Desogen and apri

I have been on apri for about two years now. I am 21 working college student and was happy with apri for the first year of taking it but in the past 6 months to the past year some side affects have became a problem. I am constantly overly tired and lazy with a complete lack of motivation. I have also had a serious hair loss problem to the point where my mom noticed overly thin hair all of the sudden. I am over all happy with apri but I miss having my normal daily energy. Apri has helped my periods-shorter and lighter with little cramping and my sex drive is fine. Mood swings have increased where I also get irritated way more dramatically over little/nothing things. I am thinking about going off of BC completely for two months to see how it will change me to see if its worth the hair loss, mood swings and complete lack of energy.

I have been on Apri for 3 years and I am suffering from EXTREME MIGRAINES and DEPRESSION. I came off of the drug for a month and was fine just heavier cycles, but was urged by my doctor to get back on and take for 3 months w/o having a cycle (skip the white pills). I am sick again, can barely function. After I finishing this package I have made a vow to myself to never take Apri.

I just started taking birth control after not being on any for 3 years. I have had 2 children and breast feed them. So at first I was put on a low dose pill, but I experienced break through bleeding. So the doctor recommended trying a higher estrogen level pill, Apri. The first month seemed fine, then the second month I bleed in the middle of the pack. Just like a period. I was so annoyed. I then bleed a little during the non active pill week. I cannot have 2 periods a month. I finally got my prebaby body back and then starting gaining weight with this stupid pill. My sex drive is really gone. I'm glad I know that I do have a sex drive when I'm not on the pill. I never realized how much it affects that until I was finally off it during and after pregnancy. I have dealt with bad headaches for years but did not realize it could be linked to the pill. These last two months I have had so many headaches. Some have lasted for days. After doing research I see it can affect migraines/headaches. After all this I was more than ready to stop Apri. I don't know what I will take now. I just want to see what my body really is like without the pill. It was stupid to take the pill to prevent pregnancy, because we didn't have much sex due to the lack of drive. Overall, this pill is bad news!

I have been on the generic brand, Apri for 4 months. HELL!!!!! I am depressed, mood swings like crazy, ZERO sex drive (can't even get wet), losing hair, headaches constantly, acne......it has been awful. I had two active pills left and i had already decided to stop after this month, I couldn't force myself to take another pill. I would NOT recommend this pill, especially if you are researching it because you feel strange on it. I have lost all energy, I can barely get out of bed, no focus.....I am so glad to be off it. I hope it hasn't done long term damage.

i just got switched to apri, from trinessa, to control the mood swings that trinessa gave me, someone please tell me they had a positive experience with apri, all im reading is how horrible the mood swings are.

For five years, I did fine with Apri until drugstore.com stopped carrying it and started sending me Reclipsen (another generic Desogen). Now I'm getting nausea, PMS and hot flashes. At first I thought the change was because I'm getting closer to forty, but now I wonder if it's some change in the generic drug.

I thought desongen and apri were the same? I got switched from desongen to apri 3 weeks ago and I feel horrible

I just got switched from desongen which I had been on for over a year to Apri and was told they are the same that one is the generic of the other,. I had never had any noticeable effects from desogen, my sex drive was down but definitely existent. But I found that this month I've been really moody and anxious, has anyone had a similar experience or am I going crazy? Is it even possible if the pills are chemically identical?

I have been on Apri since July 07' and the first 2 months were terrible. I have never had such bad mood swings in my life, I would cry if someone looked at me wrong, and the urge to scream at people is crazy, I have a 7 year old daughter and a 10 year old step son and I have been unable to treat them with the quality that they need, I have been getting mad at them for the littlest things and they are things that they should not even be getting trouble for. My husband is going crazy because if he tries to talk to me about serious things I start crying. I get very gassy and bloated all the time, I have changed my diet and that has only made it worse. I have been on so many bcps because of serious side effects and I am starting to feel like a lab rat. I am just starting the new yaz that has came out, I am starting it today I really hope that I have better results. The only thing that I liked about the Apri was the fact that I didn't gain weight. One more thing the periods were so painful, I have never had this much pain with a period, and I have a past with ovarian cysts and I normally have really painful periods, but with this pill it was way worse. I hope this helps anyone that is deciding a bcp for themselves.

