Femcon FE and depression

I was on a birth control pill for four months when I experienced a 28-day period, so I immediately wanted to switch pills. I was put on FemCon, which I loved at first because it made my periods lighter, no cramps, and I was 100% regular with my period. HOWEVER, over the past year being on FemCon I noticed some horrible changes in my body that I had attributed to age and moving across the country. However, two days ago my husband found my FemCon package in our bedroom and started reading the side effects--for fun, I guess. He freaked out, because basically my life has been negatively affected by things that are listed as possible side effects of the drug:

-Significant weight gain (about 20 pounds)
-Extreme moodiness
-Depression
-Difficulty wearing contacts
-Vaginal infections

I can't say that these things are directly caused by the drug since lots of different changes have happened in my life over the past year; however, I do know that I've been wondering what the heck is wrong with me lately, and I'm definitely thinking that it's the FemCon. I feel fat as a heifer no matter how much I exercise; I snap at minor irritations and feel like I want to jump off of a cliff; after wearing contacts for 6 years I all of a sudden couldn't wear them any longer; and I get a vagainal infection every 6-8 weeks. I stopped taking FemCon the day my husband read the fine print. At this rate, I'd rather be pregnant!

So glad to read this here. I have wondered the past year what is up with my face?!!! I have had problem skin in the past and been able to get rid of acne and worked so hard to have nice complexion after acne issues. Then I started to get huge breakouts, giant cysts all on my chin and lower part of my face...and they hurt and they won't go away and have scarring and always 2 or more huge cysts happening, get rid of one finally and another pops up or pops up AGAIN in same place! And I too have felt depression and fatigue, so unlike me. I have always taken various nutritional supplements and I eat healthy, and this is just not me. I wondered if it was the femcon.Only thing I have changed in past year as I have scrutinized every aspect of my life wondering what the heck is going on! I'm done with it.My face is a trainwreck.No more femcon for me.

Hi, my name is B. and I am 24, this is my first time using birth control and I have been on Femcon FE for a little over one month now. I always had irregular periods, sometimes i skipped, sometimes i bleed for an excessive amount of time. The reason why I was put on birth control now is because I had very heavy bleeding, which i clotted badly, passed out, was extremely dizzy, and so forth. It is normal to have periods like that in my family but after a few days i went to the hospital cause i noticed that my situation was getting worst, i was told I was anemic and i had to have 4 units of blood transfusions...

My gyno put me on Femcon FE and i was told to take two a day to stop the bleeding first off, she also gave me additional meds for the nausea. Well, at first I stopped bleeding for about a week and after the week was up I went down to one pill, well I started spotting, but my gyno told me that was normal. A few more days has past and my bleeding is getting heavier, not as bad before, so my gyno told me to start taking two a day again, and i did and still am. Well I am STILL bleeding, and I have been bleeding for 16 days now. I have been taking Femcon FE for a little over a month and I am almost done with the 3rd month's package of Femcon FE.

Some of the side effects I have been feeling:
-vaginal cramps (some REALLY painful)
-depression
-moodiness
-being tired most days
-some weight gain
-bleeding

Since reading these stories you have shared with me, I am going to discuss with my gyno on Thursday about maybe trying a new birth control, so thank you for your opinions.

I am fifteen years old and I will be sixteen soon. I have tried fem con before but never really stuck with it because I kept forgetting to take the stupid pills. Well after having my period for four months straight I got back on the pill because its the only chewable one they had. (I'm terrified of swallowing pills, even if they are real small) I'm almost through my first pack and it has been THE WORST month of my life. The first few pills gave me morning sickness. I never through up because I would always eat crackers, drink water, and try to breathe it out. I still feel sick to my stomach for a little while after taking the pill. I have to eat something to get the awful taste out of my mouth.. I have gained TWENTY POUNDS in like three-four weeks. i went from wearing a size 2/3 pants to wearing a seven. Although that is not very large the drastic change is not good. Well in the past two weeks I have lost many friends because this pill makes me angry at little things. I get annoyed at little sounds and certain peoples voices. I am going into a very deep depression and have suicidal thoughts because no one wants to be around me. I am taking this pill to regulate my period and its not even working anymore! I hate this pill and everything that it is doing to my emotions and body.

