mini-pill (cerazette specifically) and depression/anxiety side-effects - a warning! Please read..

[RedFraggle]

After my horrendous experience with a mini-pill I felt I had to post this here as well as on the feeling depressed board.

I had my DS three months ago and after initial baby blues was starting to feel better. Went for my 8 week postnatal check and was prescribed Cerazette (the mini-pill) as I am breastfeeding. After about a week I started to feel really miserable and paranoid, gradually got worse until I could no longer face taking my kids out for the day as I just didn't feel I could cope.
Carried on getting worse to the point I was suicidal and kept thinking about harming myself or my baby. Spent a lot of time sitting with him and my DD throwing tearful wobblers and me sitting on the floor crying too!
Asked my HV for help and she got me a Doctors appointment - my HADS score was extremely high and I was put on anti-depressants, they started to kick in (although the side-effects were horrid) and I felt a bit more normal and so popped on to here for a look about. i hadn't felt up to even doing that for weeks! I saw a post about cerazette and mood swings and alarm bells rang. Googled Cerazette and anxiety/depression and found lots of stuff. I spoke to my doctor and came off all medication and lo and behold - I am totally fine again! Cerazette made me so mentally unstable, it was terrifying. I have had it yellow carded and suggest anyone else with similar issues speaks to their GP and does the same.
The fact that this pill is being heavily marketed to doctors at the moment (according to my HV) means more people are likely to be prescribed it, and at a time when they have just had a baby and therefore their side-effect symptoms could easily be confused with PND.
If you have recently had a baby and were feeling ok but suddenly start to feel bad or not yourself shortly after starting a mini-pill it might be worth considering changing or stopping medication to just rule out a link. Check with your doctor first of course!!!

Jess, i understand completly..i too am a young mother of 23 and have had simular problems. It all started with anxeity attacks shortly after starting this pill followed by depression which caused servere problems with me and my baby being able to bond and problems with my husband and friends!!! this had been going on for many months before i realised that it might have been the cerazette pill, so i decided to go of it and wow what a difference

Hi im new here but i have been amazed at all the stories iv read on Cerazette, i was on it for 4 months i took it the 1st day of my period and haven't bled again since then, i also suffer from PND and after reading some of ur stories im shocked that my doctor even considered putting me on this i have def felt much worse emotionally since starting cerazette im actually relieved to know that it was caused by this pill as i already take ADs and was worrying that they just wern't working anymore, i was also jittery and anxious alot of the time didnt leave the house for weeks i was constantly tired and slept loads and had next 2 no energy.
I stopped taking cerazzete a week ago as i missed a pill and was out of the 12 hrs window so i just didnt take it but i then took the next 2 nights after that until i read that if you miss 1 then you could be preg and if you continue taking them it can cause eptopic pregnancy so i stopped taking them.
I have had no periods as of yet which i no is normal but not sure if i could be preg. confused.

Wow, what an interesting thread!

I was prescribed Cerezzette this week at my 6 week post baby check up. Dr reccomended it as I'm breastfeeding, has a 12 hour window, and because I want to have more children in the future (Dr was opposed to coil or implant)

My initial concern was if I would have adequate contraception (despite the fact it took 18 months ttc for baby!), as info says its not 100% effective. But the Dr response to this was, 'would it be the end of the world if you did get pregnant again now?' (silly me thought it was called 'family planning'?! )

So I did research on Mumsnet and found this. I've only taken 2 (over 3 days as forgot 1 day , my excuse being a 6 week old baby!!) and don't think I will take anymore. I have a history of depression and anxiety and really don't want to go down that road again. I want to enjoy my baby and dont think it would be fair to put my DH through supporting me again.

Am annoyed that Dr didn't ask about my history (I'm new to that surgery). I dont like using condoms but think its that or risk depression (which is a form of contraception in itself!)

I started taking Cerazette about 6 weeks ago. At first I started getting moods swings which weren't too bad and I thought I could cope with them. After two weeks I started getting bad bloating and really bad stomach cramps, then my period started and lasted for about a week, after that I felt much better again. About two weeks ago I started to feel anxious for no apparent reason, I am a bit of an anxious person but nowhere near this bad. I started to feel quickly worse and started with panic attacks and feeling completely scared the whole time, I couldn't even pick my kids up from school without having a massive panic attack. I have never felt this awful. I went to the doctor who said it wasn't likely to be the Cerazette and that I should keep on taking it, instead she prescribed me beta blockers for the anxiety. I stuck it out for another two days until I couldn't stand it any longer, I felt like I was going mad! So three days ago I stopped taking the Cerazette and I'm starting to feel a bit more normal again. I'll just have to wait and see.....!!

