Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and sex drive

I've been on OTC Lo now for about 2 months (2 weeks into 2nd pack). So far I like it. My face is starting to clear up and my mood swings (former effect of the nuvaring) are starting to go away. My sex drive is coming back (another thing taken by the nuvaring).. and I haven't gained any weight thus far. I have not had a period on it yet (skipping the placebos) but I don't feel like I will have any problems. I highly recommend this one.

I was on ortho tri-cyclen lo from the time i was 16 til i turned 21... i liked it.. my sex drive was awesome, but it did make me horrifically moody during my period. I have currently been on the nuvaring for 2 months, which has it's perks (you don't have to remember to take it, i have no cramps or moodiness) but my breasts throb 24/7, im hungry ALL the time (like starving), i'm bloated, get gas about every day after i eat dinner, i've gained a few pounds, i wake up 3 times in the middle of the night, and i have next to no sex drive.. and when i do, sex is dry and it burns! So i'm going back to ortho... i will for sure trade weight gain and dry painful sex for moodiness on my period! I really don't think there is a bc without side effects, you just have to try a few and see which one you hate and which one you can live with. All in all... ortho tri-cyclen lol has been the best one!

I'm so glad to read about everyone's experiences. I've been on ortho tri-cyclen lo for about 3 or 4 years, after trying Seasonale (which was awful.) I thought I was just prone to being depressed and nauseous all the time, but now I realize that these symptoms are likely related to my birth control. While on Ortho Lo, I would get nauseous several times a day, I've gained about 10 pounds, my hair is thinner, and my sex drive is frequently nonexistent (which really stinks since I'm newly married.) I am now switching to Kariva, the generic Mircette, which has a lower dose of hormone, and I'm hoping that helps alleviate some of my problems. Best of luck to you ladies!

I have to say that with my previous experiences with a VARIETY of birth controls, OTC-LO is the best i have been on so far! The first birth control i was put on was Seasonale. Which sent me into days of bleeding and depression. I quickly changed to Femcom only to have extremely painful periods and headaches. After about 4 months of that i was put on Yaz. Which i must say was the WORST ever. Yaz gave me terrible mood swings,bouts of depression, fatigue and again painful periods. After 4 months of that i decided to try Ortho Tri Cylen (the regular not lo)..This started to give me dull aching pains in my arms and joints and the mood swings were terrible. I cried all the time. Ortho Tri Cylen Lo was my last hope for all birth control. Granted because of my mood swings while and a few days before i am on my period i was prescribed Zoloft. OTC Lo has not given me any side effects so far. In the beginning i had a lot of cramps but nothing like i had before. My periods are better and my sex life is unbelievable unlike the others which take your sex drive away, OTC-Lo dosent! If anything it has made me want sex more! My boyfriend is very pleased as am i! I recommend this birth control to any female who is having alot of issues with other birth controls. I am glad i tried it!!! Thanks for reading!

Ortho Tricyclen Lo is the WORST! I've been on it for about 4-5 months now and it has changed my personality to the exact opposite of who I am! It has made me SEVERELY depressed, mood swings are off the chart, almost ruined my relationship because of how negative and sad it made me. No sex drive whatsoever! This is a very bad pill, I don't even know why it's on the market.
My doctors just prescribed me Estrostep Fe, I have good expectations with this one. So long as I get my sex drive back (going from having sex almost every other day, to maybe once or twice a week thanks to Ortho) and my bubbly happy personality back, I'm happy.
I don't care if I have tender breasts...I just want my sex drive back!!!

DOWN WITH ORTHO!

