THE PILL MADE ME EVIL! Is there hope for me?

[fishface]

Title says it all. Started pill in April '05. Not too long afterward boyfriend and his roommates began complaining about what a witch I was. I switched types of pills in Aug '06. I am still terribly crabby and angry all the time. Really irritable. I have two more weeks of pills left and I am DONE FOREVER and will switch to the diaphragm. My relationship pretty much is hanging on this. Can I de-witch myself?

Support only please. You probably won't understand unless you've BTDT. It's not as easy as biting my tongue, it feels different inside my head, I feel different, and I hate it. I want the old me back. It's not depression. BTDT, this is not depression.

[1babysmom]

I know what you're talking about! s: Although I never switched...I just stopped after only 6 months...but it was awful. DH saw a change in me immediately and I felt SO much better, even though I never really fully realized how I'd changed (it was mostly something just others, primarily DH, saw). We've done NFP ever since.

[fishface]

How long did it take for you to feel normal again?

[prettymom]

I had awful side affects with the pill too. I had never had PMS or hormonal swings before in my life, but once on Yasmin I was crazy. I switched to a different pill and it made a huge difference, but I had forgotten what it was like to be normal. When I came off that pill I felt like a new woman. I had forgotten what it was like to actually be patient and not just fake it. Feelings of rage and depression totally went a way. I was normal again. I will never take the pill again, it wasn't worth it. But in my experience I did recover pretty quickly after I stopped taking it. Some women handle the extra hormones no problem, but I am much too sensitive. Good luck!

[fishface]

Do you think I have a good chance of leveling out in a month? Less? More? I wish I could just quit cold turkey (it's a monophasic pill, can I?) but I'm afraid of having a 3 week period or something.

[Transcender]

Originally Posted by prettymom

I had awful side affects with the pill too. I had never had PMS or hormonal swings before in my life, but once on Yasmin I was crazy. I switched to a different pill and it made a huge difference, but I had forgotten what it was like to be normal. When I came off that pill I felt like a new woman. I had forgotten what it was like to actually be patient and not just fake it. Feelings of rage and depression totally went a way. I was normal again. I will never take the pill again, it wasn't worth it.

Thank goodness someone else had this experience. No one else knew what I meant when I said the pill, even the lowest doses, made me a crazy person I didn't recognize - crabby, crying, irritable, cross, emotional, and so forth.

[fishface]

Same here and it is CONSTANT. I would give anything for mood swings but it seems like it's the new me. (as of the past 2 years) :

[texaspeach]

the pill makes me crazy. I have suicidal thoughts and am a raving biotch when I'm on it. Not to mention all the physical side effects too.

I tried going back on the pill after I'd been off for a year. same thing. same old side effects. DP wants me to never go back on it, and I don't think I will. it's awful.

I don't know how I stayed on it for six years.

[mamazee]

This was my life at one point too. It completely changed my personality. I was prone to rages and I was just plain bitchy. Those changes did make for really good birth control though.

I hope you have better luck with the next birth control option!

[Hezzy]

Same here - I tried 3 different kinds on 2 occasions years apart. I couldn't stop crying and had suicidal thoughts. It was awful. The docs all said it would level off, but I couldn't wait for that. My DP will never let me do it again. We used a diapragm for years and now plan to use NFP forever. We both much preferred the annoyance of the diapragm to the absolute insanity of the pill.

As I recall it was pretty quick, the change back to normal. I would definitely say less than a month, but I was never on it for very long. I think I quit cold turkey, but I don't remember - it was a long time ago.

GL, and hold on! The old you is still in there!!

And on a side note, I always expected that when I got pregnant, I would have a similar reaction as when I was on the pill. Not so - I've barely been moody!

[fishface]

And on a side note, I always expected that when I got pregnant, I would have a similar reaction as when I was on the pill. Not so - I've barely been moody!

BIG reassurance.....I've been thinking about that every once in awhile. I was hoping I wouldn't turn into a raving lunatic whenever I get pregnant.

[quirkylayne]

I had a similar experience on ortho-tricyclen. My breasts felt like ballons filled with shattered glass and I swear my head was spinning. I tried it for 2 months and the nurse wanted me to go one more but I couldn't do it. The worst part is I requested OTC because I heard it helped with acne. Acne was the least of my worries on it! I went to the end of the pack and it got better with in a couple weeks. I think the hormones clear in less than a week?

[*Aimee*]

I dont handle the pill very well either. I'm VERY mean, cry a lot, and have horrible breast tenderness. After trying 4 different types I just went off. Now I use NFP. Its made everyone here a lot happier I'm sorry you're going through this though, I know how not fun it is to feel like a crazy demon has taken over your body!

[Pyrodjm]

I was back to my old self about 2 weeks after I came off of the patch. I had only been on it a couple of months. It made me short-tempered, moody and weepy. You'll be you again soon! :
\
ETA: I stopped mid-cycle, had breakthrough bleeding a few days after I stopped for 4-5 days (normal period length for me) and regular periods every 28-30 days since.

[fishface]

Those of you who gained weight, how long did it take for you to be able to lose weight like you were able to previously?

[1babysmom]

Originally Posted by fishface

How long did it take for you to feel normal again?

I don't remember exactly, but it was pretty soon. And I resumed normal cycles immediately.

[ashesofyou]

*

[ookami]

I was on 4 different pills as well as the NuvaRing for about 4 years. My doctor kept just wanting to switch me to different pills - I think there are 25-30 on the market but I just got fed up. My boyfriend said he could definitely tell when I was on the week of sugar pills because I seemed different. I don't want to be like that! Switched to using the Today sponge and condoms and I'm SO HAPPY I did - wish I had done it sooner actually.

[Demeter9]

I can't do the pill because of this. I one day was having a perfectly nice day, with a little bump in the day, and very calmly though, "oh, I should kill myself."

I stop taking those pills that day.

I've reacted to just about every pill I've taken. And the one I didn't react too too bad to, well, my body pretty much just IGNORED it.

Nope you aren't the only one.

[jlutgendorf]

Wow, it's nice to hear I'm not a freak. I was on the patch for about 3 months. I would get irrationally angry over everything. If I started to cry (which happened a lot as I was angry a lot). I could.not.stop, for hours, just horrible sadness, despair, etc.

I also had the side effect of loss of libido and painful intercourse. My gyn. had me stop and said the depression, moodiness was a side effect of the patch, but the sexual stuff must be because I was having relationship issues (which I wasn't!).

The crazy moodiness went away pretty quickly but the zero sex drive and painful sex is still around . . . 4 years later. I haven't really seen anyone about those issues but I need to. My husband is very understanding, but I know it hurts him for me to turn him down all the time. Especially since we used to have such great sex together (sorry if TMI!).

Anyone else have experience with sexual side effects from birth control?

~Julia