Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Wow I believe this. It's no wonder I feel so weird after I eat certain foods especially sugar! Sounds like you have a good doctor you're working with. Most of us on here have been told what we're going through is not BC or hormone related. Thanks for the Info!

If your study is still ongoing I would like to fill out a questionnaire- been off the pill for two months after being on them for 11 years and its been crazy

Hey Shyla

I ran out of fish oil so I went to the vitamin shop to get another bottle and came across this( Garden of Life- Oceans 3- Healthy Hormones). Look up the reviews on Amazon, some girls have taken them post pill. After taking 2 I'm already feeling more leveled and less foggy. So this has replaced my fish oil supplement. It's a little pricey, but seems worth it so far.

Oh nice!! I'll look into those. My biggest complaint now is just my vision. Things feel distorted or off. Distance looks small. Colors too bright. Lights too bright. When did that go away for you? Anyone else deal with this? My eye doctor said my vision is pretty good....
Shyla

Hi I'm the guest that posted about removing Nexplanon, and being diagnosed with sinus tachycardia. The cardiologist is the only that thinks it hormone related my Primary care doctors just thought I was crazy. The high blood pressure and sinus tachycardia will go away my once my hormones are in order. But I'm also comment because ok have vision issues as well. I have like floaters in my eyes when going outside or looking something bright. It has decreased over the past couple weeks but still there. I have good news I am feeling almost no anxiety or more like myself every day now it's been about 8 weeks to get to this point. Hope this helps you ladies!

I would say I started feeling improvement during my 5th month off the pill. It's gradually gotten better but I do feel the occasional flare where my vision is more blurry than usual. As you already know any symptoms subsiding have not been overnight.

I was on you tube watching videos of women with hormonal imbalance or post pill issues and one gal mentioned that BC re-shapes our corneas. She said her doctor didn't believe her so she did her own research so yeah BC/ hormones do effect our vision even post pill.

Watching my food intake has been challenging lately, I feel so much better when I eat clean and no Sweets! Which is the worst for me I love chocolate. Have you had any bad reactions to sugar or white carbs? My blood work came back fine I'm not on my way to diabetes or anything. I'm just sensitive to certain foods since coming off the pill : (

I've been on the pill since I was 14 and I'm 21 now. I recently had to stop because I ran out of pills and I work so much at my warehouse job that I barely have time for anything remotely outside of that. For the past few weeks, I've been feeling nauseous, tired, very depressed (to the point where I'll just lay in bed all day and stare off into space), high anxiety, dizzy, weight loss, and sometimes I feel like I'm not even here. Like this is all a dream. I feel numb all the time and at times I'd just randomly start crying. I'd cry even if there wasn't a reason to cry. My relationship has gotten a little rocky because I feel like he doesn't want me or just doesn't understand me. I know this may not be true but my depression and anxiety tell me otherwise. My depression has NEVER been this bad. I lost someone very special to me in 2015. I was inlove with her and I went through a depression because of it but even that wasn't as bad as this. I'm so glad I was doing research and found this site. Now I know I'm not crazy or overreacting. It's just my body getting used to not being on the pill. I can't believe how much harm (in my opinon) this pill could do to a person. I will not go back on the pill and in a few months time, I hope to be as clear minded and happy as the ladies on this site.

I felt just like you, it will take time but it will get better. Since you were on the bc longer it may take longer to recover but you will!! I was only on birth control for 9 months and it has take me 8 to 9 weeks to feel almost 100% myself. Progression comes with every week and day but you just have to be strong! I felt that I was never going to be better and just felt hopeless. But I am here to say that it will pass and just to take care of yourself. For the time being eat healthy, take a multivitamin, write a mood diary, try and do the things you love to relax, yoga. For me I had to push my self to go out and do things or just regular stuff around the house. Some days I couldn't do it but other days I could. Keep faith babygirl!

Brie

Feeling like you're in a dream is called derealiation and it's AWFUL, but it will fade. Mine is slowly fading. I've been off the pill six months and just now had my first 28 day cycle. Mine were 90 days, 42 days, and now finally back to 28 days. Inching back to normal. It's such a tough road, but believing you'll make a full recovery in time. I just started my period and feel super dizzy, lightheaded and just bad, but I'm also noticing times where I don't feel AS bad and that means improvement. Have your cycles been normal?

Shyla

It really does get better, slowly but surely. Like you I experienced nausea(mostly in the morning), weight loss, heightened anxiety, dizzy spaced out, just weird feeling, crying, my list unfortunately goes on, but I didn't start to feel hopeful until I found this forum and others like it.

I went from feeling like I was dying and not knowing what was wrong with me to understanding that what I was going through was hormonal imbalance from BC. Knowing that comforts me during anxiety, stress, when I don't feel like my old self.

