Ocella and Anxiety: What Users Say

• Cle...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 25, 2024

For Birth Control "I have been taking Yasmin/Ocella for more than 20 years. Ocella is the only Yasmin generic that doesn’t cause me any side effects. I have had such a positive experience taking this drug and terrible side effects when I’ve tried to change methods-weight gain, anxiety, unbearable cystic acne, all almost immediately on stopping. My only complaint is that it seems to be increasingly difficult for my pharmacy to keep this in stock and fill my orders in time."

• Use...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 22, 2019

For Birth Control "About to finish my first month of this Ocella birth control. I was prescribed it by my gynecologist for my acne because my Tri-Sprintec wasn’t helping anymore. So far, this has been one of the worst months - horrible headaches, chest pains, and the worst would be the anxiety I’ve experienced. I’ve always had anxiety, but this past month it has been completely out of control and crippling. I’m not sure what I’m going to do because I’ve read it takes three months for my body to get used to the BC, but I don’t know if I can take this much longer."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 18, 2012

For Birth Control "Have been taking Ocella for four months now due to polycystic ovarian syndrome. I've been experiencing elevated blood pressure, and this is causing some other ill feelings, such as nausea and shortness of breath, which immediately triggers anxiety attacks. Surprisingly, I feel fine emotionally for the majority of the time. My breast size has increased, my sex drive is up, my periods are lighter, and my skin is clearer. The negative symptoms I have been experiencing have not been frequent, they have only occurred recently. However, the severe elevation in my blood pressure is cause for concern, and I may switch next month to a new pill."

• Jsz...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 9, 2017

For Birth Control "I have been taking Ocella for about a year now. It has controlled my breakthrough bleeding, but the last few months I've been experiencing extreme mood swings, depression, anxiety, anger/rage... I don't know myself. Friends/family notice too. I am stopping this pill today. I have a call in to my OB. I feel like I'm going crazy!"

• MAa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 26, 2020

For Acne "I went on Ocella about a year ago (freshman year of college, 18) to help with my hormonal acne that I had been struggling with since I was 15. I immediately noticed that I felt a lot more depressed/moody, but I was also adjusting to college. Three months in, my acne was the worst it had ever been, but I decided to stick it out. Suddenly, around 4-5 months, it started to clear up, and my skin has been clear since! I also noticed some weight gain and water retention, but that went away over time. I have also developed some issues with anxiety that I never experienced before the pill, but cannot really say whether Ocella directly caused it or not."

• wyl...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 1, 2018

For Birth Control "Every woman's body is different, so every person has different side effects. The worst side effects I ever had were from Nexplanon (severe depression, weight loss, anxiety, horrible acne, no sex drive), so I decided to switch back to the pill, and Ocella was free under my insurance. This is the best birth control method for my body! No depression, no heightened anxiety, cleared up my skin 100%, I gained my much-needed weight back, and I got my sex drive back! Unfortunately, you won't know how a birth control will affect you personally until you try it out, but this is my favorite one!"

• Ros...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 5, 2021

For Birth Control "If you have IBS or any issues at all with your stomach, I do not recommend this pill. Not only was I severely depressed, moody, and anxious more than I had ever been in my life, but I also had terrible bowel movements, stomach pain, and pelvic pain. I could not eat anything normally for 3 weeks, and I've been off the pill for about 2 months now, and my stomach is finally just now regulating. Everyone is different, but this pill was the worst mistake for me. (I was only on it for a month)"

• Moo...
• November 8, 2016

For Birth Control "Did what it was supposed to do, i.e., I didn't get pregnant and I was sexually active the whole time I was on it. Also, I don't believe I had a single zit for the whole year and a half I was on it. Nice! However, I experienced a lot of very annoying headaches while taking Ocella. They were stubborn too, wouldn't go away if I took an Aleve. Also, weight gain definitely happened. I went up 2 full cup sizes and 'filled out' in general. I would say about 8 lbs or so. (With little to no change in my diet/lifestyle.) Also, I feel that Ocella increased my anxiety and depression. It also affected my sex drive and level of lubrication. Everyone's body is different, hard to say if symptoms were from Ocella or unrelated."