I started taking Apri in March of this year...at first everything was pretty much okay...this was the first pill i had been on so wasnt quite sure what to expect. Although, it was only a short while until i started having bad mood swings, i started feeling extremely anxious a lot of the time (i blamed it on school - im a pre-pharmacy major) but it just kept going throughout the summer even when i was out of school. I sometimes get random stomach cramps at any time of the month. This pill has made me so emotional, i just wanna be back to normal. I have 1 more week of this pack and im considering stopping but i really want to find a new pill! Does anyone have any suggestions. PLEASE?!

I just missed two days of apri due to some prescription issues, but when I went on it again I woke up the next day with nausea and dizziness. Could this be a related side effect?

I went on Apri almost a year ago and had no weight gain, no breakthrough bleeding, virtually no side effects until this summer. I started having anxiety and panic attacks during my spring semester (I'm now a senior in college) and although I usually deal with stress pretty well, I thought that it was just because I was having a rough semester.

But in the past two months I've had a consistent nervous stomach and I've lost almost 15lbs from not being able to eat as much (not a good thing, I'm already a little underweight for my height). I started to have mood swings and that led straight into depression, so bad that even on vacation in Aruba I cried almost every day and night. I felt pathetic and anti-social and angry and basically scared that I'd never come out of this "phase." I called a therapist but couldn't even follow through with that. Then last week I went to the emergency room for severe stomach pain and they did some bloodwork and sent me home because "nothing was wrong." I'm also breaking out, which hasn't happened since I was like 15. Finally I went to a gyno who said this could all be side effects from the pill. If that's true than this all could have been prevented, and that upsets me greatly, but I also feel relieved that this might be over soon.

Everyone is different but if anyone is feeling things like this on Apri, see a doctor because it might be as simple as changing the pill or going off of it completely, which I plan on doing asap. Sorry but using condoms is better than being physically and mentally unstable.

I have been on Desogen for 6 years, within the past 4 months i was switched to Apri. I just now realized that maybe all of these emotional problems i have been having are from this pill. i was somewhat depressed in highschool when i started taking it. so i have figured that this whole time i am just a depressed person. i went off antidepressants cuz i didn't like how i felt and now that i am 22 and i still have this crying all the time crap (that i thought i had mostly just inherited from my mother even tho my sister doesn't have it) i get some days even weeks were i am sad depressed. i always over analyze things which i have heard could be a symptom. So now i am doing all this reseach and i found that in the Side effects of desogen that it says "stop taking this medicine and consult a doctor if you experience any signs of depression (sleep problems, mood changes, etc..) WTF!! can i say that seriously i can't believe it.. and now i am just waiting for my doc to call me back. i dont know if i should quit completely or switch. in a way i would like to quit because i want to know who i am.. what i am normally like! its been 6 years!!! o my goodness phamecuticals are evil!

i have been apri for 2 months and i hated. i have mood swings. my periods 10 times worse. i feel lazy since i have been on the pill. i have gained like 7 pounds in 2 months that really suck. i am more hungry. i feel so depressed all the time.

I have been on Desogen/Apri for years and have had zero problems with it and appreciate the short, light periods. But lately I have wondered if my sex drive (or lack thereof) could be a side effect of the pill. Found this site and am relieved to see it could be related to it. I hesitate to switch pills as I've had so much success on this one, but my husband would enjoy having me in the bedroom again. That's the only side effect I've experienced.

Previously on Desogen for 6 months. Good news and bad news. For 2 weeks out of a month I would be up and down with mood swings. Very terrible in which I would become irritable over the slightest things and have huge crying spells. No sex drive until after 4 months. Things got A LOT better after the 4 months, mood swings were gone and sex drive went up a lot!

But changed pharmacy, and they gave me Apri to try (generic form) Been taking it for a week and in the last 3 days it has been hell. I have not been like this for 3 months and the mood swings and crying spells are back in full force! I am going to the pharmacy tomorrow and demanding my desogen back! I went through a long time of bad symptoms to get my body used to it, I am not going off desogen again!

I am so glad I found this site. I just go finished crying about my lack of sex drive with my BF. He is very dissapointed and I tyring to ensure him that it is this darn Apri. I have been on the pill for a little less than a year. I have NO sexdrive what so ever and come to think of it, I really can sympathize with the mood swings. I just don't feel like myself. I need to get me a OB/GYN appt. pronto. I tried to stop taking the pill but my period was so heavy I had to get back on.

