Lo Loestrin Fe and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Fra...
• July 19, 2016

For Birth Control "I'm 2 weeks into Lo Loestrin after Mirena IUD removal, and due to irregular periods and ovarian cysts. Not sure what's a Mirena removal side effect (Mirena crash) vs. Lo Loestrin side effect. But I've had headaches and anxiety, and really sad, sad days. Just blah. I'm going to update as time goes on to annotate any other pros/cons. I have been nauseous the past few days too."

• Lol...
• April 26, 2019

For Birth Control "The first time I took this, I was on it for a year. When I went in for my annual, I told my Dr. I had horrible, crippling depression and anxiety, and we both thought it was due to all my life changes (graduating nursing school, getting a new job, moving out of my parents' house, planning a wedding). When I told her I was having breakthrough bleeding on this pill, she switched me to a different pill. My depression and anxiety immediately got better. I recently started taking it again (after pregnancy and breastfeeding). I’ve only been on it 2 months, and the depression is horrible. I have thoughts of self-harm and am just so down. I’m ALWAYS hungry and tired. I know this pill doesn’t have the same effects on everyone, but just be careful and aware of these possible side effects before getting on this pill. I believed my doctor that these symptoms were not in any way related to the pill, and clearly, they are."

• Pyp...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 7, 2020

For Birth Control "I have taken this birth control before, and I was not a huge fan, so I decided that when I need to start taking it again, I would. After about 6 months, I decided to get back on birth control. This time around, less than a week later, I started experiencing horrible mood swings. I have depression and multiple anxiety disorders, and since starting this pill, it made them all so much worse. I also got really bad sweats, and my acne got worse. I didn’t notice any weight changes. I also experienced spotting this time around, which was odd. I would not recommend this to a friend."

• SMQ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 20, 2019

For Birth Control "Took Lo Loestrin Fe for 5 months, wanted to regulate my periods. First few days of taking it, I was getting bad headaches and got acne on my face only, period stopped coming till the 3rd month and was followed by bleeding for 2 weeks. By the 4th month, acne was gone, headaches continued, had extreme anxiety and depression, was getting moody, lost weight, appetite was almost gone. By the 4th month, I had gotten my period, which lasted a week with painful cramps, a week and a half later again with breakthrough bleeding and this time was very heavy with passing blood clots. Felt very weak and miserable, I took it exactly the same time every day and never missed a dose, still had headaches and vomiting, breakthrough bleeding was getting heavy and was not stopping at all. I could barely make it through the 5th month, I felt weak and tired also, so I spoke to my doctor and told her that I’m stopping this pill. Been a week now since I stopped taking this pill, and I still feel weak and shaky. This medicine is not for me at all."

• Mic...
• January 31, 2016

For Birth Control "I started taking Lo Loestrin Fe in September and have been on it for 5 months now. Since I have started taking Lo Loestrin Fe, I have gained 18 pounds and cannot for the life of me seem to lose any weight (I work out 5 days a week and maintain a raw vegan diet). I have been the most emotional I have ever been, I cry all the time and get very anxious. I have absolutely no sex drive (when I went off birth control from January to August last year, it was much higher). I also get violently ill every time I drink alcohol (even just a glass of wine). I first thought this was because I might be allergic to alcohol, but when I went off birth control, I would never get ill, and my hangovers were non-existent. Everyone varies on it, but my experience has not been so pleasant."

• con...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 22, 2019

For Birth Control "Previously spent 1 year on Lo Loestrin, recently started using it again. The worst symptom for me both times has been extreme nausea and occasional vomiting if I don't eat a substantial meal before taking it. I've found the nausea is much more infrequent now that I'm taking this pill in the evening, but I still have to make sure I'm eating consistently and drinking a lot of water to prevent it, which I should be doing anyway! The only other negative side effect is that my preexisting anxiety can be a bit worse at times, but it's still manageable. Giving this an 8/10 because everything else is positive: much lighter, short periods, improved complexion, and no weight gain. I went back to this pill because the benefits are personally worth it to me. It's definitely worth trying out."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 7, 2016

For Birth Control "First month was great. Slightly more anxiety, but thought it would surpass. The pill got worse month by month. More anxiety, more depression. Weight gain, nausea/vomiting, extremely painful periods with crazy mood swings. Cannot wait for this pack to be over so I can switch."

