Loestrin 24 Fe and depression

I never thought that my depression could be linked with my BCP until someone recently suggested it to me. I am simply amazed at the frequency that others have posted symptoms similar to mine. After a traumatic event in 2002, I dealt with depression and took an anti-depressant for about two years, but gradually came off of it. In the spring of 2005 I began taking BC to regulate my menstrual cycle. That summer I was back on anti-depressants. I have coped just fine until recently. I got married 11 months ago and I did not know that some anti-depressants have sexual side effects. (we waited until we were married) My psychiatrist decided to switch me to Wellbutrin. I may as well be taking nothing. Horrible depression. I plan on switching back to my original anti-depressant, but I would like to know if anyone else has had a similar experience. I can't pinpoint if my depression is being caused by the Loestrin 24 Fe or an ineffective anti-depressant. Maybe it is both. Any ideas would be appreciated.
C

Im 25 and i started taking the Loestrin after my surgery for Endometriosis in Oct. At first, didn't have too many problems, but it seems when I got closer to the bottom of the pack, I got sick and moody. Just though since I was about to start, adn after the surgery could be the after affects. Well, after reading everyones great information, I know now its from the pills. I never took any until all of this (endo). I took lybrel (which don't take that either, i bleed for two weeks) my husband and I live apart right now due to me finishing school, and you would think when I got to see him, I would be all over him... WRONG. now i know why. And lately, ive gained weight, (even though i started working back out) im crazy tired, i mean falling asleep at work and cant control it, and it doesn't seem to help if I get an energy drink. I get plenty of sleep. More then what I would be getting if I was up all night doing homework and was fine then. Just called my doctor and waiting for a call back. I talked to my husband, and since I have never really taken birth control now bec of the endo, we are going to ask if I can get off of it. Just havent had any good luck with birth control. Not worth the craziness. I really havent had the depression side of it, but again like others said, everyone is different, and Ive only been on it for 2 months. Ive tried the ring (horrible, kept falling out) and i have done the patch (which i loved until the news went around saying people were dieing from it, so i got off of it in 06, and haven't been on anything until now) so ill keep yall updated, good luck everyone on finding the right one, i think im going back to the old days, and say screw birth control....

OH BOY... ok so i have been on Loestrin 24fe for a little over a year. haha. for the first 6 months.. everything was fabulous!! no mood swings.. no bloating .. weight LOSS... no acne.. it was the happy pill! also.. i had absolutely NO periods at all!! no spotting.. bleeding.. cramps. nothing! it was great. then.. just recently.. in the past 4-5 months.. i have been tired all of the time! it seems like no amount of sleep will satisfy!! i could sleep all day and still be tired! sex drive has definitely taken a nose dive.. and the bad part about that is my bf and i have a long distance relationship.. we only see each other every few months!! so when i am w/ him.. what do you think i wanna do?! but the sex drive just isn't there! recently.. i have started to have random spotty periods even on the white pills. and that makes me crazy paranoid that i am pregnant or something else is wrong.. even though i have taken my pill by alarm daily! mood swings.. OH man.. depression up and down. one day i seem fine and motivated to live.. the next.. i hate my life.. i am confused and all i want to do is lay alone in bed and eat chocolate. it sucks. i was so weird out and thought i was all alone in this.. but in reading this website.. i am so glad that i am NOT the only one in HELL with this whole birth control pill crap!

so happy to have found this site! I have been taking loestrin 24 since mid July, making it almost five months on this medicine. IT IS HORRIBLE. to say the least. for almost a year and a half I was on NuvaRing, which surprisingly I liked, aside from the almost 20 lb weight gain and virtually no sex drive. Who needs birth control if you don't have a sex drive? So anyway, I switched to loestrin 24 in July. BIG MISTAKE. for the first few weeks of this pill I lost all appetite and hardly ate a thing. In the past few months I have been experiencing incredible anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts, and depression. This pill is messing with my head! It almost cost me and my boyfriend of two years our relationship because of the way it makes me crazy. I experience increased heart rate, especially when I wake up and strange leg cramps. I have always been funny, outgoing, and upbeat about life until this pill. This past weekend I was a social recluse and just felt like being alone. I cry over the littlest things and am so irritable when someone says the slightest things. I have been overly mean to my mom, sister and boyfriend over the simplest things. Something is not right with this pill. I thought I was just losing my mind until I read all these other posts. Thank goodness I'm not alone. I had an appt. with my OBGYN today, told her all my symptoms, and she gave me a trial pack of Femcon FE. I am very wary to start them because I have read it has very similar side effects to Loestrin. Has anyone found a good birth control that actually makes them a happy, normal person?! Jeeze, I am ready to swear off hormonal birth control for good! Please let me know if anyone has any experience with switching from Loestrin to Femcon? I just want to be my old, happy self again!

This is my first month on these pills. So far I think they are great. My cramps before were so bad I had a prescription for vicodin, now they have disappeared. I haven't had any break outs, and I use to be able to tell when my period would start because I would break out. My moods have been better than ever!! No swings or depression. I started these pills from microgestin to control my fibroid. I'll right back in 2 months, but this pill works for me.

