Pill and depression

[thecatsarecrazy]

Hi there, does anyone else find that the pill causes awful depression? From what I understand the Dr's will never agree with you but I've seen many women say the same.
I went back on the pill, mainly because I was seeing someone who wouldn't use a condom 🙄 so I started the pill again, for the 1st month a bled every day but thought I'll keep going until I get used to it, then by the time I was on the 2nd pack the guy I was seeing was gone, turned out to be yet another let down. Then the depression kicked in. I've never felt anything like it. My heart felt heavy, I felt so sad, numb, close to tears. It wasn't so much him letting me down I'm used to it. I was getting up for work but while at home I couldn't bring myself to get up and do much of anything.
I stopped taking it last Thursday and now I feel so much much better. The sadness has gone, I've started laughing again. I've got another 3 months supply upstairs but don't think I could take them again!

I didn't feel the depression as such. More that I didn't get worked up about anything. A sad thing happened= oh... ok, what's next? A happy thing happened = that's nice. What should I make for dinner?
It was like I was apathetic to absolutely everything going on. Not that I didn't care, I just didn't feel any ups or downs.

It disappeared about 2-3 months after I stopped taking the pill.

There are lots of different progesterones used in different brands of pills.

Some of them cause issues to some women. Stats for PMDD (Google it if you don't know) suggest it affects only ~5% of younger women, but up to ~30% of peri-menopausal women, and PMDD is thought to be caused by sensitivity to progesterone (which can include that which your body makes naturally).

And that's only counting the ones who both report symptoms to their doctors and are taken seriously by them, so it's probably higher, plus many people will likely have symptoms which are similar but aren't serious enough to be considered PMDD.

Mirena also uses progesterone, but I can't recall which type.

So, if you want to be on a hormonal contraceptive, maybe consider one which uses a different progesterone (and/or, a different amount of estrogen if using a combined one, as this may also have an impact).

Drospirenone apparently has a reputation for being a "friendly" progesterone a/c my doctor, but please do your own research and speak to your own doctors to get advice and information for your particular circumstances.

I had a month long period too. Fun times.

I'm not sure about depression as I started it when I was being abused so that made me pretty miserable.

But I was on it for 10 years and no depression after the guy was gone, during that. Apart from 2 month of winter blues at one point.

I think it probably just takes time to settle.

If you were seeing a creep who refused to wear condoms then I'm not surprised you were depressed.

I cannot take the pill at all as I get depressed and feel like having a cold all the time. Once I stopped taking and it all cleared off my body I felt so good.

Yes it can cause depression I've heard horror stories about peoples depression while having coils in. Have you stopped taking it ?

Yeah I stopped last Thursday, I had 4 left but just couldn't take it anymore, at one point I was actually laying in bed thinking about ending it all. I wasn't thinking normally.

I feel right as rain today. Few days ago I was randomly bursting into tears.

The guy turned out to be an absolute nightmare. Lier and user, broke and lives with his mum, alcoholic.. I kept thinking why am I so upset at this one ghosting me.. it happens all the time, and he certainly wasn't anything special but it wasn't him I'm sure it was the pill.
I'm like a different person today.

I felt like that on the last one, like the kids would be rowing and shouting and I was just like yeah, whatever. I stopped that one because it would randomly make me bleed

Oh gosh! I am so pleased that you identified what was causing the depression.

I had similar, but anxiety with it. Just picking up the telephone made me panic! It was horrific. It took a few months of misery for me to realise, but I was back to myself within 48 hours of coming off the pill.

I have also experienced terrible rage when on a different type of pill. I do not get along with the mini pill, but was fine on the combined.

I wonder how many women are given antidepressants before being offered a change of contraceptive pill.

I am totally against the Pill for this reason. I have never taken it and never will. i think it’s horrendous that women feel they have to go through this because some loser guy won’t wear a condom.

I rely on the rhythm method (my cycle is super predictable, especially since cutting out all processed foods and seed oils) or the diaphragm during fertile periods, and/or condoms.

of course, the most reliable method is celibacy which is what I’m practicing currently because men are, for the most part, useless and unworthy.

