Aviane and depression

I have been much better since taking Aviane.

However the depression and anxiety some if you described, I had for TEN long years whilst taking MICROGYNON. I felt I couldn't control my emotions it was very frightening. I didn't realize that my pill could be causing this though until I stopped taking it.

So I guess that all pills affect different women in different ways. The only way is to keep trying different ones until you feel ok. Don't give up. My firned did and ended up having a seires of abortions just because she didn't like how the pill made her feel. I think the abortions made her feel MUCH worse.

Just keep trying you'll find the right one..

Good luck!

Well, I'm back to report what is going on with me since going off of Aviane. I posted on July 25th 2009.

I am 100% better since I've stopped the Aviane pill! YAY! My negativity is gone, anxiety is gone, my weight gain has stopped. I no longer feel bloated or insecure about myself. No more spotting, no more night waking, no more depression and I'm not exhausted anymore. I have to say I finally feel like myself again-thankfully. This pill was definitely not for me.

Thanks again to all those who posted :)

I cannot believe I happened to find this page today!! Thank GOD!!

I was looking up reasons for being exhausted and irritable (which I feel I am ALL the time lately) and thought- maybe it has to do with my birth control pill. After reading these posts it sounds to me that it does!

I have been taking Aviane for 10 months now- prescribed Alesse after the birth of my daughter but was given Aviane by the pharmacy because it is a generic that is supposed to be the same as Alesse. I have been depressed, irritable, unable to sleep, overly exhausted, spotting for 3 weeks, and am beginning to gain some weight. I brushed the depression off because I thought it was my hormone levels returning to normal after the pregnancy. Unless I have postpartum depression (which I don't feel I do) then my hormones should have stabilized by now!

As for the weight gain- I'm not eating any differently than usual- maybe less do to the stress of being in school part time, being a mom and wife, and working, so this gain is not typical for me. Generally, when I'm stressed I lose a few pounds.

My irritability is out of control! Since I've been on Aviane I have been angry and mean. My reactions feel out of control. I can't count the times I've told my husband that I don't know why I'm acting the way I am and that I feel my "freak outs" are beyond my control. I have destroyed some of my husband's personal property as well as my own during fits of rage. When I pull myself outside of these situations I say to myself- who the hell is that person because It's not me. I used to be very laid back, easy going, and rarely angry in the past.

Every night I wake up at least 3 times on my own. My daughter sleeps through the night so I can't attribute my lack of sleep and night waking to her. I can't seem to get through the day without a nap. Sometimes I take two because I feel so tired.

All of these behaviors are so uncharacteristic to me. Before I had my daughter I was a competitive soccer player and enjoyed running, hiking, and biking. I traveled the country working as an archaeology field tech where I would work 10-12 hours outside all day, sometimes walking 4 miles or more a day in the hot summer sun. I enjoyed life and was light hearted and funny. I would never raise my voice to the people I care and never considered myself someone with a temper. Sadly, for the last 4 months I have been walking through life wondering what is the matter with me and wondering why I couldn't get myself together. I never even thought to research the side effects of my pill!!

Thank You EVERYONE for posting your thoughts or problems because it has helped me to see that maybe this pill isn't for me!! I am going to stop and will post again in a few months to let people know if my life has changed for the positive since quitting this monster of a pill.

I've been on Aviane for almost 3 years now. I decided to look up the pill for the first time today because I was frustrated with my unexpected weight gain. Of course I have had other symptoms on this pill such as irritability and depression but I never really related it to the pill. Other than that I have loved this pill and thought I was walking in the clouds compared to my other friends and their bad experiences with birth control!
My question to all of you is: could my unexpected weight gain be due to the pill or something else entirely? Since I've been taking it for so long I'm not sure it's possible that it could be the pill. Here are a few facts:
I am 23 years old (so I started the pill when I was 20). I have gained about 15 pounds since I've been on it. I eat very healthy and exercise 3 days a week. I have never had any problems with weight gain in my mid section until now and so I am looking for answers!

I have only been on Aviane for a week and a half. Within the first couple days, I noticed some bloating, which annoyed me, but which I thought would eventually go away. It didn't. In fact, it keeps getting worse. My routine is the same; yoga each morning for an hour, plenty of walking, a healthy diet. But I have gained at least 10 or 12 pounds in this short period of time, and each day seem to balloon. On top of it, I am nauseated every day, as soon as I sit still for a moment. I've also had a noticeably reduced sex drive, anxiety, and have been easily provoked into feelings of anger and depression, so much that I've often taken myself out of the situation mentally, noticed my ridiculousness, and felt out of control in preventing my responses! I think it's not only affecting my relationship, but absolutely affecting my sense of self-control and self-esteem. I can't deal with this, and after reading most of these posts and learning that I'm not alone, I realize it doesn't necessarily get better, and often gets worse. Everyone is different, of course, but I think this brand, and maybe even method, is having a very negative impact on my life. Thank you all for sharing your experiences. It's been a huge help. I'm going to look into other methods and am looking forward to feeling like myself again!