I started the pill about 2 months ago..and wow do i regret it..when i first started it i had migraines that lasted for hours..i mean before i used to get them but it was when i was stressed out or something but they would go away..i barely ever got acne on my face and now i have huge red pimples that last for days on random places on my face..i have gotten my period like 3 times already and it sticks around for so long..lately i been feeling like everything in my life is wrong like no matter what i do it just gets worse..i don't even go out on the weekends anymore because im so tired..i sleep about 12 hours a night and im still tired..i go to the doctor and they tell me im fine that my immune system is fine and theirs nothing wrong with me..so i came to my conclusion that its the pill..its caused for me to be so moody that my relationship with my boyfriend has hit the worst..and now to top it off i started getting some weird rash type of marks on my body that tend to look like hickeys fading away..i got the last 4 pills to go and im done with them...i took them for 2 months and thats it im going to to try a different method..depression and anxiety and fatigue are not worth it..
so for most girls reading this blog think twice about it before taking this pill and if right off the bat you start struggling with these type of symptoms i recommend you stop taking them.

I have been on loestrin for two months and this is my last pack and I'm going back to ortho cyclen. This pill gave me headaches, acne, and depression. I went on it to lighten my period and it gave me my period every week and a half. It also lowered my sex drive and since I've been on the pill sex is sometimes painful. So ortho cyclen here I come

I just want to thank all of you on this blog and other blogs. I was going to start this pill for pms and pmdd. I feel like I have the flu when I have my period. I am so exhausted. Bleeding is not so bad, cramps could kill me but thank god for alive and Advil. I started to get headaches about 2 years ago during my period or a few days before and sometimes the aleve and Advil don't help it even though they help my cramps. I am a group fitness instructor and don't want to feel sick or be unable to teach my classes. But after reading the side affects that could happen forget it. About 20 years ago( i was 18 then) I was on pills and had severe panic attacks and was hospitalized for a week. They couldn't directly pin it on the pill but trying it a year later and having it happen again I never took them again. I was assured by my gyn that pills have changed and that I would be fine on loestrin24 but I just can't chance it. I would say to the people who have severe bleeding and prolonged bleeding, fibroids or other problems, find a pill that can maybe help you. But for those of you who just need it for birth control and are having these problems, find another method. It is not worth it if you loose you sex drive, have mood swings and depression or any other of the horrible things I read can happen. And if you are predisposed to panic and depression, I wouldn't take it after reading all these complaints. The bad is outweighing the good on all the blogs I have read. Thanks again and good luck ladies!!

Wow and I thought i was the only one having issues. I've been on loestrin now 4 months. 1st month regular period, 2nd month had it twice in the same month not heavy very light spotty. Am not accustomed to not having a period my periods consist of heavy 10-14 days flow I would go thru a pack of overnights in about 3-4 days. Now this is month 4 and I was due to have my period 2 days ago and no sign. I've had leg cramps and spasm in my back the last couple of night didn't know where that came from. Mood swings my husband is having trouble with doesn't know if it's post parturm depression or from the pill. Am gonna give it 2 more months if it doesn't regulate itself I think it's not for me. Oh and I had hair loss the first 3 months. It started growing back recently. No migraines thank god. And my sex drive is like a yoyo one moment I want to rip my cloths off the next I don't want my husband anywhere near me??

Not Good!!! I had nausea, depression, leg cramps all the way down to my calfs, gastro problems and bleeding for the first three weeks! Bleeding everyday and tired with bouts of depression. I felt like I was ready to start my
period everyday!! My concern was the leg cramps because I was worried about a blood clot forming as one of the side effects of the Birth Control Pill.
My right leg feels like pins and needles and somewhat numb. They scheduled me for a Ultra Sound and found no blood clot. I just finished my pack and im not sure if I want to continue. My Doctor says it takes 3 months to fully get into your system...she wants me to continue? I have used Camella & NuvaRing and those too gave me problems! This pill seems to be the worst of the three!!! I am 42 and never had a problem with BC in my twenties and thirties? Hmmm? I may have to go off totally! It's not a good pill for me and I feel that a lot of you have the same feelings...

L. Clearwater, FL

Oh my - I'm so glad, for once, that I googled something. I have just taken my 17th Loestrin pill and it will be my last. I could NOT understand why I felt the way I did. It started with nausea, progressed to acne and dry patches (in the same place!), then extreme fatigue, then I just couldn't do anything but sleep or mope around. Gradually I had an increasing feeling of extreme anxiety. I dreaded the future but I couldn't understand why. Then the depression kicked in on day 11 and I felt as though I was grieving very deeply... but for what? Nothing had happened! I began to think of my husband leaving me and how it would be for the best. And I felt like walking out on my children and climbing a mountain and just sitting there. I was like a zombie and passed over many social events because I just couldn't bear to talk to anyone. I began to look half dead and stopped taking care of myself. Eventually I had thoughts of quitting my job and was very close to making a phone call and saying some very final things to my bosses! Thank GOD I didn't - I stopped the pills first. THen I googled the brand name. Then I saw all these comments and may more on another site and it was such a huge relief. Now I just feel angry that my damn stooped bloody GP had no idea about how wildly varied people's experiences on this pill are - and therefore didn't warn me.

