Desogen and weight gain

I have been on Apri since July 07' and the first 2 months were terrible. I have never had such bad mood swings in my life, I would cry if someone looked at me wrong, and the urge to scream at people is crazy, I have a 7 year old daughter and a 10 year old step son and I have been unable to treat them with the quality that they need, I have been getting mad at them for the littlest things and they are things that they should not even be getting trouble for. My husband is going crazy because if he tries to talk to me about serious things I start crying. I get very gassy and bloated all the time, I have changed my diet and that has only made it worse. I have been on so many bcps because of serious side effects and I am starting to feel like a lab rat. I am just starting the new yaz that has came out, I am starting it today I really hope that I have better results. The only thing that I liked about the Apri was the fact that I didn't gain weight. One more thing the periods were so painful, I have never had this much pain with a period, and I have a past with ovarian cysts and I normally have really painful periods, but with this pill it was way worse. I hope this helps anyone that is deciding a bcp for themselves.

I have previously been taking Desogne since 1991. It was a mracle worker for me. I suffer from endometriosis, and it took a while to find Desogen. I had no weight gain on Desogen, my cystic acne evened out and so did my anxiety attacks and mood swings in general. No cramps. I took it everyday - no breaks for periods for 11 years; stopped to conceive (preggo in 3 months, with one remaining ovary); and went back on after finished nursing. I'm going to try loestral now that I'm peri-menopausal - hoping the lower progestin will help.

I went on Apri almost a year ago and had no weight gain, no breakthrough bleeding, virtually no side effects until this summer. I started having anxiety and panic attacks during my spring semester (I'm now a senior in college) and although I usually deal with stress pretty well, I thought that it was just because I was having a rough semester.

But in the past two months I've had a consistent nervous stomach and I've lost almost 15lbs from not being able to eat as much (not a good thing, I'm already a little underweight for my height). I started to have mood swings and that led straight into depression, so bad that even on vacation in Aruba I cried almost every day and night. I felt pathetic and anti-social and angry and basically scared that I'd never come out of this "phase." I called a therapist but couldn't even follow through with that. Then last week I went to the emergency room for severe stomach pain and they did some bloodwork and sent me home because "nothing was wrong." I'm also breaking out, which hasn't happened since I was like 15. Finally I went to a gyno who said this could all be side effects from the pill. If that's true than this all could have been prevented, and that upsets me greatly, but I also feel relieved that this might be over soon.

Everyone is different but if anyone is feeling things like this on Apri, see a doctor because it might be as simple as changing the pill or going off of it completely, which I plan on doing asap. Sorry but using condoms is better than being physically and mentally unstable.

I have been on Solia, a generic for Desogen for about a year and a half. I just finished up my last pack and am never taking it again. It is horrible. Weight gain, extremely moody, irritable, depression, nothing positive on this pill other than it kept me from getting pregnant. I had the Essure procedure and highly recommend it, if you do not want kids get it over with and get Essure, get off the pill, especially this one.

I was on Apri for 3 months. I suffered horrible mood swings, weight gain, and a total lack of sex drive. I thought I was going crazy until I stopped taking that pill and saw this website. I am now taking Jasmine. It is French, but there is an equivalent in the U.S., Yasmin. I highly recommend it. No mood swings or weight gain and the sex drive is definitely back.

I am not sure if this is a side effect or not. I have noticed that I have gained weight, I am not eating more than used to. Has anyone else expirenced weight gain?

I have tried five different birth control pills including Desogen, Ortho tri-cyclen, Mircette, Alesse, and Yasmin. Desogen was by far the absolute scariest. After being on Desogen for just a week I found myself severly depressed and even contemplated suicide, which I had NEVER in my entire life even though about. I had horrible mood swings and a feeling of impending doom for no reason at all. As for the other pills, Ortho tri-cyclen and Yasmin has similar side effects like moodiness, weight-gain, breast tenderness, breakthrough bleeding, and fatigue. Alesse and Mircette had less of the mood side effects for me but they did both cause breakthrough bleeding and vaginal dryness. I had breakthrough bleeding on Alesse for the entire year and a half I was taking it. That will make you not want to have sex.

Desogen is the worst birth control pill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have experienced many problems: 1. Sex Drive is GONE! 2. Weight Gain and increased hunger 3. Severe Abdominal Cramps 4. Headaches 5. Mood Swings -From extreme bad temper to crying over nothing 6. Nervousness 7. Hot Flashes 8. Flushed Cheeks 9. Constipation 10. Depression
Should I go on? I do not recommend this to anyone!!!!
My Husband's Comment: "THIS IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN !" He also says no one should be taking this. It should be taken off the market!

