A few months ago, I posted this ultra-classy post about how my hormones were killing me. Headaches, huge zits, etc. – I was dying to wean Sophie so I could start taking the birth control pill to even things out.
Well.
Talk about your all-time backfires.
I started taking it (a kind I’d never taken before) for the first time in five years, almost four weeks ago. Within just a couple of days I started feeling…bad. Nausea, headaches, the occasional puking. It felt kinda like I was pregnant. (When I told Emily about my symptoms, she said, “Congratulations! When are you due?” I would have smacked her, but we were on IM. Let me assure you I am definitely not pregnant.)
I kept taking it, perservering, promising I would get through a whole cycle before I gave up on it. This is the last week of that cycle, and I’m anxious to see if this little pill will make my period any less torturous. It better, because the rest of this month has been AWFUL. Even worse than the physical symptoms have been the emotional ones. I have felt, on and off this month, like I need a stay at the funny farm. I’ve felt depressed, anxious, scared, and just plain irrational. All of it combined is making me feel absolutely CRAZY. Which is not fun.
Yesterday was one of the worst days I’ve had this month. I had a terrible headache all day, and then around 4 pm or so it started to get better…but I started to get really emotional. I tried to turn on PBSKids.org for Sophie, and the volume on the computer wouldn’t work. Sophie freaked out, and I sobbed. (Which did not help Sophie feel better in any way.) I was getting dinner ready and found Sophie had climbed on a chair in the dining room and spilled Joshua’s milk all over the table. I wept as I cleaned it up. A few minutes later I boo-hooed over not being able to get the jar of spaghetti sauce open.
Seriously.
After Bobby came home from work, I pretty much just went to bed. I watched “Tommy Boy” and played Yahtzee on my computer (nerd alert!). I just needed to be…away.
So, we’ll see how this week goes, but I gotta say, at this moment, I don’t think I have the nerve to start next month’s pack of pills. I hate to try another kind and have it not work out either, but…I’m not sure what else to do. I’d rather go back to my pre-pill version of normal crazy than this hopped-up-on-hormones crazy. Coo-Coo-ville, Population Me, is not a fun place to reside.
Oh love!! Yuck.
I’m so sorry hon. Maybe you need to got talk to ye old doctor and get a different prescription because that is not good!!!
pobrecita. MWAH
OMG! I’m right there with you!!! I had to go off birth control until they could get my blood pressure regulated. Since I knew it would be hell to start again, I opted for an IUD. Umm yeah….to avoid TMI overload lets just say it was the worse experiance and pain of my life and it didn’t work. So birth control it is, again. I’ve had a freaking headache all month and haven’t cried this much ever. IT SUCKS!
So yeah, not encouraging but at least you know you’re not alone. And that IUDs are from the devil!
“They” say you have to give a pill 3 months to see if it works for you. If it’s that bad though, perhaps the brand that worked for you before would be a better option than waiting it out.
Sorry you’ve had such a rough go. Love you!
It’s amazing how much of an effect medication can have on one’s mental health! I once took something that made me totally crazy. Likely that time I quickly identified that it was the medication. There was another time that it took me at least a year and a half to that a medication was making me anxious. I thought I had lost my mind. I say through them out and then try something else. Hang in there!
hey, i’m sorry your feeling yucky. have you looked into the birth control shot? one is called depo prevera (sp). that’s what i take. i don’t have any side effects with it, and you only have to get it once every 3 months. i love it!
Love the Happy Gilmore quote, Cousin.
It really does take three months for it to not bother you (mostly). The first month is the worse. It does get better! After I weaned my last child I started taking them as well.
I had an experience like this once and I think I stuck it out for like 3 months before I finally went back to the doctor. I wish I would have just gone back to the doctor right away. My doctor gave me a prescribed a different brand I all was fine again. You should call your doctor and see what they think.
try something else.. i don’t trust the pills anyway.. they all have crazy side effects…i love you and hope it gets better…
I had the same problem when I was taking the pill. I went months and months and months thinking it was ‘normal’…I finally went to my dr. and she said that it could be an overdose of estrogen…so she went to see what I was taking and found out that it was the LOWEST amount of estrogen in a BC pill. So, she thought, an estrogen deficiency. She gave me the ‘next step up’….she asked me to wait 1 cycle then start the new pills…it was exactly like before except 100000 times worse.
So, we just don’t go that route anymore…
but that could be a possibility…
I hope it gets better!!!!
This is EXACTLY why I refuse to take the pill. It seems every form of pill,shot or IUD has some hormonal factor so we’ve been stuck dealing with condoms.
If your Dr gives you some good advice, PLEASE SHARE! Keep us posted!
I hope you feel better!
oh no! I haven’t taken the pill since when we first got married for this reason. natural family planning has worked well for us 🙂
so sorry this has been so rough!
The first pill I ever took gave me crazy emotional side effects. I just happened to mention it to my doctor. They put me on a different kind and I was magically better – instantly. If you want to be on a pill, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor about it. They all have different side effects. I wouldn’t wait three months on this one either. No way. We use other non-pill methods now because I was tired of messing w/ my hormones, but really… don’t put up with mental side effects. Not worth it.
I’ve had a Mirena IUD since May of 2004…that thing ROCKS!!! Call your doctor and tell him/her what’s going on…it’s the only way you’ll know for sure!
Yuck. How sucky. I hope this week flies by and that the pills stop making you feel like poo! (I like computer yatzee too….)
Jenny, know what you’re going through; I experienced the same thing post-weaning when I went back on bc.
If you know in you’re heart you’re done, you (or anyone out there) can look into doing Essure. I’ve looked at it but don’t know if it’s for me (going the permanent route). I suffer enough Catholic guilt as it is…!
Take care!
I’m so sorry you are feeling this rotten! I had to stop taking birth control a zillion years ago because they messed my moods up as well..no matter what the dose. We went to using natural methods instead..and am very happy! Call your doc..don’t keep sticking it out! As women we tend to do that 😉
I’ve never taken birth control pills, but I certainly know about headaches. I’ve suffered from migraines my whole life and I know how it can just suck the life out of you.
There has to be a better medication for you, or another method – I’ve heard good things about the Mirena that another commenter mentioned. Hope you feel better soon.
I say use condoms or if you are done…have hubby get fixed. That is what we did. I had a terrible time trying to get pregnant and swear it was due to all of the hormones of the pills prior to trying to conceive. I refused to go back on them, so hubby had no choice….we are done with kids and had a quick in office procedure and life is wonderful now!!! I can get you the name if you are interested, he is located near Dayton, OH. Good luck!