Femcon FE and gyn

FEMCON almost killed me.... or at least the nurse practioner.. i had written a post here before when the first two weeks of bleeding started... after that i waited and about a month after the heavy bleeding started again... i went back to the GYN and explained my problem, she couldn't even examine me because i was bleeding so much. the same nurse practioner told me to take two pills instead of one for two days and it would throw off my period and gave me a pack of new different pills.. i didn't start the new pack because by the end of the second night i almost drove myself to a hospital.... i thought i was going to die.... i had to sleep sitting down and took several trips to the bathroom to change my EXTRA LARGE OVERNIGHT (Always purple pads) pads.... the pain was unbearable where i walked really slow and would bleed nonstop.... a day later i decided to go to the hospital where they told me my hemoglobyn levels were at 8 and i needed a blood transfusion (really i had 2 because i couldnt stop bleeding after they had put liquid antibiotics in my blood) i was admitted and monitored with a heart rate monitor because from all the stress and being so weak i almost went into cardiac arrest by the time i reached the hospital...... it has been the worst experience in my life... i could go on about everything that happened those three days but just thinking about it makes me want to cry...... i hate my life

This isn't a new side affect but I didn't have a good time with Femcon at all. I only took it for about 2 months and I bled for 2 almost 3 weeks. I was depressed and I know now that I gained 10 pounds while on it. I would never recommend anyone to take this. I am not taking anything now and I don't play on taking anything. I am going to talk to my Gyn. about pain management until I decide to get pregnant again. I just don't understand why doctors seem to think that birth control is a one size fits all drug and it isn't. But I don't know much about nothing so who knows.

I just started my second pack of Femcon FE a couple days ago. I switched over from Yaz because my GYN said underweight girls need higher dosage pills because they lack estrogen producing pills. The yaz made me incredibly depressed and i started getting panic attacks so i decided to try it out. So far i have not had mood swings or panic attacks. YAY!! And i have been quite horny ^_^. Unfortunately i think i am starting to break-out. I have always had acne problems but when i first switched to Femcon FE my really large blemishes (cystic acne?) disappeared in a couple of days. Now i am getting a bunch of little tiny red bumps which i have never had before. Like i said it is my second month on femcon so i am not sure if that is what is causing it but i am going to keep an eye on it because i was given birth control to clear up acne, not make it worse. Also, i just washed my face with the same cleanser i always do and it is burning now...odd. Hopefully this clears up because i am definitely enjoying Femcon more than my previous pill.

I have just finished my first pack of Femcon. After reading the postings on this forum, I was terrified to try it at first! I have always taken Yasmin, ever since it came on the market, and I was very satisfied with it. My GYN however thought I should be having lighter periods with less cramping, so he put me on Femcon (samples) to give it a try and if I don't like it I can go back to Yasmin.
I have not become a mutant like most people here are posting. I have not had crazy side effects or anything scary. I did notice more water retention and sore breasts with Femcon, especially during the third week, but not much more. I get really bloated with Yasmin too, but it's different and doesn't affect my breasts. Headaches are normal for me, nothing out of the ordinary.
So far my period has been lighter (but I am only on day 2 so I will report back) but the cramping has been very bad. Worse I think than with Yasmin. Most importantly, I AM NOT PREGNANT!!!
I will give Femcon another month, as I still have another sample package, and then make my final decision. But I would suggest people try it and see, everyone reacts differently to hormones. So far I am just fine!

Hi Everyone, I am so happy i found this site. I feel just a little better that maybe this Femcon Fe is prob working the right way. Doctor had told me I has polycystic cysts on my left and right ovary so he put me on Femcon Fe. I am 30 years old and I was never on any type of birth control pill in my life (this would be the first time). I have been on this pill for almost a month now. A month ago when i went tomy GYN he had said that the pill would help stop the bleeding (prior to this I had been bleeding for maybe a month). A few days later I did stop bleeding but a few days before dec 26 I had been spotting (on and off). On Dec 27th I started bleeding (my period i guess), its Jan 5th now and I am still bleeding...and cramping (been cramping everyday). I feel as if I am bleeding a lot, been changing my pad a lot. I don't know if this is because I just started this pill and it may change later or what? I panic so much about things like this...is anyone having these same effects or had?