First of all, some people are right.... some birth control pills are different for everyone.. and i have to totally agree with TOWN...right on the button!
I had some nausea in the beginning, but hell..I have been on every birth control pill, Iud, depo fat shot, and they all still made me bleed heavy and cramp.....My family are heavy bleeders big time...My insurance finally approved Loestrin for me and this is a blessing in disguise! I have no periods! I may have occasional lil, I mean lil, spotting every now an then, but it is worth it. Sex drive? You can't get horny? Think of something... And every birth control pill there are chances of depression in every one, read. I have a tubaligation so I am only on this pill for period purpose only, but I am staying on it.

I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PILL! This pill is the reason why I will never use birth control again! It altered my life completely, and changed ME for the worse. I had the WORSE ACNE on this pill! It is supposed to clear up minimal acne (which I barely ever had pimples) but it gave me so many! My face is still recovering from the acne, months of being off the pill! I suffered depression, migranes, cramps, bloating, feeling more hungry, and I was always MOODY. I could be in the best mood then start crying because of the stupidest, most little thing. My boyfriend could not tolerate me on this pill, it jepordized our relationship! I was so depressed and upset on this pill that I cried all the time! I'm normally a happy person 100% of the time, but this pill caused me to be a complete bitch! I only took two packs of this pill and it changed my life drastically. Never take this pill!!

I took loestrin for 3 weeks and of all the pills i have ever been on this one is the worst. I have had acne, weight gain, headaches, cramps, no sex drive, anxiety, rapid heart rate, my breast were extremely sore, and depression. I didn't even finish the pack because I was severely paranoid that I was going to have a heart attack. Once I stopped I got my period within 2 days and all of those side effects went away. My only issue now is I haven't had my period since that time. It has only been a month and a pregnancy test came out negative adding to the fact that I don't feel like I did when I was pregnant. It is still frightening though.

I have been on Loesterin 24 since Dec 2007 so far it has given me slight discoloration spots two under the breast, two on the shoulder blade and two on my arm, Mild to extreme moods swing, depression, nausea, headache, acne and speratic periods, ranging from a week before the period is suppose to start to two days after the period stops just to start all over again. Night mares and restless sleep patterns have been a usual.
I really do not recommend this birth control to any one but can’t stop taking it for fear of getting pregnant again.

I started Loestrin 6 weeks after giving birth and the first week or so i was fine and now i have no feeling at all during sex. This is so aggravating and its stressing me out, i constantly cry and go into depression modes...Any advice?

I am glad to find this site. For some reason today, I began to wonder if my weight gain (20lbs in 6months) may be due to this bc. I don't believe this to be a vanity issue. Many health conditions are associated with being overweight. As I began to read these postings, I began to realize that the anxiety,depression, lack of sex drive I've had may be related to this medication. No sure what I'll do now, but I think it's time for a change before I gain 20 more pounds.

HA. My doctors office must be trying to kill me. I was recently switched over to lo24 from the nuvaring. Ive been on it for about 5 days now, and already am having a break out, with moodiness. I found this sight when I decided to do some research on my "new bc", and am glad i did. I called my doctors office today to find out what i was on before the nuvaring, and they said lo and behold, Loestrin 24. I can now SAFELY connect my mood 2 years ago to this stupid pill. I became hysterical, suicidal, had horrible break outs, couldn't look in the mirror. Now by all means I am not trying to use a pill as an excuse for going absolutely CRAZY, but before I was on the pill I was actually happy. I almost ended up in the hospital from the depression this pill caused me. I wouldn't recommend this pill, and after linking my crazed episodes to last time I took this pill, I am going to throw this pack out right now! beware!

i went on this pill about 10 months ago... i loved it... no periods nothing. then id say about 4 or 5 months after it i started having random anxiety but i didn't really think anything of it since i have been anxious before... then summer started and i came home from school and i have suffered terrible anxiety, depression and really uncontrollable irrational thoughts. the last 3 weeks have been absolutely horrible ... really really bad depression and anxiety... i felt like i was going psychotic i wanted to go into a mental hospital or something... and i am not a depressed person, i am quite the antithesis. my parents were really freaked out and worried about me....well i went to the gynecologist to see if it could be from the pill and he said absolutely... he took me off it and even after only 6 days i feel so much better... im sure a lot of it is because i know im not going psychotic and it could be from the pill. i have also started taking st. john's wort and b complex vitamins among a few other vitamins. NOBODY should have to go through what ive been through the last months... its horrible and im convinced that it was because of the pill.

