and my anxiety has been pretty bad the last couple of days. I never made the connection until I started reading other women's stories, but apparently our hormones and anxiety worsen during ovulation and our periods, which probably explains my set back. I also read that with each cycle our hormones regulate a little more. Each woman is different and some may take longer to heal. Diet and light exercise help. If I jog longer than 10 minutes I get really bad anxiety afterwards. Yoga has been best. Birth control gets trapped in our fat cells so anything to detox (tea acupuncture baths massages) really helps. I've had a lot of food/medication sensitivities so sometimes the tea is too strong for me. A lot of girls say it's natural to feel worse from tea because it's the BC going out of your system. Trial and error I suppose. Sorry for the long response. I'm just so relieved to finally converse with other women going through the same as me. Another great forum is Aphrodite Women's Health.. but for some reason I can't join their website or chat, I've tried using 2 separate emails and it won't let me post or interact with any other members. I've emailed them 5 times over the last couple of weeks and havent got a response. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is having that problem. I still go there to read other women's stories though.

I can relate. You do not have a mood disorder. What you have is a hormonal imbalance which has our minds bodies and emotions all over the place. It amazes me how quick doctors are to throw out anti depressants, pills that are even more mind altering than what we are already going through. They take weeks to go into effect if they work. For some people they have to go through 2-3 pills until they find out what works for them. From other women's stories that I've read, anti depressants made them worse. Seems like time, detoxing, and natural supplements are the best way to go.

No need to apologize, I feel the same way. It's so lonely sometimes when no one around me really understands, though they try. Is your anxiety centered around anything? Mine seems to be my health, which I've struggled with health anxiety before but this is beyond anything I've dealt with. It's incapacitating sometimes. And I still feel like I'm in a mental fog especially when the depression hits hard. And I love yoga! Can't wait to start back after Christmas.

Going off the pill brought on a health anxiety. It all started because initially I didn't know what was wrong with me. My first "panic attack" week 1 off birth control sent me to the ER. I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart rate was high, but they did an EKG and chest x ray plus a ton of lab work, everything came back fine. But after that I didn't feel fine, I still don't. New symptoms arose after that, my ear was still plugged, blurry vision in left eye, heart palpitations. Bad headaches, tension in upper body. Tightening of chest. Gosh there have been so many things I can't remember them all. But every time they happen I feel like the doctors haven't found something and that I really am dying. I've looked up so many different things online that matched my symptoms and would ultimately freak myself out. Today is a really bad anxiety day for me so naturally I am assuming the worst, I keep reminding myself that it's just the hormones doing their worst and that I've had every test under the sun. I will say that docs, obgyn, the ENT specialist I went to aren't very compassionate or open minded when it comes to our hormones. It's as if they are trained to throw pills at us instead. Even if your doc orders hormone tests, they need to be taken on a certain day of your cycle, and saliva not blood to get a more accurate reading.
Stress definitely intensifies the anxiety so I find myself being extra passive now and avoiding all conflict. I too get that foggy feeling, especially now if I haven't eaten. I just got a journal to keep track of my symptoms and dates to see if there is a pattern. I still do, but I used to stress off of stress and have anxiety Over anxiety. It's hard to calm down and destress if you are panicking over your health and body changes that keep happening. How long have you been off again? Did your health anxiety come from getting off the pill or while you were on?

Our situations are so similar! I've been off the pill 10 weeks. I came off it because I got these two really sharp, quick headaches a few days before my period and I completely panicked about them. Like, over the top meltdown. I couldn't rationalize. And the week prior, I'd hit a super weird depressive slump and realized maybe the pill was making me feel bad. I'd gained some weight too and overall felt crappy about myself. Anyway, after several meltdowns about my headaches (and too much googling which sent me spiraling) I stopped the pill after taking the first three of a new pack. c**p hit the fan. I plummeted within days. Two days after stopping, I was watching my kids at gymnastics and couldn't stop panicking about my headaches internally, then suddenly I started getting double vision, felt like I was stumbling, in a fog. It terrified me. Went to the doctor the next day and my blood pressure was through the roof. The next few days were awful -- crying constantly, confused, felt like I was in a dark pit. I kept getting "spaced out" (panic attacks I believe) every time I was around people and it scared me so bad. Went back to the doc and she gave me buspirone (anxiety med) which i took twice a day for six weeks and they made me WORSE. So I came off those and had two weeks of AWFUL withdrawal symptoms. I just started my period three weeks late (which I think was from a progesterone essential oil, further messing up my cycles). Also, had my hormones tested and my estradiol was 70. She said that's normal range for pre menstrual but that was three weeks ago and I just now started my period. Sigh. This has been crazy. I feel insane.