Kills your libido too
Partly due to the 6 months of spotting before it settles down .

The pill made my teen suicidal. They now have the implant and it's a breeze for them

I was on one which did not suit at all, depressed and killed libido. But another one I felt great on. I'm on hrt now and body identical progesterone doesn't suit me and I struggle a bit on the alternative I'm on but it's not as bad.

Ridiculous if doctors don't think it's a thing.

I had the implant after my 2nd son, 1st year was amazing periods stopped completely then sadly I bled pretty much all the time

I was talking to a guy recently who's been with his partner years, 2 kids and she's asked him to get the snip but he won't because he's afraid it will effect him getting hard. I told him he's ridiculous it has no affect on that, think about your Mrs putting that crap in her body when you could have a simple op and stop it all. In my experience men are generally useless

I bled for a month but totally killed my sex drive. Not a flicker

Keep trying a different formulation.

My PMDD made me suicidal two out of every four weeks. I was taking Trinovum (now discontinued), a triphasic Pill. I decided not to have a break one month as I didn't want a bleed on holiday.

What a revelation. No PMDD. So I stopped having a break until I ran out and the GP refused to give me a repeat after I told him (him! A man will never understand) why I need them sooner than I should have. He prescribed a POP instead. I bled continuously and ended up in hospital after getting so low I self-harmed.

I'm now perimenopausal and my PMDD is worse than ever. My periods are hell with sausage-sized clots. I'm so anaemic I've recently been given an iron infusion. I'm no longer using hormonal contraception but started Prozac a few months ago and the depression has eased around my period.

I hope every woman suffering with this can get help as it's a miserable existence.

It’s a known and well documented side effect. Your doctor is a bit ignorant not to buy what you are saying, this is literally on the NHS website - or was last time I checked. My male older doctor was amazing about it - some 15 years ago.

You might want to try the coil or something else. I was extremely sceptical after my first experience as my mental health was so badly affected, and weight as well.

Though the coil was awful first few weeks, MH is excellent on it, I have never felt so at peace, zero mood swings. And no periods. And not having to remember to take anything. And no weight gain.

So glad I took the plunge. There may be things that work for you.

Yes, it can definitely cause depression. I've seen a female relative go through this and it seems to have changed her permanently despite coming off the pill. Very concerning.

Tbh I wish they'd promote having the snip to boys in schools when talking about contraception.

No teen wants kids, most men don't want kids till a decade or two or even three later and the snip is largely reversible.

But the damage the pill can do to young women over many years taking it... ...

If it was made popular for men to get the snip around the same time as they get their driving licence there'd be a lot less teen pregnancies and less women would need to put drugs in their systems their whole lives.

Hi OP, I was on Loestrin for years and was extremely depressed but never actually put two and two together, as had been on it from the age of 16. Came off it (basically as no longer required as wasn’t in a relationship any more) and it was like a fog lifted. So it was only in retrospect that I put two and two together. Won’t go on any hormonal contraceptive now, although I know there are those who will say that the two aren’t linked- that’s just my experience.

Many Dr's will gaslight you and say it doesn't cause depression, same as bleeding. I had the implant and I kept bleeding and the Dr literally shrugged his shoulders at me and said I don't know? Maybe have it out and a new one fitted? I ended up putting up with it and eventually had it removed at the sexual health clinic.

I found Cerazette made me incredibly depressed and very angry. Not to mention the acne and constant spotting and bleeding. I had slightly better success with Noriday but am now really struggling to find a progesterone to use with my HRT that I can tolerate. My GP keeps pushing the coil but I refuse to have one. Great being a woman isn’t it.

I reacted to Cerazette like you did. I was told by a rep they wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I'm currently using Oestrogel for two weeks and Evorel patches for the other two. I have an allergy to the glue in patches and cannot tolerate any form of HRT pill. At least only using patches for two out of four weeks gives my skin a break.

My GP must have recently had HRT training as she now wants me to try Utrogestan vaginally instead of the patches. I asked how I'd manage it vaginally when I'd be bleeding for one week so she suggested I take it orally for that week.

If you find something that isn't a coil, let us know.