Alesse and Depression: What Users Say (Page 2)

• mad...
• October 13, 2016

For Birth Control "20 yr old female here. I was put on Alesse for acne & contraceptive purposes. Acne runs in my family. My mom had it really badly until she was about 21. I was on Tri-Cyclen Lo, but it made me feel sick in the mornings. So Alesse was pretty bad. I was on it for just under a year. I didn't get pregnant even though I never used a condom with my boyfriend. It helped my acne somewhat, except I got cystic flare-ups on my chin & small dots on my forehead during my period. I gained about 10 lbs. Period cramps were still bad and lasted for days sometimes. MADE ME AN EMOTIONAL WRECK. I'd cry so easily and felt unusually depressed/anxious. I believe I have too much testosterone in my blood, so Alesse might not have been strong enough."

• m09...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 29, 2017

For Birth Control "I'm a 27 yo woman who has only used the pill as birth control. I started birth control at 24 yo. I was on Microgestin 1/20 FE that worked pretty well for me for a couple of years. No weight gain, no migraines, no anxiety or depression, decreased PMS. The only thing was that if I was a little off on my timing, I'd spot. So I switched. Thought maybe there's a better pill out there for me? I was on Alesse for 10 months. I went from 112 lbs to 122 lbs. Which I didn't mind, really. What I endured with this birth control was horrifying. I was constantly bloated. Pregnant belly bloated the entire month, had severe cramps that would immobilize me completely, I suffered from panic and anxiety attacks and slight depression. I had a foggy mind and would sob at least 2 times a week."

• Ran...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 13, 2020

"I took this pill for about a month and a half. I noticed my periods got heavier with more cramping, and PMS symptoms showed no improvement either. My acne cleared up (but my skin was good before the pill). The biggest thing I noticed was that my hair was noticeably thinning a lot-not visually, but I could feel it. I also noticed I was crying, hopeless, and less motivated much more than ever before. Effective contraception is one of the only few good things that came out of this pill, but for me, the side effects weren't worth it. I'm going to try to go off and see if that helps."

• Lai...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 21, 2016

For Birth Control "I've been on Alesse for three months now, and although I haven't suffered any weight loss/gain, acne, or nausea, I have felt extremely fatigued and lethargic. Not to mention the fact that my period would randomly start halfway through when I still had 7 or 8 active pills left. And when my period did start, I would suffer bouts of depression, crying for no reason, spending all day in bed and entertaining a few suicidal thoughts. I will be discontinuing the use of Alesse, and I plan to speak with my doctor about other alternatives. As a contraceptive, the pills work, but they are not worth the side effects I was enduring."

• Amm...
• April 19, 2015

For Birth Control "I started using the generic brand, which the pharmacy gave me, and had really bad side effects, such as feeling depressed, listless, crying all the time, which I never do. Then my doctor recommended I use the name brand Alesse. I've been on it a month with no side effects at all. I feel great. I had no cramping and a lighter period. I feel happy and myself again. I've tried a lot of other brands, all with some side effects. For me, this is a great birth control."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 10, 2018

For Ovarian Cysts "Nonstop bleeding for 3 months after having a regular period for 30+ years. Anxiety, depression. Headache, nausea. Increased facial hair, breast size, and retained water. Would NEVER recommend. 3 days after I stopped taking it, my mental health immediately stabilized, but the 'breakthrough bleeding' continues. Glad I survived this preposterous experiment. Should be a class action suit!"

• wat...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 30, 2022

For Birth Control "I have used Alesse and then later the generic equivalent (for coverage reasons) for 8 years (age 17-24). I got a really consistent period, light, and would last 2-4 days max, no period side effects. I didn’t have any side effects of my period before starting birth control (no cramping, etc.), but they were irregular before. However, I believe that being on Alesse has caused me to gain weight and makes it difficult to lose weight, as well as gradually developing depression. I am going off of it for the summer as an experiment to see if this helps, since unfortunately, like many young adults, I have never known my adult body without birth control pills, so it will be interesting when my periods start again, without Alesse."

• Sky...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 17, 2022

For Birth Control "I was previously on a BC that made me moody, my new Dr switched me to Alesse. My mood is better, but I put on so much weight. It made me so depressed. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I felt gross all the time. Switched back less than 2 weeks ago. Feel less sick and lost a bunch of weight already, with nothing else changing. So now to find something that doesn't make me moody or fat, lol."

• Ale...
• March 28, 2016

For Ovarian Cysts "I was on Alesse for two full months. I had breakthrough bleeding for the entire first month. Throughout the two months, I was nauseous, had stomach cramps, and had terrible headaches two to three times a week. I have never had a problem with headaches before, and these were unbearable. I had night sweats, and worst of all, my depression and anxiety became the worst that I have ever seen them. Whenever I went on the 7 days of sugar pills, my mood would improve. It worked wonders as a contraceptive, and it got rid of my hormonal acne, which is the reason I went on it. However, I'll deal with the acne because it's better than me wanting to die. This won't happen to everyone because I do have other mental health issues."