• Rik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 2, 2020

For Birth Control "I had high hopes for Ocella with all the good reviews I read, but no. Back story: I'm in my 30s, PCOS lean, and have already had to have a hysterectomy. This BC absolutely wreaked havoc on my stomach so bad that I've become intolerant to red meat. On top of all that awesomeness (sarcasm), it gave me horrible anxiety and turned me into an emotional mess. I've switched to Happy Hippie Go With the Flow supplements and have had WAY better results. Because I'm PCOS and experience PMDD, I've also switched to a low-carb diet and pair that with exercise, and I feel amazing. But eating red meat now has me praying to the 'porcelain god' for almost 2 days."

• Pba...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 4, 2014

For Acne "Prescribed Ocella for PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), which can cause severe cystic acne that I had. Have been on it for 10 years. It was a miracle, acne is gone. To prevent the mood swings and acne flare-ups during the inert week each month, I had my OBGYN write a prescription for 3 months straight. Now I only have my period and mood swings 4 times per year instead of 12. Other pills caused anxiety attacks, I have felt most normal on this pill. The downside is I have no libido, but I am 40, so I guess I should expect some decrease at my age anyway."

• Anonymous
• April 24, 2012

For Birth Control "It wasn't a bad birth control other than the mood swings and anxiety. Six months into it, I started to have a really hard time breathing, chest pain, and swelling of my arms and legs. I checked out side effects, and these are some of the more severe ones. I took myself off of it a week ago, and I feel so much better, I'm less anxious and moody, and the pain and swelling."

• Kri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 8, 2014

For Birth Control "This may be premature, I've only been on it for a week, but I have been super moody. Irritable, cried 3x in the past week and have developed a lot of pimples on my forehead and nose. I usually never break out, only when on my period and not as much as this. I also am highly anxious... I'm an anxious person to begin with, but with the pill for this week I've been near panic attack a lot, and that hasn't happened in a decade. I'm hoping my body gets used to the pill and these awful side effects will go away. Will update after the month."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2022

For Birth Control "I was super scared to take birth control because of the side effects, and I’m glad I made the decision to hop off of it when I did. I was on Ocella for 5 days and had to stop because it completely changed who I am. I stopped going to the gym, had to skip classes, and almost lost vision in my left eye (it felt like there was a line of blurriness). Additionally, even though it was only 5 days, for my past two periods off of it, I have experienced the worst anxiety/depression I have ever felt in my life. This feeling has been going on for 5 days now, and it’s only getting worse. Although it was nice not having to deal with breast pain/cramps, the side effects were not worth it in the long run."

• Emi...
• April 10, 2018

For Acne "I majorly broke out eventually, getting pimples every day, not hormonal acne, but lots of zits and redness. I’ve tried a birth control before, but now that I’m on Ocella, let me just say it’s a miracle for me, no side effects whatsoever. Although each first day of the new pack I wake up having an upset stomach and anxiety, it eventually goes away that same day. I used the pill for my awful-I mean excruciating-cramps and acne, which have helped honestly 100%. I have no cramping anymore. I’m on my fifth month now, and it has cured my acne. I’m not entirely clear, but I’ve reduced my pimples to two pimples a month, and those pimples always show up the week before my period, so my period's to blame for this. It was the best pill for me. But like I said, this cured and helped my acne soooooo much, I have gotten so many compliments on how smooth my skin is. A miracle pill is all I’m saying (:"

• Sco...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 14, 2017

For Birth Control "I've been on birth control since I was 16, now 22. I've tried 3 birth controls before Ocella. All previous ones had breakthrough bleeding, mood swings, and one gave me out-of-control yeast infections. That's when I switched to Ocella: zero acne, I skip my period, no breakthrough bleeds, no weight gain besides 3 pounds and a little bloating every so often. Best part: no pregnancy scares for the last 2 years. Love the protection and stability it's supplied! I will say I've experienced intermittent anxiety on it, might try another kind if it continues. Hope this helped. Worth a try, it's kept me safe, happy, and acne/pregnancy free."

