Apri and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Tin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 11, 2018

For Birth Control "This was my first time ever on birth control, and it was an awful experience. I started out feeling nauseous and depressed within the first few weeks, and it only got worse. I started feeling extremely paranoid and anxious, uncontrollably crying, irrational thinking, and feeling emotionally detached almost, if not, every day. People very close in my life started to notice and mentioned I started acting this way when I started the pill, so I talked to my doctor and switched brands, and I’ve felt more like myself ever since. The only upside was that I was not pregnant, my period was always on time, even though I still had unbearable cramps and heavy bleeding."

• Tin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 11, 2018

For Birth Control "This was my first time ever on birth control, and it was an awful experience. I started out feeling nauseous and depressed within the first few weeks, and it only got worse. I started feeling extremely paranoid and anxious, uncontrollably crying, irrational thinking, and feeling emotionally detached almost, if not, every day. People very close in my life started to notice and mentioned I started acting this way when I started the pill, so I talked to my doctor and switched brands, and I’ve felt more like myself ever since. The only upside was that I was not pregnant, my period was always on time, even though I still had unbearable cramps and heavy bleeding."

• Ang...
• February 2, 2021

For Birth Control "Don't take it if you have anxiety. I took Apri for 2 months and one week. It was prescribed to me for acne and painful cramps. It did the job with my cramps, I didn't get any, and my periods were super light and manageable. My acne got worse for a bit but just started to clear up at the beginning of the 3rd month. Apri made my anxiety worse. I am a very anxious person. It wasn't the medication itself, but knowing the possibly dangerous side effects made me anxious. I would get super anxious randomly throughout the day, feel tightness in my chest, my heart would beat very hard. At night, I would tremble and get pins and needles and leg cramps. It would take me about 3 hours to fall asleep. I would twitch when trying to fall asleep and would wake up throughout the night. I started taking CBD oil, and it cleared up most of my physical anxiety, but I was still paranoid. I stopped taking Apri, and after a week, I felt perfectly normal again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2021

For Birth Control "I have been on the pill for about 3 months, and I am having no negative side effects. I notice I still have mood swings closer to the end of my pack as if I'm PMSing. But I feel normal, my anxiety is under control. My appetite picked up, but I'm on the road to making some better diet changes. Don't listen to all the bad reviews because I've tried numerous birth controls that have made me feel crazy or pain to worsen. This has been a breeze."

• Aea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2021

For Birth Control "Got almost every side effect possible with this medication. I can’t keep food down and am losing weight. Sweating and migraines 24/7. Also, random anxiety attacks for no reason at all. Wouldn’t recommend even trying it. I don’t feel like myself at all, mentally or physically, on this medication."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 13, 2018

For Birth Control "When I first started taking Apri, which was a year ago, I found that it changed my mood a lot, making me depressed, anxious, and angry all the time for no reason. Also, I have been having lots of cravings. But on the good side, I feel like I can trust this brand of birth control a lot to keep me from being pregnant. Also, not many side effects, no headaches or nausea. I’ve now been taking it for almost a year now, and my body has been getting used to it a lot."

• mpl...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 9, 2018

For Birth Control "I have been taking Apri for a few years and generally have no concerns at all. Periods are managed perfectly - last 4 days and are always the same. The only downside is that I have more anxiety with this pill, and it doesn’t control my acne very well. I am switching soon just to see if those symptoms will improve — but if they don’t, I’m definitely going back to Apri."

• Mar...
• December 2, 2018

For Birth Control "I was put on this birth control after I was on Tri-Previfem for a couple of years. After taking a lower dose BC, my periods started to be irregular, so they put me on a higher dose (Apri/Desogen) to regulate my periods. So, now about Apri... It did, in fact, make my periods regular. As far as everything else... awful. I have anxiety, definitely get depressed for no reason. Mood swings every week for no reason, like crazy. Zero sex drive. Doesn’t do anything for acne, it makes it worse, in my opinion. I always break out when I’m taking it. It made me gain a lot of weight in the beginning and messed with my moods. During my cycle, I have a terrible crampy ovulation-like symptoms, I have awful period cramps and terrible mood swings, pimples, it’s just terrible. Periods are long. I’ve never been worried about pregnancy because this stuff is so strong I missed multiple days and never got pregnant when I probably should have. But other than that, this birth control is terrible."

• Syl...
• November 5, 2017

For Birth Control "Rated a 5 due to its effectiveness at preventing pregnancy, but I stopped taking it after many years of this brand or the same ingredients in different brands because I've finally realized it is the cause of my frequent migraines, terrible moodiness, and anger issues. I stopped taking it to try to conceive and had been off it for about two years. All of those side effects disappeared, at least a great deal. Now I've been back on for 6 months, and all side effects have reappeared. Please, if you are experiencing depression, anger issues, anxiety, or similar issues, don't write it off, it will begin to have a huge effect on your daily life."