Hi there, I haven't recently had a baby but am a single mum and suffered from PND shortly after my son was born, I know what it feels like.. my son is now 4 and the PND went a long time ago after having waves of it for about 2yrs. I was feeling fine after that even met someone last year who I'm getting married to this yr but since 3months ago I started this horrid pill too and since then I have almost split up with my partner over nothing, I am paranoid,negative,crying all the time & getting upset over the smallest things. It felt just like PND all over again. I haven't had a period for 2mnths and I so want 1! I have had to take myself off it a week ago as I could see it ripping me apart and changing my whole personality and turning me into this raging person. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone! Hope you're ok now and be careful as Dr's these days don't always tell U the negative side of things.

Just had to add to this thread... it's my first post on Mumsnet, but I've been reading this thread over the past week while looking for information about Cerazette and mood swings.

I started taking Cerazette about ten days ago. By day two I was feeling odd, then throughout the next week I spiralled back into depression, which I thought I had said goodbye to a few years ago at the time my son was conceived.

I was alarmed by how negative my thinking became and how I was taken back to a dark place I didn't want to go to again. I was volatile, full of rage, thinking very dark thoughts, feeling unbelievably negative. It was like I had been possessed by some evil force, like someone else was living in my body.

I stopped taking it three days ago and the darkness has lifted. I didn't think a contraceptive could have such a negative effect on my mental health, but it did. I haven't bothered going back to the doctor: she'll only tell me to stick with it, and I'm afraid of what I'll do to myself if I take that stuff. It felt like poison.

Thanks to this thread, I was able to assess the situation and see I wasn't the only one who felt crazy.

I reasd through some of these horrible stories and others but wanted to say

POSITIVE EXPERIENCE SO FAR

I have suffered from anxiety/depression for about 7 years now and have been on citalopram for 3 years. I suspected mone was very much influenced by my hormones so decided to try the mini-pill to see if it would stabilise my hormones. I've been taking it for 2 weeks now and it has been FANTASTIC!!!! I feel so much better, less irritable, more in control, much much much less anxious ( there were days I really worried about going out of the house).

I would just like to say that cerazette is a medicationlike any other - you need to find one that suits you AS AN INDIVIDUAL and that may take some time but don't be put off by all the negatiove stories - people are much more inclined to repeat negative things than positive. I am in no way dismissing all of you who have had negative experiences but I do think it is great to hear some positive stuff too .

Hi Rumpel, Glad it is working out for you. I did not start this thread just to slag off Cerazette, I wanted to warn people that it can cause terrible depression in some people. Looking at the responses it has been of use to some people who otherwise may not have connected the mini-pill to their depression.

Sadly many people are not warned of the side-effects during prescribing. This particular pill's own documantation did not mention depression at all.

As I said in my OP:

"If you have recently had a baby and were feeling ok but suddenly start to feel bad or not yourself shortly after starting a mini-pill it might be worth considering changing or stopping medication to just rule out a link. Check with your doctor first of course!!! "

This is unbelievable. Went to the GP today because I have been very foul tempered on Micronor, and came home with Cerazette... This rang a bell somehow so I googled it and found this thread (I must have seen the title before). How on earth can they prescribe this to me which sounds so very worse than what I am experiencing on Micronor?
I asked for the combined pill but was declined due to high blood pressure (which was due to having just had to get two young children ready and out of the house to make my appointment on time...)

Really don't know where to go from here but feel reluctant to give this minipill even a try!!

Hi BabyGiraffes,
Oh dear. You could give it a try and just make sure you monitor your moods closely to make sure if it does disagree you with you are prepared. You might be lucky and find it suits you. Not everyone has had a terrible time with this pill. I am a bit that there is still so little information about depressive side effects though! How can we make informed choices about our own bodies without all the information?

Back again - my mood is much much better. Cerazette has been fab for my anxiety and depression but I have been bleeding for a week now so am off to GP on Monday to change for another.