• Iha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 5, 2015

For Birth Control "The only reason I didn't rate this pill a 1 is because it did clear up my skin, which is initially why I switched to Ocella. I was on BeYaz for 3 months and loved it, and when I learned my insurance did not cover it, I quickly had to switch to a similar generic birth control, which I thought Ocella was always compared to BeYaz. So let me just say it did wonders for my skin. HOWEVER, within a week of taking the pill, I noticed a huge change in my mood. I was really sad all of the time, especially at work. It only went down from there. After 5 weeks on Ocella, I had an anxiety attack at my boyfriend's house, and the following week I experienced the heaviest depression I have ever felt in my life. I had horrible thoughts, felt hopeless and down."

• Nic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2021

For Birth Control "I just started taking this drug about 4 days ago. Was on YAZ before. Did this because it was free for me. I honestly enjoyed YAZ, and it was good. Just heard this was the same thing... But yesterday, I have never experienced the worst mood swings of my life. I never have had so much anxiety about the dumbest things. I just took it a couple of minutes ago and then was thinking about why my heart was beating so fast. Come to these reviews and realize it’s this awful pill that has never made me feel so mentally dysfunctional. Will be tossing these awful pills out. For your own safety, I do not recommend. I’m normally a very happy person, and these pills have definitely made me overthink my whole life and obtain not even an hour of sleep because I was jittering the whole night... Typically, I sleep 9 hours and fall asleep right away in less than 10 minutes. WORST EXPERIENCE WITH A PILL EVER."

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 20, 2021

For Birth Control "I took it for a week, and the first couple of days were fine, but by around the third day of taking Ocella, I started to feel extremely irritable. Every little thing would make me super upset that usually I wouldn't get so upset over. I also felt super anxious and depressed. It's like every ounce of positive feeling and self-love has disappeared out of my body. I stopped after a week because it is not worth feeling this way. I know it can affect everyone differently, but I personally have had a bad experience."

• Vba...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 13, 2017

For Birth Control "I was using Sprintec for about 4 years with no issues until I started experiencing breakthrough bleeding every month 2 weeks before I got my “period.” So I talked to my PCP and decided to change. She prescribed me Ocella (generic for Yasmin), and the first two initial days all I experienced was nausea, which is to be expected. But about a week into it, I got the worst anxiety attacks... worse than I’ve ever had along with a very rapid heartbeat. I have had anxiety my entire life, but never have I experienced what I went through with this. Other than anxiety/panic attacks, I had no other major symptoms. I did decide to stop taking Ocella about a week and a half into it and wait until my body is ready for another BC pill."

• Anonymous
• October 21, 2012

"I have been taking Ocella for about 3 years now. I didn't have any issues when I first started. My periods are only 3 days long, and I lost a lot of weight when I went on Ocella. I have developed anxiety, but I never had it this bad, and mood swings I have gotten too. I can get very depressed and emotional about things, and that has never been like me at all. I'm thinking about switching to something different to help lower my anxiety and mood swings. It's the only birth control I have taken, and my doctor was recommending something with a lower hormone count. Otherwise, it's been a good birth control for me."

• Cat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 27, 2022

For Birth Control "I think this birth control is okay. It makes me really moody sometimes, especially on my period. I only get nauseous, heavy bleeding, headaches, and cramps, but other than that, it’s not bad. I have gained plenty of weight being on it, and I get paranoid ONLY on my period. It seems impossible to get off the weight, but it could be because I’ve been on pills for 5 1/2 years straight to make sure it’s a better chance I don’t have a child. When not on my period, I get really sad sometimes for no reason at all."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 9, 2021

For Birth Control "I don’t usually do reviews on birth control, but I thought I’d share. I used Yasmín (Ocella as the generic) for just over a year and in the past few months of using it, I have experienced horrible mood swings and anxiety. I have never been an anxious or moody, depressed person, so this came as a shock to me and I knew it was the pill. I already feel significantly better after one day of going off of this pill. Would NOT recommend to anyone struggling with anxiety."