It is so crazy that I found this site today, and super glad that I did....I should have went with my gut 3 months ago when I wanted to stop taking this pill...but now for sure I will!!
I originally started taking a Triphasil pill when I was 14..then it changed to Trivora, and I never had any problems with those pills....then when I moved to California when I was 19 I got greedy and wanted no periods (or short ones at least) so I tried Loestrin...which by the way made me bleed for 58 days straight...I thought I was going to die! So my doc prescribed me Femcon...and I said I'd try anything to get me to stop....It was fine the first few years but I was diagnosed with the first stages of Hypertension 2 years ago (age 24) and I blamed all of my bc symptoms on that! I thought, ugh I hate getting older cause now I have side effects like crazy...well I don't think its my blood pressure, and I wouldn't doubt that FEMCON has helped cause my high BP!!! Always tired, fatigue, WEIGHT gain like crazy, moody, ZILCH sex drive (poor bf), jawline acne (always was blessed with nice skin!), depression (poor bf again, we broke up constantly) and just recently nausea...no food can satiate me...I thought I was going crazy....Im getting off this crazy pill and hopefully I will get back to being normal...I'm 26...I'm not old!! This definitely is birth control cause I don't have sex, and I feel like a total fat @ss all the time!! It sucks!! I sure do feel like it and I'm stopping this pill today! I hope this site helped you as much as it did me!!

I started taking Femcon FE three weeks ago and I am refusing to finish the pack! Since I have taken it I have been experience nausea ( I throw up ever time I eat), moodiness, and weight gain (I eat healthy and work out 6 days a week) and slight depression. I have also noticed a pattern of binge eating and it’s become constant since I have taken this pill. YIKES! I didn't know what was wrong with me until I got on this website and read all these posts! I just want things to go back to normal! Has anyone experienced my specific symptoms?

I have been on Femcon for around 4 years. My sex drive was very intense before taking this pill. I have had no sex drive since starting the pill. We have struggled to figure out what the problem is to no avail. I just decided to look up side effects of Femcon, and noticed all the symptoms are the same. I saw only a few with diminished sex drives. Is everybody experience diminished sex drive as a result??

I'm 21 and Ive been taking birth control since I was 16 for depression. I started with Yasmin, which after a bit lost its effectiveness - when yaz came out I switched to that. It was wonderful. I had been on it for about a year or so and Ive had problems with pelvic pain for awhile. I had a laparoscopy in November and my doctor switched me to Femcon, saying that I might just have a hormone imbalance and that would fix it right up. I haven't been so miserable in my entire life. I went out and bought a preg test because of all the breast tenderness, sickness, mood swings, weight gain and headaches I have all the time. I feel bad for my boyfriend having to get up in the middle of the night to console me when I cant sleep because Im so uncomfortable and nauseous. Im unhappy. And I get two periods a month, sometimes lasting for two weeks, I don't get it! I don't care what the waiting period is to switch back, I still have a box of yaz and Im switching tomorrow.

I'm glad to see that I am not alone with disappointing side effects from this pill. DO NOT TAKE THIS PILL!!
When I list these side effects, do NOT interpret these lightly. This is serious, ladies. Magnify these feelings by 100 times because that's how I felt. Absolutely disgusting medicine!!!
Here are my side effects:
1. weight gain
2. increased appetite (I don't have a satisfied feeling after eating a meal).
3. insomnia
4. dry skin
5. mood swings
6. fatigue
7. vivid dreams
8. depression
9. breast tenderness
10. breast sensitivity
11. nipple hardness

I am menopausal. I am 52 years old and was experiencing bleeding every day, thinking my period must be ending soon.. But to my surprise, it didn't. My doctor ruled out endometriosis and cancer, etc. through testing. So she prescribed Femcon. Femcon stopped the bleeding almost immediately. I have been on Femcon for about 8 months. I experience excruciating headaches. Normally, I do not have headaches. Also dizziness and palpitations. Also unexplained weight gain and depression. My skin became sensitive to the sun and I began to experience little dry itchy patches on my back that have not healed. As well, I cannot wear necklaces around my neck as I develop a scratchy rash. I started to rationalize what is better, bleeding or all these side effects. So last Sunday, I finished my pack and I took the last pill. I was wondering if anyone has experienced side effects from the withdrawal of Femcon? I have had a headache most of this week and last night it kicked into high gear and I still have it. I started bleeding slightly again. Just curious if anyone has dealt with side effects after stopping taking it and what the side effects were and for how long did they last?