BABYGIRAFFES - you need to try dfferent ones to see what suits you - what works for one won't always work for another.

We are very lucky in this country to have so many meds avaialable to us and free on the NHS.

REDFRAGGLE - totally with you - think it is only a good thing to raise awareness and you are right - most people don't attribute mental welfare to certain meds. Just wanted to add a positive experience as people are much quicker to add negatie ones than positive .

I was on Cerazette for a couple of years before having my baby. I never had any depression side effects but I had plenty of others...hair loss, spots in my hair, loss of libido etc... My baby is now 12 weeks and I am breastfeeding. I have just started taking Cerazette again and the symptoms seem worse. From the first day I started taking it I have had really vivid dreams and lots of them have been violent, gruesome and really quite disturbing! I have also had rashes on my legs, hair loss and libido loss. I also don't like the idea that some of the active substance in cerazette gets passed to baby through my milk. Think I will be stopping.

Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!!!! Am new on here and like most I found this thread while looking for evidence that I wasn't going mad lol!! What got me looking was seeing Denise Welch interview on this morning yesterday and she mentioned that she had had the Mirena Coil fitted years back (which slowly releases progesterone) and that when a specialist advised her to have it removed, she said she was better 95% of the time. Still has depression but she says that Doc saved her life!! It got me thinking about my pill as I too am on Cerezette and have been since my DD was 6weeks old. After about a year I had to go to the docs as was finding life pretty hard to cope with and was suffering with very bad/wierd anxiety and no sex drive whatsoever!! and he prescribed AD's which sort of helped with the anxiety but nothing else. Over time I went from 10mg Citalopram, to 20mg and now 40mg and although certain symptoms had reduced, I was still feeling pretty crap, always tired, always stressed to the point where I was just starting to think that I was just a rubbish mum!! My DD is nearly 5 so I've been plodding along for some time just thinking I'd turned into a looney! Today I have not taken my pill and will keep you posted as to whether I start to feel normallity return. I am convinced this is all down to the Cerezette as looking back, things only started to go downhill once I started taking it...we shall see! xxx

I've just read this thread with horror. I discovered it by accident.

I've just been prescribed Cerazette and am due to start taking it in a week's time.
I have issues with anxiety/ hypervigilance that the Dr and I actually discussed at the appoinmtment in which she prescribed Cerazette for me.

I am too nervous of things getting worse to even try and take Cerazette.

Has anyone tried a different brand of mini pill that doesn't give these awful side effects?

I am keen to find an alternative, so I can have a suggestion when I go back to my GP.

I can't take the combined pill as I'm over weight.

I need to be on some sort of pill for birth control, but I find being on the pill helps my heavy, painful periods.

Please can someone help?
I am panicking now. I can't take anything that will make me feel worse than I do now.

I'm on femulen which has been much much better than mycrogynon (spl) for me.
HTH.

Thanks for that June2009. I've had a quick google and haven't foudn anything bad so far about it. I'll go back to my GP and ask for that instead.

I just can't risk taking Cerazette.

I think the only downside compared to cerazette is that you have to take it at the same time everyday and the window if you miss your pill is 3 hours iirc. (I think cerazette is 12.)

Just a quick note to add, in hindsight, I reacted badly to the implant (which is a slow progesterone release) and I have many symptoms of low estrogen Only realised this in last couple of days since doing more research on Cerezette and depression. Thinks its fairly obvious that I've too much progesterone in my system and all the AD's have been doing is masking the side effects, not sorting the problem. Like I said, only stopped taking pill today so only time will tell but it all seems far to coincidental to me!!

I went back on this after giving birth and was taking it for a week. As I said in a previous post i had loads of side effects. I also found that it effected my milk supply and babber was much more fussy when feeding. She had been putting on about 8oz a week consistantly but suddenly lost 4oz. I did some further research and found research suggesting a negative effect on milk supply and the taste of the milk. I stopped taking it and my milk supply has returned as usual and this week baby put on a whopping 12oz!

I refused to give this pill a second try after having my third child and have coped so much better than after my second even though I still have the same stress levels etc as before. So for me I think I can safely say that I was so ill after my second child because of this pill.

Thank you ,thank you,thank you,thank you!!!
I started crying reading this thread,as I'm so relieved it's not me going mad,it's cerazette that's turned me into a monster!