I can't believe what im reading, I have almost every side effect to what you are all saying. When I called my doctor after the 3rd day of taking the pill, she said it was normal, nausea for hours is normal! Take it @ night... ok still nausea. I thought it was just me getting older, (44) my mood swings are so out of control I would divorce me...my breast are large to begin with, I feel like im carrying 20lb weights on each one. Leg cramps, nausea, not sleeping, hot flashes. After reading this im done... I'll deal with the ovarian cyst my way...Time for a new doctor to. Good luck girls

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

I'm in my early thirties, I was on Gynera for almost 10 years and switched to Femcon about a year ago. After a couple of months with little spotting its now been 2 months without a period and my Gyn said I should not get it at all (that's why I'm not freaking out yet). I'm not so sure if this is normal... I haven't followed on other side effects, maybe migraine but I had it worse before, irritability: I thought it was me, breast tenderness perhaps, frequent yeast infection, yes... I don't know, I was getting them for free, as samples.

I've been taken femcon for about 2 months and i've started to get this red spots that hurt not itch and the 2nd one turned into a blister and I had to get a byopsty done to see what was wrong, and i got a 3rd one on my leg so i stopped taken Femcon. in addition to the breakouts i gained a lot of week and my periods were not usual, i left a message fot my gyn, but i still have to wait for the results of my byopsty. Overall i prefer loestrin fe but i had to may breakthrough bleeding episodes because of stress.

ok, i started femcon this past Sunday and i was so excited because it seemed like a really good pill. the first day i felt fine.. second day i was fine but then i had really bad nausea that night (i have acid reflux so this is normal) so i tried to go to sleep but it kept me up. i ran to the bathroom and spit up.. then the next night i did the same thing. i woke up nauseated that next day and had a little sickness but went to school and did not eat anything.. as i sat there i had chills. i started running a fever. and i just wasn't in my right mind, i started getting snappy with my friends. then Thursday and Friday morning (about 15 min ago) i woke up and had diarrhea and vomiting bad. it scared me and my boyfriend so bad he took me to walmart at 12 Thursday night to get a pregnancy test! i don't know when this is going to end but im over it.. i want to stop taking it but i recently found out i have endometriosis and that is why my gyn put me on this pill.. his office is closed until Monday. ugh. should this be happening after just 5 days?

I started this pill about 2 months ago when my gyn told me I had endometriosis, and said this could help. I received both of my periods on time, but this pill was driving me crazy the first month with nausea, and abdominal pain, and the second month my breasts started to change, meaning in appearance, and are now really sensitive. I felt so strange that I took a pregnancy test but it was once again negative. This pill is awful, and I believe it gave me a urinary tract infection which I haven't had sense I was a child

Wow, am I glad I came to this site! I've been reading these posts for almost an hour now and I feel relieved! I am on my second pack of Femcon and hopefully my last! I've had a lot of success with Low-ogestrel for several years but my gyn. gave me samples of this. In the time that I've been on this pill I've experience ALL of these side effects-- I've gained about 10 lbs. (IN ONE MONTH!) even as I've been dieting and exercising. The mood swings have been horrible-- I thought I was just losing it! I feel like crying all the time, even though my life is really good and I am normally a very happy person. I feel bloated constantly, it's really become unbearable. I look like I'm 6 months pregnant now. I feel uncomfortable in my own skin. I'm hungry but I feel too full to eat (if that makes sense!) and I'm just miserable in general! I know it takes time to get adjusted, but I'd just as soon go back to what was already working for me.

I have been taking Femcon FE for one month. I am on my inactive week and I have had breakthrough bleeding during week 2 and week 3 and now I am bleeding extremely heavy. I used a super kotex tampon AND an always super overnight pad as a backup and bled through the tampon in 1 hour at the worst of the heaviness. I had some vomiting and nausea the first week but after that the only thing I noticed is mild breast tenderness and my legs are cramping at night. I called the GYN and they said to stick with it until the 3 months are over. I had to leave work today to come home and lay down because I was bleeding so badly. I'm not sure if I should continue to take this or not. I have had irregular periods and had extended bleeding which was light but would last for 3 weeks at a time.

I am on my first month of taking this pill. I am on the last brown pills I only have two brown pills left and no period, despite the fact that I am sexually active I just do not think I am preg. we use condoms EVERY time and also pull out while using condoms so i just don't see it... also i feel like I have gained about 3 pounds nothing huge, but enough to make me feel like a fatty. I just switched to this pill after 4 months on yaz, but I had spotting and long painful periods on that. The gyn gave me a month of femconFE and then prescribed me ovcon 35 and said it's the same but some of you ladies said it's not so I am only hoping for something different. I feel very sore and headaches and I cry much more than I used to. I am normally not the type of person to cry but i just have been getting too emotional over nothing, I am definitely thinking it's this pill so i will be on Ovcon 35 in 2 days I am hoping for something better.

