Loestrin 24 Fe and sex drive

I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about 2 months now and I haven't really had any problems per se. I had my first period after starting the pill for only 3-4 days and it was very light. I started taking it in the middle of the month since my ob/gyn told me not to wait until my next period since we didn't know when that would come considering I just had a baby in June. So far I've only had one day of spotting at an unusual time, no cramps at all, my face a cleared up considerably, no facial hair and just a tad bit of weight gain (like 5lbs.) which I don't think is from the pill. Although I am concerned considering I'm about 10 days late for my period and I've taken a pregnancy test and it was negative. I also have noticed an EXTREME decline in my sex drive. I guess I'll stick with it and hope it gets a little better.

Negative Side effects:
1.increased facial hair ( yes I am female)
2.acne
3. no sex drive
For the first month I had no problems.
From the second month to the fifth month I had breast tenderness every day!. On the 6th month of the pill I had no breast tenderness.

Positive effects:
2-3 day light periods ( mine used to b 5-7 days)
No cramps ( I used to have terrible cramps)
No mood swings

Well, I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about a year now and let me tell you, the person who said their side effects increased with time is exactly right! I have been miserable lately. I have been beyond moody, I have no appetite, my husband hates me because I have ZERO sex drive...I mean ZERO. We'll go a month at a time without having sex. My attitude is miserable. I feel like the most depressed person on the planet and I have never ever experienced depression symptoms until being on this pill. Recently, I missed 5 of my pills while I was on vacation, and magically, my sex drive reappeared and I wanted to eat everything in sight. Seems to me, the pill is causing me grief now. Within the last 2 months, I've had crazy pregnancy symptoms too. I'm SO beyond over this pill, I'm finishing the pack and then it's back to condoms for us. I was on Yaz for a while too before Loe, and let me just say I was the biggest bitch on the face of the earth. I'm just guessing these pills aren't right for me. The only thing that DID work was a minipill that I was on when I was breastfeeding my daughter. My ob-gyn took me off because she said that the hormone levels weren't high enough when I stopped breastfeeding to prevent pregnancy. Gosh, I miss that pill. Oh well. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with these problems.

im on the end of my 5th pack and no period. i spotted but by the 3rd pack it was normal i got a period but it was soo light and got lighter every time. now im on the 5th pack and no period is this normal? i'm not pregnant.

I have been on loestrin 24 fe for 3 and a half weeks now.........I have had my period, NOT SPOTTING, for 13 straight days. I have had a headache for the past 13 days. I have gotten VERY tired, and miserable lately. Not like me at all. My sex drive has lacked, maybe due to having my period for so long. I have crazy dreams EVERY night. Anyone else with me on this? ******

I'm 22 years old and I've been taking Loestrin since the end of February. I haven't had any real severe side affects from it. It's my first time on birth control and I was very weary about getting on the pill all together. I do notice my period is different. Sometimes I'm really heavy for 5 or 6 days and sometimes I don't see any blood. I don't notice much nausea from it and I was really concerned about that before I starting taking it. I do notice my libido is down and I don't have much energy. I need to switch off of this pill because it's not in my price range. I'm trying to find a pill that was actually kind of similar to it. A pill that was low in hormones more particularly. Does anyone have any suggests?

I just posted a few days ago but need to update. I just started the 4th pack. I Had normal period(slightly longer than when I'm off birth control. on the brown pills third pack and no break through bleed or spotting. But my breast are extremely tender which didn't end with the end of my period. I'm extremely fatigued but have sleepless restless nights. i've developed rashes in the creases of my breast. Not fun. My sex drive has gone down and so has any feeling during sex. My poor husband doesn't understand. I'm moody. I have no appetite but am slowly gaining weight. Crappy pill. I just keep sticking it out because although my husband and I would someday like to have kids, today is not the day as we are both still students. I'll give it till the end of the month and then maybe I'll switch to a new pill.

I am almost 23 and have been on the pill for well over year. For the most part, my experience has not been that bad. I have very tender breast almost all the time and I am always "sensitive" to things (moody doesn't cover it). I can get my feelings hurt or be depressed pretty easily since I have been on the pill. I think for me that the side effects have gotten worse the longer I am on the pill. Within the last 6 months ( really less) my sex drive has vanished. To be honest, my husband and I have always had sex whenever and my sex drive might have even been higher than his but lately...nothing. Occasionally for may a wk. I will have the desire for sex but mostly no interest at all. Explaining this to my husband has not been easy....you married a woman that would jump you all the time and then now she doesn't want to be touched...not an easy thing. This is the worst thing for me...side effects increase over time. Good Luck out there with this med. I have to also say that I have been on the patch and ring and this is way better ( I was on the patch for many years and finally my muscles started cramping up all the time..even my neck muscles when I was driving..dangerous).

