Minastrin 24 Fe and Depression: What Users Say

• Jam...
• September 13, 2014

For Birth Control "I've just recently started taking Minastrin. I haven't even made it through the first packet, and I'm noticing side effects. I've had severe back pain and mild mood swings. I want to cry all the time, and it's affecting my relationship. I get mad at my boyfriend for every single thing he does, and I was not like that at all before. I've been a very angry and depressed person since taking it."

• Per...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 31, 2015

For Birth Control "I am 16 and have been on this for almost a year now. I like this medication because, for me, it has done a great job of easing my headaches and nausea. I still get some once in a while, but it's not as bad as before. I have not had any real problems with my mood, but I do see that I cry more often and sometimes get a little depressed, but I am able to blow it off. The only real criticism I have about this medication is that when I started on my period again, it was regular, then it stopped. COMPLETELY! But I was like, what?!? I would spot, but at random times. For the year I have been using it, I can say I have only gotten my period maybe twice. Very hard to know if you're pregnant without a period."

• Mus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 7, 2016

For Birth Control "PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE!!! I started on Minastrin 24 Fe in February of 2016 because my fiancé and I were going to be getting married in April 2016. We both were virgins, and I had never been on a contraceptive before, but we both wanted to wait a while to have kids in our marriage. Well, at first things didn't seem too bad. However, I started noticing acne breakouts, and I was surprised at how I was easy to cry... however, I thought it was due to wedding planning and not birth control. However, after a month and a half into our marriage... about a month ago, I started developing extreme mood swings, depression, weird thoughts I couldn't seem to cope with, suicidal thoughts, emotional about everything, losing feeling for my husband (who believe me, I adore and love so very much), 15 to 17-pound weight gain, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, fatigue, swelling in my legs and feet, and even one of my big toes started to go numb. I even started thinking the worst things about my husband and losing loss of feeling for him. I was scared to death! I was usually full of life and happy and carefree, and a very energetic and outgoing young woman who loved her husband and her life! I was always active and tried to be health conscious. My husband has been extremely gracious and patient through all of this, and believe me, you do not want to start your marriage out like this!!! So he and I decided to stop the pill about 2 weeks ago (mid of June 2016). My acne has cleared, my swelling has gone down, and physically I am feeling better each day. My emotional swings are slowly lessening, and I haven't had any panic attacks lately. I am still struggling, but each day I feel more myself and am getting back to the real me. SO PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE FOR YOUR SAKE AND THE SAKE OF THOSE YOU LOVE AROUND YOU!!! Stay away from this pill! These hormones are synthetic and fake, and they aren't natural for our bodies. It may work for some people, but it is not worth the risk of going through what I have to see if it will work for you as well."

• Eil...
• June 27, 2015

For Birth Control "I have been on Minastrin for about 5 months and have had no real negative physical side effects. My boobs grew a half of a cup size, but that was it for physical effects. I did, however, experience emotional and psychological side effects. I noticed that I rarely wanted to leave the house and had no desire to see friends. It made me extremely overdramatic and moody. I just switched to another BC because I was beginning to feel too depressed. I'm not certain that this depression is coming from Minastrin, but it began around the time I started this pill."

• Jmf...
• May 18, 2015

For Birth Control "I was on Generess FE for about 2 years (loved it) and then could no longer afford it because it no longer had an Activis card to use when paying for it. So, the doctor put me on Minastrin 24 FE. I believe this pill has made me gain a little bit of weight in a very short amount of time, and my biggest concern is how it has affected me emotionally. I feel very moody and so unhappy, almost depressed. I also have no sex drive, which I am not sure if that is from the pill or the slight depression from the pill. Either way, it is just not working well with my body. I can't wait to switch off of this pill."

• Ano...
• August 30, 2015

For Birth Control "I had been on a different BCP for over 20 years and had a generally low libido but pretty much no period with that pill. I went off to have a child, then returned to the same pill and became very emotional and depressed with a worse libido. My doctor changed me to Minastrin, and my emotions were much better, and libido improved also. I do get spotting the week before my period, which is non-existent. However, now that I've been on this pill for over a year, my weight has increased 14 pounds. I am so hungry, and my blood sugar doesn't seem to be very steady (I tend to get low blood sugar easily and am not a diabetic). So now I'm really hungry and can eat as much as my husband, and even though I'm exercising more, I continue to gain weight."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 11, 2015

For Birth Control "Within a day of starting this, I started experiencing horrible side effects-my skin started to break out, and my appetite was fluctuating drastically. But the worst part was the terrible mood swings. I became terribly depressed and was crying for an hour a day for no reason. Couldn't finish the month."