Oh yeah...and I keep getting heart flutters or palpitations also. Anybody else?

I am on the third pack of Femcon, switched from Ortho Tri-Cyclen because my periods were too long. I can't say I have any major side effects, no depression, no wackiness etc., One that I do have is breast tenderness, my boobs blew up like balloons and I do have major skin/chin problems that no dermatologist can help me with for the last few weeks. I couldn't figure it out what it was from but I think it might be from the pill. Never had any skin problems, acne and all of the sudden my chin breaks out badly, not pimples more like under the skin red bumps. Anyone with the similar problem???? HELP.

l will let it be known that I'm a healthy 27 year old..very active, never suffered with depression, never had acne, no headaches, never had mood swings (unless someone was pissed me off :) ) NADA...just the 7 day periods with heavy bleeding the first couple days..no cramps though. With that being said.....I have been on Femcon for 1 month now..I'm actually finishing my first pack..i have 2 more pills to go. I can honestly say this pill is NO GOOD for me!! If anyone already suffers from any of the things i've listed above..DON'T TAKE THIS PILL!! The first week on the pill was great..no problems. Exactly on day 10 of the pill..I had break thru bleeding that lasted the rest of the month. It was the nasty brown kind with an occasional red. I started to notice that EVERYDAY around 4:45pm I would become so furious over nothing..i mean NOTHING..go in my room slam the door shut..then turn around and cry because I knew I had nothing to be mad at. I became very depressed. My skin starting breaking out, but just no only on my face..all over my body. Really gross. Im now taking the brown pills and I have really bad night sweats. Horrible. These pills also made me very constipated. My sex drive went down hill too. HOWEVER, the PRO to these pills are I haven't gained any weight, haven't lost any hair (that i know of) and my period is sooooo light...still about the 5-7 days, BUT the cramps are almost unbearable and last for 3 days. I'm whiching in 2 days to Loestrin24 FE. If anyone is experiencing similar symptoms and looking for a new pill, let me know. I will be more than willing to share my experience with Loestrin also.

~RRB~

I have been taking Femcon FE for almost 3 months and I am glad to say I am not going insane. Up until last night, when I read every posting on this site I truly thought I, whom never suffers from a moment of being irrational thought I would go and see a doctor. Almost every feeling of hatred, depression and irritability that I had been feeling of late (the last two months) was described exactly here. Whew. I saw a posting that one person believed that the pharmaceutical companies actually gave kickbacks to the physicians. Well, as a former member of the woman's health care facility here in my town, it is true. Nice dinners, bottles of this and that, new cars, vacations and so on... Ortho McNeil pharmacies (No, I don't work for them) is the ony company, that it seems to me, that can say that side effects are not the norm. Warner Chilcott, the makers of FemCon FE have many women up in arms over the Loestrin 24FE and FemCon side effects. I paid no mind to this but the more and more I am exepriencing these effects and are hearing of them the more and more I am believing that perhaps these brands should come come with a warning on the side of the box on a big white label that says,"May ruin all of your relationships, may cause you to unnecessarily check yourself into a nuthouse and may cause severe mind and mood altering effects.Please buy stock in a sanitary napkin company before using."
Now the first month was great but for the past 2 1/2 months I have been bleeding every eight days. Now this is not "normal bleeding" but clots. So horrible. Oh, were you thinking of having a lovely romantic dinner? Muhahah, with Warner Chilcott FemCon Your breath will be great but pregnancy will never come between you and... oh wait, you are going to have your period forever...

