1st February 2007
These side effects can happen on any hormonal birth control. As far as Yasmin and Yaz, women seem to either love it or hate it.
I had bad moodiness, anxiety & depression on Ovcon 35 (with other problems like water retention, zero sex drive). It was not helped by trying either Loestrin or Yasmin. Like you, I have a history of anxiety and depression that predates my taking the pill. The depression I had on the pill was weird though, it was depression but different from the depression I'd had beforehand (which I'd treated and thought I was over). I think the pill depression was accompanied by a TON of moodiness whereas my major depression had not been. I cried a lot both times, but on the pill, the crying was absolutely uncontrollable. I was popping Xanax daily to deal with it. It started to get really bad on the pill, to the point where I was considering self-harm again (I used to cut during the bout with major depression.) I quit the pill 7 months ago and my mood and attitude improved quite quickly, within 2 weeks to a month I felt normal and more stable again. No more urges to injure myself, no more uncontrollable crying or moodiness other than the odd off day here and there. But now it's maybe once a month instead of every single day.
As far as the sex drive, all hormonal birth control (especially taken long term), has a negative impact on your libido. I experienced this with Ortho-novum 7/7/7, ortho-tricyclen lo, Ovcon 35, loestrin, Yasmin...All hormones have the effect of drying you out down there, making it more difficult to become aroused and for me, at least, making me care less whether I had sex or not. Sex wasn't displeasurable to me on the pill, I just could care less whether I had it or not and did not get aroused at all. It really makes me angry that women are told the pill is the solution to all their problems when really it just causes more. And you KNOW they would never market a hormonal birth control pill for men that had the effect of killing THEIR libido, but for women, it's perfectly OK :mad:
I had bad moodiness, anxiety & depression on Ovcon 35 (with other problems like water retention, zero sex drive). It was not helped by trying either Loestrin or Yasmin. Like you, I have a history of anxiety and depression that predates my taking the pill. The depression I had on the pill was weird though, it was depression but different from the depression I'd had beforehand (which I'd treated and thought I was over). I think the pill depression was accompanied by a TON of moodiness whereas my major depression had not been. I cried a lot both times, but on the pill, the crying was absolutely uncontrollable. I was popping Xanax daily to deal with it. It started to get really bad on the pill, to the point where I was considering self-harm again (I used to cut during the bout with major depression.) I quit the pill 7 months ago and my mood and attitude improved quite quickly, within 2 weeks to a month I felt normal and more stable again. No more urges to injure myself, no more uncontrollable crying or moodiness other than the odd off day here and there. But now it's maybe once a month instead of every single day.
As far as the sex drive, all hormonal birth control (especially taken long term), has a negative impact on your libido. I experienced this with Ortho-novum 7/7/7, ortho-tricyclen lo, Ovcon 35, loestrin, Yasmin...All hormones have the effect of drying you out down there, making it more difficult to become aroused and for me, at least, making me care less whether I had sex or not. Sex wasn't displeasurable to me on the pill, I just could care less whether I had it or not and did not get aroused at all. It really makes me angry that women are told the pill is the solution to all their problems when really it just causes more. And you KNOW they would never market a hormonal birth control pill for men that had the effect of killing THEIR libido, but for women, it's perfectly OK :mad: