Desogen and birth control

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!

To everyone who is taking Desogen....STOP immediately!! I had a DVT in my leg because of this junk!!! NO birth control pill is worth your life!! I am now in the middle of being diagnosed with a possible benign liver tumor which could also be caused by the pill. I always knew there was a risk of blood clots with any bc pill but NO ONE ever told me that desogen almost TRIPLES your risk of blood clots!!!

I was on Desogen for over a year and a half, during which time I had symptoms similar to IBS. Frequent diarrhea, severe intestinal cramps after almost every meal, bloating, weight gain, gas, and subsequent depression and lethargy. I even went to see a GI specialist, who asked if I had recently started taking a new birth control or had any other hormonal changes. At the time I had been taking Desogen for a year, so I didn't connect the two. Now 9 months later I finally got off of Desogen and have had no more IBS symptoms. The doctors I have spoken to since then have no explanation for it, aside from 'hormones can do strange things sometimes'. I don't know if I have been depressed since I have been on Desogen, aside from the anxiety and depression caused by IBS, but I am so glad not to be on it anymore. I hope the symptoms stay gone and I am able to lose the weight I gained while on it.

Ive been on desogen for more than 6 months now and yes...i got it for free from planned parenthood too. Iv'e noticed that i am much more moody than usual when i have my period, but the cramps don't hurt as bad and my acne is gone. I have gained at least 15 - 20 pounds in the past 6 months. I think it's the pill.I cry easily and i get upset easily. I'm more gassy and i feel bloated and flabby...Maybe that's the real birth control...i'll be so disgusting, that my boyfriend wont want to have sex with me.

After the birth of my second child my birth control was switched to Desogen. I have had terrible mood swings/depression, I am tired all the time and I just can't seem to lose weight. I exercised daily at high intensity and I stayed the same, so I just gave up. I am just not my energetic self any more. I have been on Desogen for 2 1/2 years now and I thought it was just me getting older. A friend mentioned that it could be my birth control pill and I started doing research. The more I read the more real it gets. I would like to thank all of you for your postings, it has helped me make sense of all my issues.

I was on the Depo shot for a while then my hair started falling out! I switched to Desogen and now i have absolutely no sex drive what so ever. I mean when I say no sex drive I mean NONE. When me and my boyfriend so have sex it's like it hurts so bad. Then I have this constant discharge all the time. I Don't know what to do. I would love to come off of it and see a regular doctor but I don't have medical insurance. I hate all hormonal birth control methods..

I had posted this question a few days ago about Desogen.....or birth control pills in general. I wanted to know if there was some association with birth control pills and cholesterol. I reciently had a cholesterol test done and one done eight months ago and the results are quite different going from normal range to low high. I am forty, very healthy with diet and excersize, although I do have a father with high cholesterol who had a bipass at age 63, also extremely active and healthy with diet. My doctor is quick to put me on medication. Of all places, I opened up this months Glamour magazine and found a tiny little article about a study on the association with birth control and hightened cholestrol, just a theory possibly.

I also am rare and love this form of birth control. It reduced my anxiety giving me a more stabilized feel, no depression, took away cramps and pms cravings and symptoms (which I had a spectrum of) all my acne is GONE, and I've gained maybe just a few pounds but all these benefits for me have been completely worth it. I have been very happy with it and will probably not go off of it until I want to have kids:) My sex drive has decreased only a little but it was high before so in a way it's kind of nice. I recommend this pil for anyone with an abundance of testosterone, like I had.

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 just went on the pill and I started my 3rd week a day early because I lost a pill. So far I have noticed that I want food more, I feel bloated, and I have to keep running to the bathroom. It feels like I am always full with liquid. I am scared after reading this that I am going to gain a lot of weight, and I already had to change my diet because I have high cholesterol. Also When I first started the pill when I went to the bathroom it felt like my urin was on fire. It is really getting to me, and I heard that a lot of people became depressed and moody. I was already liked that. Before starting the pill I took Medroxyprogesterone because I was not getting my period, and then the doctor put me on this to help regulate it. I hope my sex drive doesnt start going down, but I do not see my boyfriend too often. What I did notice was the last time I seen him I started to cry, but this was before I started the pills. My doctor said that the other pills had the same medicine in it as the birth control that I am on now. I will be seeing my boyfriend for the first time since I started these pills in about a day and a half, and I have been getting some pains. I started this pill as soon as I got my period and I had some major stomach problems, so I took midol, and they go on and off. I hope the two medicines wont do any harm. But if I see any signs like everybody else had I will sure take myself off it. The doctor from my college put me on it, and now college is over and I am transfering, so I will not see this doctor anymore. I think I started at a bad time and have no idea what to do if something bad does happen like that.

