Birth Control and Anxiety?

In the past 2 years, I have experienced the worst anxiety. I've been working really hard through personal issues and I feel at peace with my life but my body is a different story. I constantly expereience a high leel anxiety throughout most days. And just a few days ago, this woman looked at me and asked if I have stomach problems and anxiety, both of which I do. Then she said "If your on birth control, get off of it! You estrogen is waaayyyy too high".

Has anyone else experienced the adverse effects of birth control/ too much estrogen???

I really hope this is the link that pulls things together becasue I'm soooo tired of feeling anxious all the time

 

The pill really messed with me. I was stressed out all the time, I cried a lot, I had severe mood swings, and I was OVERLY sensitive about everything.

I took myself off the pill over a year ago and I've never felt better. I feel like myself again. *shrugs* That's just my experience...

 

Thanks for the reply!
I'm really hoping a lot of this anxiety i because of the pill
I've been tracking myself and I get the worst anxiety when i'm on the higher doses of estrogen. It's encouraging to here that you went through something similar but I won't know if this anxiety is made worse by the pill until i stop taking it, I'm crossing my fingers.
How long did it take you to notice the difference after you stopped taking the pill?

 

I'd say it was 2 or 3 months after that I saw a big difference. I'd been on the pill for five years, though, so...yeah.

 

the pill is soooo bad for you! it messes with your body's natural way of working, and the body then rebels, usually in cases of mood swings, anxiety, general craziness lol!!! any kind of synthetic hormones you put in your body cause your body to work less effectively. many women don't notice this, because "everyone" is also on bc pills, and it's "normal" to act/be this way. but it's NOT!!!

i was on the pill for a very brief period of time, and i seriously just about went nuts. well, i was diagnosed nuts before, but lol... i'm functional, who cares if i'm "wierd." but the mood swings, anxiety, jealous possessivity, anger, emotional basketcase... it was a mess. and it is NOT good for your body to be on hormones for a long period of time!

i noticed a big difference almost immediately after quitting it. of course, i wasn't on the pill for more than a few months, so...

but it makes me angry that doctors and pharmaceutical companies make women believe that they need to "regulate" their bodies with pills. your body will be regular for you body. periods are not bad or dirty or inconvenient. they just are, and they are a beautiful part of being a woman!

of course reliable means of preventing pregnancy are good... but i've found for myself that since i've stopped putting any synthetic medication (non herbal/naturopathic) in my body, i'm aware of how my cycles work. i can tell when my period is coming on, and i can tell when i ovulate. this is a much better way for me to prevent pregnancy than taking a pill that fucks up my body.

sorry this got so long... but yeah... just wanted to tell you my story, and let you know that it is true! the pill does mess with your body and cause things like anxiety, mood swings, emotional distress, etc.

 

I went to my doctor today and she just completely dismissed the birth control correlation. She didn't even listen to me! I kept having to talk over to say all of my symptoms! Very discouraging and frustrating. I just went to my primary care doctor but I have an appt with my OBGYN on Wed. and I hope she'll listen to me for more than 10 seconds without shoving me out the door.

 

Was it a male doctor?

 

The pill can effect you in negative ways, but it can also help you. You just need to find a pill that fits you. Prior to me going on Yaz I would get pain when I ovulated and menstruated. It was very painful. My doctor suggested bc and I told him my negative opinions about bc, but he reassured me that Yaz has low hormones. Also, it has a mood stabilizer. I haven't felt any anxiety. I have a harder time having orgasms, but we work harder now. I was on tricyclin-lo a few years ago and that made me have high levels of anxiety. I know artificial hormones are bad, but for women like me, they control the pain.

 

It was a female doctor.
I told her I have experienced heart palpitation and anxiety before but I meditate alot and can always reduce my heart rate. But after I mentioned I had anxiety, she just brushed me off.

Did any of you ladies have a negative experience after stopping birth control?
I've been reading a lot about it and it seems many women experience even more anxiety after they stop taking the pill...
I feel so bad right now though, I don't think my anxiety could get any worse at this point.

And now I'm anxious about getting anxious! Bah! I feel nutty. I stopped them yesterday so hopefully within the next 1-3 months I'll feel a bit better...

 

You need to give your body to rebalance itself...it might take a bit, but you'll get there.