I have been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for 9 months. I went through a major depression last spring. I was diagnosed with MAJOR DEPRESSION and went on anti depressants and on sick leave from work. Now looking back it seems there could be a link with the birth control pill. Around the same time I started taking it, I started having such bad MOOD SWINGS, ANGER control problems, ANXIETY and fatigue. I was always getting angry at my boyfriend and picked fights. No more sex drive either. I spoke to my GP, to a psychiatrist and to my pharmacist. I asked them "should there be a link with the pill?". Each and everyone said "no", "highly unlikely". Nobody suggested I try stopping the pill BEFORE starting anti depressants. I got a second opinion from a other doctor. THIS is what he said to me:" you'll be very depressed if you get an unplanned pregnancy." the thing is ladies, they DON'T WANT YOU OFF THE PILL BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT UNPLANNED PREGNANCY. THEY DON'T WANT YOU OFF THE PILL BECAUSE IT PAYS A LOT MORE TO PUSH PILLS THAN TO RECOMMEND OTHER METHODS (pharmaceutical companies giv big incentives and gifts to doctors). THEY DON'T ENCOURAGE YOU TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
I'm going off the pill at the end of my pack and am giving myself a couple months to see if I feel better. then I am going off the anti depressants.

I have been on 3 different birth control pills/patches in the past 2 years and I am sick of it. I know that some people are fine on and off birth control pills, but for me, I will never take one again. I was first on the Ortho Evra patch and that was the worst thing imaginable. I was throwing up on and off and developed a problem with my kidney's that caused what seemed like a UTI but after taking antibiotics never got better, until I got off of the patch. I switch to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It was reasonable for a while, because at least I could function as a normal person again. But after a while I noticed it's side effects too; nausea, no sex drive, and a variety of others. So I then switched to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. Although it was the best of the 3, it still gave me side effects that I could not deal with. For the past 2 years, no one has been able to understand my moods, I have had to struggle to feel sexual, have gone from 20-30 vision in both eyes to having 20-200, loosing 20 lbs which makes me 103 lbs now, and after that, finding out that I can no longer eat dairy products (out of the blue). My hair is thinning out and is dull because my birth control pills lowered the amount of nutrients my body could take out of my food (look it up! Birth Control pills can cause definiency's in calcium, b12, biotin and others). Birth control pills were the only pills I was taking during those two years (except for the antibiotics I mentioned earlier) and I had not changed any of my eating habits. I will never go on a birth control pill again, and I hope that I can start to feel better and heal after the craziness those pills have inflicted on my body.

I tried this one because my GYN said it would be better for my mood swings than higher dose pills. NOT. It made me so moody I think it pretty much ended my relationship with my boyfriend. I have no sex drive, gained a few pounds, and it even made me break out! I am going off it. I think id rather be pregnant.

Took it a year and a half ago. Made me nauseous, weak, sleepy, tired, sad, no sex drive, and itchiness all over my body. I suffered from Cholestasis for 2 pregnancy and was experiencing the same symptoms. Also had the same effects from NuvaRing and Femcon Fe.

Oh my goodness.. I have been on Ortho Tri- Cyclen Lo for four years and lately it has been making my life a living hell. I have been experiencing some of the same things that you guys have been experiencing. My sex drive have been horrible, like to the point that it has put my relationship in the pitches. I have been having mood swings, depression, ( where I don't want to talk),suffering for anxiety. I mean it's weird I just don't feel like myself around that time of month. Can somebody help,cause I due to go to the doctor in the morning and I want to try out yaz... TALK TO ME ......SLAUGHTER'S GIRL

Plain and simple, I hate this pill.I have been on it for a little over a year now and it changed me completely. I experience sever anxiety to the point where I will get all ready for the day and be fine and then *bam* the anxiety hits and I crawl back into bed for the day.Ortho has also caused me to get frequent headaches. It is ( I just stopped the pill) to the point where I am throwing up once or twice a week with very painful migraines. I have no sex drive at all.My breasts are always tender. I have bad mood swings.I've gained weight. The ONLY good thing about this product is that my cramps aren't as sever as they used to be.

I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen- Lo for a year and a half. It really helps with cramps I never had any when my period came. After starting on this pill I took it in the morning and that didn't work because if I didn't eat on a regular basis I would get sick so then I was eating all the time and gained weight. After I began taking it before bed this got better. My boobs got bigger (no complaints there). I used to have a really strong sex drive after starting this it was killed and now is non existant. I had really bad mood swings the week before my period, really bad anxiety and depression.