I’ve been on Loestrin 24 fe for a year now, and I started it because I had so much breakthrough bleeding with Orthocyclen. Strange side effect of Loestrin is that I have never got a period since I started (1 year), even though I follow the directions completely. Anyone else had this experience? The worst side effect I would say is that I have absolutely no sex drive. None. It’s very depressing to me and confusing to my husband. I haven’t found anything that helps. I’m afraid to try another pill for the chance of having worse side effects. Any suggestions?

i have been taking Loestrin for only 1 week and feel the worse i have felt for a long time. I changed from Cilest to Loestrin as my sex drive was 0. After a few days i suddenly felt so dizzy and light headed. I thought i was going to faint at any second. I also feel all 'not with it'. I am not taking anything else nor been drinking etc. I have also had very bad mouth ulcers (to which i am not sure if related) but all a bit strange just days after taking Loestrin.
I have been back to Dr.s twice but have not suggested anything. I have stopped taking them and hopefully this awful feeling will go to. It really doesn't give me much hope reading other stories.

First off, i think its important to remember that all bcp have these side-effects. its not that one pill is better or worse than another, its that everyone's body reacts differently and sometimes you will experience these side effects and sometimes you wont. all these horrible things women are listing about Loestrin, other women have said about other pills.

for example, when i first started taking a bcp, i was on ortho-lo. this one seemed fine at first (outside the three month adjustment time) then one breast started to swell and ache while the other was fine. it was just my body reacting to the combination of hormones in that particular pill. i know other women who have taken ortho-lo for years and have been fine with it. But i wasn't.

eventually i decided to try a new pill and a friend recommended i research Yasmin. i found many sights just like this one with women going on and on about how evil it was. for every good review, i read ten bad. but my doctor decided to try me on it anyway thinking i needed i higher level of hormones and the five months i was on it were horrible. severe weight gain, cramps (i never had them before), spotting, migraines, NO sex drive, etc. i went back to my doctor and she was surprised because both Yasmin and ortho-lo are supposed to be good drugs. bottom line is, they weren't good for me. she decided to switch me again, this time to a lower level of hormones, but with more active pills, trying to find the right balance for me.

now i read everyone saying horrible things about Loestrin but I have to tell you, i've been on it for a few months now and have never felt better. i didn't even have the months of 'adjusting' to a new pill. i think i may have finally found a combo pill that works for me.

all bcp pills have side effects and you can read horror stories everywhere about ALL kinds of pills. it DOESN'T mean the pill is horrible, or awful, or evil or the worst kind ever. it just means, that for whatever reason, its not right for you.

so if you are out there, reading comments like this on all these pills, please don't take all these comments to heart. read them, take heed, but don't dismiss a pill because it gets bad reviews. i've done my research and they ALL have bad reviews. You have to know that all pills have some side effects BUT each woman's body is different and just because some women experienced bad things on this pill, doesn't mean you will. we are all different after all. you can judge how you will react to something based on someone else's experience.

if you're looking to start taking bcp or looking to switch, be sure you know your own body, communicate with your doctor and know that somewhere you may be able to find a bcp that works for you. i'm lucky i found one in Loestrin.

Much Luck.

I have been taking this pill for almost a year now. Recently in the last few months, I have experienced insane mood swings, irritability, heart palpitations, headaches, and anxiety. I even went to a cardiologist the heart palpitations were so bad. My heart is completely healthy. I have not had a period in like 7 or 8 months which is great but now I am thinking that this pill is doing more damage than good. My poor sweet boyfriend has taken the hit the most and its unfair I dump all my irritability on him. I am calling my doctor in the morning to change. After reading all these negative responses, I think this pill sucks.

I'm 19, and am only 5 days into my loestrin24fe...
and so far, I haven't had anything negative, Like, I always eat like a horse anyways, not that it hurts me, I'm 5'2" and about 130 pounds...
I have noticed that it seems in the past few days, my sex drive has actually increased, like my boyfriend shows up, and it's all I can do to not rip his pants off. For me being on the petite side, my bra is like a B, and they look large on my small frame anyways, any idea how long it's going to take for their size to increase, if at all? I'm going into the Navy and I leave for bootcamp on the 26th, and if I end up with too-small bras there, it's gonna suck...

