Alesse and Mood Swings: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 15, 2017

For Birth Control "I'm 24, and this is my first ever contraceptive pill. Taking it for a month now. I don't have a problem aside from gaining weight, and I'm emotional, but not this much since I started this pill. I'm happy that my acne is slowly fading, my cramps are not as severe as the last one I had, and I don't have a problem at all. I've noticed that my breasts are gaining some extra fat too. Lol."

• VPg...
• June 4, 2015

For Birth Control "I've been using Alesse for about 2 years now. It was the first BC pill that I was prescribed. I was hesitant to use hormonal contraceptives because of mood swings and spotting. However, with Alesse, I experienced neither of those side effects. I can't say it made my skin any clearer. I don't have severe acne, but it didn't clear up my pimples. One side effect I did experience was weight gain. I am normally about 105 pounds, but on the pill, I gain about 3-4 pounds. I just feel very bloated. However, when I stop the pill temporarily (the week of my period), I go back to my regular weight. I realized I could manage this by just watching what I eat, and I exercise a bit more. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with Alesse!"

• Gab...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 8, 2018

For Birth Control "I’ve been on this birth control for just over a year, and while it is a good birth control, the symptoms are not letting up for me. Before starting the pill, I had zero acne, but after starting and to this day, I have cystic acne all over my face, and it left scarring on my skin. I have waited for over a year for this to calm down, but it shows no signs of stopping. I’m getting really fed up. It makes my periods regular and pain-free, which is wonderful, but the acne is really making me insecure. Other than the acne and mood swings, I have no other complaints."

• Ale...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 4, 2018

For Birth Control "Took Alesse for 2 years because I never bothered to get a new pill, and I’d always hope the side effects would stop. Became an emotional wreck, gained a lot of weight, however, the little acne I have cleared up. Had insane nausea, vomiting at work, home, school... gave me a lot of anxiety, etc. I’m sure that there are better options out there. Do not take this birth control."

• Sar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 14, 2018

For Birth Control "Took Alesse for about 9 months. The only good thing is that it made my period less painful, but besides that, it gave me bad headaches, completely lost my sex drive, and made me irritable (mood swings). Most recently, it caused me to have depression, which I had never experienced until now. So I stopped taking it and felt like my normal self again within 2 days of stopping it."

• Ale...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2015

For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome "I've been on Alesse for five months now, and I had every side effect. Crazy acne (I've never had until I started taking Alesse), mood swings, weight gain (I was 120 lb before starting Alesse and not five months later 145 lb - I am a petite woman, and I don't eat very much, my food intake and exercise have not changed, thus, the weight gain is depressing), chest pain, swollen breasts, and no sex drive. The pro about Alesse is that it regulates. I had regular periods for five months. The only reason I was put on birth control was to maintain my polycystic ovarian syndrome. I'm 23 and was diagnosed with PCOS last year. I am now switching to a new birth control (Tri Cyclen Lo), and hopefully, this one is better. Fingers crossed!"

• Pup...
• September 4, 2019

For Birth Control "I started Alesse 28 in December of 2018. I was put on it by my doctor to help regulate my excruciating periods (so bad I'm on prescription painkillers). The first 3 months, they were still just as bad as ever, causing me to miss classes, my acne, however, cleared up. Since then, they have caused me mood swings, depression, worsened anxiety, and countless baby scares. My periods are light and short, but still very, very painful. I would not recommend unless you enjoy scaring both yourself and your boyfriend every few months with random and confusing unwarranted pregnancy scares. Side effects also consist of sleepless nights, leg cramping, migraines, a non-existent sex drive, and nausea, which is great. I've been lucky not to have weight gain, but the bloating is absolutely terrible, it starts early and lasts all day. Definitely going to ask my doctor about switching pills or just going to tough it out, I would recommend painful heavy periods over this any day."

• tee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 12, 2019

For Birth Control "I started Alesse in December 2018 for a couple reasons: 1) to help with my cystic acne 2) prevent pregnancy. My first couple weeks, my cystic acne went away, but I got a bunch of surface-level pimples, which was discouraging. By month 2-3, my acne was super clear, but now (month 5-6) my acne is the worst I've ever had it. Not cystic, but it's out of control awful, and my skin is super inflamed. On top of all that, the pill has made me very emotional to the point I sometimes burst out crying for no reason. It has been fairly effective for preventing pregnancy, but I did have a pregnancy scare when it made me skip my period one month (but it just skipped for no reason). Overall, it was okay for starting out with, but I'm definitely switching."

• Not...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 16, 2016

For Birth Control "I've been on Alesse for 2 months now, going on my third month. This pill is not so bad, no weight gain, acne, or mood swings. But I'm experiencing chronic fatigue on this pill, when I am on my period week, I feel so much better. Everything else is really great, but I'm not sure how much longer I will stay on this. I can't live my life with exhaustion, it makes me lose desire for things I normally love. Coffee fixes it a little, but it is still there. I would rather have the old me back, or maybe switching my birth control? But it's a good birth control other than that (you will find nothing perfect out there)."

• Ami...
• December 3, 2010

For Birth Control "If you're looking for a birth control that's easy on your body in the sense that you don't get mood swings, no weight gain, good sex drive, etc., you might like Alesse. If you're looking for all that as well as an acne treatment, BEWARE (especially if you have adult acne)! My doctor put me on Alesse because I was looking for a birth control and an acne treatment (I had moderate adult acne on my cheeks). The first three months, I thought I was in heaven. No mood swings, no weight gain, clear skin, etc. Then, approaching my period in the fourth month, I woke up with six acne cysts on my chin, jaw, and lower cheek. I had never had them before. Still getting pre-period cystic breakout, onto Diane 35 next month."