I was on Apri for 3 months. I suffered horrible mood swings, weight gain, and a total lack of sex drive. I thought I was going crazy until I stopped taking that pill and saw this website. I am now taking Jasmine. It is French, but there is an equivalent in the U.S., Yasmin. I highly recommend it. No mood swings or weight gain and the sex drive is definitely back.

I started Apri on the first day of my period. I had a regular 7 day period but am now starting my 3rd week and have been bleeding every single day. The nurse calls that breakthrough bleeding..an unfortunate side effect of starting the pill, huh? Everyday? I am not happy about this. My whole purpose in taking this is so that I won't be on my period at the end of next month while on my 20th anniversary in the Caribbean! Any ideas of what to do? I am starting right into the next pack without taking the placebos. Anyone know when the bleeding finally stops?????

I have been taking Apri (generic) for 2 months now. I will not be taking it anymore, as it has caused me to have trouble sleeping, anxiety, and severe mood changes. I have also noticed a lot of bloating around menstruation, enough that my clothes won't fit. My periods have been lighter than before, the only plus in my book. I also have decreased interest in sex.

I started my daughter on Apri in May of 2004 to help extreme period cramps & cysts building up and causing pain. During that time she developed severe headaches, gained 20-25 lbs weight, awful mood swings, depression. Hair loss, not much help with acne and also discoloration of skin. It is now August 2006 and she has been off for appx. 1 mo and it is an amazing difference. She said terrible food cravings that she was having for sweets have gotten way better - please think twice b/4 putting your kids on this - I am now looking at other healthier alternatives...

I have been taking Apri for 11 months. I have had so many side effects I thought there was something seriously wrong. My major concern was major hair loss, I felt like I have PMS all of the time, extreme bouts of anger, swollen hands, jittery eyes, skin breaking out and NO sex drive, I feel an actual repulsion to the thought. I finally realized all of my symptoms started at the time I started this pill. BAD PILL..GRRR

I have been on apri for less than 2 weeks for pcos and I am cramping bad and its not even time for me to start.

I've been taking Apri for about 3 weeks now. I previously took Yasmin, which was great. Unfortunatly I've had terrible side effects with Apri. I've gained about 5 lbs, even my feet and hands are swollen, I'm irritable, I've had anxiety, depression and my mood swings are out of control. I'm finishing this pack then I'm done. It's so not worth it!

i have been on apri for about a year, everything is okay with it except i'm more moody and i have NOOO sex drive AT ALL.

I've been on Apri for 3 months now and have been severely depressed the entire time. I cry over the slightest things. I thought it was just stress, but now that I see others have had this problem I'm going to stop taking this drug immediately so I can get my life back.

I have been taken apri for about a week now. I started it the day I got my period because that is how I use to start desogen and I havent been on the pill for about 2yrs but I have such bad cramps from apri, it feels like the cramps you get if you have your period. Now I am freaking out cause my boyfriend and I had sex the first day I started the pill so I dont know if these are pregnancy side effects of just from the pill.I have had spotting and I have noticed that I am breaking out on my face. So far, I dont like apri at all. Now I am wondering if these cramps will ever go away.

I started taking Apri (as a substitution for Desogen) 2 months ago and have started to have acne. I have never ever had skin problems before. Can anyone tell me if they've experienced the same problems and what they did to stop it? I'm going to my doctor in 2 weeks, should I ask her to switch me over to something else?

I am on Apri 28 I have been on it for about a week.. And I hate it!!!! It makes my eyes feel weird...

I am on APRI ( desogen substitute) just finishing up my second month. i have experienced nausea almost on a nightly basis and a loss of sex drive.However i just read that taking the pill nightly will help reduce nausea so i am going to start doing that because i usually take my pill every morning and feel sick at night. I am not sure though about the whole low sex drive thing...i am assuming the cure for that is to stop taking the pill. would my sex drive go back to normal if i did that?

I am so upset after never having acne in my life my face is ruined ,I could cry I am stopping this pill immediately. Funny how Apri never affected me like this and I took it for a year. The spotting after my period is terrible it takes up to 7 days for the bleeding to completely stop what a NIGHTMARE !, Thank God I wasn't alone .

I have been on a APRI Tab (which is substituted for Desogen) for 12 days now. I haven't noticed to many bad things about it however, seems like ever since I got on I have been having a very hard time sleeping, I lay in bed for hours each night before falling asleep. This is causing problems because I have a 10 week old baby I have to take care of. I also notice that my period stops but I continue spotting. I've also had a bad headache once and I never think of sex anymore. If anyone is having these problems too please let me know.