I was on Loestrin for 4 years, and though I've been on depo, pop, yaz, and ortho-tri lo since, Loestrin was far and away the best pill. All the others caused depression, mood swings, weight gain (depo was the worst for all of these. stay away) and loss of libido, which were serious problems for me. I'm either done with pills altogether, or going back on Loestrin.

Yaz made me vomit, the pop gave me acne, ortho made me so bloated I gained 4 lbs in a week (and I'm an athlete--it was water weight that came off days after I stopped the pill). I don't know how anyone stays on those things. Maybe you can handle them if you don't miss your sex drive.

Loestrin has gotten terrible reviews, but it *can* be a good choice, so don't discount it entirely.

i started Loestrin 24 about a month ago and so far everything has been fine...i had headaches the week before my period came and i have been moody but i think it was just normal PMS. i have not gained any weight and i didn't have cramps when my period came-thank god, because that's part of the reason i went on this pill. my period was really light as well. i hope this continues for the next few months. it sounds like people have had really bad experiences with this pill and i hope that i don't suddenly have problems with it.. my sex drive has been normal and everything.

I have now finished my fourth month on Loestrin 24Fe. Still no period. Prior to being on it, I was on Seasonale--now, sure it's great not getting your period for 3 months, but that is another side effect page! Since switching to LoE24, for the first 2 months I had CRAZY mood swings and 6 out of the 8 signs of peri-menopause (I'm only 37). I did find out that Seasonale has a higher dosage of hormones and LoE 24 has less.

When I first switched, I LOVED the Loestrin--it made me feel so much more alive and like me again from the Seasonale. After two weeks, I started the "yogurt-like" discharge that went on for two months--no, not a yeast infection or anything, just weird hormonal stuff according to my doctor. After the two months, the discharge and the major mood swings went away all of a sudden, I was just fine one day and those symptoms have gone. Still, no period...it's been four months and 6 pregnancy tests. Now, I'm still a little moody but I'm not sure if it is pill related or frustration at not knowing what is wrong.

A girlfriend of mine loved this pill, so I guess everyone is different.

I have also been scared that I'm pregnant with Loestrin 24. I have had headaches everyday, nausea, cramps, major mood swings, my sex drive has significantly decreased, my gums bleed a little when I brush my teeth and sometimes I wake up with dried blood on my teeth. My periods barely last a day, and I wouldn't even say I was bleeding. I took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. I'm thinking about calling my GYNO now and asking her to switch my birth control. I have never found a BC that is perfect for me, but these are the worst side effects I've ever had with one.

I am 29 and started taking Loestrin 24 Fe back in October of last year after I stopped nursing my one year old. I have been on it nine months and I finally quit using it. It was AWFUL for me!!

I turned into the most rotten person I knew. I would scream and rant about everything. I also started developing brown spots along the upper part of my lip all the way across. They were gross looking because they made me look old.

I also had no sex drive and would just go through the motions. Plus, when I shared my concern with my doc about my period being only a day, she laughed like it was the greatest thing. I didn't like it because my period was very light in color but very heavy in mucus. It was so gross.

I have been off for a month and love it. I have calmed down considerably. I told my husband that I will not be on the pill anymore. I now like myself!!!

I am 17 and i was prescribed loestrin 24 as my first birth control pill. I've been on it for less than a week and i can't stand it and neither can my boyfriend! I have had a period from hell with has been 5 days in counting, I bleed so much i get dizzy when i stand up and my legs feel like 1000 lbs i can barely move them. Also i had diminished sex drive and raging hormones (bad acne, emotional hell) so i have decided to stop taking it. I called my gynec. and she recommended the opposite, and told me to get a blood test to check my iron levels and to see if i was pregnant! I'm almost positive i am not but not shes got me worried and i go for the blood test today. Loestrin ruined the second half of my summer but after reading all these other ladies tales i am very glad i decided to quit now. Thank you for opening my eyes, i realized it probably won't just go away in a week. I stopped it yesterday and i feel better already.

I've been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about a year, my periods were never only 3 days and they were barely periods. They were very weird and painful!

I became a royal bitch and my skin was ok but I have always had great skin so when I got a blemish or two I felt that it was because of the pill. To top it all off I gained weight on it so I started restricting my diet and working out harder. My weight didn't go down at all, but I didn't gain. As soon as I stopped taking the pill my working out and eating little helped me dropped 5 pounds (it has been 2 weeks). I'm thinking the pill didn't allow me to lose weight.

I also had a diminished libido which sucks because I like sex. It was only the last week on hormones, I was crazy for sex but only then.

