September 26th
2008
12:57 PM
I posted about four months ago with all my side effects from Loestrin. I was having terrible depression, anxiety attacks, horrible chest pain, tingling and numbness in my left arm, etc etc. All the same side effects that a lot of women are having with this pill. I switched to an older bc called desogen. I used to be on this one when I was in high school and had no side effects. I have been on the desogen for three months now. My issue is most of the emotional side effects have gone away, but I'm still having terrible chest pain and tingling and numbness in my left arm especially at night when I'm laying down. Does anyone have this problem? Any suggestions? My doctor said it would take a while for the Loestrin to get out of my system. But I'm worried it may have caused a more serious problem. Any comments would be helpful. We all need to show this site to our doctors. They aren't listening.
-- By babyblues84 | Reply | Private Message me
July 29th
2008
10:18 PM
I'm 25, and I have never used bc. I was given this from my gyno. because my bf kept taking off his thingy. So the first day, the very first day my hair started to come out. I gave it two weeks, and threw it in the garbage. I had hair falling out everywhere, I had EVERY side effect listed. My vision was also screwed up. I didn't know what the hell was going on with me. My bf broke up with me, my moods were crazy, my boobs hurt, i had cramps, heavy bleeding, nausea, all i wanted to do was eat food, stomach pains, depression, anxiety, a headache, I was dizzy to the point were I just wanted to start crying, I even had the shits...This pill is a joke. I can deal with minor things like spotting, and I realize it takes 3 months for your body to adjust, but I couldn't even take it for 2 weeks. I did notice that if you take vitamins, the side effects were better.. but still my heart hurt so much I thought, holy crap, I'm going to have a mini-stroke at the age of 25. I am so thankful to god that I found this site and I could read other people's stories. I really think the idea of bc is wonderful, but until they make a pill that my body will accept- I'll stick with condoms, they have worked so far, I would even go on to say, I rather never have sex again then to go through the toll of this pill. This should have never been put on the market.
-- By cat24 | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
July 14th
2008
5:52 PM
I am 18 years old and have been taking Loestrin 24 for about 7 months now. I started taking the pill because I was sexually active and was having extremely long and painful periods. The first few months of the pill were fine, I had some minor bloating. However, I was happy with the pill for the most part. The little acne I had cleared up and my periods were almost non-existent (12 hours of a light brown spotting at most).
Now, for the past three months I have been struggling with depression and anxiety. I could not figure out what was happening to me because I had never had emotional problems like this before. Given, I am prone to depression (both my mother and father have been diagnosed). Nevertheless, I am starting to wonder if the hormones in Loestrin 24 have triggered my depression symptoms and made them worse since they were NEVER a problem until I went on this pill. Previously, I was on Ortho Tricyclen Lo and did not have any emotional side effects whatsoever.
Also, I am pretty much fed up with this pill after today. A few days ago, I suddenly began having chest pains and a numbness/tingling on my left side (arms, legs, face). Feeling nervous, I went to the doctor today. They gave me an EKG which was normal (thank goodness). However, they have ordered me an MRI for tomorrow to see if I have suffered from a stroke! My doctor said that he thinks that then numbness pain is more likely caused my depression/anxiety. Depression and anxiety that I think were caused by this pill.
I can't stand these pills and I refuse to finish this pack. Enough is enough already! Has anybody else suffered symptoms similar to these and if so, what was your outcome?
-- By erinsarah | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
October 2th
2008
1:24 PM
I get very sick when I get my period, they are long and heavy, and I have digestion problems and intense stomach pains for at least 1-2 weeks before and the week of. These symptoms disappeared for a while when I was on Apri (desogen) but after a few months, they came back, and on top of it, I became severely depressed and had such bad stomach pains, I went to the emergency room (and you pretty much have to drag me to hospitals).
This last period was so bad though that I finally decided to take the sample pack of Loestrin that my doctor gave me a month or two ago. Just a day after I started taking it, my period ended and the pain and bloating was gone. This is day 6 and I'm fine so far. On Ortho Tri-Cyclen (my first pill) I had bad side effects the first few days and gained ten pounds in two weeks.
I'm glad these forums exist, because they helped me realize that all of the depression (including suicidal thoughts), stomach pain, hair loss, etc. etc. were side effects of desogen. All of those things that contributed to the worst summer of my life disappeared as soon as I stopped taking it.
On the other hand, I have to point out that there is no "good" pill or "bad" pill. The side effects will be different for everyone. Some women need more estrogen, some need less. Some need fluctuating amounts of hormones and some need the same dosage all month. Unfortunately the only way to figure out what is right for you is to try them, note your reactions, and research the differences between pills. I realized quickly that I needed a low, stable dose of estrogen, which led me to try Loestrin. Not saying things can't go wrong from here, but now I am aware that if I fall into some depression, anxiety, weight gain, or other weird side effects, it *may* be caused by the pill I'm taking.
Is the pill worth it? Again, answers will vary depending on your lifestyle. Are your periods manageable or do they cause you not to be able to get out of bed in the morning? Are they consistent or are you praying you're no pregnant every month? Are condoms working for you or aren't they, and is the 2% chance of still becoming pregnant worth the risk?
While I've had bad experiences with some pills, I'm just grateful for this BC option in general. Until they figure out how to make birth control pills for men (pshh.. that'll be the day) then it's up to us to research and maek the best decisions for ourselves.
-- By anicoled | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me