To those with a history of depression or mood swings: DON'T TAKE ...

To those with a history of depression or mood swings: DON'T TAKE THIS MEDICINE. I started taking Loestrin 24fe in January 2009 to alleviate heavy and irregular periods. I managed to stick with it for a month and a half before the depression and mood swings were too much for me to handle. My boyfriend and six or seven other people (some whom I am close to and some whom I am just friends with) told me I was being strangely moody and wasn't acting like myself AT ALL. My moods fluctuated constantly during the day, always tending toward depression, but alternated between being extremely peppy and very depressed and dull, sometimes several times within a few hours. I started snapping at people for no reason, and random crying spells began as the mood swings went even further downhill to the point where those I am close to became seriously concerned about my mental state and feared that I would become suicidal. I could live with the other side effects-- acne, increased breast size & tenderness, nightmares, and spotting-- but not the personality change. I stopped taking Loestrin 24 two days ago and immediately noticed a change in my personality. One of my close friends called me and two minutes into the conversation, she told me that I sound like my normal self for the first time since I started taking the pill. The mood swings are gone, as is the depression, and I'm willing to live with irregular periods and the hassle they can be rather than become a different person and end up taking even more medicines to treat the side effects of Loestrin.