I decided to get off the pill because I was hating myself on it and now I see the beginning of bad acne. I haven't had my first period off the pill yet but I have a feeling it won't be pleasant.

BAD.... I hate it, and you should too.
This pill is giving me lots of problems. I love to have sex with my boyfriend to the point I though I was a nympho and now my sex drive is BAD..... I want to have sex with my BF. We start very good, and after a few minutes.....I get very dry and that’s the end of it. I hate it, My BF is the hottest men in the world to me, and we had very good sex, we were like rabbits, I always had one or two orgasms, always natural lubricated. Now I get dry and we have to stop, I started the pill a month ago and I’m not taking it anymore, I’m going to try theIUD or the ring. Today I have the worst migraine and yesterday I had very bad mood swings all day, for not reason, I was seating in a meeting and all the sudden I want it to scream and run and just go off at everybody, I also cry this morning cuz I could not satisfied my BF in the last 3 time we tried. IM DONE WITH THIS PILL. I won’t even recommend to my enemy. .

I have been on bc for 7 years and Loestrin 24 for over a year now and finally found the perfect remedy to my irregular (sometimes 2 week long) periods. This is pretty much the only thing I love about the pill. However, It makes me feel a lot better that so many people are experiencing the many negative side effects that I have been getting from this darn pill. My frequent headaches are getting to be unbearable, I constantly feel so bloated and feel like my weight slowly creeps up despite a distance runner. I think I must be retaining so much water. I went on the scale one morning, then ran about 12 miles, then the next morning I gained about 6 pounds...i am a very healthy eater as well. It's just so mind boggling to me that this tiny pill can have such drastic effects on one's body. And depression is another big thing. I am also constantly depressed for no reason and snap at people for no reason.
But the big issue for me is probably my weight. I am really considering going off birth control completely. I just started a new pack this past Sunday...does anyone know if I can just stop cold turkey, or do I have to wait till I finish the pack?

This pill sucks!! I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about 5 months now. I am miserable.... I already have big boobs, so this pill didn't help me when I increased a cup size, my sex drive is down, I am having frequent headaches, I have gained so much weight and no matter how much I exercise it won't come off, and worst of all I am feeling depressed with no reason to be! Its not only driving my life crazy but my husbands too. My periods are short (around 4 days) and light, but I almost rather have the heavy and long periods then go through all this. Can anyone give me suggestions on other birth controls they have taking in the past that they were happy with? THANK YOU!!!

i am 100 lbs and i have a moderate appetite and cant gain weight im just really petite. I have been on YAZ ,Yasmin, and also Ortho Tri Cyclin lo, i have no sex drive on that so i have to stop it. i have never really gained weight on any of them but Yaz made me moody and have bad periods.. i am switching to Loestrin24 but After reading all these posts im so scared to start this pill! does anyone have similar body type or reactions that could help me out before taking this pill on Sunday?!?

I had been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about 2 years...I didn't even realize the doctor had switched my bc to that...just thought it was another generic name.
I had gained 30 pounds and could not lose it even though I was running 2 1/2 miles everyday.
My sex drive went to zero.
I quit taking it about 8 weeks ago and am wondering if the weight will be easier to lose now. Has anyone quit taking this and can you tell me if the weight starts coming off?

I was put on Loestrin24 Fe to control bleeding until such a time as I could have surgery. I took the first pill and started experiencing a sever mood swing right away. I became angry and depressed. My breast were tender. after a month the Anger and Depression were out of control. I was as hateful as I have ever been. My relationships were effected by my extremely negative attitude (which is completely out of character for me) and my sex drive well there was none. I suppose that is one method for birth control.... I started to notice fatigue, couldn't get out of bed had no energy, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. Blood Clots...NOT FUN... NOT SAFE...

I noticed my old self returning almost immediately after stopping the pill. I don't think I cracked one smile the whole time I was on them. I am glad to be off and I will never take birth control again.

Please please if you are having sever symptoms. Shortness of breath and chest pains. DON'T WAIT to be TOLD to get off of them.... GET OFF OF THEM and GO to the ER immediately. YOU are talking about your LIFE...

I have been taking Lo24 for almost a year and at the beginning I did have light spotting and I gained a few pounds. However, after a few months the spotting stopped. I don't have any side effects from this pill as far as sex drive and moodiness. The only problem I have with it is that I haven't had my period for quite a few months now. I don't miss my pills and I am sure I'm not pregnant. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE not having a period, I'm just afraid that not bleeding any at all for months is going to cause internal problems later or something. It just doesn't seem natural. Anyone with similar problem?