Hi i have been on the depo before i was on aviane .I must say it is better by far .I used to have leg cramping, depression ,bloating and no periods at all.Since being on Aviane for 2 months my breasts are tender and getting larger they hurt all the time , i have a large appetite thats all for now .I don't know what the next few months will hold on this pill but i will keep u informed.ITS NOT THAT BAD!!!
Ips-The BRONX

I feel like such an idiot. I'm usually so careful about new things. When I was prescribed Alesse 3 years ago I researched all the side effects, but I never had a problem. About a year ago, my pharmacy offered me Aviane, and since the pharmacist told me it was exactly the same as Alesse I figured I might as well save a few bucks. I trusted the pharmacist, and never thought to research the side effects since I believed it was the same. Now I know I was so wrong. I never connected the side effects until recently. I have noticed thinning hair around my temples for about 6 months, and it wasn't until I googled that expecting to find that its a normal part of aging (even though I'm only 25) that I came across so much about Aviane. Then reading everyone else's experiences, I realized I hadn't connected all the other side effects to this generic brand. I had rapid weight gain the first 3 months and have been unable to lose it no matter what I do. The depression, low sex drive, acne, and practically constant yeast infections I think now are all connected to Aviane. After reading this yesterday, I went straight to my pharmacy and switched back to Alesse. Even though it cost me $25 with my health plan (2 years ago it only cost $6 so I wonder if my plan pays less because of the cheaper alternative) I don't care, I just want to be healthy and sane again. Thanks for sharing your stories, they made me realize there was a problem and I can't wait to start my new pack tomorrow and see what happens.

*JENN*

Let me start by saying WOW ... I've been on AVIANE now for roughly 6 months or more yet have been on Try cyclin and Alesse in the past. I went in expecting to get Alesse, came home to notice it was Aviane (Pharmacist must have switched without saying anything), didn't think anything of it and just started taking the pills (thinking it doesn't hurt to try a new brand, to not let your body get too immune to a certain kind). However I have had nothing but problems and have finally decided to research it more.

For the first few months, if I were to miss a pill i'd spot for the rest of the month (nothing like having your period for 30 days) ... I've gained at least 15 pounds which is ridiculous as I play for 3 indoor soccer teams, bounce on my trampoline daily and can not seem to shed any pounds (only gain).

I'm waking up frequently throughout the night, have had heart palpitations, my hair is thinning, have had more yeast infections in the past 6 months than I've had in my life, etc... Luckily my sex drive hasn't decreased (thank god) but I have noticed its more painful during sex (vaginal dryness) and now reading all these posts things are starting to make A LOT more sense.

Luckily as well i'm able to control the irritability and depression however it does come quite frequently.

OH also not to mention the acne, I wash my face twice daily and seem to be getting acne quite often.

Other symptoms i'm experiencing are:
Dry mouth, no motivation (even to play sports and that's a passion of mine), lack of confidence, bloating, increased hunger, heart palpitations, memory loss, etc...

I'm going to look at switching IMMEDIATELY!!
Thanks girls for all your posts ... helped me figure out what my symptoms were caused from :) Good luck to all you!

I have been taking Yaz for 3 months (my first round of birth control in my life) and I thought it was great. It was originally intended to help my skin and regulate my period a little more. After not having any improvement skin-wise, my Dr. decided to switch me to Aviane last week. I've never heard of this b.c. before and being a naive person, just filled the prescription without looking at any side effects. I'm only on my second day, but I cannot believe how irritable and moody I am. Everyone told me I looked depressed or out of it all day. On top of this, I currently take meds for anxiety/depression but I noticed how anxious, shaky, and sad I felt today. I don't want to jump to conclusions and think it's the pill, but this all just seems to coincidental. I think I will be making a call to the doctor tomorrow.

I have been on Aviane for a month now. I switched form Ortho Tricyclen Lo, which was pretty good, except i got really bad headaches and stomach aches. Acne was under control, cramps were gone, lost some weight, and period was regular.

On avianne, only in this one month, ive experienced many of the side effects noted above. I haven't had acne in the past year, and it suddenly came back. Ive gained weight, and I eat a lot more. I get back pains, which ive never had. Cramps, depression, mean attitude, fatigue, ive been getting night mares, and i wake up a lot in the middle of the night. I plan to go through with it for another month, but if the symptoms don't lighten up, I think ill switch.

Thank god I read this. I have been on Aviane for about 1 1/2 now. I was fine for the first few months.

