Anxiety/Depression After Stopping Birth Control Pills

[errantly.livejournal.com]

I stopped taking (generic) Yasmin in early May, opting for Mirena as my birth control. I'd been on Yasmin for 16 years. Since then, I've been extremely anxious and depressed - it's debilitating! I thought it was a thyroid issue at first, but my levels are normal. Finally, my partner told me that my intense mood swings were scaring him, and that I "hadn't been myself for a while."

I did some Googling and found a lot of message boards with scores of women saying that after going off of long-term birth control pills they had anxiety attacks and depression for weeks or months (sometimes years)...but I haven't been able to find any concrete information (studies and the like) confirming that these unstable feelings could be caused by stopping systemic HBC, explaining why that is, or giving me a time frame as to how long I might feel this way.

Have you experienced this? How have you coped, or lessened your symptoms? Do you know of any studies that can give me some information as to what's going on with my hormones? How long is this going to last? It's affecting my work, my relationships, and my overall mental health...to the point that I'm feeling a bit desperate (okay, I bet that's a symptom too, but still!).

Thank you!

Comments

[archangelbeth]

1: Always get the numbers for "normal" -- if your lab uses outdated levels... Well, it might not be normal after all! (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) should be between .4 and 4.)

2: I'd check out your vitamin B levels, as well as D while they're drawing blood. Vitamin B deficiencies might be making you more moody.

3: Consider going back on the Yasmin as well as the Mirena, and see if it helps?

4: Also consider a professional listener of some stripe, who might be able to help you figure out coping strategies -- being anxious about being anxious is no fun. (Ditto being depressed about being depressed...)

5: If adding Yasmin back doesn't help -- identify which progesterone the Mirena uses! It may be that your body likes generic Yasmin's progesterone, and doesn't like the Mirena's!

Good luck!

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to second the suggestion that it might be the Mirena causing the problem. I have the opposite problem from yours -- I can't take oral contraceptives because they make my mood swings worse, but I don't have that problem with Mirena. Because of that, it makes sense to me that you could have the opposite effect: Mirena gives you issues, Yaz doesn't.

I don't have a good explanation of why this might be happening. Two things come to mind -- first, as Beth suggests, your body is okay with the artificial progestin that's in Yaz (drospirenone), but not the one that's in Mirena(levonorgestrel). Alternatively, you might need the synthetic estrogen that's in Yaz to balance out fluctuations in your own cycle.

[annaline-39.livejournal.com]

Mirena caused those symptoms for me

[sweetchild92.livejournal.com]

i had to add medication, my psychiatrist said the estrogen acted as a mood stabilizer.

I highly recommend looking into CBT, it tends to be very effective for anxiety and depression

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

When I switched from the NuvaRing to the Mirena, I experienced a wave of severe depression and then a month of sort of shaky moods. I do have a history of depression and anxiety, so I did what has worked for me in the past: exercise, seek counseling (CBT is awesome!), eat better, talk to friends, get out of the house.

After that month, I stabilized. I've since started taking B vitamins regularly, which is supposed to help with hormone-related emotional instability. My body showed other signs of dealing with hormone adjustment for months after my Mirena was inserted. Specifically, I had some hair loss, acne, and oily skin. These all went away by the first year, and probably sooner.

If it's at all possible, I recommend seeking the advice of a doctor and especially a psych* or counselor. You might find an SSRI or other antidepression/anxiety med to be helpful, even if you only use it for a little while. Definitely ask your doc about Beth's suggestions. Consider increasing exercise, vegetables, sunlight, massages, and decreasing depressants like booze and avoiding life.

For me personally, holing myself up and avoiding people can feel good for a while when I'm depressed, but it can also trigger a downward spiral. It was helpful for me to focus on the fact that this was a temporary hormonal mood spike, and that it would end soon. And I hope it does for you too!