Hello I also have had many weird side effects since starting this pill. I
have been incredibly moody and it seems like I am always on my period. I am now on my second pack and am bloated all the time and I am breaking out all over my face! I didn't know that the sex drive too was also an issue until I started to read other post. I gained about 10 pounds since being on the pill. Anyone else have any suggestions what to go on? I am stuck and don't know any other options out there. I have 3 boys and don't intend on having anymore anytime soon!
Thanks. :)

ive also experienced some weird discharge and got tests done that all came back negative..its been really bothersome and now that someone else thinks this could be from Loestrin24 im most likely going to switch pills. anyone have any suggestions on a good pill to try?

hi,
i have had many of the symptoms explained on here. I am 20 and getting married in August so I figured I needed to get on these soon because we do not want to get pregnant. These have been horrible so far! I have had EXTREME moodiness, headache, no sex drive, nausea, horrible breast tenderness, vomiting, dizziness, weird vision problems- I couldn't see out of the corner of my eye, leg pain, hair on my nipples?which ive never had before.(anyone have this?) I am also always bloated and tired. This is my second pack and I just started my period on time yesterday so should I stick it out or change pills? anyone have any good info or opinions??? Thanks!

I have never been on bc before, until last September when I got pregnant, I had miscarried. I then decided to start the pill in December. In the beginning my only side effect was my moodiness and ZERO sex drive. It took a toll on my boyfriend and I. He felt I didn't find him desirable and such wise, and my constant mood swings eventually caused us to break up! It is not May, and I am having CONSTANT random spotting. I had my period 3 weeks ago for about 3 days, then a week ago I spotted for a couple days, and here I am now..... once again spotting!! This inconsistency is SO frustrating!!! I'm thinking about getting off of it! I don't know!!

I am soooo happy i LOOKED THIS PILL UP! I was wondering why my sex drive has decreased... now I know! I t is the pill I would also find myself lashing out for no reason. I am on my las brown and I only have a very small amount of brown discharge just enough to fill a pantyliner that's how you gain weight and I don't want to do that at all I want to stop taking them before I HAVE TO START ANOTHER MONTH ON Sunday does anyone know if I will get my period because I am off of them? And how long it takes before you get your sex drive back? My poor husband is going crazy!! Needless to say I don't want to stay on this pill! I was on OTHRO TRI CYCLY LOW and everything was fine I think I will ask to go back to that. Everyones body is different and responds to meds different but it seems like the same thing is happening to everyone it must be the pill!

I am 20 yrs old and this is my second month on Loestrin 24 Fe. So far I have been experiencing a lot of the same problems everyone else has, no period, but constant spotting. I haven't had too many mood swings but I have noticed that I am a little more emotional than usual. I snap at my boyfriend sometimes over the smallest things. I even got a cyst for the first time! My sex drive has decreased greatly and I tend to be really dry whenever I do have sex with my boyfriend, and of course that is uncomfortable. This month I have noticed a brown discharge or maybe its just the spotting I am not sure. Also I missed one pill this month and I got a mild yeast infection without the burning or itching. This has really effected my sex life with my boyfriend cuz it seems like something is always wrong. I also thought I was pregnant since being on the pill but it was just a false alarm. Loestrin 24 is the first form of birth control I have ever taken in my life because I never wanted to get on it. I didn't think bc was natural or healthy because I felt like if God didn't want women to bleed or get pregnant, we wouldn't. But my boyfriend had talked me into it. Being that this is my FIRST experience, I am almost positive I will be getting off the pill. I haven't gained much weight, maybe about 3 or 4 lbs if that. This pill is horrible and I don't recommend it for anybody!!!!

I was on L24Fe for over a year and experienced MAJOR depression, mood swings, crying for no reason, zero sex drive, bad acne. I stayed on it so long because I had no idea that it could do that to you and I thought i was having a mental breakdown at college...not good. There is good things about it: i did not get any headaches, cramps, spotting and not prego. I am now changing to Cyclessa...heard good and bad about it just like any other pill.

wow, i've been on L24 for a yr now and i have very minor acne, NO more headaches (used 2 live with a migraine) L24 took it away THANK U!!! the only bad thing i have to say is no sex drive but hell i'll take it if i can keep NO PERIODS AT ALL!!!! haha! i love L24!!! it actually keeps me very normal and stable moodwise, great find!!!!