• Lyn...
• February 13, 2016

For Birth Control "I've been taking Lo Loestrin for 6 months, and I love it. I ran out and had a sample pack of Minastrin and thought, 'What could one month hurt? I'll save $25!' Stupid. Never again. I've been nauseous since the first pill, with daily stomach troubles. My breasts are so sore. But the worst is the anxiety/depression. I've started waking in the middle of the night with panic attacks and feel anxious pretty much 24/7. I'm going back on Lo Loestrin tomorrow. Minastrin and I are breaking up for good. We are no longer friends."

• Dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 5, 2016

For Birth Control "STAY AWAY FROM THIS PILL. This is my second month with this pill, and let me tell you how horrible my experience has been. Sudden weight gain, like literally 15 lbs more during these past two months. Lately, I've been very depressed, I've had two panic attacks, pain in my left arm, and shortness of breath. I thought I was having heart problems and rushed to the ER, and my heart is fine. This is all the pill, this pill is driving me crazy. I've never felt like this in my life. So many mood swings. I'm stopping these pills starting now. The only good thing is that your period is lighter and you get zero cramps. THAT'S IT."

• HCa...
• September 24, 2015

For Birth Control "The good thing about this pill was that it basically reduced my period to a once-a-month light period that lasted a day, and I didn't experience any cramping for the 10 months that I was on it. This was great because I have heavy, painful, irregular periods, and it was nice to not have to call in to work while on my period. I had to stop taking the pill because it was affecting my moods severely. I felt like I was always panicking about something, like my mind was constantly on overdrive and obsessing about any little issue that came up. I had to fight feeling sad and hopeless on a daily basis, and this was odd because the events happening in my life were very good. I've been off the pill for about a month, and I feel much better."

• HCa...
• September 24, 2015

For Birth Control "The good thing about this pill was that it basically reduced my period to a once-a-month light period that lasted a day, and I didn't experience any cramping for the 10 months that I was on it. This was great because I have heavy, painful, irregular periods, and it was nice to not have to call in to work while on my period. I had to stop taking the pill because it was affecting my moods severely. I felt like I was always panicking about something, like my mind was constantly on overdrive and obsessing about any little issue that came up. I had to fight feeling sad and hopeless on a daily basis, and this was odd because the events happening in my life were very good. I've been off the pill for about a month, and I feel much better."

• Bir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 20, 2019

For Birth Control "I took Minastrin for about a month and had extremely bad side effects. I had horrible mood swings, I was anxious, and most of all, super depressed. I’d go from okay to crazy in what felt like seconds. It was awful! It also made my breasts swell up about a full cup size."

• Iii...
• November 27, 2016

For Birth Control "1/10 does not even begin to describe my awful experience with this pill. I was on this pill for almost a week and had to stop it due to extreme mood swings and massive depression and anxiety. I have been on SSRIs for 7 years now and my depression and anxiety are relatively under control. From the minute I started this BC, I started gaining weight, breaking out, and having intense mood swings to the point where I thought I needed to go to the hospital. My breaking point with this BC was one night when I went through the cycle of angry/violent thoughts to intense anxiety to feeling completely normal. That cycle happened about 5 times in an hour. After this experience, I am now terrified to try another birth control method besides condoms."

• mbr...
• January 21, 2016

For Birth Control "HATED IT! Was on Loestrin 24 Fe and had no issues, my doctor told me they discontinued it, and they switched me to this because it was the most like it. I completely DISAGREE. Felt depressed, no energy, literally cried every day for absolutely no reason and had no sex drive."

• Ros...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 14, 2022

For Birth Control "I've been on Minastrin for a handful of years now (5+, I've lost track). Best things about it: it gets the job done, never had one pregnancy scare. Periods are light and mostly painless. Super simple to skip a period if I'm on vacation, no spotting during/after. The not so great: definitely affects my mood (I'm more prone to anger and sadness when on the pill and feel a sense of 'clarity' when I'm on the placebos), and I still get moderate PMS cramps. However, I take birth control for stress-free sex and controllable periods, so for me this medication is gold and the pros outweigh the cons."

• KMa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 28, 2019

For Birth Control "I have been on many different birth control pills (Linessa, Diane-35, Yasmin, Lolo, Orthocyclen, Alesse, Seasonale, Trinessa), and this pill was by far the worst. I have endometriosis, and this made my pelvic pain UNBEARABLE. I also have a litany of mood disorders, and this made me feel blunt and emotionless one moment, and then extremely depressed, and then insanely angry the next moment. I've never had a birth control create such violent changes in me, and I've been on various BC pills for upwards of ten years. I felt like myself the day after I stopped taking it. That being said, BC works differently for everyone."