Ugh. I'm so glad I found this list and that everyone has been so candid!!! I am in my 2nd pack of Femcon and the symptoms are only getting worse. Toward the end of the first week I began spotting and did so on and off for 2 weeks. When I took the brown pills, I had my classic day-later start of a true period, as I have done with the Ortho versions I used to be on. Naturally, the period was very light--actually it never did go to red, only icky brown for a whole week. Then I started the first 2 pills of the 2nd pack before seeing my doctor for the pre-op appointment before my Esure procedure. (He put me on this pill when I told him that I didn't trust condoms alone in the 3 month waiting period while the procedure takes--I don't trust the Divine Sense of Humor this close to finally being sterile.) He told me to stop taking them for 5 days while they put me on something else that would thin out my lining so they could better see the entrances to my tubes, then continue them like I had never stopped. Great. I did that and the procedure has healed nicely. I went back on the pills--much to my dismay. I'm back to all-month-long PMS, tender breasts and spotting. I have been baffled and attributing the constant headaches, cycles of insomnia & exhaustion, lack of motivation, depression, acne breakouts, weight gain, dehydration even though I'm guzzling water, bloating, mood swings, and decreased sex drive to the stresses of everything BUT this pill, because I have never had this problem before. In fact, previous ones helped alleviate mood swings, cramping, irregular and heavy periods, acne, and bloating, but I've been experiencing the opposite for nearly 2 months now. The other day, in addition to the cramps and spotting, I started having major stabbing pains in my lower abdomen--where the Esure could be possibly causing pain--except that they didn't do it on that side because my fallopian tube is blocked naturally. My breasts have been getting more and more sore, and tonight they hurt terribly without touching anything except clothing! The cramps are continual, as are the headaches, and I wake up with my hands completely numb. I haven't been able to get to sleep well for weeks (it is 3:05 a.m. now) and I'm dragging all day. Trying to wake up from a nap is like waking from the dead, and then I'm disoriented and out of it. I'm having dizzy spells too. I can't focus and every little thing sets me off--my poor friends and boyfriend! I'm up and down like a toilet seat!! I don't know if the sore throat I've had for the past couple days has anything to do with this, but I don't feel sick. Could be allergies...??? The last couple days I've had diarrhea and an upset stomach, and with how quickly the breast tenderness level rose to horrible, my insomnia and anxiety rose to an all-time high as I feared I was pregnant. So I bounded out of bed to start looking up pregnancy side-effects, only to see that many of them could be caused by birth control--particularly this birth control--and hence I found this list. THANKFULLY! Grrrrrrrr. Needless to say, I'll be making a phone call to my doc tomorrow. Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I hope mine helps others!

I have been on BC for about 4 years and was last on Ortho. So when I told my GYN I wanted to be back on BC, she said that FEMCON FE was just like Ortho and to take it the exact time everyday. I found it strange that she told me that I had to take it the same time everyday; something I did not have to do on Ortho. So after taking it the first week and still experiencing bloating and other side effects I thought nothing about it. However, when I took my pill later than scheduled two days in a row, I started bleeding. In addition to the bleeding I developed other side effects...same as mentioned by others. After various comments from co-workers about my complaints that were very similar to pregnancy symptoms, I became very concerned and decided to research this pill. After finding this site, I immediately stopped taking the pill. It's been close to 3 weeks now since stopping and I've seen a world of difference. I am done with BC pills, condoms will just have to do. I already suffer from migraines so that is the only debilitating, uncontrollable issue that I am willing to deal with right now.

I am also convinced that GYN's are making their pockets fat by pushing this BC with their patients...a theory that does not sit well with me, because I had a lot of respect for my GYN before she prescribed this packet of side effects to me.

Well i'm pretty shocked to see all the negative effects Femcon FE has had on so many people but i've been on Femcon FE for almost a year now. I started with Loestrin because I had irregular periods and it was horrible. I had terrible headaches and a very bad ordor and I then switched to Femcon FE. When I first started Femcon FE it was really bad. I would wake up every morning with morning sickness and I would throw up like I was pregnant but after a week I adjusted. Lately I have had diarrhea and I'm always nauseous at night. My periods have been really regular expect for this month when I just had spotting for like 2 days, which my GYN said was normal. I still have a sex drive, if anything I have one now more than ever. And also being on the pill has made me gain a lot of weight. When I first stated I was about 95 lbs and now i'm at 110 lbs, which i don't mind because I was really skinny and now I look healthy. My chest has also grown a lot but I'm not complaining !