Was put on it 1 year ago to treat my endometriosis,and thank god,those intolerable,crippling pains vanished.
However,the first few months I had 2 periods a month,looked and felt like I was pregnant 2 weeks every month,now I have no periods at all,but am feeling like I am suffering permanent pmt!!! I went from suffering with no acne since I was a teen,to ending up with terrible boils/spots on my chin,they just never go away! (sometimes the whole chin swells up,and am currently on antibiotics to treat it as it's gotten so bad)
But the worst of all is the depression and terrible moodswings!
I sometimes feel like I could hurt myself or my child (just like you Redfraggle,I cried when I read that,as it was like reading about me!),I snap for no reason (I don't dare to go into half the coffee shops in my area now as I have shouted at those poor staff for not givinbg me hot enough coffee!)
I cry over nothing,and I feel so low and demotivated,and totally,totally exhausted!

I went to see my gp for depression,and ended up seeing the locum who prescrined me antidepressants (which I did NOT want to take,know from previous experience that I don't want to be doped up,took antidepressants years ago when I lost a close family member,and they turned me into a zombie!)
The (male,of course)Locum said when I objected to taking antidepressants "Well,what do you want me to do? You either put up with feeling and acting like a pmt monster,or you don't!What do you want me to say? If you think the prozac will make you feel like a zombie,don't take them! (ta very much for being so nice and sensitive about it!)

So,I found this thread,and the relief after reading all the posts is immense.I am not going nuts or out of my mind (I seriously thought I was losing the plot!Big time!)
I am stopping taking those pills NOW,I will not see my GP before.What I will do is keep a diary of how my symptoms improve (to show that it IS the cerazette affecting me,as I had NO anger issues or any other symptoms prior to taking cerazette,I used to be happy as Larry!)
I may also print out this thread,not that he'll read it,but to shove in his face (erm,that anger coming out again,whoops!) and go "Here,9 pages of posts from women having the very same problems,you still think it ain't cverazette casuign these problems?"
Hopefully there's something else that can be prescribed for my endometriosis.

Sorry for the long post,but thank you all sooo,sooo much again for all your posts,not just from me,but from my daughter who'll no doubt have her happy,loving mum back again
Hugs to you all!)))

I was put on Cerazette after having DC3(21 months) as I was breastfedding.
I can't say I have had severe mood swings but I had been grumpier and snappier towards DP.
Also when I slowed brestfeeding to nights only I got caught pregnant so not a good mini-pill.

I am so pleased that I found this site.

I've been on Cerazette for 6 months, I have a recent history of severe depression and have gone back on the AD after being on Cerazette for 3 months.

I asked my Dr about my lack of libido and all she did was check to see if it was a side effect of the AD, and when I asked about my weight gain she said I was simply fat, this did make me laugh as last year I was severely underweight due to depression and anxiety.

I've now stopped the Cerazette and amongst other things feel like there's been a huge weight lifted from me as I'd internalised many if these issues which were feeding my depression.

Thanks for sharing your experiences they've really helped me.

I was put on this pill after having my son nearly 3 years ago. Almost straight away i became very depressed but had put that down to events that were happening in my life around the same time.
I had no sex drive whatsoever and it got to the stage where i couldnt bear to hold hands with my husband let alone do anything else. I had gone to the gp numerous times as my lack of sex drive was really upsetting me. I asked if it was the pill making me feel like this and was told definately not, and it wasnt suprising i had lost my sex drive due to the troubles i was having in my life at the time. I went back a few more times and eventually the gp said he would refer me for councilling. I moved house and never went.

My husband also believed the way i was feeling was down to this pill. He eventually convinced me into coming off the thing just 2 months ago, i wouldnt do it before because i couldnt bear the thought of having another child to cope with.

I am a totally different person now, even after this short time. I feel i am me again. My sex drive is 110%, and now want more than anything to have another baby.

I look back now on how i was and realise how hard i must have been to live with, i am extremely lucky to have a husband that was so understanding. It must have been hell for him too.

Cerazette took away 3 years of our life, i will never take it again.

Oh god i've just been prescribed this today. My meniere's disease (inner ear disorder)is worse before my periods so gp said this would help any hormone imbalance. I can't go on the combined pill as my mum died of breast cancer. Should I just not take it? I should also say that I have /still sometimes suffer from anxiety.