I'm not even sure why BC is allowed on the market, granted not all women go through as much as we are, it's still not safe and there are still enough women suffering from side effects of BC to show that synthetic hormones should not be taken.

Anyways thanks for posting. If ever you have a bad day or have questions /comments please post, it helps us in a way to know that we are not alone. I'm close to 8 months off, doing A LOT better, but still not fully healed.

I'm STILL having head pressure, dizzy and lightheaded sometimes. Six months off but this is my first 28 day cycle so maybe it'll just take a while?? Ugh. How long did your head probs last?

As far as diet, I know I feel better when I eat healthier. I've also finally gotten my appetite back so it's harder now that I enjoy food again. Ha! I'm still taking ashwaganda and holy Basil and progesterone cream. Seeing my doctor tomorrow for a follow up and see if we need to change anything.

Shyla

Hi all, I was waiting until I felt better to post my experience. I am currently on week 4 without birth control and while the first two weeks were definitely the hardest, these last two weeks have been better but I am still not myself.

I had a baby in June of 2016. In November I had the Nexplanon put in my arm. But by December I had to have it removed because it was causing me to feel very depressed and anxious. I even had an incident where I had to go to the ER because I accidentally overdosed myself on sleep medicine because I could not sleep. Within a couple weeks of having it removed I felt a lot better. So at the beginning of January I started Ortho Tri Cyclen. I did not notice any negative side effects with the pill so I continued to take it. I realized I was having a hard time keeping up with it so by March I decided to completely go off birth control. I should have started the next pack on March 26th, but I did not. And on March 31st is when this nightmare began. That night I was up all night having panic attacks and feeling extremely nervous.

For the next couple weeks following (the first two weeks of April) I experienced the absolutely worst depression and anxiety I have ever felt in my life. I went that entire period without eating anything and I ended up losing ten pounds. I had to force food into myself and drink ensures. I went to the doctor and was told it could definitely be from my hormones being out of wack after stopping birth control. I was put on buspirone but after taking it for 3 days it made me feel even worse, I felt robotically depressed. Like all I could do was stare off into space. After going back I was prescribed Lexapro and Valium. I have been extremely against taking any kind of medicines because I do not have the luxury of getting worse or suffering more until it works due to having a young child to take care of. I took the Valium a couple of nights to help me sleep but it always made me feel very agitated when I woke in the middle of the night and when it began to wear off. During the third week off I got my period and I realized this was the week I started to feel a little better.

I have since gotten my appetite back but I still have mood swings, feel empty and "not real" and most recently cannot sleep. I feel as if the anxiety is worse at night and I have a lot of it over sleeping. During those first two weeks I felt extremely depressed and nervous, felt derealization, could not eat, had horrible intrusive thoughts, I even felt suicidal because I just could not take feeling like that anymore. I had horrible anxiety thinking I was going crazy and was going to have to end up in some psych home. I also went to see an GYN who also agreed that my hormones were causing me to feel this way.

I would also like to add that while I have had some depression in the past it has NEVER been to this degree and it all started once I decided not to start my next pack of birth control. I find hope in knowing that since I was not on it for long my recovery should be a little quicker.

My GYN also told me I should feel better with each cycle so I am just holding out each and every day that I will get better and be myself again. I'm so glad to have found this thread to know I'm not going insane and I'm not alone. While I feel much better than I did in the beginning I know I still have some time to go before my body readjusts. I'd just like to tell anyone who is reading this that you're not alone and we will get better in time. Just make it through each and every day the best way you know how. Every day is a little progress, every week is progress. And one day we will feel better.

Thank you for posting your experience. Hormones are horrible, I wish I knew then what I know now. Getting balanced definitely takes time, with every cycle I have felt improvement.

Hey ladies! So I know we all sound the same but I am so thankful that I've found this page. I have been going through hell coming off of Yasmin. It started while I was taking it, I cried at the drop of a hat, felt like I was losing feelings for my wonderful boyfriend of 3 years, and anxiety. So my doctor had me quit cold turkey (a few words I'd like to say to her) and that's when it got 100 times worse. I've been off of it for 2 months, and while yes I've gotten better but very very slowly, I still am having trouble feeling the love for my boyfriend, who I KNOW I love and I have the small bursts of it, then my mind comes and the anxiety shuts the good thoughts out. I just feel so unlike myself and just want to start smiling again. I've never struggled with anxiety or depression but I can't seem to shake all these negative feelings :( I just need some reassurance that the pill can cause all of this!

Anyone have months of tinnitus that eventually cleared up? I hope I'm not stuck with it :(
Shyla