Birth Control & PCOS = Very Emotional...

Oakley · 04-16-2008, 11:09 PM

My Doctor put me back on BC (Mircette) when I found out I have PCOS (a few weeks ago) because I wasn't getting my period and he said it would prevent more cysts (?). I started it on Sunday...and I feel awful.

Does BC make anyone else very emotional? I cry at the drop of a hat and get overwhelmed at the smallest things, I take everything personally and I can't stand up for myself or else I get upset. I hate it - and it started 2 days after I started BC again. I starting taking BC when I was 18 because I wasn't getting my periods (should have put the clues together about PCOS). I stayed on it until I was 24 (last summer). All of those years, I had trouble with depression, anxiety - tried all sorts of medicines, took time off of work, therapy/counseling etc. I finally stopped taking it - and I felt so much better off of it -

Has anyone else had these problems? If so, did they go away or did you get off of BC/switch to another one? Also, is it true about cysts not forming when you are on BC?

Thank you so much for reading this long explanation! I do not personally know anyone with PCOS - and it is nice to find other people who have it!

lexicographer · 04-18-2008, 02:10 AM

I have had this problem with Yasmin. Now that I actually need birth control for its intended purpose, I'm going to have to find a new pill with my doctor. You should talk to your doctor about it...not every pill is right for every woman.

holacandita · 04-18-2008, 10:06 AM

Absolutely! I was first prescribed BCP about 10 years ago for PCOS... I struggled with depression during that time but never put two and two together. More recently, I started noticing a trend. After having been off the pill for a few years, I decided to go back on to treat my missing AF and for actual contraceptive reasons. In May 06 I started Lo-Ovral and I became a basket case. By September of that year, my boyfriend and I broke up (which I believe was due in part to my irrational behavior and constant emotional breakdowns... he told me several times he thought I was depressed and I thought briefly that it was an effect of the BCP, but I never did any research). I remained on the pill. In January 06, my bf and I reconciled (YAY!!) and are still together but have had a very rocky time of it. I continued to experience EXTREME depression, mood swings, incontrollable crying, bouts of anger, taking everything personally, being irrational over everything....

Long story short, in October while on vacation in FL, I had emergency gall bladder surgery and because my prescription was up and I wasn't home to go see my doctor for a refill, I went off the pill. My relationship was hanging by a thread, I was starting a new job, and my life was a mess... but honestly I never felt better as I did in the months following being off the pill. By January, I felt a legitimate difference in my mood, the crying had stopped, little things weren't triggering an emotional breakdown anymore... my relationship was getting stronger. My bf said that he noticed a dramatic difference in me since being off BCP.

So it's not just you! I recently saw my gyn because it had been six months since AF ... she prescribed me Provera. Interestingly enough, as soon as I started taking it, I noticed a marked difference in my mood and the crazy-feeling was returning (which leads me to believe that increased amounts of progestin/progesterone do not fare well with me.) I am about to start Femcon on Sunday (I told my gyn about my mood issues with my previous BCP and she switched me to this). However, I have an appt in a couple weeks to discuss alternative treatments, because I really do not want to be on the pill just to be regular. The emotional side effects from my experience were not only annoying, but I think detrimental to my mental health, and strong enough to impact my relationships.

jeifer · 04-20-2008, 01:33 PM

Very interesting question. I was just discussing this with my DH 15 minutes ago. I came here to look for other suggestions. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this.

I started Lo - Ovral a month and a half a go and from day 1 I have had crazy mood swings and depression and anger. I normally am the most easy going, positive person ever and when bad things happen I always find humor in it to help deal with it. But I am total opposite now and I find NOTHING positive in anything. Ack! I haven't taken bc in 9 years except for here and there to start a af, so I know thats what the emotional roller coaster is from. I'm stopping my bc and going to go back to condoms. They don't make me crazy lol.

I don't know about it stopping cysts from forming. Sorry

.