• Anonymous
• January 3, 2010

For Birth Control "I used this pill during my teens, and it caused irritability and heavy mood swings. Perhaps it was just teen angst, but I tried Microgynon recently, which uses the same hormones, just different levels, and experienced similar mood swings and depression."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2012

"I have been on Alesse for 7 days now and already notice a positive change in my mood. After weaning my nearly two-year-old daughter, I started to feel very moody and depressed due to hormonal changes. I am already feeling like myself again. I feel great."

• Sha...
• October 25, 2018

For Ovarian Cysts "I've been taking this birth control for over a year now. I have experienced breaking out, having major anxiety that I can't even go out in public anymore because it's that bad! Major depression and having a lack of confidence because of anxiety. This birth control is no good, it feels like it's wrecking my life!"

• kay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 12, 2016

For Birth Control "It is only my fifth day on this medication, and I have only had a tiny bit of nausea. No headaches or anything like that. But I have a long list of mental health problems, and I don't know if I am just having an episode or if this medication is causing the depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts to be so strong. I am stuck. Prior to this medication, I was taking seasonal, and it was my favorite birth control. You only got your period every three months (which I would even skip sometimes), but I ended up constantly having breakthrough bleeding after being on it for over a year. I've tried others. But now I'm trying Alesse. And so far, it's not going well even the slightest bit. I can't handle the intensity of this emotional breakdown, lol."

• Sid...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 4, 2016

For Birth Control "I've been on Alesse for over a year and a half. Side effects hit me hard. (I'm 21 years old.) I had perfect skin my entire life (even through puberty), and after I commenced the pill, the acne hit me like a ton of bricks. All forms of acne are on my face, and I've been using dermatologist products and services, and they said it's a hormonal issue as to why the acne has gotten so horrible. The high androgen actually causes skin to get worse. So when people say birth control doesn't cause acne, they are WRONG, because this birth control DOES CAUSE ACNE. Not only did I get acne, I gained 15 pounds, breasts got larger (only plus side), severe nausea the week before my period, and began suffering depression. It's time to switch to another birth control."

• Med...
• May 1, 2015

"This was the first birth control I tried because I was suffering with very heavy periods that were becoming erratic. I'm not sure, but I think I felt more tired and slightly depressed while taking it, and it made no difference to my heavy periods; in fact, it made them worse! So I progressed to Portia, which also made them worse, and now I've just switched to Minestrin. Getting tired of this trial and error..."

• Ali...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 15, 2017

For Birth Control "I switched to this pill after taking progesterone only, and I almost immediately regretted it. I was moody and nasty, gained 10-15 pounds within the first two weeks of taking it, started to become depressed, and it completely reduced my sex drive. I also had mild acne before I started taking it, and it developed into cystic acne within a week and didn’t clear up. I’ve been off it for over a month now, still have the cystic acne, but my mood and sex drive came back up. I hated what happened to me on it so much that I stopped taking it after the first month because, to me, trying to finish the 3-month trial wasn’t worth it. There are other options."

• SJa...
• September 3, 2019

For Birth Control "I've been on birth control for just under 10 years and am still taking Alesse. The first 3-5 years were TriCyclen Lo, but then I got my period for over a month straight, and my doctor recommended switching to Alesse. The first day I took it, I felt incredibly nauseous. This went away after a day or two. During my time on this medication, I rarely experienced spotting, my periods were very light (about 2-3 days long, never required more than a regular-sized tampon), and while I didn't have bad acne in high school, I did get fewer zits while on both TriCyclen Lo and Alesse than I did in high school. I am about to try getting a copper IUD, though, because I've been experiencing some depression, anxiety, and low libido, and think they could be caused by birth control. I may also have gained some weight, but not sure what that's attributable to."

• Lpe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2018

For Endometriosis "I've been taking this BC pill for about 4 months now (on my 4th month pack, day 5), and I can tell you that the side effects are horrible and have yet to get any better. I've been having nasty headaches, insomnia, REALLY BAD depression (never been this badly depressed before), major mood swings (never had mood swings before), and days where I'm nauseated 24/7. I can hardly function. The only thing it has helped was lessen my period pain. I feel like this pill is ruining my life more than the pain I was experiencing during my period that put me in bed for 2-3 days. I'm looking to get off of it ASAP, and will be scheduling an appointment with my doctor very soon."

• Kat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 5, 2020

For Birth Control "Works good, but now I have severe depression :)"

• Lau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 30, 2014

For Birth Control "I've been on Alesse for about 3 months, and my acne is terrible, and I feel depressed often. I've had no spotting and very light periods, though."

• Asi...
• January 3, 2017

For Birth Control "I hated this BCP. I gained 15 pounds in two weeks, and I was depressed and crying all the time. It also gave me chin acne, which I never have."

• Han...
• March 7, 2021

For Birth Control "I've been taking this for two years now, and I have no issues. My friends on other pills have gotten severe depression and weight gain, but I have been lucky."