• kel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 19, 2021

For Birth Control "I started this pill more than 2 years ago, and I have only had mild psychological symptoms. No physical changes, such as weight or acne. I would sometimes get mood swings and seep into depression and anxiety from time to time (for only a week or so). However, I’ve never gotten pregnant from consistently taking the pill. I love this pill, and I would switch back to this if I end up not liking the implant (I’m switching over soon). Everyone’s body is different. Fortunately, I reacted pretty well."

• Ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 9, 2023

For Birth Control "I’ve been on this pill for 5 years in April 2023. Over the last year or two, I’ve been more anxious — my personality definitely changed. I am constantly tired no matter how much sleep I get — it has caused fights because I fall asleep every single time we lay down to watch a movie. Oh, and the migraines I get are horrendous. I can’t even open my eyes when I get them. I get them quite frequently and I’ve been to the doctor multiple times to get scans, and everything is normal. This pill gave me the biggest stomach pouch ever. I was always a twig and I’m still pretty small, but my stomach fat makes me so self-conscious, and I can’t seem to get it to go away no matter what I do. I am either so hungry ALL day, even after eating, or I am nauseous (carsick feeling). I have a weak stomach now. I have no motivation, I always used to be active. I even ran cross country, and now you have to DRAG me to the gym. I have had vaginal dryness as well."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 11, 2021

For Birth Control "I’ve been on this pill for about two years, and to be completely honest, it has made me a crazy person. The only side effect I’ve had is how much it affects my mood. It made me super irritable and emotional on top of an insane amount of anxiety. I’ve even been put on a few different anxiety medications in the past two years. After a conversation with my doctor and doing a little research, I will be switching to a different form of BC. Not once did I think the pill was the issue."

• Mar...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 23, 2021

For Birth Control "I have been on the pill (continuous pill) from the age of 22 until 37 for very bad endometriosis. The pill was a miracle for me, but then at 37, because I was scared of having phlebitis/thrombosis because of someone telling me horror stories, I stopped taking it. It was the worst decision of my life. A few weeks after stopping the pill, I started having a nervous breakdown, was having panic attacks like never before, my anxiety was crippling, I started to get depressed, I started to have real bad acne, my skin was greasy, my periods were back in full force, heavy and painful as anything. I was a mess, but thank God no phlebitis. Doctors tell you about the risk of taking the pill, but they do not tell you the risk to stop taking it after a long time. I went back on it after I had a talk with my doctor who told me that some girls/women can experience very bad depression, anxiety, and bad mood swings when they STOP taking it. I wish I knew about that. Anyone else experienced that? (Like if yes)"

• Dey...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 2, 2018

For Birth Control "I do not recommend this birth control to anybody. I experienced anxiety, depression. I couldn’t control my eagerness, had bad mood swings ever since I started taking these pills. I had abdominal pain, weight gain, increased appetite, hungry all the time, crave weird things, etc. Do not take it!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 4, 2023

For Birth Control "I was on this pill for about 2 years, and I didn’t have the greatest experience. Every time I would start a new pack, I would get nauseous in the morning to the point of throwing up, but it only lasted maybe 1-2 days. I was getting super anxious and depressed to the point where I just didn’t want to do anything and would rather stay inside all day. I do have to say that my skin was always pretty clear with the occasional hormonal zit near my period. I had no weight gain or the need to eat more or less. Overall, the negative side effects were a little too much for me, but everyone is different!"

• Cee...
• November 28, 2016

For Birth Control "This is one of those drugs that sneak up on you. Been on this for 8 months. The first couple of months I felt fine, but by the 6th month I started having horrible pregnancy symptoms, even though I wasn't pregnant. Overall, I've had anxiety attacks, depression spells, and I've gained water weight from the pills. I have no sex drive whatsoever. I've been on other pills, and they almost killed me with allergic reactions or panic attacks."

• BCA...
• March 7, 2012

For Birth Control "This is the worst birth control experience I've ever had. I was on Quasense for three years but stopped when breakthrough started to occur. I am on these medications for birth control but also to manage excessively heavy and painful periods. I started Apri on the first day of my period. I then bled for 12 days, followed by five days of horrible discharge. I stopped Apri 12 days into the pack after experiencing ridiculous weight gain (my diet did not change), headaches, outrageous mood swings, anxiety, full body pain, cramping, muscle spasms in my neck, and severe fatigue. It is now day 18 (five days off the pill), and I'm still bleeding and dealing with tremendous mood swings. I have gained what looks like 20 or so pounds."