Home Post birth control symptoms

[dcgator]

Hi Ladies,

For those of you had been on the pill for extended periods of time 5-10 years+, did you/are you experiencing any side effects (aside from a wonky cycle) after coming off the pill? I have gone through bouts of migraines, high blood pressure, nausea, rapid weight gain and other random stuff. I have heard one doc describe it as experiencing "withdrawals" after denying your body the drugs it has been used to for so long.

Has anyone had similar or other severe reactions after coming off the pill? If so, how long did such symptoms continue after you stopped the pill?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Lauren8211]

Headaches and dizziness were the only symptoms I had, and they were bad. It went away after about a week or two. I was fine for about 1-2 months, then the acne came.

Thats when I went back on the pill!

Now I''m stuck on it.

 

[MustangGal]

I was on almost 7 years, and just had a little bit of wonky cycles when I got off, no headachs or anything else. What you''re experiencing sounds pretty bad... could you maybe try a very low dose pill for a few months to wean yourself off?

 

[charbie]

eeekkk! i know we went off the pill around the same time, but i can''t say that i''m experiencing anything too crazy. i''ve had a few headaches, nothing too major tho.

and honestly, my skin looks better now than it did when i was on the pill! how does that happen?

i guess we all just react differently- i had been on the pill for about 10 years on and off (mostly on) and usually on Trinessa (generic for OrthoTricylin). sorry it isn''t going too well for you! i hope your body evens itself out soon!

 

[luvmyhalo]

I was on the pill for about 10 years. When I stopped taking them, I had headaches and was a little dizzy for maybe a week or so. My weight went down a bit and my skin actually looks better now! Your symptoms should subside soon as your body figures out how to function without the hormones. At least I hope they do, migraines are the WORST!!!!! Good luck dcgator!!!

 

[cara]

My skin went a little crazy for a few months, but then it leveled out. Not quite as smooth and easy as on the b/c but decent. Also it was interesting to be actually feeling hormonal changes during my cycle again, as the hormonal b/c kind of leveled things out.

 

[noelwr]

yucky pimply face.

oh well, I guess having a child will be worth it.

 

[megumic]

I went off BC for a few months several years ago and had very bad acne outbreaks alllll over my body. I didn''t even have acne when I was 13!!! I went back on...but hope to be off again once we''re married. I''d call your doc and see what he/she recommends to ease you off the hormones.

 

[packrat]

I was on the Pill for about 10 years and went off a few months before we were going to try for our first. My skin has always been horrible, but the Pill helped keep it clear. I was still tanning at the time, and I think that helped keep it clear for a while, but it started breaking out like crazy when I got pg and quit tanning.

 

[kittybean]

Bad acne. Ugh. I went back on the Pill after it became really bad (2 months or so after), but it took nearly a year (with Accutane) to clear my skin up. I am dreading going off of it to TTC, despite that being a few years away.

 

[Octavia]

Ugh...this makes me nervous. I''d planned to go off BC in May or June, but I''m taking th bar in July and our bar prep guy said not to change routine or habits in any way because of the stress (so, wait until afterward to go on a diet, quit smoking, etc.). Now I''m concerned about the post-BC effects. I''m probably overthinking it

but man would that suck.

 

[Amandine]

Acne. Finally getting better, some of it is just me figuring out what works for my skin now. My headaches are actually LOADS better--I used to get pretty bad tension headaches/migraines while on it.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

I actually had a pretty easy go of it when I went off the pill. My skin got a little pimply. But my cycle was exactly 30 days when I got off. I usually just get one monster zit with my period each month. That was the same on the pill and off.

I wish I''d lost a little weight coming off of it. No dice.

 

[dcgator]

Hey ladies,

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for sharing your stories and experiences. I guess I am lucky in one way b/c I haven''t really had bad acne (knock on wood) and I have gone back on track cycle day wise. But the headaches and the weight gain is getting freaking annoying!

Elle: sounds like we have similar symptoms, except mine just seem to on a delayed timeline (1 month or so in). Hopefully mine will go away soon!

Luvmyhalo: Glad to hear you are all good now. I am jealous of your weight loss though,

Cara: I hear you on the feeling the hormonal changes, I almost forgot what that was like, lol. Btw, are you expecting a LO soon. How is it going?

