Femcon FE and exhaustion

Ugh. I'm so glad I found this list and that everyone has been so candid!!! I am in my 2nd pack of Femcon and the symptoms are only getting worse. Toward the end of the first week I began spotting and did so on and off for 2 weeks. When I took the brown pills, I had my classic day-later start of a true period, as I have done with the Ortho versions I used to be on. Naturally, the period was very light--actually it never did go to red, only icky brown for a whole week. Then I started the first 2 pills of the 2nd pack before seeing my doctor for the pre-op appointment before my Esure procedure. (He put me on this pill when I told him that I didn't trust condoms alone in the 3 month waiting period while the procedure takes--I don't trust the Divine Sense of Humor this close to finally being sterile.) He told me to stop taking them for 5 days while they put me on something else that would thin out my lining so they could better see the entrances to my tubes, then continue them like I had never stopped. Great. I did that and the procedure has healed nicely. I went back on the pills--much to my dismay. I'm back to all-month-long PMS, tender breasts and spotting. I have been baffled and attributing the constant headaches, cycles of insomnia & exhaustion, lack of motivation, depression, acne breakouts, weight gain, dehydration even though I'm guzzling water, bloating, mood swings, and decreased sex drive to the stresses of everything BUT this pill, because I have never had this problem before. In fact, previous ones helped alleviate mood swings, cramping, irregular and heavy periods, acne, and bloating, but I've been experiencing the opposite for nearly 2 months now. The other day, in addition to the cramps and spotting, I started having major stabbing pains in my lower abdomen--where the Esure could be possibly causing pain--except that they didn't do it on that side because my fallopian tube is blocked naturally. My breasts have been getting more and more sore, and tonight they hurt terribly without touching anything except clothing! The cramps are continual, as are the headaches, and I wake up with my hands completely numb. I haven't been able to get to sleep well for weeks (it is 3:05 a.m. now) and I'm dragging all day. Trying to wake up from a nap is like waking from the dead, and then I'm disoriented and out of it. I'm having dizzy spells too. I can't focus and every little thing sets me off--my poor friends and boyfriend! I'm up and down like a toilet seat!! I don't know if the sore throat I've had for the past couple days has anything to do with this, but I don't feel sick. Could be allergies...??? The last couple days I've had diarrhea and an upset stomach, and with how quickly the breast tenderness level rose to horrible, my insomnia and anxiety rose to an all-time high as I feared I was pregnant. So I bounded out of bed to start looking up pregnancy side-effects, only to see that many of them could be caused by birth control--particularly this birth control--and hence I found this list. THANKFULLY! Grrrrrrrr. Needless to say, I'll be making a phone call to my doc tomorrow. Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I hope mine helps others!

1st MONTH...HORRIBLE!
2nd MONTH...NOT TOO BAD..BUT NOT GREAT!
3rd MONTH...GETTING MUCH BETTER!

i am halfway through my 3rd month and i feel like there is hope! i skip the sugar pills and just go ahead and start my new pack..don't know if that helps or hurts the side effects..i figured if i'm spotting/bleeding for a week plus i really don't want to add another 5 days..

the 1st month i had every side effect possible...extremely emotional..nauseous..bleeding for weeks..dizziness..headaches.. depression..exhaustion..i had to eat tums every night..leg cramps..facial breakouts..etc.

the 2nd month i still had all of the above but just not as intense..

currently things are so much better..i still have spotting for 4-5 days..have only had to eat tums a couple of times..a few leg cramps..

the first month i hated the pill and was ready to quit but decided to give it 3 months to get used to it..so far i'm gonna stick with it..

if you're just starting the pill don't get discouraged yet..i know it's not fun but it does get better with time!

my doctor prescribed and recommended femcon for me and I lasted only five days on this pill. yes the enclosed instructions do warn of all the side effects but I had no idea how bad and how fast this pill would affect my body versus the past pills i have been on including loestrin 24 and estrostep. I have been waking up in the middle of night having hot flashes and being completely drenched in sweat which i have never experienced before, nausea all day, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, and complete exhaustion in just five days of this pill! my body is completely screwed up now i started my pack on the first day of my period and now its been two weeks and im still spotting, this scares me to death that a pill can affect my body this way, im seriously considering quitting the pill completely...does anybody ever wonder what these pills are artificially doing to your body, there is nothing natural about it!

I came on here to read about Femcon before I started taking it. Unfortunately, I didn't listen. I am on my 4th week, and my side effects are increasing dramatically. It started out fine the first week, then I began getting mood swings. They got worse and worse. Now I'm at the point where ALL I do is argue with people. Recently I've been making people cry. The things I say are terrible, but my mood swings just get so bad. I have leg pains and exhaustion all the time. There's almost never a moment where I'm not starving. Before I started Femcon, I barely ate anything. Now I could devour my kitchen within five minutes. I'm depressed and feel like I'm going crazy. I cry over everything and nothing. This pill is ruining my life. I AM STOPPING TONIGHT, AND NEVER LOOKING BACK.

I've just started my second pack of Femcon pills, and now I know that the awful, persistent headaches I've been getting are caused by them because I didn't get any headaches during the placebo week in the pack, but they came back immediately when I started again on the active tablets. The other annoying thing (besides the complete exhaustion) is that my contacts keep popping out. I know this is a noted side effect of Femcom, as are the other complaints I've mentioned here. Just thought I'd share with everyone, since these notes are making me realize that lots of people have suffered with this pill and it's not in my best interest to keep taking it.