I am so thankful for this website. I have been on Loestrin for about 5 months now. Two months ago I started experiencing many of the symptoms the rest of you have been describing. I started having head aches, insomnia, hot flashes, and then terrible anxiety attacks. I've also been having horrible chest pain that extends out my left arm. At first I thought I was having heart problems, but, like many of you, EKG's and chest x-rays came back normal. The anxiety attacks have gotten so bad that I thought I was going to have to go to the emergency room the other night. When I talked to my doctor about it, we decided its stress and depression, and she prescribed me an anti-depressant. I was supposed to start it today, but I got a wild hair to do some research on Loestrin since its the only other med I take. And lo and behold... Thank goodness I found this before I started the anti-depressants. I plan on calling and getting my BC switched first thing Monday morning. You couldn't shove another Loestrin down my throat. I'm so frustrated, as I'm sure many of you are, that NO ONE told me about this. My doctor did not discuss these extra possible side effects because its a low dose pill. And my general practitioner completely overlooked the fact that it might be the BC pill causing all this. Not that I blame her. I overlooked it too, and it is true, we are our own best advocates. Thank you to all the women who posted on here. Just like many of you, I've been feeling like I'm absolutely crazy lately. With the mood swings and uncontrollable crying, no one understands. I think its ok to say this website might have just saved me several years of being on anti-depressants. Granted, I haven't had any bleeding problems like some women, and I love the three day periods. But I would take a 7 day period over how I feel right now any day. Does anyone have any suggestions of what BC to switch to? And can anyone tell me how long it took for them to get back to normal emotionally? Thank you so much...

I have been taking Loestrin 24 Fe for about a year and three months. I am sixteen now and within the last 6-8 months I have been very emotional and the last three months I have been extremely depressed. I know since I'm a teenager I am very hormonal and that could be part of it. However, I know that this pill has some factor in my depression and mood swings. I was a completely different person a year ago. I was much happier and I didn't have nearly as many mood swings as I do now. My emotions have gotten so bad to the point where there are greatly interfering in my life. At first I thought it was just me and I thought I was just going crazy but after reading some of these responses I have realized that Loestrin has to play some role in it. I have an appointment with my doctor at the women's clinic soon and I am going to ask to be switched to a different pill. I cannot live like this anymore, it's unbearable.

I am not going to say that you should not try this pill because it can effect everyone differently. However, be aware of the side effects.

I have been on loestrin 24 fe now for 6 months. it is the only birth control I have ever tried. For the first 2 months, I had a continual period. Once the bleeding stopped I noticed that I had UTI's weekly which have declined but I still have regular uti's. In the 4th month of taking the pill I started to notice the mood swings that have been with me since. Crying for absolutely no reason. The feeling of being unable to control my emotions. DEPRESSION! which I have never experienced in my life. Anxiety and wanting to be alone and yet sad because I am lonely....Inability to concentrate and reason with myself. Inability to be my normal positive self. Needless to say I am getting off this pill. I have already spoken with my doctor and received a new prescription today. All I can say is that if this is what birth control is like........ Forget it! I will try this one other pill, but if I still have symptoms like these, I am switching to condoms.

I have been on Loestrin 24 for 2 years!! And I am finally getting off... and so happy to find this site! I have had to be put on Topamax because my migraines became so bad, which helped my weight gain (that I attributed to my own depression that I thought was my own fault!) I didn't even realize bc could cause depression but it all makes sense! I came on here to find out if Loestrin has been the cause of my SEVERE HAIR LOSS over the past year and a half! When I started taking it, I was also going through a stressful situation and thought that was the cause, but have now realized that my life is back to normal that something else must be causing it. I tried to get my Dr. to take me off of Loestrin about a year ago due to the EXTREME nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue that it was causing and he decided that I should just be put on Topamax because I was just a Migraine sufferer! What a nightmare. I can't wait to switch tomorrow!!

I have been on bc for 7 years and Loestrin 24 for over a year now and finally found the perfect remedy to my irregular (sometimes 2 week long) periods. This is pretty much the only thing I love about the pill. However, It makes me feel a lot better that so many people are experiencing the many negative side effects that I have been getting from this darn pill. My frequent headaches are getting to be unbearable, I constantly feel so bloated and feel like my weight slowly creeps up despite a distance runner. I think I must be retaining so much water. I went on the scale one morning, then ran about 12 miles, then the next morning I gained about 6 pounds...i am a very healthy eater as well. It's just so mind boggling to me that this tiny pill can have such drastic effects on one's body. And depression is another big thing. I am also constantly depressed for no reason and snap at people for no reason.
But the big issue for me is probably my weight. I am really considering going off birth control completely. I just started a new pack this past Sunday...does anyone know if I can just stop cold turkey, or do I have to wait till I finish the pack?

