Transitions symptoms and conditions

When I started this pill, originally, when I was about 15, I bled for 5 days, and then after that I began to slowly develop a stomach ache. Further more, my appetite not only vanished, but when I did eat, I had constipation / the runs.

I was on it for a year before stopping it for a few months, because I was becoming more moody than I normally am. For example, I would just start crying for no reason, or get very angry and hit people for no reason. Thought there's truly few good reasons to hit anyone.

I stopped the pills halfway through being 16. Stomach pain vanished, I began eating again, and having normal mood transitions.

When I started it up again, though, I bled for 18 days straight. Eighteen days of gushing blood all over the place. First 14 days was brown blood.

I stopped it after the 18th day, and got back onto it sometime in August. My everything seemed normal. Then the lack of appetite returned. And the stomach pain. The stomach pain actually got worse! I went to the doctor. Had to get a GI Series, drank a nasty barium solution, came up positive for... a stomach ulcer!

My doctor checked me for the virus, didn't have it. He chocked it up to Loestrin, though he said my stress probably made the ulcer worse. No less, he said it was all Loestrin's fault.

Recently, I stopped taking Loestrin 24 Fe again, with no intent of going back on it. And now, I have myself trouble breathing and some irregular heart beating, both which I plan to have checked out.

I do not plan to ever go back on Loestrin 24 Fe.

I did not enjoy explaining to people, at age 17, that the reason I couldn't eat spicy food or drink juice was because I didn't want to upset my ulcer, and needing to pop a Tums every two hours or so.

This is my story; if your stomach has been hurting, I hope you get checked for an ulcer.

Are any of you actually taking this pill AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY? I'm just wondering because I'm going on to my 3rd month on Loestrin 24 and I take my pill the same time every day, get my period on time, and have had no problems what so ever...

I'm not one to contribute to open forums, but in this case I feel there is a need. I have been on the NuvaRing for roughly one year. I decided to start the ring due to my inability to correctly take the pill (my schedule was too hectic). I encountered a few issues in the beginning to include nausea and headache, but I had anticipated that. These symptoms gradually subsided within a month or two. (Speaking in hindsight) Very gradually I began to develop more of a need to be independent....I had started a new relationship and really cared for him, but found myself progressively wanting to spend time away from him. I also became far more irritable and to combat that, I would spend more time alone. During the past year I have had some significant transitions in my life and I always would attribute these emotions to stress, but the transitions were all positive. Recently, within the previous two months my irritability and need for isolation have truly spun out of control. Furthermore, I developed a yeast infection for the first time in my life (28 years old). I have never considered consulting a mental health specialist in the past, but I have contemplated it recently. Fortunately, I consider myself a logical person and would try to pick apart why I felt the way that I did and finally I couldn't attribute lashing out on everyone close to me to 'temporary depression' or transition and I couldn't justify giving up activities that once were of great interest to me or deciding that it would be 'easier' to break it off with anyone close to me in order to save myself from feeling remorse for treating them badly.
One aspect that contributed to my realization of what was causing this was that I knew that I was far more interested in intimacy when I was on my period, which led me to that it was possible that my symptoms were related to the NuvaRing.
I removed the NuvaRing 6 days ago and with each day I feel exponentially better. I've even had comments from those that are close to me. I have been far more motivated and in touch with my feelings in the very short period of time that I have been without the ring.
I am very happy that I was able to piece this together before my destructive behavior did more permanent damage, but I am also upset, because there was a short period of time where I thought the ring was the answer. Although I am thrilled that I feel like myself again I am concerned about being able to find a contraceptive method that is effective and does not provide such side-effects.
The worst part about this experience was that these side-effects really do creep up on you. It is not obvious at all.