I have bad period (terrible cramps, heavy bleeding,...) so I have been on contraceptive since I was 19 (now 31).
Well, in Feb my doctor put me on Femcon fe. It is the worse I ever had. Pain the stomach every single day, heart burn, nausea (I really believed that I had ulcer or cancer), pelvic pain, headache, dizziness, low blood pressure and the more serious: depression. I was so depressed that I stopped to take the pill in May (not because I know it was my problem just out of lost of interest). Of course I felt better but I had a bad period in June so I go ahead and refill my prescription. And I got sicker, I had to go the ER for dizziness and low blood pressure (90/60). I could not sleep and I was tired all the time. I became so depressed that I have to go the bathroom at work to cry, my 5 old daughter and my husband avoided me in the evening when I got home from work. I lost interest in sex and was suicidal. My PcP referred me to a Psychiatrist
Earlier this month I discovered this website in a search and I finally found out that was the pill.
I stop the pill and I am doing fine. No pain, No depression, I get my life back.
This pill to drive a woman crazy. I was about to loss my family.
LADIES BE CAREFUL. ASK MY HUSBAND

I have been on Fem Con for 2 weeks.. I have no side effects that I know of except depression. I don't want anything to do with anybody, I don't want to DO anything, I want to cry all the time and my life is better than it has ever been. I have noticed nothing else but this has been bad enough.

The first few days I think I was a little hungrier than normal but I think that has tapered off. I am on them for menopausal symptoms, regulating periods,
ceasing painful ovulations.

I am going to stick it out as long as I can because my symptoms are HORRIBLE without something, pain, pain bleeding, more bleeding, bloating.. at least with this, I am only depressed.. If I live THROUGH this maybe I'll be ok...MAN!! The things we have to deal with.

My new Dr. put me on Femcon to alleviate extremely painful cramps and very heavy bleeding. I am in the 2nd month of taking it, and am experiencing many of the symptoms mentioned here. Extremely painful, swollen breasts, crazy insomnia for days and days, depression, leg muscle spasms, headaches, acne and weight gain. But flow is lighter and the cramps are mild. Trade-off worth it? Not at this point. But I'll go thru the 3rd month to see if things improve. Yikes.

I recently had a baby and have just started the pill this month. I used to be on Nordette before the pregnancy, but when I went to see my gyn for my post-partum check-up, she decided to put me on this. I don't understand why? (I have heard that doctors can get "perks" from drug firms for prescribing a lot of their product)
I just finished my first month and I'm due to begin my 2nd month this Sunday (June 1st). Until finding this website, I thought I was losing my mind! I'm so glad to find out that I'm not and that there is an easy solution to this...stop taking Femcon! I'm going to tell my gyn to put me back on my old pill. I never had any problems before and why I got switched is beyond me.
I have been getting severe stomach pains, diarrhea, migraines, depression, sleepless nights, back pains,and crazy mood swings! My husband made a comment to me yesterday that I was acting really nutty. That made me stop and think, "Wow, I am totally chewing him out for no reason!" And I have been crying for NO reason lately! Ahhhh!
This might sound crazy...I have been "nesting", too! Compulsive cleaning! (and NO I'm not pregnant again!) Anyone else doing this?
THANK YOU LADIES for posting your comments. I thought I was alone (and crazy!). I am soooo done with Femcon!

1st MONTH...HORRIBLE!
2nd MONTH...NOT TOO BAD..BUT NOT GREAT!
3rd MONTH...GETTING MUCH BETTER!

i am halfway through my 3rd month and i feel like there is hope! i skip the sugar pills and just go ahead and start my new pack..don't know if that helps or hurts the side effects..i figured if i'm spotting/bleeding for a week plus i really don't want to add another 5 days..

the 1st month i had every side effect possible...extremely emotional..nauseous..bleeding for weeks..dizziness..headaches.. depression..exhaustion..i had to eat tums every night..leg cramps..facial breakouts..etc.

the 2nd month i still had all of the above but just not as intense..

currently things are so much better..i still have spotting for 4-5 days..have only had to eat tums a couple of times..a few leg cramps..

the first month i hated the pill and was ready to quit but decided to give it 3 months to get used to it..so far i'm gonna stick with it..

if you're just starting the pill don't get discouraged yet..i know it's not fun but it does get better with time!

