Mabelen Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Has anyone experienced this or know anyone who has? What doctor do you go to first if they are interfering with daily life and you need help? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Has the patient tried different formulations of the pill? Sometimes it can take a while to find a formulation that works. Gynos often like to put patients on a cheapie generic first but it may turn out that a name-brand pill is better tolerated. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Has the patient tried different formulations of the pill? Sometimes it can take a while to find a formulation that works. Gynos often like to put patients on a cheapie generic first but it may turn out that a name-brand pill is better tolerated. This is the first time on the pill, but the symptoms are driving her crazy! They are interfering with her daily life right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I'd go to the prescribing doctor and try to find another method of birth control (or whatever it is that the BCP is treating). There are multiple formularies. I got migraines from one but was fine on another. Some people are really sensitive to any dosages, even the mini pill and have to use something non-hormonal or locally hormonal like a Mirena. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 I'd go to the prescribing doctor and try to find another method of birth control (or whatever it is that the BCP is treating). There are multiple formularies. I got migraines from one but was fine on another. Some people are really sensitive to any dosages, even the mini pill and have to use something non-hormonal or locally hormonal like a Mirena. Yes, she is definitely going to do that. I am wondering if there is anything else she can do right now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Yes, she is definitely going to do that. I am wondering if there is anything else she can do right now? Has she called the doctor? They may call in a different version or simply tell her to stop and use a backup method. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealp2009 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I would call the doctor if she can't get in right away talk to the advice nurse. I would also stop taking it (and use other forms of birth control if needed). Most people have no problems with the BCP but I know one friend who had a pulmonary embolism. So weird symptoms would concern me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH_Homeschooler Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 The last time I tried BCPs I was so angry all the time, directed mostly at my husband. We have a great relationship but I remember thinking of divorce from time to time, and I don't even know why now. Stupid little annoyances I'm sure, like socks left on the floor type stuff. So, I just stopped taking them. Perhaps I should have talked with the doctor and tried something different, but I didn't need to be on them (I was in my late 30s and I'm comfortable with other forms of BC) and I felt so toxic. I was glad to be rid of them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I know someone who did (not me; but true story--and still anonymous). She became very emotional and hypersensitive, so she was by turns bawling her head off at some perceived slight or elated and driving everyone insane with her over-the-top ebullience. She has strong reactions to any meds. She got off the pill really fast and returned to normal really fast. So yes, I know someone that had this experience, but I don't recall anything for myself. Of course, I don't recall many things about ancient history. :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnE-girl Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I would have been divorced in less than a year if I had stayed on BCP. I had horrible mood swings and had zero interest in brewing tEa with my brand new DH. NFP, while challenging, has been much better. I realize that it doesn't work for everyone, but it has for us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 She has an appointment tomorrow. Her second cycle should have started yesterday but, of course she did not take it. I do hope she can get back to normal soon! It's exhausting for her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 It causes depression for me. I tried several, but no go. I had to stop taking it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 When I was in grad school, a close friend and I both started on the pill around the same time. We lived about an hour apart. We had plans for her to come down one weekend, and her fiance called and said that he was bringing her because she had been sobbing uncontrollably and he was afraid for her to drive until they were sure that the new pill was going to work better. I'm usually wildly upbeat, but found myself sitting in class wanting to throttle the professors...it was scary. I went back and requested a different pill and was told that the one that I took was what they gave everybody (it was the same one that my friend had started on, too - it must be a favorite of campus health centers). They switched me to a tri-phasic one and I was fine. There were still some unnoticeable affects - when I quit taking it a few years later, I was shocked that I felt more clear-headed (a short-lived phase, since it was followed by pregnancy brain and baby brain twice over the next few years, then moving brain and now homeschooling brain). But, tell your friend not to let the doctors insist that the pills are all the same - they are definitely not. I don't know why some are so insistent, while others immediately say that they'll try until they find something that you like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I had severe severe mood swings/ depression when I was on a certain bcp. They changed it and it got better. At least I wasn't in a fetal position crying better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvyInFlorida Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I had a terrible experience with birth control pills. Basically I cried the entire two months I was engaged. Never took one again. We decided on NFP but I can't quite speak to the efficacy of that since we are, lo and behold, inexplicably infertile. Even before I knew that, though, I swore I would never take another one. At least the person in question can be assured that this is not in her head--the struggle is real! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Every formula I tried gave me horrendous depression. It was scary. Turns out that a lot of women in my family had adverse reactions as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I had a bad reaction once. Started hearing voices in my head a week into the prescription. Needless to say I stopped right then and there. I've subsequently had much better experiences. I particularly like the Nuva Ring because it has a steady low dose of hormones. There are so many options. I wouldn't stick with one that wasn't working, but I wouldn't necessarily give up on the whole idea either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Nexplanon (the implant in the arm) was one of the circles of hades for me--massive irritability, depression, and very dark thoughts. I was so happy to get that cursed thing out of my arm. I felt like a human again. Then I got pregnant, and had to go on progesterone shots that had a very similar affect on me. Along with nausea and debilitating migraines. Let's just say I don't do well with extra hormones pumped into me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Sometimes the reactions are caused by fillers, so keep that in mind too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It looks like bcp can cause some pretty severe psychological symptoms. Those of you that experienced this, how long before you felt normal again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It looks like bcp can cause some pretty severe psychological symptoms. Those of you that experienced this, how long before you felt normal again? In my case, I'd say that BCP uncovered a lot of stuff...family issues, school stress, etc. BCP ramped that up to an unsustainable level. When I went off BCP my emotions went back down fairly quickly*...but all that previously-covered stuff was now uncovered, and that took a good couple years to work through. Plus I had just made a stinkin' mess of my personal life and academics. *However, I began experiencing PMDD every month from a couple years. I had no idea until my psychiatrist realized that things got really bad on a cyclical basis, then we realized the cyclical basis was...that cycle. It was easily treated with a relatively low dose of zoloft for a couple of years, and I've been off it for 8 years and doing fine, even with three pregnancies (mild postpartum depression with #3, but I think that was more from sheer exhaustion + 3 kids under 4 + a c-section!). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Once I switched types, I felt better in days? maybe a week? Definitely by the time I got through one month's worth, I was back to normal. The crazy feelings (anger for me, sobbing for friend) were better very quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 It took a few weeks for things to settle down after I had the implant removed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I get depressed on them but I'm not sure if it's hormonally induced OR situational depression because they absolutely kill my libido. That totally erases the benefit of taking them as no-libido induced abstinence is a remarkably effective birth control method. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I did, my sister did, and three of our friends experienced severe depression after changing pill formulations that immediately resolved with ceasing the pill. About half of us were able to take other formulations without trouble. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I was on Depo for a long 18 months or so, and didn't realize until afterward what a b**** it made me. I'm lucky my DH is such a great guy. I have no idea how we stayed married. Awful. Non-hormonal for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 Thank you so much for all your experience. I will share this information to reassure her that she is not going crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It looks like bcp can cause some pretty severe psychological symptoms. Those of you that experienced this, how long before you felt normal again? Almost immediately. My cycle was bit wonky because I stopped after just a week, but the psychological symptoms stopped right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I definitely had depression and seriously reduced libido (which meant none). Everything went away as soon as I stopped taking them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvyInFlorida Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 I got better almost immediately after stopping the pill. But, as a PP mentioned, I have had some issues with PMDD since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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