Well ladies, after reading all the reviews, I quit taking loestrin 24 fe today. I am 53 and needed something for the anger and heavy periods related to peri-menapause. I have taken it for one month and have had 3 killer headaches, weight gain like crazy, bloating and NO sex drive. So, after going home sick from work yesterday with headache and nausea, I quit today. Guess I will look for more natural ways to deal with life changes..good luck and thanks for all of this input that helped make my decision to quit.

It kind of feels good to read these posts because now i know it's not just me. i started birth control when i was 18 years old. i started out taking lutera. i don't really remember having many side effects. after maybe a year of being on lutera my doctor switched me to loestrin 24 to give me lighter and shorter periods. well, the pill really took it's toll on me. my mood swings have been so bad my boyfriend and i fight constantly, i have been so emotional crying over every little thing. and my sex drive? it is GONE! like non existent. when my boyfriend wants to have se i just can't really get in the mood, and I'm really dry down there. it just hasn't been fun. it's really taken a toll on my body and my love life. i finally just went back to my doctor and told him to switch me back to lutera. i was on loestrin for a full year! so for me it wasn't just the first couple months your body goes crazy because of new hormones, it just wasn't worth it to me. there were so many months that went by and i didn't get my period. i was constantly going out buying pregnancy tests to make sure i wasn't pregnant. I'm 21 now, i don't need to freak out every month thinking I'm pregnant. and then there were months when i had my period for a week sometimes two! and i had spotting like you wouldn't believe. i had to throw out a lot of underwear because of those little surprise visits in the middle of the month. i know birth control effects everyone differently but i just wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

I just finished my 2nd pack of Loestrin 24, before that I had been on Enpresse (generic i believe) for about 3 years. A week after I started taking this pill I had spotting for a few days...and now I haven't gotten my period at all, not at the end of either pack. I called my gyno yesterday and he asked if I felt anything abnormal and when I said no he said that if I don't get it at the end of this new pack to call him back. I took a pregnancy test after the first month of not getting my period and it came out negative (twice). I'm debating whether I should take another one since I didn't get it yet again...has anyone else stopped getting their period?

I dont know why I didnt research my problem before now. I have been blaming myself for a year and a half now. I started on Loestrin 24 because I was getting the free samples from a friend that worked at a doctors office. So aside from being free my period was just like spotting for a day. It was so light. But I have had absolutely no sex drive and VERY dry when I did have sex. I have also gained about 60 lbs in the time on the pill. I have always been heavy, but could usually maintain my weight at about 195. I kept blaming myself for the weight gain even though I exercise atleast 3x a week and try to eat healthy. I gained 30 lbs on the nuva ring and lost it all when I switched to Ortho Tri Cyclen...but switched again because of the free pills. I have been really depressed and crying uncontrollably a lot especially because of the weight gain. It was causing a HUGE problem with my boyfriend and I, so I just switched to a new pill. But I think I am going back to Ortho Tri Cylen. I cant believe this is happening to everyone....I am hoping that the switch will change everything for me.

I am 20 years old and I was on Loestrin 24 Fe for about 3 months. It was the first pill I ever started taking. I felt like my periods never came.. it was just spotting for 3 days and then gone, not heavy at all. I also had break through bleeding for awhile which is very annoying. I became extremely emotional and realized how bad it was when I started crying to the movie Milk Money (not a movie to cry during). I did become depressed at times. And the big one was the non-existent sex drive. When I first started, I noticed how it was just not there anymore. I didn't feel in the mood ever. I totally embarrassed myself with a guy a couple of weeks ago when I just could not get wet or in the mood at all. Nothing was working, I just did not want to have sex. Two days after that experience, I stopped taking it. My best friend was on this pill for a year and she told me the same thing happened to her so I am off it now. I am just going to take a break from any BC pill for a couple of months and let my body get back on it's old cycle.

Oh my goodness...I thought I was really the going crazy, getting fat, huge boobs, headaches, and NO sex drive -on the pill person. Thought it was just me. I have also been extremely moody and depressed---crying while watching a commercial? Yeah, pretty bad. My boyfriend thinks I have lost interest because in the beginning of our relationship (before the pill) I was a sex crazed person---now, not so much. I never think about it--at all. I have to use lubrication to have "comfortable" sex because otherwise I am dry. This is a first time ever that I have experienced that. I have gained 12 pounds despite exercise and diet---I eat very healthy because I enjoy it. I have been on the pill for 6 months and it is horrible. The problems came one by one and now as I sit being completely miserable- I know why. I'm getting off this pill!!!!!!