Hope this helps !!

I have been on Femcon Fe for only 2 1/2 weeks. When I started the third week which is a week before the brown pills I got my period. I understand that I need to give the BC time but the way this pill is headed I don't like. Its my first type of birth control and I am upset my GYN put me on it. I hear such wonderful things about Orthro-Tri Cyclen. After reading all of the responses from different women I am nervous things will not get better. Aside from getting my period early which I understand is normal at first because my body is adjusting I also feel very fatigued and mentally slow. My breast are certainly tender as well and I also feel lightheaded. Ladies I am getting off the pill and getting on Ortho. I should have in the first place but the doc really pushed FEMCON-FE. I am beginning to feel that there is some hidden agenda. Maybe they get extra money in promoting one vs the other.

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!

I had a baby 2 years back and had my first period after delivery in Feb'08. Since then I am bleeding. So my Gyn suggested me to have Femcon fe and I started on this Sunday 18th May. I am feeling nausea and wanted to check what could be the other side affects. Thanks for this site. I would like to discuss these side affects with my doc in next week's appointment. Thanks all.

I am going into my 3rd week of my 2nd pack of Femcon Fe and am having a horrible time. I am extremely bloated and nauseous most days, very moody and paranoid, so emotional I cry at the drop of a hat, no energy yet I cannot sleep at night, night sweats, severe headaches, back pain, diarrhea and the list goes on. Please tell me that others are experiencing this too. My gyn will not take me off until I have tried them for 8 weeks due to large cysts on my right ovary yet I am so worried and anxious about what I am experiencing that I feel like I cannot get a grip and that the life has been removed from me. WEIRD.

I have been on Femcon for just about 1 year and have had relatively few symptoms throughout this time. I occasionally get severe headaches and mild nausea but the last 2 months, I have not gotten my period when i was supposed to and i am concerned. My last active pill falls on a Sunday and I normally get my period the following Wednesday (2-3 days later). Last month I did not get my period at all. I took 3 home pregnancy tests because, naturally, I freaked out thinking that I was pregnant, and I went to see my gyn who also confirmed that I was not pregnant. I started a new pack of pills on time hoping that I would get my period this month and that last month was just a fluke but alas... still no period! I plan on taking another pregnancy test later today to confirm that I am not pregnant because not only am i very diligent about taking my pill on time each day, but my boyfriend and I religiously use condoms as a backup, despite my being on the pill. Has anyone else had an experience similar to this??

My gyn prescribed this because of my irregular period and acne.
I took this on the second day of my period. Everything was going ok, except for the nausea. Then after 4 days, I developed acid reflux (which I never had before), bloating, lightheadedness, high blood pressure and horrible anxiety and panic attacks. I couldn't eat anything without feeling the bile rise to my throat. Then with all that was happening to me, my anxiety and fear worsened that I made my parents stay with me until I got better. I kept on feeling my heart beating so fast that I almost felt like passing out.
So after one week, I thought it was the pill affecting me instead of a bad stomach virus. Only after two days of getting off the pill, I feel much better. I do not have the bile rising to my throat, but I do burp a bit and can eat. I still feel a little anxious, but am doing much better. I think I would rather keep my irregular periods and facial acne after my bad experience with this pill. I was ok two years ago when I was on other birth control, so now I am reconsidering ever taking any BC again.

I have been on Femcon FE for 5 days now and am not sure if what I am experiencing is a side effect or not. I would love anyone's opinion... Starting day 2 every time I eat, immediately after my intestines start cramping and I have to go to have a very unpleasant bowel movement. This also happens in the morning and at night before bed. After I do that I feel better but then get hungry and eat and it happens again. I have also had a lot of gas and some stomach pains. I have no fever and nothing has changed in my diet. The only thing that has changed is that I started this pill. I am debating about calling my GYN and having her put me back on Ortho Tri Cyclen LO. I had no problems at all with that pill. What do you think? Is what I am experiencing a side effect of FemCon FE?

I'm glad I came on this site.. My GYN gave me Femcon FE because he saw that I have a cyst on my left ovary. I hard horror stories about birth controls, like weight gain, acne, and nausea.. I am afraid of all three of those.
He told me to start taking them over the weekend and I asked him will there be any side effect and he told me that I would like the pill.. I just gave him a look and said I will be doing some research on this pill and if I read any stories about bad side effect I will not be taking them.
So thanks guys for your comments...
I WILL NOT BE TAKING THIS PILL..
I'll just wait for the cyst to disappear on it's own.

this pill sucks. iv'e never felt so horrible dont even waste your time using it