Update # 2: Hi ladies, Tomorrow officially marks 1 week since i got off Loestrin. I feel soooo much better emotionally, the depression has gone away. I am however bleeding and it's not my period since i had my period 2 weeks ago. Last Thursday night i did not take the pill, when i woke up Saturday morning i was bleeding like crazy and i have been ever since. I hear its normal since my body is going through change and trying to get the hormones out of my body. I am also experiencing some breakouts on my back, chest and face which is rare for me. But i don't care as long as im no longer under high depression. I know ill be back to normal in a few weeks.
Ladies, for those of you who just began the pill loestrin and keep commenting how you have no side effects, please just be aware of any changes in the next few months.. from what ive read and ive searched the net like crazy... the depression occurs in the 3 - 5th month of the pill pack.
Good luck to all. i'll post more updates in the next coming weeks.

;)

I have been on Yasmin for 4 months,but had to switch to Loestrin. While on Yasmin my periods were very regular and timely directly down to the day. This month i took loestrin each day on time, and used back up methods. There was only one "slip up" and even it would make it almost impossible for me to be pregnant. i've taken 4 pregnancy test and each reads negative CLEARLY .However im almost a week late for my period according to the loestrin pill pack , and i'm beginning to get nervous because i'm still waiting on my period! Can switching brands of bc cause you to miss a period, anyone experienced this?

Hey all! I've been on Loestrin 24 for an entire month (just finished my pack today) and things have been smooth. No tender breasts, no weight gain, no depression, nothing! ***EXCEPT I still haven't got my period! I'm almost completely positive I'm not pregnant.. my boyfriend and I are extremely careful. What's weird is that I keep expecting to get my period because I'm getting the usual signs I get right before my period..

**Has anyone else experienced no period on this birth control???

update: i didn't take the pill last night. i feel a little better today. i woke up sad but with out the sobbing for no reason. why is this such taboo. i am 28 yrs old and i had NEVER heard of depression from the pill, i know its on the warning label but never had i heard anyone complain about it. i told 3 of my friends today about it (how i got off the pill) and they all said thats the same reason they got off theirs..umm why didn't they ever tell me about this?it would of saved me 4 months of going crazy in my head. im so thankful for these posts. thank you to all. now hopefully by Monday ill be 100% back to my normal happy, funny self.

All of what you have said and then some. I have had depression that's unexplainable, very dry, peeling skin on my T-zone, eye twitching, headache, stomach problems, bloating, loss of sex drive (that's one form of birth control,) breast tenderness that is more severe and longer lasting than before and irritability. I have never felt this out of sorts before and my decisions and reactions to normal situations have been erratic and unreliable. I tried to rationalize my behavior and acknowledge that I would experience changes with the intake of hormones, but this pill makes everyday feel like a train wreck.

I have been on this pill for 10 days and have already gained 7 lbs, have horrible skin, mood swings and depression, I have been bleeding since last night (2.5 weeks premature) and I am home sick from work today because my lower back is killing me!!! ugg!! This is a nightmare, who cares if my periods are 3 days shorter? It won't matter because I'll be too fat, ugly and miserable to do anything anyway! I called my doctor and am going off this pill today.....the search continues for a symptom free form of effective BC! Please ladies, offer any suggestions:)

I have been on the pill for about 6 months. I hate it. I have PCOS so my periods are not regular, I had a baby and to get them to be regular and to help my depression my doctor put me on them. I think it is worst. I get a crampy period every two weeks that last for 4 to 6 days. I have not lost any baby weight no mater how healthy I eat and how much I work out.I feel like Im still pregnant. My mood are all over the place and Im tired all the time. I want to stop taking the pill but Im so afraid I won't stop bleeding at all and I am getting married in a week and I should not have a period then. Fingers crossed. Im going to stop after the wedding. I would have stopped taking them sooner but my doc. said give it time. No more time Im sick of being hungry and tired and feeling sick from pains. Don't take Loestrin 24 Fe it does not work.....

I am sorry too hear that so many women are having bad side effects from taking Loestrin24Fe. My experience for the last four months has been just the opposite. I was having severe bleeding from fibroids every month during my cycle and it was causing me many problems including severe anemia. Since I began taking these pills I am very pleased. My cycles last two days and are very light compared to before. I have experienced some tenderness in the breast but that is all. Everything else is just great. I give all the glory to God because he gave my new doctor the knowledge to recommend this as an alternate to having surgery. No depression, nausea etc. Thank you Jesus!!!!!

I was put on Loestrin24 Fe to control bleeding until such a time as I could have surgery. I took the first pill and started experiencing a sever mood swing right away. I became angry and depressed. My breast were tender. after a month the Anger and Depression were out of control. I was as hateful as I have ever been. My relationships were effected by my extremely negative attitude (which is completely out of character for me) and my sex drive well there was none. I suppose that is one method for birth control.... I started to notice fatigue, couldn't get out of bed had no energy, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. Blood Clots...NOT FUN... NOT SAFE...

I noticed my old self returning almost immediately after stopping the pill. I don't think I cracked one smile the whole time I was on them. I am glad to be off and I will never take birth control again.

Please please if you are having sever symptoms. Shortness of breath and chest pains. DON'T WAIT to be TOLD to get off of them.... GET OFF OF THEM and GO to the ER immediately. YOU are talking about your LIFE...