I've never been on desogen but I was on several other birth control pills, Yasmin, Ortho Tri Cyclen, depo-provera and ortho Evra. All four created serious emotional and health problems ranging from pimples to severe nausea, to muscle aches and pain to EXTREME mood swings especially crying, anger and feelings of "neediness". Worst of all was the 20 lb weight gain and constant food cravings. In 1998 I got 2 shots of Depo Provera and immediately gained nearly 10 lbs per shot regardless of the fact that I was very active travelling all over at the time. After the second shot wore off and my body's metabolism returned to normal, the weight melted off just fine. I began taking ortho evra in 2001 because I established a monogamous relationship with a boyfriend. The effects were horrible, I began having terrible tantrums for no reason with him and that is NOT my style. I couldn't concentrate on anything without feeling emotional and irrational. Also within the next 3 months I gained 15 lbs and another 5 over the next month, and it would NOT come off no matter what kind of dieting or exercise I did. A year later, I quit the pill and suddenly my diet began to "work" and I lost 15 lbs immediately. I met my current boyfriend a few months later and decided that pregnancy was just not an option and tried ortho tri cyclen. Same results, horrible mood swings and creeping weight gain that happened WAY too quickly for the way I eat which is very sensible and low-calorie. I switched to Yasmin and immediately my sex drive was GONE. My boyfriend couldnt get ANYTHING to work down there, if you get my drift. In 2003, I finally made the decision to just give up on birth control and try pull-out, condoms, and ovulation monitoring methods. I lost 20 lbs within the first 4 months and another 5 later on and my emotions returned to normal.

I am just writing this to let you gals know that theres other methods besides stuffing synthetic hormones into our bodies that create BIG problems for our mental and physical health. Educate yourselves on other methods of birth control. Birth control pills aren't supposed to prevent pregnancy by making you a sexless, fat, emotionally labile and crazy woman that no man wants to have sex with much less spend time with. Hah.

I have only been on Desogen for a couple months, but I have experienced bloating, weight gain, breast increasing in size, diarhea, not being able to sleep well, depression, crying bouts for no reason at all, acne. I am contacting my doctor to see if I can switch back to the OrthoCyclen that my HMO does not want to cover. I can't deal with the side effects of this product.

I DO NOT recommend Desogen!!! I started taking Desogen because it was cheaper through my university health center. I started off fine...then the second and third week I began getting extremely tense in my neck and shoulders, severe headaches, I had nausea for 2 weeks straight. My eating habits changed dramatically - I began to constantly think about food and get terrible cravings. I had no self-control when it came to food. Everytime I ate, even when I was extremely hungry, I became very bloated. I could have a couple bites of something about feel like I spent 3 hours at a buffet. My breasts increased in size and I gained weight due to the change in eating. My sex drive is low - my boyfriend and I used to have sex regularly but I have not had sex in 23 days - he's been keeping count :(. I am very emotional and depressed sometimes. During these two weeks, I have random pains in my abdomen that feel like cramps I would have during my period. I didn't have any kind of spotting or anything and it wasn't too heavy when I was on my period. I also have very loose stools - often diarea (sp?) then I'll take Immodium and get really constipated. I have almost all of the symptoms of pregnancy but there's no way I'm pregnant - it's this stupid birth control. I know that most medicines take 3 months to get right in the body but I stopped my second month. I couldn't handle it. I stopped last night - right before the start of the 3rd week. I feel amazingly better even the day after - I still feel bloated and stuff though. Don't take it unless you want to feel like you are sick 24/7.

Desogen is a pill that causes many unwanted side effects. I have taken i for almost one year and I am going to stop. For a long time, I thought everything was in my head, but A LOT of people i've talked to say they experienced the same things I did. The usual weight gain, nausea and breast tenderness is not a big deal. But MOOD SWINGS, LIGHTHEADEDNESS, FORGETFULLNESS. FATIGUE and DEPRESSION have all made my life hell for one year. Really consider this before you take desogen, even if your doctor tells you these things aren't likely to occur. Doctor's don't know everything about the pill.

I have been on this pill for a year and a half. This pill is horrible. It does its job ( I have not gotten pregnant) but has very bad side effects. I have problems sleeping, really low self-esteem, nausea, gained weight, went up a cup in my breast size, bad mood swings, bad headaches, memory loss, and other sick feelings. I decided to look up the side effects after all this time and realized that it is because of this pill. DO NOT TAKE THIS PILL!

I'm wondering how many of you are using the generic. Most pharmacies don't want you to know this, but it IS different from the name brand -- "Desogen." I have experienced lethargy, weight gain, bloat, etc. with the generic, but the real thing has not let me down and now I demand it. I suggest you inquire as to which you are getting because you may have better luck on the name brand than the generic. By the way, my gyno. said he heard similiar complaints about the Desogen generic from other women.

I have been on Desogen for three months now and am experiencing all the side effects people have mentioned. Most annoying one being EXTREME weight gain (i believe it is water retention). But i think everyone reacts differently. I used to take Diane-35 and that is not available in the US. I think I will stop uding Desogen, esp since i use it for hirutism and not as a birth control.

NO SEX DRIVE...gained weight...moody...

I have been taking Desogen for about 7 months, and have been experiencing low sex drive, mood swings (perfectly happy one minute then one small negative thing will put me in a horrible mood instantly) and much heavier bleeding than with my previous pills. I have also gained weight recently (about 5 pounds) but that could very well be due to a change in eating habits.

i have been on Desogen for almost three weeks and have experienced consistent nausia and VERY bad migrane headaches. I am going to wait it out a bit longer, but these side effects (including weight gain) do not look to be improving.

stomach pain, light head, not thinkin' about sex, weight gain, ...could all be coincidental, but doesn't seem likely.

weight gain, serious bloating