Oh, and I would say I've def dealt with anxiety since I was a kid, but this has elevated to a whole new level of hell. And the crying jags are not me. I'm not usually a cryer and I've cried every day for weeks.

This entire never ending ordeal has been exhausting. Don't get me wrong I do feel SLIGHTLY better since when I first got off, but it's not enough to get my hopes up and celebrate. I've never been the emotional type either so when I sunk into depression and began crying at the drop of a hat I knew something was wrong. I think taking zanex or Valium, anything to relax and calm your mind and nerves wouldn't hurt. They say these medications are highly addictive, but I really don't see why someone would enjoy being a zombie for fun. They make you sleepy mostly. As long as you are taking a low dose you can still function although I just stay at the house and relax. Not much of a people person lately. The lower dose doesn't knock me out to where I can't parent and function around the house. I actually had to have the doctor lower my dose, what they originally gave me was way too strong.

Oh my god thank you.. I feel exactly the same. I just hopeI go back to normal soon ...

Wow thank you for posting..it sounds exactly like me. Apart rom the anxiety and depression..my left side of my head feels so blocked it ridiculous, every morning I wake up with a blocked nose and my jaw hurts and my head feels all all congested up like I have a cold but I don't. My left ear feels continously mocked and I have this type of sssssssshhhh noise I my ear which feels like it's in my head as there is pressure to go with it. Ent said it was muscle tension and that hormones can also add to it so I am really hoping it all goes back to normal at some point.

I've noticed a ton of ear and sinus pressure since stopping. So bizarre.

Also, hope everyone is enjoying the holidays at least a little!

Before I knew what I was experiencing was from birth control I researched a lot on inner ear disorders and sinus issues. The problem for me was that it came out of no where. It took me forever (3 months) to realize the only thing that changed in my life was quitting the pill. My sinus were also bothering me a lot the last couple of months I was on the pill. There is a pretty good article I came across once I googled hormones and ear/sinus problems. It's on vestibular . Org and the article is called "Hormones and Vistibular Disorders"

This is good to know! I've had sinus issues since stopping. I'm curious, what's everyone's main/remaining symptoms and how long have you been off pills? Right now mine is depression/mental fog/hopelessness and it's just awful. I'm almost three months off. I've improved but still have really bad days occasionally and my cycle is weird.

Anyone have any updates?? This is miserable.

I'm curious to know how many of you were on Yasmin, yasminelle or beyaz? I'm 1 yr and 8 months off mine but I might be different to everybody in that it took me a year to get any proper bleed during my period and when I did bleed it was only for 1 day and then went back to brown spotting. It was when I got my bleed that my anxiety got crippling!!! I could function before that although I was getting panic attacks but I didn't know they were panic attacks. I was told I pulled a muscle in my chest and then I was told I had a trapped nerve in my neck..... but my anxiety became very bad this June when my period finally arrived properly!!!i was about 2-3 months with very bad anxiety where I couldn't drive, was scared to be alone etc. Now my anxiety is mild but I'm crying all the time....... I've tried 2 anti anxiety meds and they didn't suit. I've been told to go back on the pill but I'm scared to do that too. I think my recovery is taking longer because my diet wasn't great the first year off and I was on birth control about 10yrs with year out to have my daughter. I'm scared to go back on the pill because I don't want to go through this again and because I feel I may have had some anxiety the last year on the pill also (although not to this extent)....... I'm confused as to what to do. I still don't have a proper period-it's moved to 2 days bleed now and spotting the rest. I don't know how to fix it. I've been taking supplements but I don't see much improvement yet. I also didn't get my first panick attack until I was 2 months off the pill. Most others seem to have experienced it sooner than that. I just wish my body would hurry up and repair itself. Other people have said that the cloud has lifted suddenly after few months-I keep holding out for that to happen with me and I feel if I go back on the pill now that all this time of misery off it has been for nothing.but then I fear that maybe I am stuck like this!!! And that I'm prolonging my misery. What I'd do to have a crystal ball right now. If I knew my recovery was close then I'd keep going-because all I know is that I felt incredible happiness when I came off the pill-I felt so alive!! If that makes sense.i know that happiness is under the surface waiting to come out-I can still feel how happy I was and I just want that back. Sorry for my long entry. I really hope you all heal soon. It's not nice going through these symptoms. I've had them all-the numb and tingling fingers, chest pains, sinus trouble,sore throats, blocked ears and nose,sore neck and lower back, dandruff-itchy scalp, weak ankle, major bloated the first year off and sore tender breasts, then weight loss and loss of appetite once period started. List is endless. Symptoms I have now are pains in fingers, pain in neck and anxiety and depression, lump in throw feeling and occasional phlegm in throats on waking. :(