When I first started taking bc I was 20 and just lost my right ovary and tube due to a cyst. I was on them for about 4 months to regulate myself before I started to not feel normal, so I stopped taking them. Then a little over a year ago I was on them again and the same thing happened, I stopped immediately. Now, I have been on Loestrin 24 for almost 6 months now and DO NOT like it. The only reason I was taking it was because I became sexually active and thought it necessary. The first couple of months were fine but the past two months have been terrible. I don't feel like myself. I feel depressed and anxious, I have shortness of breath walking up the stairs in my house; I'm 23 and healthy, I should not feel this way. I just had my annual visit and asked my doctor if bc can cause depression and she said ABSOLUTELY. You always need to be careful when taking any type of medication and if you feel like something is wrong, you’re probably right. You know your body better than anyone and will know when something is not right.

Hello all, the first bc pill i took was fencom fe. I don't recommend this to anyone seeing as it put me into such horrible depression. So my doctor switched me to Loestrin fe. My period cycle has been amazing. m on my 4th month and i get my periods for only 2 and a half days and always during the brown pills. My issue now however is that i have been experiencing something like a kidney infection for about 2 months now. I had a test done and they said it was a SLIGHT infection but recently during my 4 reminder pills i noticed it got better! I started a new pack this week and its getting bad again(waking up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, if i have to go then i have to go THEN, constantly having to go). Is anybody else experiencing this? I can't figure it out. The only other horrible side effect im having is hunger! Im never full. Thanks so much!!

My doctor prescribed Loestrin 24 for me even though I have my tubal ligation because I have cyst in my ovaries and fibroid tumors. The birth control was suppose to elliminate the cyst. It did the first month I was on it. I had cyst tissue and bleeding throughout the entire first month. I have been bleeding everyday for two months now. I do take them everyday at the same time but that has not changed anything. I am always fatigue, cant get out of bed. Go to work and as soon as I get home I am in bed again. I feel very depressed and very moody. I cant sleep at night but I cant get out of bed either. I am always hungry and I just developed acne. As several of the other people state my doctor says its unusual and that the birth control has nothing to do with my depression or side effects. I have had so much blood work done and it always comes back normal. I think that the doctors want to see how long if ever the side effects will subside before they say just get off. But like other I was told it takes 3 months to get over the side effects but they have reassured me this pill does not cause depression. After reading all of the comments I am going to stop takng the birth control. Thank you

This is my 3rd month taking Loestrin FE 24 and so far I hate it! I am 25 years old and I've been taking othro-tricyclen for about 5 years and switched to loestrin to have a lighter period. So far I have gained weight, gotten headaches, and skipped 2 periods. The first month I was on it, my period was very light, more like a brown discharge, and lasted about 8 or 9 days. Then I didn't have any periods or spotting for the next 2 months, so I've been taking pregnancy tests, which all come out negative. I have also been having headaches around the time I'm supposed to get my period. It is a terrible feeling to skip a period and think you are pregnant, and this pill makes you have that feeling 24-7! My doctor said that side effects like this are common for the first 3 months, and then they should lessen after that. I will stay on it for another month or so to see if the side effects go away, but if not then I'm definitely switching back!

When i was in college i was taking orthotrycyclin low, But stopped it for about to years just to clean out my system. Usually during my period (with no bc) last for one week and very heavy with pain. On top of that i only have one ovary. My doctor suggested that i should get back on some sort of bc to control my periods. I tried the patch but as soon as I placed the patch on my lower abdomen I had a migraine. (I've never had a migrane before). So I immediately was scared and took it off. I went straight to my dr. and he told me to try Loestrin 24. So I did. The first 2 months were not that bad. But recently I have been very moody especially when it comes close to that time of the month, I've felt much anxiety, and have been in and out of depression. Of course i've never had depression before but i come straight home from work and just feel down and like not doing anything. The other day I was busy with work and happened to miss my pill. Well ladies be sure not to miss a pill. I had severe cramps and spotting. I'm at the point that I want to get off of it and am really considering. I tried getting off of it before and realized that MY MOODINESS increased. Believe me my co-workers and boyfriend let me know. and my depression increased. I also gained about 15 lbs. since i've been on Loestrin 24. I consulted with my doctor and he said the bc's don't not make us gain weight. But after reading all these blogs i know I'm not the only one going through this dilemma....

I've been on Loestrin for 6 months; I was taking Yaz to help with lighter periods and my doctor also thought the lower dose of hormones would help with my menstrual migraines. Yaz wasn't working so he switched me to Loestrin. The first couple of months were fine; I noticed a lighter period and less cramping. I was still getting migraines but they were coming at a different time than before. I just thought my body was adjusting.