• Kou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 29, 2015

For Birth Control "I started a sample of this pill on 12/13/2015. In the beginning, it was okay. A week later, I started spotting and cramping like my period was coming. This went on for about a week. Now I'm extremely nauseous ALL THE TIME. I can barely eat. Plus, I have no energy since starting this pill. I also became depressed for no apparent reason. And let's not talk about the migraines. It's safe to say they are now in the trash! I'll go back to the old-fashioned condom method of birth control."

• Jam...
• July 8, 2015

For Birth Control "This pill is horrific. I have been on it for only a few days, and it's making me feel super emotional and depressed, and I have never felt this way before. I will no longer be taking this and need to find something to switch to."

• VCo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 26, 2015

For Birth Control "I'm giving this pill an 8 because, for me, it had very minimal side effects. I didn't gain any weight, it cleared any blemishes, and I experienced no mood swings or depression. However, I did experience severe spotting and breakthrough bleeding, even after being on the pill for three months. My doctor told me to give my body three months to adjust, and during my fourth month on this pill, I bled for the entire first week of my fourth pack! Therefore, it feels like I'm getting a period (or at least have to wear pads) twice a month. The spotting is absolutely annoying, and I'm strongly considering switching to another pill or just taking myself off of birth control entirely."

• Shl...
• November 30, 2015

For Birth Control "I wish I could rate it -100. I have always had anxiety and depression, and it's worsened everything. Plus, it's made me break out more and has made my periods spotty rather than regular. I know everyone's body handles things differently, but if you have existing mental health conditions, I would especially suggest staying away from this medicine."

• Nic...
• July 31, 2016

For Birth Control "The medication did its job - I definitely had shorter, lighter periods. But, toward month 4/5, they actually started to disappear. Some may see this as a pro, but I personally had anxiety about it. There was no real effect on my skin, good or bad, and I had some lower body weight gain (hips/butt/thighs), but pretty minimal. My gripe with this med is the effect it had on my mood. I had some weepiness when first starting but dismissed it. Similar to other reviews, around month 5, I became easily anxious about everything, and while I'd noticed a lack of energy throughout my use, I was starting to feel depressed. I suspected it might be the cause and quit - it's crazy how much more energy I have and more like myself I feel now."

• Cha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 28, 2015

For Birth Control "You can actually call this birth control because I didn't want to have sex while I was on it. I had no type of sex drive whatsoever, and I'm always in a mood. I had mood swings, depression, and was nauseous all the time. The only thing that Minastrin was good for was my periods were light and lasted two days, and I didn't get pregnant. I was originally on Loestrin 24 Fe and stopped. Loestrin 24 was the best birth control ever. I went back on birth control a year later because I couldn't afford to pay for it at the time, but now my insurance basically covers anything now. The doctor prescribed me Minastrin, and it was the worst thing ever. I stopped using it after three months and felt so much better."

• chy...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 10, 2015

For Birth Control "I have read almost all the reviews, and I have the same horrible side effects. I thought I was losing my mind! CONS: No sex drive - I mean sub-zero. Painful intercourse, mood swings, anxiety, depression, tension headaches that make me want to cry, nausea out of nowhere, feeling like I can't catch my breath, boobs hurt almost to the touch of air. Pros: My period is nonexistent, very low cramping, no pregnancy. I hate it, I went to a new gyno, and she is taking me off, we are trying something else."

• all...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 9, 2021

For Birth Control "I was on Minastrin 24 Fe for some time and then had a severe panic attack, which made me decide to no longer take it! It is not worth it for risking your mental health if you deal with anxiety/depression. I now have panic disorder due to what happened. I don’t recommend it."

• aud...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 10, 2015

For Birth Control "This is truly the worst type of birth control. I have been on it for a year and a half, and I have been too blind to notice the severity of the change in my behavior. I am angry, irritated, moody, depressed, and I have absolutely no sex drive. I feel as though I have only a few emotions left in me, those being anger and other negative feelings. I started at the age of 16 and did not necessarily understand the side effects of this pill. I am extremely irritated and angry, and I am constantly in arguments with my boyfriend. I never used to be this way, and it bothers me that I have been too blind to see the effects it has taken on me. I am currently still on this pill, but I am going to talk to my OBGYN to see how quickly I can switch to anything else."