Then I started losing my hair which girls usually do but for me I never ever lost hair, in my brush on my clothes, in the shower never lost hair and I am noticing for the last few months that I have been losing considerable amounts of hair and I've been wondering how this could be all of a sudden.

and I have been so mean to my boyfriend, I thought I was just so unhappy at this point in my life. I found myself nagging for no reason at all but just to do it. and I'll tell you he is absolutely perfect and I have no reason at all to be unhappy in our relationship. I'm not the kind to have mood swings of any kind or suffer depression, I have always been very pleasant.

I started suspecting my bc even though I had been on it for a while. 2 months ago, while on my sugar pills (and I don't think I have to remind you but my period, which is supposed to be our "crazy time of the month") within in a day of not being on this bc, that entire week was the most pleasant I can remember being this whole past year. So again one more month I take this bc, again bitchy, nagging, crying for no reason at all after one day of being back on the pill!

I just can't believe that "pmsing" while not on the pill gives me a more pleasant attitude than taking Aviane!!! I thought I was just depressed thank god I found this website, I am switching immediately!

On another note, I haven't had any side effects like breakouts, not anymore than the usual one or two a month, no cramping, no migraines. But I have been noticing busted blood vessels, quite a few on my arms and one under my eye. I am relatively young, early 20's, I thought it may have a side effect like this because of the heart, blood clotting, strokes etc. anyone else with that problem???

Thanks so much for your posts, ladies, I am on the phone with a gyn as soon as I post!!! No More Aviane!

Hi Ladies- I promised I would post to let you know how I am doing WITHOUT Aviene. I posted the Sept. 10 comment entitled Thanks ladies because I felt your posts have helped me.

I stopped taking the Aviene on a Thursday and all side effects stopped and no new ones occurred. All is well, I enjoy life without being a freak show.

In a DAY AND A HALF WITHOUT AVIANE MY HEALTH RESTORED.

I mentioned the 20 pound weight gain within a few weeks, by the following Tuesday I lost 9 pounds and today is the 26th and I lost 15 pounds. No anxiety, no irritation, no face issues (in a week it cleared up), no mood or energy issues, no excessive thirst, burning of eyes, chills, fever, rashes, itchy -nothing. I was allergic to it and my body wasn't breaking down the coloring agents etc whatever the hell is in there b/c it's not like you get a box or product descriptions. This isn't personal comments, I spoke with pharmacists, doctors, doctor friends, nurses etc. I work at a hospital I have great resources to share with you.

Whatever your side effects are, let's do this. Let's listen to our bodies, listen to experiences and draw your own conclusions.

I know my body, I know myself, and I know my life changes, mood changes, physical changes were due to this pill.

Please consider when being worried about what will happen if you quickly go off it that the consequences of staying on it are more severe. For me, and for many of us, the side effects didn't stop but kept adding and if you are reading this and are just curious or feel something is off with you do not take it any further. I am sharing that I am not a sensitive person and do not experience side effects... and I completely broke down physically and mentally from the amount of side effects and had to self defend.

Many of your comments helped and let's face it if you read that some ladies lost their hair... come on... obviously something is wrong with this pill.

Take care ladies, my sincere hope is that my post will help you, as you have helped me.

So you know, I went back on Alesse and all is well. My drug company didn't cover Alesse but ALESSE HAS A PATIENT CARD FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE AND FOR THOSE WHO DO BUT THE COMPANY DOESN'T COVER ALESSE RATHER THE GENERIC AVIANE. Your patient Alesse card you get will cover the difference that your insurance company may not. I paid $ 2.89 for my monthly prescription which is less than if the insurance company covered it. Check with your pharmacy location site if they participate in the program and it is not hard to find one that does.

You may not like Alesse, I can only share my experience with Aviane that did make my life a living hell. Happy to be OFF it!

Please take care and self defend your situation and reach out to those around you.

I have been on Aviane since January. I started taking it for extremely painful cramps that induced vomiting and dizziness. I wasn't taking it for birth control, acne control, or anything else. It worked wonders for my cramps. I had a regular period, no spotting, and no excruciating pain. That being said, the rest of my life was awful. I break out like crazy, put on a little bit of wait (nothing to really complain over), and worst of all, I have been in a hazy slump since I started taking it. I wouldn't say its been depression, but it is definitely a fatigue that I can't shake. I don't care about my friends or boyfriend or family until something or someone makes me aware of my blatant rudeness and apathy and then I burst into tears and cry for a whole day. Its awful, and I plan to not start the new pack on Sunday. I'm cutting birth control entirely and hoping it will change things. Has anyone else done this? I'm kind of scared of the side effects of stopping...