For the past two months, things have gotten much worse. I'm having two periods a month and migraines leading up to each one. The headaches last 3-4 days. I've been very emotional and have never suffered from depression, but I have noticed that I've been isolating myself from co-workers and friends, and just want to be home alone after work. I am not sleeping well either, and feel bloated all the time. I'm not one to weigh myself regularly, and lead a healthy lifestyle, but I recently went clothes shopping and noticed I have gained at least 10 pounds since on this pill. I have a headache right now and this is the 4th day; I started my second period for March on Friday, and it's mostly the brown discharge some of you had mentioned. I'm on week two of the pack and don't know if I should finish taking them or not. I'm calling the doctor on Monday. Good luck! There has to be an easier way.

Hey everyone! My names Janelle and I'm 20 years old. I went on Loestrin about three months ago and am going to quite taking it. I have experienced just about every side effect mentioned above. From depression, breast tenderness, severe mood swings, increased fatigue, and increased weight gain. I am a very healthy eater and exercise almost six times a week. The exercise has helped with the mood swings a bit but has not helped with any of the other side effects. My plan is to stay away from birth control, exercise frequently and remain abstinent until marriage! I know this won't work for some of us so I would recommend taking another pill. I have also tried YAZ and that was MUCH WORSE. Probably the worst birth control pill out there!!!

Does anyone suffer from interstitial cystitis? I've been on Loestrin 24Fe for exactly 12 days and have felt perpetual PMS symptoms, horrible mood swings, cramps, depression and bloating/weight gain. I swear my IC has flared up, but my doctor swears none of the symptoms I have could be a cause of it.

I just had a baby he's 7 weeks old since then I have started taking Loestrin 24, I was on the pill for 2 weeks when I started having the worse depression ever, everyone thought it was post partum.. then I started the heaviest bleeding I ever had and its been going on for almost 2 weeks now, I have also had nausea, severe headaches, vomiting, loss of appetite, dehydration I went to the Dr. to make sure I was not anemic. I just wish the doctor would have warned me of some of these side affects, this just taught me to do my own research before I start taking a pill.

O.k. Birth control has different effects on everyone, but I know for a fact this pill has been terrible for me. I used to be on Ortho tri cyclen for 10 years, but I needed to switch since I started spotting. Loestrin 24 fe helped with that, but I gained about 13 lbs in the first month & had a horrible depression which made me hate the world. I fought with everyone and I know its from this pill because I was off all bc's for 2 months & was so happy & normal. I know it put weight on me because I work out all the time & I have weighed the same for 10 years. I started on this pill & "bang" I'm huge. I was also hungry all of the time and my left eye twitches.I have one more pill & then I am switching to a new bc. Good luck if you're on this!

i just stopped taking Loestrin 24 after about a year of taking it
i think it has been a little less than a week and i already notice myself feeling less moody and having less anxiety issues
before i started this pill my acne was pretty bad, it took two packs and my face was completely clear
of course i kept taking it because my skin was so beautiful, but my periods were NEVER normal and i had cramping and i think the pill was causing me to be slightly depressed
i also had some weight gain while taking it and always felt hungry i gain about 10 pounds on it
so its been a week now since i stopped taking it and my face has a slight breakout, but nothing too bad
i was wondering how long it is going to take for the weight to come off and if my face is going to get really bad again

obviously i have come to the conclusion that clearing my acne wasn't worth a 10 pound weight gain, irregular periods, and depression

I have been on this birth control for five months and I have not had but a couple periods that have only lasted a couple hours each time...
I'm eighteen and have always had very long heavy periods until I started this pill. This worries my grandmother. She is afraid I may develop a clot which will kill me... Is it normal not to have a period for this long? How long can you go without one until it hurts you?
My acne went down since I started the pill.
I got a little nausea but only cause I took it on an empty stomach.
I have slept more since I started the pill too.
Depression seems to not be an issue to me.
I'm more irritable now though.