• She...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 3, 2016

For Birth Control "STAY AWAY FROM THIS PILL. I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. I liked it a lot because I had zero acne. The only problem was that my periods lasted over a week and could be painful. I changed gynecologist when I moved to college. She put me on Lo Loestrin Fe, and it was the worst year of my entire life. My face looked worse than it did in 7th grade. I have ZERO sex drive. I already have anxiety, and this pill made it a million times worse, and I about drove everyone, as well as myself, crazy with my mood swings and attitude. Wanna know the worst part? I had two periods a month. One on the week my actual period was supposed to start and one on the second week in the pack. I put up with that for an entire year thinking it would 'regulate.' It didn't. BEWARE."

• Vic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 16, 2016

For Birth Control "I have been on 3 OCPs: Apri, Aviane, and Lo Loestrin Fe. I was not able to tolerate Apri and Aviane. My side effects included depression and a general feeling of sickness: headache and extreme nausea. Change in mood: hypersensitivity. Increase in breast size, but no breast sensitivity. No skin breakout or acne. The women in my family suffer from depression, anxiety, and are not able to tolerate OCPs very well. After consulting with my gynecologist, she recommended Lo Loestrin Fe. I've only been on Lo Loestrin Fe for 3 days. So far, I've had a great experience. The only minor effect, but tolerable, is night sweats. I take the pill at 9 pm, slight increase in anxiety, and slight stomach upset. My gynecologist gave me a sample, so I'm unsure of the price with insurance."

• Anonymous
• November 26, 2019

For Birth Control "I was on a Tri-Sprintec BC for about 7 years until I turned 25 and started to become super emotional and not able to control my emotions, so I talked to my doctor about switching. She suggested Lo Loestrin, which is a significantly lower dose of hormones. I was fine for the first month and a half. I felt nauseous during my period week but wanted to give my body time to adjust. By the time I made it to the end of month 3, I was getting a yeast infection every month during my period week, I was so nauseous I was throwing up and had constant anxiety to the point where I wasn’t eating. I went to the doctor, got tested for everything, took yeast infection meds, UTI antibiotics, and have tried everything to relieve being this uncomfortable that I think is vulvodynia. I finally stopped taking it after 4 months of pain. Follow your gut, if you feel like something is wrong, talk to your doctor immediately. The longer I went, the worse it’s gotten."

• b49...
• November 12, 2019

For Birth Control "I would give this birth control a rating of 0 if I could! This is absolutely the WORST medicine I’ve ever taken in my whole life!!! This is the first birth control I’ve been on, and it has done nothing good for me. This pill gave me excruciating cramps (worse cramps than I had before taking Lo Loestrin Fe), terrible mood swings, and I have had breakthrough bleeding 3 weeks out of the month for the past YEAR. It’s almost as if my body has never adjusted to this low-dosage medicine. I had anxiety/depression before I started taking this medicine, and this past year has been absolutely awful for me emotionally and mentally. This is NOT the right birth control for you if you already have anxiety or depression. I cannot believe I have waited this long to realize all of my problems came from this birth control. I do not recommend it at all."

• Jen...
• February 4, 2016

For Birth Control "I love you all for your honest reviews and feel relieved that I am not alone! I was on Lo Loestrin FE years ago and did not notice too many side effects except nausea and some breakthrough bleeding. I am now peri-menopausal and am taking this instead of HRT, but it has caused months of steady nausea, pain in my lower back, extreme breast tenderness, and even terrible gas! It took me a while to put together that all these side effects were caused by this BC. Additionally, I began to feel depressed, anxious, and even suicidal. This is not like me! I took the last 'blue pill' today and am done with this medicine forever. I'll take my chances with hot flashes and insomnia or switch back to HRT instead of being on this med again."