LividAngel29 · 04-21-2008, 03:06 PM

I just stopped taking Loestrin24 FE, because it made me feel like crap! It made me feel pregnant, sore BB's, some cramping, back pain, and VERY emotional. I don't know what I am going to do now because my dr will not let me have an IUD or the depot shot and I just can not take bcp's, no brand has ever worked for me. I would rather have the PCOS symptoms than the one's from the pill. I also can not take the Metformin, and I am debating on whether or not to go back to the dr to even bother with this. I think I will just try to lose a bunch of weight and try some natural things to help it.

Oakley · 04-22-2008, 10:15 PM

Thank you so much for posting! After a few days on the pill, I called my doctor and he said that I should stop taking it. I can now connect this to any other time I have been depressed or had problems emotionally - it was probably from the pill (I tried so many!). My doctor said that it happens sometimes, from the hormones. I am feeling much better. I am going back in a few days and I think I might start Metformin to help regulate periods. We will see how it works!

bridgette_b25 · 02-09-2009, 09:05 PM

I'm 25 and I've experimented with different types of birth control pretty much my whole life. I've tried the patch, the pill with higher and lower amounts of progestin vs estrogen, the ring, everything. Every time I switched brands, I hoped my mood wouldn't change. I mostly felt sadder, depressed, and cried easily when on the pill. It pretty much effected the quality of my life overall. I cant believe so many women don't know to correlate their mood with the drugs their taking every day! I started taking higher levels of B vitamins than were in a multivitamin alone and that helped. I also made an effort to eat b-vitamin rich food such as bananas, shell fish, and chicken. Magnesium and folic acid are a huge help as well and shown to be depleted by birth control. My only advise is to do your research on the full side effects of the pill and make sure you do everything you can to stay healthy. This site has a ton of helpful information on vitamin depletion caused by birth control and it's effects - thepillpill.com Highly recommended!

guineapig · 02-10-2009, 04:40 AM

I've been on the following bcp and they all made me crazy to the point I had to stop them, regardless of the need or benefits from them.
Desogen
OrthoTriCyclen
OrthoCyclen
Triphasil
YAZ
the Ring

I just can't do bcp. I told DH he's getting snipped after this one comes out.

KatCarney · 02-10-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guineapig

I've been on the following bcp and they all made me crazy to the point I had to stop them, regardless of the need or benefits from them. {snip}

I just can't do bcp.

Same here.

Ashleystar · 02-11-2009, 02:39 PM

I found myself to be very moody on Desogen which contains the same progestin as Mircette (desogestrel). I have read the same many times! Now I am on Yasmin I can honestly same the only time I have been moody was the day before my period came. Maybe I was just having a good month lol! But normally I am fine on this pill. Desogen, Microgynon and Diane 35 were all horrendous for me!

xx

ChelNY · 02-12-2009, 12:28 PM

yes! i cannot wait to get off bcp (dh just had a vasectomy). i was fine for maybe the first couple of months, then i got really emotional, more leaning toward depressed than happy. i also feel kind of brain-foggy, if that makes any sense. after a few months, i asked my doc for a different pill, just to try. that one was just as bad, and i stopped getting periods. but i figured i just had to suck up the emotional-ness until dh could do his thing. through some events, i switched pills again and still have the same problems, but like i said, i'll be stopping them in a month or so.

i was on ortho-tricyclen, necon/nortrel, and yasmin. none of them really helped my acne either. ortho-tricyclen was probably the best one as far as acne is concerned, but not worth the other side effects, imo.

kattiej90 · 02-16-2009, 03:41 PM

my bcp make me extremely emotional. one second im happy the next im yelling at my boyfriend because he looked at me wrong, lol. sometimes he wants to kill me (not litterally) because i get so emotional. other times i hear a sad song or story and im bawling my eyes out. i have a gyno and im going to find out if there is a different bc i can take.

Ashleystar · 02-18-2009, 05:42 PM

Lol, my man prefers it now I am taking Yasmin! I am actually rational! hahaha! Only the night before AF do I bite his head off!