I too have had the same bad side effects with Femcone FE. I started taking this pill after having my daughter and during the first month I started to feel more on edge and angry. I had my first anxiety attack about 3 months after starting this pill, didn's think much of it. Then about a month ago I started to notice a pain in my breast and it was like more of a dull ache feeling. Then the anxiety came back all of a sudden one day then the effects of it were lingering for a week I felt horrible like I was going to die. I couldn't read anything in the news b/c I had the overwhelming feeling of doom. I stayed like that for a week and could not figure out why I even went to the doctor he told me it was depression but I didn't feel depressed. I soon thought about what am I taking and the only thing was Femcone so I stopped it and slowly but surely I am feeling back to my old self again it was very scary feeling that way. Now I have mellowed out a lot I don't get mad so easily and I don't feel anxious, irritable, moody, have all kinds of things running through my head, shortness of breath, or have that lump in my throat anymore. I would highly suggest research what birth control pill you are taking first and thanks to this website I now know that I wasn't alone with all this.

i have been taking femcon for 3 months now and for the first month was smooth sailing. for the past 2 months i have been experiencing severe mood swings, extreme anger issues, depression, and the worst of all i feel like i cant breathe and my lungs aren't filling up with enough air which causes me to go into these crazy panic attacks. the breathing issues seem to be coming on more frequent now and worsening. it has caused problems with my job because i have to take long breaks to catch my breath. i have made an appointment with my general practicioner thinking that i am having lung problems, but after reading everyones comments it makes me second guess myself and my problem could actually be femcon. hopefully by stopping femcon, i will be able to get my life back to normal again. i never want to suffer again from the feeling that i cant breathe.

I've been on Femcon for the last 8 months and in the beginning it was fine, but these last 2 months have become a complete nightmare for me. I've gone into a serious depression. I'm completely bipolar and feel anxious most days. I'll start crying over nothing, and feel frustrated by my life, which let me tell you there is nothing to complain about. I feel tired a lot of the time, and can't get out of bed some times. I'll go to the gym and feel good while I'm working out but when I'm done i feel blah and unhappy. I missed my period one month and was freaking out that I might have been pregnant...it's making me insane because I'm usually so happy go lucky.....it's a relief that I'm not really crazy!

I started on Femcon about 3 months ago. I noticed some difference in acne and sweating but last month I felt I was having a nervous break down. I became dizzy and vomited several times and the next day I was in a deep depression. I stopped the pill that day and will not take it again. Can anyone suggest a pill that has been successful for them. I have fibroids and my doctor is trying the pill as a first step. I still have moments of anxiety, severe worrying and panic but it is a lot less. Thanks for the website.

I've had experiences with depression and birth control pills in the past...Femcon Fe is no acception. I am now in the 5th month. After the first month, I was experiencing loss of appetite, and nausea anytime I ate anything. During the day, I could barely stay awake, and at night, I kept waking up constantly. My doctor said to keep taking Femcon and the symptoms would improve...I kept at it. After almost losing my boyfriend to one of my RIDICULOUS mood swings, the symptoms seemed to be at bay. Two months later, almost overnight, I'm back to feeling "crazy." The headaches are back. I'm lethargic all the time, experience a lack of energy, no appetite, don't want to get up and go to work, am BEYOND exhausted ALL day long, have trouble staying asleep, resent my boyfriend's existence for NO reason at all, have sore breasts that have seemingly gotten bigger (let's be real ladies, if the price for bigger boobs is feeling emotionally erratic...it's not worth it!), had HORRIBLE period cramps, oh, and the nausea! The emotional instability is the worst. I feel like I can't get a grip on reality and that I'm completely disconnected with my former self. That's all I want back. I really liked my former self!!! : ( It's not worth it to go through life feeling depressed.

Well...I guess I'm not crazy. My doctor assured me this pill was great...I'm finding that not to be the case! I was put on Femcon FE following the birth of my second child via c-section. Since starting the pill I have experienced headaches, depression and MAJOR WEIGHT GAIN. Prior to the pill I was about 3lbs. away from my pre-pregnancy weight. After 6 weeks on the pill I have gained over 12lbs. It makes no sense. I am monitoring my caloric intake which is around 1500-1700 calories per day. I attend a tough "boot camp" style workout 4 days a weeks. How can I be gaining weight? I'm considering just going off birth control all together. I'm 39 and our family is complete. I just can't tolerate this much longer.

