Alesse-28 and Mood Swings: What Users Say

• Ban...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 4, 2020

For Birth Control "I’ve been taking this birth control, Alesse-28, for about 4 years now. At first, it was great. I did notice weight gain, every three months, I found my period would go from heavy to light, and then my boobs would become extremely sore on the third month. Extreme mood swings, depressed. Since May of this year, my periods have been almost nonexistent, sometimes I’ll have some spotting. I’m not pregnant. My stress has increased. I am a university student, but I had major life changes, so I’m not sure if the increased stress is what is causing the missed periods. Last month, my period did last for about three days. I’ve had to go onto an antidepressant recently as well. I’m currently trying to switch pills, as I cannot stand the missed periods and worrying every single month if I’m pregnant. As much as I like light periods, I would like to have at least something so I don’t have a heart attack."

• aya...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 29, 2019

For Birth Control "I have been taking Alesse 28 for 4 months. Except for the fact that it prevents pregnancy at a high rate, I don't like it at all. I have horrible mood swings since I've been taking it. This conclusion is not even biased because I didn't read any reviews before having these symptoms. I got it as a recommendation from the doctor. Once on it, I feel constantly nervous, anxious, sad, and mad for no reason, and when I'm happy, I'm really happy. I don't take any other medication, so I can only blame it on this pill. I think I will stop it ASAP. Just need to find an alternative."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 5, 2018

For Birth Control "I took Alesse 28 for three months, and it worked. I never got pregnant, and Alesse cleared up my mild acne. But the side effects legit made me feel like I was crazy. The mood swings made me question my sanity. I would always lash out at my boyfriend randomly and be angry at him even though he did nothing wrong. I hated him so much for no reason. I lost my sex drive, my vagina was always dry, and so it would cause my vagina to bleed and hurt after sex, and I became really depressed. I stopped taking Alesse for a month now, and my boyfriend told me that my attitude and mood are normal and back to the way I was before taking Alesse."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 21, 2017

For Birth Control "This pill changed who I am. It ruined my relationship with my family and my boyfriend of 3 years. Before this birth control, I was outgoing, could talk to anybody and liked by all sorts of people, but after years of taking this pill, I just got ticked off by everything and everyone. Anyways, I get upset a lot, get upset at the dumbest things, took things way too personally, and it ruined my jobs as well! I just couldn't deal with people and would walk out of jobs. I mean, I did my job well, I was able to speak with the customers, but I didn't even want to build rapport with them. I just had zero care about people. I didn't even want to put energy into it, but I coupon, and that has been therapeutic for me. Marijuana calms me down too."

• Mad...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 18, 2019

For Birth Control "I’ve been on Alesse-28 for almost 3 years, and as far as using it as birth control, it has worked perfectly! I did gain some weight and become a little more emotional after starting this pill, which hasn’t been great, but I had no other significant side effects like nausea. I never really had acne, so my skin hasn’t changed much, maybe more pimples around the time of my period, but that’s about it. My periods used to be pretty heavy and last about 6 days long, now they last about 4-5 days, they’ve gotten pretty light, and I only cramp on the first day or so. I also use an app to track my period, and after being on the pill, my periods have been very regular! There have been a couple of times where I had out-of-the-ordinary spotting, which made me worry that perhaps I was pregnant, but my period had always come a few days afterwards. Overall, it works well for me!"

• ALY...
• February 27, 2014

For Birth Control "Alesse-28 was the first oral contraceptive I've taken. I usually have a very heavy flow, and my period would be a full week and would never come at the same time every month, but since I started to take Alesse-28, my period has become VERY regulated, and my flow is light and lasts usually around 3-4 days only. The best thing I would say is that I don't get cramps anymore. Before taking the pill, I'd be pretty much bedridden. I get only a very slight pain now, but it's barely noticeable! It also helped with my acne! I had a lack of appetite when I started the pill, and I lost 7 lbs in one month. The worst parts were the nausea, major mood swings, slight depression (cried every night), anxiety, and the lack of motivation in everything."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2018

For Birth Control "Within the first month, my skin became horrible. I’ve never had an acne or pimple problem, just the occasional pimple here and there, but after I started taking Alesse, the acne came out. Currently, my chin is covered in cystic-like acne, which never occurred before, and I have various pimples on my cheeks and forehead. I also ended up having my period for a full 2 weeks, and I’m pretty sure it’s still kind of going on. Not sure if that’s normal, but it has never happened before. Then came the mood swings. I've never been a really angry person, but since starting on this, I’m constantly either extremely happy or extremely upset, and it’s awful. I’ve experienced really bad cramps too. Thought the pill was supposed to help with that too. Going to talk to my doctor about switching pills to see if my side effects clear up."

• yay...
• February 26, 2020

For Birth Control "I've been on this pill, Alesse-28, since I was 17, and I am 21 now. At first, it was really good. I had bad acne on my cheeks and long, heavy periods. I think now that my body is changing, I am getting acne on my chin, and I get bad headaches before my period, none-rarely any sex drive, and I cry literally at everything (especially the week before my period). I did love this birth control at first, but now I don't think it's working for me anymore."

• Fir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 17, 2013

For Birth Control "I started taking Alesse as soon as I turned 19. This is my 4th month on it. I never got any side effects such as nausea, headaches, and spotting like I was warned. :) But right after I finished my first batch, I got bad PMS symptoms (cravings, breast tenderness, and mood swings) until my first period arrived a couple of days later. The following batches after that were fine. My periods came on time every month, flow was lighter, no cramps, less PMS symptoms, and the duration of my period was noticeably shorter too. Slowly gained an insignificant 5 pounds over the last four months. I rarely get breakouts but got a few big annoying pimples on my face at first. Alesse does its job as a contraceptive, and I recommend it."

• Est...
• December 16, 2017

For Birth Control "I am currently starting my placebo pills on my second month, and let me tell you that my acne is worse than it has ever been in my life. I regret taking this pill so much because now I have painful, large, red cysts in random places all over my cheeks, chin, and jaw area. I have had acne before, but never to such a degree. My face literally flared up around the 10th day. I guess all the hormones kicked in that day because my skin was fine and the next day I flared up. The worst is that they are all staying as bright red scars. I have never had such low self-esteem. I don't even want to leave the house right now (even with makeup). The only two good things are that my boobs grew a lot, and after the first month of horrible mood swings, it goes away."