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Mental health

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Original poster

Can the pill cause anxiety?

20 replies

LizzieButton · 31/03/2021 22:59

Hi guys,

I have been struggling a lot with anxiety the past few weeks, I have had it before but this time seems worse. I've been doing mindfulness, exercising and keeping a good routine but I don't seem to be able to get on top of it. I started taking Yasmin in November and I know the pill can be linked to mental health issues so I wanted to ask has anyone had similar experiences? I don't want to come off it unless I think it would really help

OP posts:

Hazel444 · 31/03/2021 23:09

The only time I ever had any kind of anxiety was when I briefly took the Yasmin pill in my twenties, I was really paranoid and obsessive. Never been like that before or since, so it could well be that for you. Can you come off it for a few weeks as an experiment?

WishingHopingThinkingPraying · 31/03/2021 23:11

To be honest I'd say it's lockdown and not the pill.

happinessischocolate · 31/03/2021 23:27

I was on the pill for over 10 years and it was as only when I stopped taking it that I realised how depressed and obsessive it made me.

Original poster

LizzieButton · 31/03/2021 23:38

I'm out at work everyday (I'm a teacher) so I feel like lockdown hasn't affected me too badly mentally, so I'm not sure if that's the cause.

Can I ask how long it took before you felt better after coming of it? Really want to make sure I give it a good try

OP posts:

Estara · 31/03/2021 23:41

I'd been taking the pill for years and suffered bouts of anxiety. I came off the pill 2 years ago and the first thing I noticed was the improvement with my mental health.

RagzReturnsRebooted · 31/03/2021 23:46

Not on Yasmin.
Desogestrel gave me anxiety. Only mildly, but enough to make me stop as it was making me edgy about work and wanting to hide under my desk and cry! I was very disappointed as so many of my patients are so happy on it.
We're all influenced differently by hormones, you may be fine on another combination or a progesterone only (like Desogestrel).
I'm holding out for the Drosperinone only pill now as apparently that has fewer of the mood type side effects. It's not available yet, but coming soon. Called Slynd in the US I think.

PurpleSweetPeas · 31/03/2021 23:47

I was on the pill for years with no anxiety. Stopped to have children and didn't go back on it for years. Decided I wanted to start again and the anxiety was horrendous. I stopped taking it and felt better in a week. Tried a different version and the anxiety came back, not as bad but still noticeable. I stopped completely now.
I suffer with anxiety anyway and developed that since having kids so I wonder if it just heightens what was already there. But I know the pill made it far worse

RagzReturnsRebooted · 31/03/2021 23:47

Sorry I meant not on Yasmin for me. It absolutely could be causing it for you.

happinessischocolate · 31/03/2021 23:48

Can I ask how long it took before you felt better after coming of it? Really want to make sure I give it a good try

Hard to say as I wasn't aware of just how depressed I was. I think the gradual change started immediately, but it was only when looking back a year later that I realised how much I'd changed.

Hazel444 · 01/04/2021 08:27

@LizzieButton

I'm out at work everyday (I'm a teacher) so I feel like lockdown hasn't affected me too badly mentally, so I'm not sure if that's the cause.

Can I ask how long it took before you felt better after coming of it? Really want to make sure I give it a good try

As far as I can remember it was within a week or two. Honestly it was such a strange experience I never went back on the pill after that!

Original poster

LizzieButton · 01/04/2021 08:51

OK, I think I'm going to try come off it. I usually have low level anxiety but the past few weeks I find myself thinking I cannot cope which is new for me

OP posts:

Carouselfish · 01/04/2021 08:56

Dianette messed my 20s up. I dont know if yasmin is one that's prescribed to help acne or not but if so, with hindsight, the acne is preferable to the depression and mood swings.

beingsunny · 01/04/2021 09:23

I haven't experienced this with the pill but with the one they put in your arm (sorry I can't remember the name) though I assume they all contain similar hormones.
I had it removed after a few months because my anxiety was off the charts, it was like an outer body experience.
I'm now taking a contraceptive pill called Zoely which has been fine.

Oneweekleft · 02/04/2021 07:50

Yes yasmin did exactly that for me. I felt really intense about everything like eveything was really serious. Ive taken yasmin 2 times and only the second time it dawned on me that yasmin was making me feel completely different. The second time i took it i had been off hormonal contraception for several years so i know more clearly what my usual state is. Im generally a calm person, can let things go and able to get on with life. Within one week of taking yasmin i was feeling very anxious about everything and just kind of intense? I could see a dramatic change. I wanted to take yasmin the second time round as I knew it clears up my skin. But decied its not worth feeling not myself for. I now look back at the years before when i took Yasmin and i wonder if my perception of reality was altered due to being on this pill and perhaps id even have made different decisions had i not been on it!

Ive tried a range of contraception and the best thing for me is a caya diaphram with caya gel and combine that with withdrawal method to make it more effective. I feel great not having hormonal contraception.

Shylo · 02/04/2021 07:54

Another one adding to the chorus of yes .... I was on the pill for 15 years and worked through various brands - each would start off ok and then over A period of time would send me into an emotional state with constant tears, depression and anxiety ..... never went back after I had kids , now have the mirena and have never had a problem although I know others have

LindaEllen · 03/04/2021 09:36

100% Yasmin made me much more anxious than I am normally.

PoppenhuisStories · 03/04/2021 11:02

Yasmin had a terrible impact on me and caused me to experience anxiety. I only linked the two things when Yasmin wasn’t available so I was prescribed an alternative. I have a friend who also blames Yasmin for a brief period of feeling quite mad.

folloyourarro · 03/04/2021 11:06

Yes yes yes. I assumed I was another young woman destined to live with anxiety and depression. The pill robbed me of pivotal years between 17 and 22. I was on beta blockers, had counselling, restricted my life, then read something about the pill, stopped taking it and almost over night I was fine. Over 10 years ago and never had an issue since. I think it's criminal how we put such young women on these drugs and don't examine the wider remaficiarions for them, but hey, we're reducing those pesky pregnancies women cause so what does it matter

Applehill · 05/04/2021 17:06

Yes, Yasmin caused me terrible anxiety. It crept up gradually, so I didn’t make the connection at first. It also completely diminished my libido. I came off it and started to feel better.

Now I do not use hormonal contraception due to the quite devastating impact it had on me. I could not understand what was wrong with me, and it was a relief when I realised that it was due to the pill, and not me.

However, I also feel angry and frustrated that I suffered unnecessarily for quite a while. I think it is much more recognised and accepted now that the pill can have these significant side effects. I felt alone and very confused when taking Yasmin during my twenties. If I had known sooner, I would have stopped straight away - it was not worth it.

isthismylifenow · 05/04/2021 17:16

@beingsunny

I haven't experienced this with the pill but with the one they put in your arm (sorry I can't remember the name) though I assume they all contain similar hormones. I had it removed after a few months because my anxiety was off the charts, it was like an outer body experience. I'm now taking a contraceptive pill called Zoely which has been fine.

My dd has just been prescribed Zoely, as she suffers with anxiety and depression and is in medication for this. This is the only one that Dr would prescribe for her. She hasn't started it yet, but I will be keeping an eye out to see if I pick up changes. Apparently it was quite difficult to get hold of during lockdown and Dr said that those who had to change to another pill found the others had way more side effects. If it doesn't work for her, it will be plan b.

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