I have had lots of the side effects that most women described. The most severe for me was the dramatic hair loss that I suffered while taking, first Aviane in the beginning then being switched to Lutera really did'nt make much of a difference, however I have lost weight which was a plus, but the hair loss and restlessness made it a minus not to mention the depression and low sex drive. So I have decided to finish my last pack, then just completely go off of birth control pills and hope my cycle lightens up, otherwise I will try some Homeopathic remedy and see how that goes. Good luck to all, hope you find what works for you, sometimes you do have to experiment, before you reach that ultimate goal... Take care all...

Question: I just got a new pack and my school Dr. said Lessina is the new name for Aviane?!? I've been researching it all day and can't find any answers. Does anyone know why they would change the name? I just want to know if it's something serious or just a name change :) I'm getting off Avaine anyways especially after reading all the comments on depression and anxiety side effects so many people have had. I was going to see a therapist because I have ridiculous anxiety for NO REASON and snap at everything but thanks girls...now I know I'm not crazy, it's just the pill! Life is good :)

This is my first time ever using birth control and my doctor gave me Aviane. To me its done nothing 'good' or done anything special besides keeping me from getting pregnant. Since i've been on the pill i've only had many emotional spills (ex. i colored a picture and bawled my eyes out because it was ugly), many anger problems, irritation, yeast infections, MAJOR stomach problems (bloating, cramping, heavy feeling), weird periods, depression, anxiety, loss of my sex drive, pain behind the eyes, and pretty much everything else that you can possibly get. Dont take this drug, its horrible.

I'm 24 years old and I've been on Aviane for about 2 years. My sex drive is GONE. I live with my boyfriend and we have a great relationship. He is my best friend. We have sex MAYBE once or twice a month and I still don't even want to do it then, but I feel bad for him so I do. I also snap at everything, and I always feel like I'm going to explode. I snap at him and my cat and my family at least once a day. I can hardly do my laundry or drive my car without feeling like I want to punch a wall. I've always been such a laid back person so I definitely think it's the birth control. I didn't gain any weight on this pill. I actually lost weight so I'm terrified to switch to anything else, but I think I'm going to have to because it's ruining my life.

I am 21 yrs old and I have been on Aviane for 1yr. now. This would be my third different BC. I was on the patch before taken Aviane I was having these side effects on the patch :dizziness, blurred vision and many more just to name a few. Since being on Aviane I have had a lot to side effect: depression moody, anger, (very bad) hair loss, slurred speech, loss train of thought, weight gain (about 15 lbs), decreased sex drive, headaches, severe cramping and other side effects. I wouldn't recommend this BC to anyone.

I went on aviane back in December and i mainly just got mood swings and depression, but i wanted to go on it to clear up the pimples i was getting. I went off it a month or two later because of rapid weight gain that i noticed and now in may ive been on it for about a week and im already experiencing horrible mood swings, horrible cysts of pimples that happen to be very painful, and im just never happy. I also experience really bad stomach pains and I am not sure if this is all because of the pill? I don't know if i should keep through with the pack hoping that it will get better? I have prom in a few weeks and i don't want my face to look horrible. I was thinking about going on YAZ because of the commercials saying that it clears acne, controls mood swings, etc....what do you think?

I'm a 37 y/f that has had three children. I took bc way back when in my teen years but never needed it again till now. I've been on the pill 7 days. I was wondering how often anyone gets really bad nausea and vomiting with this pill? I've been sick everyday. I was advised to take the pill before I went to bed and to make sure I had some type of heavy protein to stick in my stomach while i was sleeping to calm the nausea... But that has not worked. within 4 hours of waking i'm feeling very nauseated... 90 percent and will get "ill" each night before I go to work. At first I thought it was a stomach bug... doc said I could expect some nausau but didn't want to switch me for the first month. Will this nausau feeling go away? It's very hard for me to do my job and be sick alot. Anyone have suggestions? I have nausau, vomitting, stomach pains and major acidity in my stomach. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

I have been on Aviane for a year and a half after switching from Yasmine because of depression. It worked great for this long, but all of a sudden I am experiencing severe anxiety and nervousness...almost to the point of panick attacks. Has anyone else experienced this? My dr. took me off Aviane and wants me to wait a week or two before trying something else...but after almost a week off, I still feel the same? Will it take my body awhile to adjust?

Aviane was my first BC pill I had ever taken so I really can't compare it. I was on it a year and was very very moody and always depressed. I gained a lot of weight, 30lbs so I decided to make a change. I was off the pill to see if I could lose weight but I only lost a few pounds. I'm now going to try a new pill Ovcon 35 but I've been reading up on it and I hear so much about breakthrough bleeding. On Aviane I never felt sick the only side effects I felt were weight gain, depression, and moodyness. With medicine now days how can dr.'s not be able to test a womans body and know what pill had the right hormones for here body. I'm due to try Ovcon this month but I'm kid of scard.