I am 21 years old and have never been on birth control before. I went to the doctor asking for yaz but she suggested i didn't take it because of the high level of potassium it has. I wanted yaz because i get severely depressed right before my period. But when i told the doctor about my cramps she suggested Femcon FE. So i said sure why not! I've only been on it for 2 1/2 weeks and I've have breakthrough bleeding for the past 3 days now, and i woke up 4am with the worst cramps in my entire life! i was in so much pain i vomited! finally i was able to sleep...and when i woke up i called the doctor and she said she could write me a prescription for the cramps, but i said no since they went away. Also I've never been so depressed! and this is coming from a girl who has fought depression for years. I'm on my spring break now and i don't want to do anything but cry cry cry! i feel bad for my boyfriend and my mom having to deal with me. Even I'm getting annoyed with myself! I had high expectations for birth control, i thought it would change my life and help out with PMDD. I really hope this changes, I'll let you know what happens cause I'm going to stick it out for the next 3 months! If anyone could suggest another pill just in case i still hate it in 3 months, that would be very helpful!

i just started my 7 month pack and ever since last month, while on the active pills, my heart seems to flutter or feels like its skipping beats. it does it alot and it scares me because i am scared i am going to have a heart attack or something. do you think its from femcon and if so, should i stop taking them?

Crying, depression, hopelessness, feeling like i'm crazy because I start crying and don't know why, This drug sucks!!!! I have cysts and my doctor changed my birth control from Ortho Tri Cyl Lo to Lo-Estrin to Femco and I don't care if it does work for my cysts or not I feel as though I can't function properly because I'm an emotional wreck. I've never ever had this happen to me before.

Obviously, none of you have read the pamphlet that comes with your b.c possible side effect #1 Irregular Vaginal Bleeding

possible side effect #5 Other side effects " other side effect may include nausea and vomiting, change in appetite, breast tenderness, headache, nervousness, depression, dizziness, loss of scalp hair, rash, vaginal infections and allergic reactions.

and these are side effects on ALL b.c pills, not just Femcon fe

I started taking Femcon two weeks ago. I know why it is called birth control. There is no way to get pregnant if you have no desire to have sex. And you are so moody your boyfriend does not want to have sex with you. This pill is horrible. Mood swings, no sex drive, and it makes you really hungry. I really really would not recommend this pill to anybody.

I'm shocked reading all these experiences with Femcon FE. I got on line looking for answers. I have been on it for four months and experiencing terrible migraines, mood swings, and the worst periods ever. My periods feel like I'm in junior high again, terrible cramps, nausea, headaches, depression, I'm hunched over with a heating pad every month. Only this month I haven't gotten my period and I took two pregnancy tests and they were negative, as I lie here with cramps that I've had for four days with no bleeding and a migraine, nausea, I can't wait.... NO MORE FEMCON FE!!!

I've been on Femcon FE for exactly four days. Thus far my only irritation is a constant headache (annoying but not painful) and slight nausea.. I'm a teacher, and therefore cannot decide if my fatigue is due to the pill or my job?! So far, no moodiness (actually more energetic), no bloating, no depression, etc. Sounds like we're all experiencing different/similar signs, but all the doc's say "it will improve".

Not sure if this helps, but my doctor suggested taking the brown pill every three days along with the white pill. I also take my pill with dinner as to avoid nausea during the day.

i am now on my 3rd week of femcom and i don't know what to think. I have recently moved to england from america for school leaving behind a 3 and a half year relationship with my boyfriend(staying together though) and family and friends. I have felt depressed since about the second day i started it. I cry every day and just don't feel like myself. Im not sure if that's the pill or the homesickness but i think it's both. Ive actually lost 5 pounds since being on this since i have no appetite now. the depression i feel is going away but ive had bleeding for about a week and a half now. I just wanted to know how long the bleeding/spotting lasts for and will that offsett my period which is due in 1 week now? thanks so much guys....oo and how many months will the irrgular bleeding last?

Surprisingly i have been ok on this pill. i was on yasmin, then switched to yaz (which was the worst pill ever! i had my period for over 3 weeks on that pill). I've just started on Femcon, and it immediately stopped my breakthrough bleeding. the only side affect i think im experiencing is the headaches! i've been really stressed lately so i dont know if it has to do with that or the pill. also i have been REALLY tired a lot. i seem to wake up, do something then want to crawl back to bed for a few hours. anyone else get tired on this pill? other than that, the pill is actually working. now if we could just fix these headaches...

Girls, I am right there with you! Also one of the worst pills I have tried. However, I only lasted a few days vs. a few months like most of you. HORRIBLE migraine headaches from day one, severe nausea, fatigue, and depression. I quit taking them today!