My birth control problems have been an ongoing problem. . I am a 26 year old nurse. I had been on birth control since about age 16.I was on Ortho tricyclen up until about two and a half years ago. I was noticing that I got nauseated each day around 5 pm when supposedly my hormone level dropped. I would eat and then I would feel better. Now that I think of it, I may have been just a little hypoglycemic. I told my GYN about this and he had me switch to the NuvaRing. I was on that for about 5-6 months when I started to have problems with it. When I had to put it back in after the week out, I would vomit for about 12 hours until my hormone level evened out. After deciding that I was not getting food poisoning each month, and it truly was the ring, I went back to my GYN. He then said that it was too much estrogen for me and prescribed Loestrin 24. I was on that for about 5 months when I started to notice problems. I felt extremely tired all the time. My breasts hurt like hell, and my mood was changing significantly. I was watching TV one night when all of the sudden it felt like someone was just murdered in front of me. I had no idea what was wrong. My husband told me he thought I was having a panic attack. I have never had any problems with anxiety or depression. This happened twice in one week. I had never had any problems with acne, and I looked like I had chicken pox on my back. I was also getting abnormal hair growth. I would cry, and not know why. I then decided that I needed to stop my pills. I called the GYN, and of course they were of no help to me. I then spent about 4-5 months off of BCP's all together. I would still get anxiety the week before my period and then after I started it would get better. I then saw a new GYN who decided it would be good for me to go on Seasonique. I was on that for 5 weeks and all of my symptoms came back. I now have been put on Zoloft to help with my panic attacks. I fight them on a daily basis, and they are more constant than ever before. I truly feel like my hormones are so fucked right now. I have all of these strange thoughts and feel half crazy. I have been to every specialist possible and they all agree that my hormones are out of whack. I am small anyway and have lost about 10 pounds. I only weigh about 98, which is also alarming to me. Okay, well how the hell do you fix all of this without going on another damb pill? I was fitted for a diaphragm and am using that for the time being. I am a smart enough person to know that something is not right. I am seeing a homeopathic specialist this week to try a new approach. I have been to a therapist, and have been tested for everything under the sun. Most frightening was the fact that I was almost put on a beta-blocker. I had a 24 holter monitor for my heart. My median heart rate was in the high 90's. I also had a heart rate that went from 51 to 145 bpm in my sleep. My normal heart rate is in the hig 60's to low 70's. Overall, the Zoloft is starting to help, but I am so angry. I really do feel like we are screwing up our natural chemistry by putting all of these females on hormones. In 20 years or so, we will truly see the effects of what hormone therapy has done to women. It is very scary. I just hope I can get myself evened out. Does anyone have a similar story or any suggestions? Please reply or email me. Any support I can get from other women will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Nurse Billie

I;ve been taking Loestrin FE 1.5/30 tabs for about a year now. Love not getting a period at all but still get heavy bloating, slight cramping & break outs. Have been severely depressed though so I went on Wellbutrin. After reading some of the postings here I'm beginning to think the Loestrin is making me depressed! Also have gained about 10 lbs. Not sure if my side affects are from the Loestrin or Wellbutrin (Wellbutrin is supposed to decrease your appetite however mine has increased!) I am tired and feel bloated all the time. Maybe I should try a different pill but i am getting used to not having a period and not sure I want to go back to having one.

I started taking Loestrin (again) a couple of months ago. The first week or so was fine...just the usual breast tenderness etc. However, by the time I was in my second week I started to descend into depression...and badly. I felt like crying all the time and felt generally hopeless about life. I am generally a positive upbeat person so the difference was obvious. At first I thought it was the changing of the seasons or because my boyfriend and I live in different states, but then the more that I thought about it the more that I realized the bouts of depression I've had in the past have coincided with taking this pill. I didn't experience weight gain...but instead weight loss....however, this is a reflection of the depth of depression it caused me because when I'm depressed I have no appetite. I have also had unexplained/unjustified anxiety and have been paranoid about my boyfriend breaking up with me, cheating on me etc. It's been really ridiculous, but it's almost as thought my thoughts are uncontrollable. During the one week off, my mood and overall outlook on life improved significantly, but declined once again when I started my new pack. My boyfriend and I have decided that the side effects are just not worth it and I'm going to make an appointment with my gyno to be fitted for a diaphragm. I know it's not as easy to use as the pill, but I figure I may not have a boyfriend if my craziness continues!! Oh...lastly, I did also experience nausea as well....not super bad, but enough to notice.

I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for a year and a half now, since I was 17. For at least the first few months I had breakthrough bleeding everyday, but then it seemed to be working great with my body. I have learned that if you do not take the pill at the EXACT same time every day you will have your period the entire month. Now I only have a light period for 3-4 days but experience increased mood swings, weight gain, breast tenderness and bad cramps which I never had before the pill.

Wow - so many of you with the same symptoms and side-effects I'm experiencing. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen years ago with minimal side effects beyond slight weight gain during the first few months. With this pill, I feel like I've become a monster. I'm bloated and I've been bleeding for 9 days now (I started the pills the day my period ended, on the advice of my doctor. I began bleeding a week later and have not stopped.). I'm normally a very happy person, but in the 2.5 weeks I've been on this medication, my moods change faster than the weather - I go from happy to despondent over the smallest, most insignificant things and cannot be cheered up. I have constant anxiety. I've cried more in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last year. I get angry over nothing, and I feel lazy all the time. My normally above-average libido is in the toilet. Fortunately, my boyfriend is incredibly understanding and knows that the changes I'm experiencing are due to this new medication changing my body chemistry.

I don't want to be like this, though. I don't want to be angry, sad, anxious, lazy, or uninterested in sex. I don't want a month-long period for 3 months while my body adjusts. I'm not in the physical condition to be able to shrug off an extra 10 pound due to bloating, and I'm tired of popping Advil to deal with my cramps. Before I found this site, I thought maybe the symptoms would go away in the next week or so, but I've now decided I'm not waiting this one out - I'm calling my doctor and finding a different alternative. This is simply unacceptable.

Also, I know it has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the medication, but their website disgusts me. "Cammie's Story"? If they spent half that advertising budget on research to eliminate the horrible side effects of their product, perhaps the pill would sell itself.