Desogen and pills

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 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'm 21 years old. I'm in my last year of college and student teaching. I've only been taking the pill for a week. I thought it was the stress of my last few classes of something for school that was making me this way. I originally was thinking the stress was changing my mood. My boyfriend and I have been arguing and tonight we realized we started all this bickering when I started the pill. I've been extremely moody. I've also been nauseous in the mornings, had high anxiety, been tired and lazy, and just overall "blah" feeling. I agree with someones post I read before about trying different pills to find what works for you. In high school I was on orthotricyclen-lo and I don't recall any of these effects. I took Loestrin for a month just a few months ago and stopped after the first pack because it made me feel the same way. I think I'm going to have to stop this one too because I can't stand feeling like this.

Was fine for the first two months...a little spotting/some breakthrough bleeding, but nothing really awful. About three months in, I began experiencing terrible anxiety with such terrible panic attacks that I was pretty incapacitated as a mother (my poor little kids). My periods began starting the week before they "actually" started...you could call it "breakthrough" bleeding, but it was really a full-on bleed with lots of clotting, back pain, and cramps so bad I felt like I was having contractions. Most recently has been the nausea, I've actually lost weight because I've hardly been able to eat for weeks (thought it might be morning sickness---yikes!--but luckily my fun 2.5 week period began, painfully, yesterday so I'm in the clear). I didn't realize these things were all related to Desogen until I reread the package...it's pretty clear that the pills are the reason. I'll be switching pills next month at my annual appt.

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 stopped taking Desogen two months ago after being on it for about 3 years (just wanted to take a break from pills). When I first started taking it, my skin stopped breaking out (face and body acne), which was nice, but my lips were dry and irritated for the first few months. My breasts increased in size slightly---they seemed to be more full (they returned to normal size one month after I stopped taking it). I gained about 10-15 pounds in the first few months, which made me feel bulky everywhere (even arms). This weight did not come off when I stopped taking it, but it seems that the weight has shifted to my mid section. Not pleasant. I was extremely irritable while taking this pill, and found it hard to contain anger once I started feeling upset (very short temper). I wasn't so much depressed, it was more that I didn't enjoy things as much as I used to. I also started getting horrible HORRIBLE premenstral abdominal pain/cramping over the last year while taking the Desogen. My sex drive decreased greatly during the first 3-4 months while taking it, but it did return (never as strong as before though). Other observations that I've made since being OFF this pill: change in overall body odor (body odor was almost non-existant while on the pill), vaginal dryness immediately after periods, skin started breaking out everywhere about 1.5 months after stopping, irregular periods (start time and length), I feel much more happy/relaxed, incredibly severe yeast infection 2 months after stopped (none during 3 years taking it), pregnancy-like symptoms during pre-menstral time (first two periods after stopped taking). I guess I am shocked at how much pills can affect the body. I am afraid to start taking it again --even if my skin was beautiful. My doctor gave me a perscription for a lower estrogen pill, but I haven't started it yet--- I just feel so unsure about this whole birth control method now. I hope this helps someone make a decision if nothing else!