• Ang...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 18, 2019

For Birth Control "I tried the generic brand of Alesse called AlySensa 28 for 3 months, and I can safely say it's been the absolute worst 3 months of my life. I experienced almost all possible side effects: painful cramping, increased bleeding, headaches, body pain, mood swings, panic attacks, everything. I also never had this birth control actually regulate my period, my period came when it wanted and was just super heavy and incredibly painful, and I had some major mood swings, which is not even close to normal for me. Although, I didn't get pregnant, so there's that."

• Anonymous
• March 10, 2016

For Birth Control "For the first year, I was on another brand (can't remember the name), then my doctor switched me. The first 2 months of using it, I started feeling exhausted and extremely emotional-I'm not usually. About 4 weeks ago, I ended up going to the hospital for difficulty breathing and such. The doctors misdiagnosed it and sent me off. After 2 weeks, I went back with a very swollen leg and very painful. Turns out this birth control caused a massive blood clot in my groin area, and those breathing problems were mini blood clots going through my lungs and heart. All thanks to this brand."

• Gir...
• September 16, 2017

For Birth Control "I've been taking Alesse for 3 months now, and my experience was very poor. There's a number of problems I had with this birth control pill. Number one is the nausea. Every day for the last couple of months, I would feel slight nausea to the point where I thought maybe I was pregnant. I took pregnancy tests a number of times because I was worried if maybe I was really pregnant. I did some research that the pills give you nausea, so I waited and continued taking it with food before taking it, and still, nothing worked. On top of that, I've gotten severe acne. I don't usually get acne, my skin is clear, but once I started taking the pill, my acne grew worse. It's really bad now. Lastly, the mood swings and period cramps, which were terrible."

• Sam...
• January 21, 2018

For Birth Control "I was on Alesse for two years. For the first few months, I didn't experience any side effects, but after that, I was an emotional wreck with no sex drive. After those side effects subsided, I began breakthrough bleeding a week before I started my sugar pills (this lasted a year), which was frustrating. I am now off the pill and am going to be trying something new. I did not personally experience any acne or weight gain, but the emotional side effects were daunting."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2017

For Birth Control "I've only been on Alesse for a week, but I'm already quitting it... no physical pain or acne or anything like that, but I'm experiencing these horrible mood swings. All of a sudden, I become extremely irritable or want to cry my eyes out, it's unbearable. Also, I'm hardly ever hungry or full now. The not being hungry thing isn't so bad, but I can literally eat an entire tub of ice cream and still not be full. I've definitely gained a little bit of weight."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 31, 2022

For Birth Control "I had to switch from Tri-Cyclen to Alesse because, in Quebec, it is no longer on the market. Since taking Alesse (for 2 years), I have lost a LOT of hair, and I have always had very thick hair, and now I must have half of it left. My mood is horrible and my skin too. Find out about the androgen level, it plays a huge role, and Alesse at a very high level. My hairiness has increased enormously, I don't like it, my confidence has gone down with all this."

• 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
• 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."

• Lex...
• September 28, 2015

For Endometriosis "My doctor prescribed me this birth control to help with the pain of endometriosis as mine was getting to be very painful. The first couple of months were rough: nausea, vomiting, terrible mood swings to the point of crying at commercials! I stuck with it though and eventually leveled out. It really helped with my periods and the pain to the point that I went from calling off work for periods to barely noticing them! They lasted 4 days and were not heavy or terribly crampy. BUTTTT... I have been on it for about 2 years and now I am getting side effects again in the form of terrible headaches every day, zero sex drive, and terrible cramps during and in between periods. Also, my periods have gotten heavy again so I am going off it."

• 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."

• Sop...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 17, 2014

For Birth Control "I've only been on Alesse for 3 weeks, and since this is my first time on a birth control pill, I can't really say all that much except for the fact that I've been spotting for 5 days. I should be getting my period in about a week, and I get cranky extremely easily now (well, more than normal). But other than that, it's been a decent experience so far, I guess."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2013

For Birth Control "I was 22 when I was taking the pill and was on it for 3 months. I stopped because of the side effects. I was getting very, very emotional and moody about everything. At first, I wasn't sure if it was the birth control, but I talked to other friends, and they also had similar problems. I also got very sore breasts, which I never dealt with before, so it really bothered me. And the biggest thing was I had a hard time remembering to take my pill around the same time, then would get very paranoid I would become pregnant. I then tried the shot, but that didn't go well either, so I'm going to try the patch next!"

• Lau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2019

"Unfortunately, this pill is not working out for me. I have been having heavy bleeding for 3 weeks straight now, am an emotional wreck, have no energy, nausea, unending appetite, edema, and acne. I’m trying to score an engineering co-op right now and do not have time to “wait it out” because the side effects (mood swings especially) are affecting my ability to be a functional human being. I don’t want to find out how that translates into the interview process. Because of my limited time on this, you should take my review with a grain of salt. However, even if I didn’t have co-op interviews coming up, I would probably discontinue this before the recommended 3-month period anyway. These side effects are pretty disturbing for something I don’t need to be on."

• ama...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 23, 2015

For Birth Control "I just got the birth control today. I haven't tried it yet because my biggest fear is gaining weight and having very bad mood swings! Would these side effects stop if I came off the pill after they occurred? (I'm 16 years old.)"