This was my first time taking birth control pills. In the beginning everything was fine. I have been on the pill for about 5mths now. Just recently I started bleeding for no reason at all. (not to mention it is 8 days before my wedding) I am nowhere near the time I am supposed to start. Plus I am gaining weight, I am bloated, and I am eating like a pig. I’ve had to have alterations 2x in the last 4 months. I have been emotional, sensitive, depressed, and impatient and everyone was saying it’s because of the wedding but I knew something was wrong when I started having trouble breathing. I didn’t know any better because this was my first time on birth control pills. I went to my long term doctor today and she suggested that I keep taking the pill even though I now have what appears to be a goiter. Hypothyroidism (An enlarged thyroid (goiter) I have an ultrasound scheduled but I’ve learned today that Estrogen increases the body's production of a blood protein that binds thyroid hormone to it, making it inactive. This may have lead to weight gain and my irregular cycle. I am stressed and I do not know what to do. The only good thing is that I do not bleed heavy but there is slot of cramping now and stomach pains like you wouldn’t believe. I now have high blood pressure, shortness of breath from my thyroid, back and stomach pains from the cramps, bloating, and I’ve been bleeding for 5days. It starts then stops, then starts, and then stops. Sadly my doctor will not give me any medicine and I don’t know when it’s going to end. Those little devil pills have really put me in a terrible situation for my wedding and honeymoon. I’m now seeking a new physician and I don’t know if I will ever take birth control pills again. For all of this, I could have just continue to purchase a few extra pads a month.:(

I'm 20 years old and have been taking Loestrin 24 Fe for six months. I've become moody and my breasts have gotten huge. I went from a barely 34 B to a 36 C, and they are still getting bigger. My sex drive is no where to be found and yes i have wonderfully short periods, but side splitting cramps. Anyone know of any other pills i should consider switching to that may cause my breast to not grow, hopefully shrink to normal and regulate my moods?

I I have been on this pill for over a year. I am a 45 year old mother of two and have had absolutely no negative effects. I also have an anxiety condition and have noticed no increase in symptoms. The short periods are great. My greatest complaint on this pill, as was on all the others I tried is, no sex drive. I have tried so many. The one designed to promote clear skin, made me breakout. No pill is going to be perfect for every woman. You need to be your own advocate and try and try different pills until you find the one that works for you. I tried the patch..I had an eternal period, but, some women love it. If anyone has found a form of birth control, (other than IUD) that brings back sex drive...PLEASE let me know!!

I'm 19 and I've only been on the pill 1 week. I ended my period the 19th and my sex drive went wild. So bad it was all most everyday last week. That weird thing is I just started my period again today. I'm really crappy, emotional and i really don't want to be around any one.

Dr. put me on Loestrin 24 on Dec 9, 2007. Immediately my period stopped (after a non-stop episode for 14 days) but then I started gaining weight (15 lbs), rapid heart rate after climbing 5 steps, extreme irritability to almost psycho stage and the kicker, my blood pressure kept shooting up. Today, it was at 154/99.

At the time I saw my OB/GYN a week ago, my BP was at 150/99 and she said she wasn't concerned. She doesn't feel that the pills have anything to do with my BP, weight gain or increased irritability. All my life, I've never had high BP until I got on these pills. I know my body.

Funny thing, my general practitioner was very concerned about my BP and told me to bring it down in 2 weeks or he's putting me on pills.

I've spotted for 5 days and am now on full-blown period (day 3) and it's heavy and my cramps are very painful. I have decided I will not to take the Loestrin starting tomorrow even though I risk the chance of having on-going periods.

I don't feel comfortable putting my heart at risk because of some pill supposedly regulating my period. Doesn't seem regulated with 5 days of minor spotting/clotting then full-on period. I have no clue how long it will last but at my age (45) guess that's just part of the cycle of being a woman.