I took Desogen for two months, and my cramps during my period were worse than they ever were without the pill. I was doubled over in pain quite a few times. Also, I ended up being on my period for almost the entire two months I was on it. So, I had to deal with horrible cramps for two months straight... I've taken a couple other kinds of birth control, and my period NEVER lasted that long on either of them.

I've been taking Desogen for 8 months. I don't like it. The major side-effect I've had with this medicine is severe constipation and abdominal cramps. Usually the week before my period is the WORST! I've been stuck in the bathroom for 2 hours at a time. Not good! Also I have no sex drive. And during my period I've noticed the menstrual cramps are very painful and the bleeding is heavier than with other birth control I've taken. I think LoOvaral is the best birth control I've used so far. Ortho-tricyclen is okay too, but way too expensive.

I started taking the pill a month and a half ago. Started out with nausea for several days, but the severity lessened with time. After I started taking my second pack, I started having really bad mood swings, decreased sex drive, bad cramping, depression and nightmares. Before taking this pill, I was emotionally stable and had a LARGE sex drive. I found myself being very irratable and vicious towards my boyfriend. I thought taking birth control would help me have less painful periods, but I think I would rather deal with that than being a bitch all the time!

I DO NOT recommend Desogen!!! I started taking Desogen because it was cheaper through my university health center. I started off fine...then the second and third week I began getting extremely tense in my neck and shoulders, severe headaches, I had nausea for 2 weeks straight. My eating habits changed dramatically - I began to constantly think about food and get terrible cravings. I had no self-control when it came to food. Everytime I ate, even when I was extremely hungry, I became very bloated. I could have a couple bites of something about feel like I spent 3 hours at a buffet. My breasts increased in size and I gained weight due to the change in eating. My sex drive is low - my boyfriend and I used to have sex regularly but I have not had sex in 23 days - he's been keeping count :(. I am very emotional and depressed sometimes. During these two weeks, I have random pains in my abdomen that feel like cramps I would have during my period. I didn't have any kind of spotting or anything and it wasn't too heavy when I was on my period. I also have very loose stools - often diarea (sp?) then I'll take Immodium and get really constipated. I have almost all of the symptoms of pregnancy but there's no way I'm pregnant - it's this stupid birth control. I know that most medicines take 3 months to get right in the body but I stopped my second month. I couldn't handle it. I stopped last night - right before the start of the 3rd week. I feel amazingly better even the day after - I still feel bloated and stuff though. Don't take it unless you want to feel like you are sick 24/7.

The first birth control i was on for 3 months was called cyclessa or something like that..it didnt work.. i had my period for 3 months straight. So then my doctor put me on desogen and now im always depressed...the littlest thing will make me upset and i cry for no reason. My boyfriend has ev en noticed that i've changed, and i dont want it to ruin anything between us. I also have headaches. Usually i eat a lot of food but now i dont want to eat much/cant eat much. Also i have been getting sick to my stomach. Usually if i take it after i eat but it has tobe the SHORTLY after, most of the time i can't do that..or i forget and when i do, and take 2 pills i feel horrible. I have only been taking desogen for a month and a half...i cant think anymore.. or concentrate on homework. I get lazy and not want to do things i normal do. I have also been very very tired. I know you're supposed to be on pills for 3 months. I will still try but otherwise...im not very happy with this pill, i hope everything gets better before it ruins my life!

I thought I was having a mental break down until I realised it could be my birth control. Then I saw this website with so many complaints that Desogen can give you HORRIBLE mood swings. It has managed to mess up my life for the last 10 months I've been on it and now I'm getting off of it!!!

Im taking Desogen for 5 months now and at the beginning I was doing fine. Recently I got this condition called Phlebitis and I truly pray to God that no one gets it. It an inflammation of the vein and my doctor told me it is probably for the birth control. I was in the hospital for 2 days in a half and it was the work ever. I couldn't work for two weeks because any movement you will do will hurt like crazy. I'm going to stop taking the pill. Also, I started breaking out more.

I have been on Desogen for three months now and am experiencing all the side effects people have mentioned. Most annoying one being EXTREME weight gain (i believe it is water retention). But i think everyone reacts differently. I used to take Diane-35 and that is not available in the US. I think I will stop uding Desogen, esp since i use it for hirutism and not as a birth control.

I switched to Desogen because it was cheaper than my other pill...and I just got done spending 4 days in the hospital with pancreatitis....caused by Desogen!!! My doctor said it has a higher amount of hormones than my other birth control. I will never ever EVER use this product again. This was the worst time of my life. I couldn't eat or drink anything for 2 days. I could only wipe my mouth out with a sponge. Awful awful AWFUL product.

I was thinking about birth control since i was 14 and finally decided to get on it and my doctor prescribed me to desogen...untill... i had terrible stomach pains like there were knives in my stomach just cutting me inside and i also got depression a week after getting off of it.....