Octavia: I wouldn''t worry too much about getting severe reactions, I think I am the anamoly. But, I think as a general rule, if you have something big like that coming up, it would be a good idea not to make any dramatic changes.

Travel Goddess: I''ll give you an Amen on the weight gain, UGH!

By the way, I love your little kitty. Too cute!

 

[dcgator]

Update to the issues:

So in addition to my annoying headaches, I was just sitting at work yesterday, doing my thing when bam, I had a shooting pain at the temporal area of one side of my head. Well, that pain was like nothing I had before, and it really scared me. Plus, I am supposed to fly out on Friday for another half-marathon, so I didn''t want to ignore such head issues and then have something happen mid-race. So, I had my husband take me to the ER just to make sure it wasn''t something more serious.

After waiting a few hours, they ran a CT to make sure there we no bleeds and then ran my blood to check for anything else amiss. They didn''t find anything (which is good), but they also said if it keeps up, I need to go to a nurologist. Geez, I am not sure what''s going on, but my body needs to get sorted out!

Anyway, thanks again for your input and I will let you know if anything happens.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Date: 2/23/2010 10:48:08 PM
Author: dcgator
Update to the issues:


So in addition to my annoying headaches, I was just sitting at work yesterday, doing my thing when bam, I had a shooting pain at the temporal area of one side of my head. Well, that pain was like nothing I had before, and it really scared me. Plus, I am supposed to fly out on Friday for another half-marathon, so I didn''t want to ignore such head issues and then have something happen mid-race. So, I had my husband take me to the ER just to make sure it wasn''t something more serious.


After waiting a few hours, they ran a CT to make sure there we no bleeds and then ran my blood to check for anything else amiss. They didn''t find anything (which is good), but they also said if it keeps up, I need to go to a nurologist. Geez, I am not sure what''s going on, but my body needs to get sorted out!


Anyway, thanks again for your input and I will let you know if anything happens.

Was it an "ice pick headache?" I get these quick stabbing pains in my head from time to time and I finally had to google it. I guess that''s what they''re called. Ice pick headaches. It''s actually a quite fitting name. Scared the bejesus out of me the first time it happened. I thought I was having an aneurysm.

 

[dcgator]

Date: 2/23/2010 11:22:28 PM
Author: Travel Goddess

Was it an ''ice pick headache?'' I get these quick stabbing pains in my head from time to time and I finally had to google it. I guess that''s what they''re called. Ice pick headaches. It''s actually a quite fitting name. Scared the bejesus out of me the first time it happened. I thought I was having an aneurysm.

Travel Goddess: OMG, this is exaclty it. That sharp, shooting, quick, yet recurring pain. Crazy. It really did scare me too, and I was thinking the same thing.

Thanks for shedding some light on the issue. I will bring it up with my GP when I see him.

Since you said you still get them, how long have you dealt with them and has any treatment been offered?

 

[Prana]

Yeah, when I came off (like 2 months ago now), I was getting really bad migraines at random. Now I''m just getting acne.

 

[cara]

Thanks for asking DCgator, I am expecting a little one in many moons. Its going well in that I feel sick pretty much all the time, more or less, they say this is good news for the pregnancy if not very fun. I recommend skipping the first trimester, if any of you ladies have a choice in the matter

.

 

[luvmyhalo]

Date: 2/24/2010 1:58:52 PM
Author: cara
Thanks for asking DCgator, I am expecting a little one in many moons. Its going well in that I feel sick pretty much all the time, more or less, they say this is good news for the pregnancy if not very fun. I recommend skipping the first trimester, if any of you ladies have a choice in the matter

.

LOL! That would have been fabulous! Those first couple of weeks were no fun for me either. The good news is that it does get better. For me, week 12 was like a switch. Instantly, no more nausea!!! I hope it passes quickly for you!

DC - I'm so sorry you're having terrible headaches. I hope they subside soon. As far as my weight loss goes, nothing major....we're talking less than 5 pounds. I had a friend who dropped like 20 pounds when she stopped taking the pill.....B*%CH!!!