My birth control problems have been an ongoing problem. . I am a 26 year old nurse. I had been on birth control since about age 16.I was on Ortho tricyclen up until about two and a half years ago. I was noticing that I got nauseated each day around 5 pm when supposedly my hormone level dropped. I would eat and then I would feel better. Now that I think of it, I may have been just a little hypoglycemic. I told my GYN about this and he had me switch to the NuvaRing. I was on that for about 5-6 months when I started to have problems with it. When I had to put it back in after the week out, I would vomit for about 12 hours until my hormone level evened out. After deciding that I was not getting food poisoning each month, and it truly was the ring, I went back to my GYN. He then said that it was too much estrogen for me and prescribed Loestrin 24. I was on that for about 5 months when I started to notice problems. I felt extremely tired all the time. My breasts hurt like hell, and my mood was changing significantly. I was watching TV one night when all of the sudden it felt like someone was just murdered in front of me. I had no idea what was wrong. My husband told me he thought I was having a panic attack. I have never had any problems with anxiety or depression. This happened twice in one week. I had never had any problems with acne, and I looked like I had chicken pox on my back. I was also getting abnormal hair growth. I would cry, and not know why. I then decided that I needed to stop my pills. I called the GYN, and of course they were of no help to me. I then spent about 4-5 months off of BCP's all together. I would still get anxiety the week before my period and then after I started it would get better. I then saw a new GYN who decided it would be good for me to go on Seasonique. I was on that for 5 weeks and all of my symptoms came back. I now have been put on Zoloft to help with my panic attacks. I fight them on a daily basis, and they are more constant than ever before. I truly feel like my hormones are so fucked right now. I have all of these strange thoughts and feel half crazy. I have been to every specialist possible and they all agree that my hormones are out of whack. I am small anyway and have lost about 10 pounds. I only weigh about 98, which is also alarming to me. Okay, well how the hell do you fix all of this without going on another damb pill? I was fitted for a diaphragm and am using that for the time being. I am a smart enough person to know that something is not right. I am seeing a homeopathic specialist this week to try a new approach. I have been to a therapist, and have been tested for everything under the sun. Most frightening was the fact that I was almost put on a beta-blocker. I had a 24 holter monitor for my heart. My median heart rate was in the high 90's. I also had a heart rate that went from 51 to 145 bpm in my sleep. My normal heart rate is in the hig 60's to low 70's. Overall, the Zoloft is starting to help, but I am so angry. I really do feel like we are screwing up our natural chemistry by putting all of these females on hormones. In 20 years or so, we will truly see the effects of what hormone therapy has done to women. It is very scary. I just hope I can get myself evened out. Does anyone have a similar story or any suggestions? Please reply or email me. Any support I can get from other women will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Nurse Billie

I had been taking Loestrin 24 Fe for about four months and I have never in my life suffered from anxiety, until now. The first month was horrible, and a friend said that that was normal until my body gets used to the pill, but I noticed that it didn't go away. It just became worse to the point were I started feeling depressed. The anxiety attacks got worse and worse and I also lost my sexual appetite. I couldn't take it anymore and now I finished my last pack last week to see if the anxiety is because of the pill. I know it's the pill. Anyone else?

Okay after reading everyone's posts, I want to cry ha ha. I have just completed my first month of Loestrin24fe- I still haven't gotten my period- tomorrow will be a week. I feel like I have the symptoms- it's just not there. I expected this to happen since my body is confused with the change, however now I am nervous that I will not get it at all this cycle and it will just skip to the next. I was previously on Ortho Tri -cyclen Lo. I was nauseous a lot, the occasional migraine, my sex drive was not great, and I had some mood swing/depression problems. I went on Lexapro for that- decided to drop it since I became nauseous with that almost an hour after I took it each time and my sex drive became even worse. Doing that I thought my symptoms would go away. I still had nausea, still no sex drive, developed weird skin patch ( dermatologist said it was eczema, but very suspicious that it all happened around same time). Since my symptoms still existed I thought it was my birth control pill. That's why I switched to Loestrin....I'm still emotional, esp near my period, but I'm a girl, I expect that. What I am worried about, and from what I have read through these posts- is that the side effects you each describe are pretty much daily side effects for me and I might not catch it as something that I should be worried about. Is it also true also that this pill makes you gain more than others? On my previous pill, I didn't gain weight and I don't plan on exercising bc of this one. I know pills affect everyone differently, and I wonder if i go on another message board for another pill I will see the same responses.....I just want to hear from someone with a positive take on this pill. Telling me that you are fine, you just have to exercise and not drink, have no sex drive and deal with not getting your period sometimes, does not make me feel better.

Also, the past two times I have drank alcohol on this pill, I became extremely nauseous the next day. Normally this would be contributed to a hangover- but I didn't drink the amount that would cause one, compared to my past drinking experiences. The nausea sometimes results in vomit, otherwise it just lasts all day. I was wondering if anyone had this happen to them while they drank on the pill.

I was on Loestrin 24 for about a year, but had to stop and try another because it seemed to not be working for me anymore. I gained 1/2 a cup size (which I don't need), experienced bad mood swings and increased swing emotions, and I developed a rash underneath my breasts, behind my knees, and in the crease of my elbows. I had thought that the rash was my own sensitive skin reacting, but it was not the case. This pill was not good for me, and I hope any woman who is considering it reads these postings and declines it. I now take Yaz, and so far so good! Sex drive has returned and no more bleeding.