• Sad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 6, 2016

For Birth Control "I wish I never took this pill. I'm not a pill-popping kind of person. But I had to think about my future with my boyfriend and decided just to try one pill out. This was the lowest dose, so I figured it would be fine. Definitely not... I haven't been eating or motivated as much as I usually am. I'm an emotional person, but this pill turned me into a monster. I have never been so sad in my entire life. I had thoughts of harming myself and was constantly causing arguments with my boyfriend, who I've been with for a year and a half, and we've never had these problems. It has given me horrible headaches and anxiety. I would never suggest this to anyone."

• Cec...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 13, 2023

For Birth Control "I've never experienced mood swings because of birth control until Lo Loestrin Fe. However, my situation may not apply to most people, but I still wanted to share. I have a Nexplanon implant as my main birth control and have two periods a month - one every other week. So my doctor suggested I take a very low dose of pill birth control to stabilize my periods. I took Lo Loestrin Fe for about a month and got so incredibly anxious about everything, I would get random panic attacks without knowing what the source of them was and felt very unlike myself. I decided to stop taking Lo Loestrin Fe since I prefer having two periods a month to having those feelings and thoughts. After just 5 days of not taking Lo Loestrin Fe, I don't have these random anxious feelings and thoughts, I feel like myself again. That felt like a rollercoaster ride."

• Nom...
• September 4, 2019

"Awful, my prior pill, Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, was no longer getting manufactured. Had zero issues on that one, perfect. Suggested trying this as an alternative low-dose pill. Fought through the first 3 months, was BAD. I felt like a dark cloud hanging over me, depressed, bad thoughts about life, never had this on the pill I was taking before. Nausea, enlarged breasts getting close to the end of the pack, period doesn’t come at all, just feel exhausted 5-10 days or so near the end of the pack, like I took a sedative every day. Started napping during the day, never was like that before. Went to the doctor for a blood workup thinking my nutrients were off or low iron, all was fine, so it is definitely the pill. Mood swings like crazy towards the end of the pack, crying, sensitive, anxiety, etc. I suffered through all this month by month because I’m out of low-dose options and wanted to be on something, but planning to stop in a week. I can say I tried to just bear with the symptoms but can’t live forever like this. Suggest trying if considering, but you’ve been warned."

• San...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 25, 2019

For Birth Control "Wow. The first time I tried Lo Loestrin Fe was in 2017 while I was doing my hot yoga teacher training, and all I remember is sleeping the night away until the next morning when I got to training. I gave it two months last time and then stopped. I don’t remember why, I just know I hated it. Fast forward to now, one and a half years postpartum with my first baby, thinking I could handle the low dose. I’m six days in, and anxiety and depression-things I don’t usually have-are out of control. I was asked if I was pregnant as I’ve been throwing up and not eaten since starting. My clear face is breaking out now, and my skin is so oily. I’m angry and isolated. Everyone’s different, but I had an awful experience, and three months to find out if your mental fog and six months to find out if your water-retained bloated belly (from only 5-6 days of a low-dose pill) subsides is insanity waiting to happen. I think that if you’re not feeling right and your side effects are more than just mild, listen to your body and discontinue."

• Lel...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 22, 2019

For Birth Control "I have been on this medication since I was 15. I had awful and very long periods and had to skip a lot of PE class at the time because of it being so bad. I eventually started this medication, and the problems immediately went away within a few weeks of taking it. I’ve always had anxiety and weight issues, so I attributed it to my family history and my own history, not the medication. Everyone has their own risks, but I think I’m much happier on this pill than I would be without it. The only thing I notice is that I only get my period if I’m with new people or under stress. Otherwise, I don’t get any spotting or bleeding for months. I also am not sexually active, so the bleeding was more of a worry for me. Everyone reacts differently to medications, and just because someone doesn’t rate a 10 doesn’t mean it doesn’t work for you."

• Don...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 22, 2015

For Birth Control "I'm 21, I've been on this pill for about 5 months now, and it's been terrible. I got on this pill because I wouldn't get a period for about 4 or 5 months, and when I finally got my period, it was super heavy and the cramps were unbearable. I now get a period every month, and they are light, lasting 4-5 days, but I still get intense cramping. I also have dark brown spotting every month, probably a week after my period, and that lasts another week. But this month, I have been spotting nonstop and waking up with cramps every day. Ever since I started it, I have also had the worst mood swings, crying at everything, pushing my boyfriend away, and it's been affecting our relationship badly, 0 sex drive, and severe depression, making my anxiety worse."