I didn't have any negative experiences...other than missing my period when I took myself off of it. My period was all over the place after I took myself off it as well...hormonal changes, I suppose.

Personality-wise I don't remember having anything negative...

 

Thats why I started the pill in the first place. I would get soooo sooo sick and have such bad cramps that I throw up uncontrolably and eventually would pass out. My mom found me passed out in the bathroom and called 911 because she thought I had overdosed but it was just my period so after that I have started the pill. Shortly after I started the pill, my stomach felt better but my anxiety also started. I never made the connection but my anxiety DID star right after I took the pill. I always thought that the anxiety was just issues I hadn't dealt with but now I'm at a point of my life that I have dealt with the past, changed my life now so I'm not as stressed, I meditate, takes vitamins, volunteer, all this good stuff and I'm still crippled with anxiety and panic, so I'm thinking it's either hormonal or something chemical in my brain that I need medication for. Hormones is my first guess though and hopefully, things will get better.

Thank you all for the comments and kind words!

 

sounds like your body is trying to detox you, and yet you're shoving hormones in it still. my suggestion would be to stop the pill, forget about the stupid doctor (most doctors don't know what they're talking about anyway... i worked with them for a long time, and i know lol!), and listen to your own body. i used to have issues too, but as my body began to regulate itself, and i began to listen to my body, cramping issues worked themselves out, hormonal issues worked themselves out, and right now i'm on no medications, with no pain (i feel a twinge when i ovulate, and one day of moderate cramps when i first start menstruating), and i feel great. i don't mind the mild pain of my cycles, because it's my body working the way it was meant to work. i'm happy, knowing that my body is regulating itself the way it was designed to. i hope that this situation resolves for you... i know, it really sucks!

 

Interesting.. because I get bad anxiety too and sometimes my tummy feels weird. Maybe it is birth control, but also could be your age... its hard to say ya know? But thats an interesting thought. I wish I could just stop taking birth control and not worry about it ugh.

 

So? Why don't you stop?

 

Well its pretty convenient for birth control... I hate condoms and don't want to keep a thingy in my cooch for hours... so I don't really know what else to do!

 

Condoms aren't so bad...

I don't understand why people hate them so much...plus, you don't have to worry about std's. *shrugs* They get such a bad rap...

 

I would change birth control pills, not stop completely if you have these issues. Yaz controls anxiety.

 

I was on Nuva Ring for about a year and a half. About 5 months ago crazy stuff started happening with my body. I was getting anxiety and a racing heart. I wasn't able to relax or fall sleep or if I did fall asleep I would wake up in the middle of the night with what I thought was an anxiety attack. I couldn't get my heart rate to slow down. I went to my PCP and told him of the heart palpitations. He sent me to a cardiologist and I had extensive (and EXPENSIVE) testing done on my heart and it all came back that my heart was in perfect condition. I was glad that my heart was fine, but I wanted an answer to why I was suffering these symptoms. I tried everything I could to calm my body. I don't smoke, I pretty much completely quit drinking, I quit caffeine and I started drinking herbal teas all the time and practicing deep breathing. I still couldn't shake the symptoms. I heard that acupuncture was good for anxiety so I went. The dr. was not happy to hear that I was on the Nuva Ring (or any BC for that matter). He said it's all bad and could be a contributing factor to my problems. After a hellish night of not being able to fall asleep, I took the ring out on Friday. I had to see if this was the culprit. Afte searching online I see that I'm not the only one complaining of these symptoms. For me, they came out of the blue. Everything was going great in my life and there was no reason why I should feel stressed or anxious. It really made me feel out of control and like I was going crazy or something. For the first time in a long time, I feel in control. I want my body back to normal. It's too soon to tell now, but I hope this solves my problem. I had no problems falling asleep since it's been out and I feel calmer. I've had no major attacks. I started bleeding yesterday and it's heavier than normal, but this is probably my regular flow that I haven't seen in a long time. I hope this is my answer. I finally feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Best wishes to all of you!

 

That was my biggest thing too...I didn't feel in control of my body when I was on the pill. Now that I'm off...I feel...NORMAL

 

HW2981, you sound almost EXACTLY how I'm feeling. I've been doing everything to stop this anxiety, deep meditation, no caffeine, stopped smoking and drinking and I still have symptoms that I can't control. I really hope this is the answer for the both of us. Please keep me updated on how you're doing!