• ano...
• October 6, 2015

For Birth Control "I am 31 years old and have been on Lo Loestrin Fe for about 2 years now. My Dr. suggested putting me on this bc because the other birth control I was on was giving me severe mood swings. The thing I love about this bc is that I don't have my period AT ALL, not even once. The downside to this bc is that at the end of my pack, I start to have a few days of mood swings, depression, anxiety, and I get overly sensitive about stuff. Also, I gained a bunch of weight from taking this pill, before taking the pill, I was 115 lbs, and now I am about 145 lbs, and I'm 5'2. The other good side to the pill is that it stopped the cramping immediately. I want to go off the pill, but I am scared of the side effects of coming off it."

• SCa...
• August 24, 2019

For Birth Control "I have never written a review in my life, but I felt it was necessary this time so maybe I can help and/or prevent somebody from having to go through what I went through. My doctor prescribed Lo Loestrin three months ago. When I first started it, I LOVED it. No side effects. Unfortunately, that all came to an end. I woke up one morning having a HORRIBLE panic attack. I’ve never experienced anxiety this way in my life. I felt horrible and absolutely MISERABLE. I would cry, sweat through my clothes, lash out at everyone around me, and my heart would race all day long. After reading reviews, I quickly connected the two of what was wrong with me. I understand some people have had amazing results with this pill, but I was NOT one of them. I would NOT recommend even trying to figure out if it will work for you. It isn’t worth it, there are a lot of other options out there, but I am begging you all: do not try this garbage."

• sho...
• September 14, 2019

For Birth Control "NOPE! Do not take this if you suffer from anxiety or depression because you will get worse. I have panic attacks every day, I overthink, cannot concentrate in uni classes because of the anxiety, picking fights with my friends and family, and the list goes on. It has cleared my acne but not my attitude. My sex drive is garbage now too. I regret taking this pill. I am scared to continue taking this pill and I don't know when to stop taking it."

• Der...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 4, 2014

For Birth Control "It works, but a stressful experience. This pill made me skip my period for 58 days, which resulted in a lot of anxiety and pregnancy tests. It also took over a full month of quitting the medicine before I got my cycle to come back."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 21, 2016

For Birth Control "I have been using this pill for 5 months, and during this time, I gained over 10 lbs, and my anxiety and paranoia have caused irreparable damage to my relationship. I must note I work out and have no changes in lifestyle that should've caused me to gain weight. I am constantly sad, on the verge of tears, I am oversensitive and negative. I am just not myself. I gave the pill more than the 3-month trial period because I don't want to keep switching hormones, but I cannot keep this up any longer. I am going to try the NuvaRing. For the record, I was previously on Diane 35 very happily for 2 years with no side effects, but my doctor took me off because it is apparently too high in hormones."

• Ale...
• May 21, 2019

For Birth Control "I was on Lo Loestrin Fe for about 3 years. Although Lo Loestrin Fe did stop cramping and gave me a little to no bleeding monthly periods, the mental health dip that I took was not worth it. Within the first year, my family and friends noticed I was moody and possibly depressed. I knew I was anxious and began having panic attacks. I was prescribed antidepressants and lived the next two years very out of it and sad. The last year on this birth control I started having migraines. The migraines were debilitating. My gut instinct told me to stop taking the birth control after doing some research. Within the first 6 months of not taking this birth control, I started to feel like myself again and the migraines went away. I am happier than ever and loving life! I have decided to go the hormone-less route. I've had the copper IUD for about a year now and I love it! I’m sure the Lo Loestrin works for some, but for me, it did not."

• Get...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 24, 2017

For Birth Control "I have taken every birth control known to man, and this one was the only one I could tolerate for nausea and upset stomach. Although, after being on it for several months, I have reoccurring consistent UTIs, at least one every two months, acne on my back (I have NEVER had acne), horrible mood swings, significant hair loss, lack of energy, headaches, suicidal thoughts, and horrible anxiety. I was so conflicted and second-guessed my side effects with this pill, after getting off of it, all of those symptoms were gone. Ladies, it's NOT worth it."