Post your experience- stopping BCP

Hi. I just recently (last week) stopped birth control pills and was wondering what everyone's experiences were like after going au natural shall we say. I was on BCP for 4 years and stopped because I didn't like some of the side effects I was getting. Also how long did it take before you noticed any changes in your sex drive/personality/ general over all well being after stopping them. TIA!!

Sex Drive? Increase decrease No change?
Moodiness? less or more moody
General health feeling: ie were you more or less tired, etc.
Acne? Worse/better?

Anything else you can think of

Message edited 7/29/2008 5:43:00 PM.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

HELLO! I have been off BCP's for 3 months now.:

Sex Drive? Slight increase..but also bc it has a whole new meaning to us...TTC!

Moodiness? No Change.

General health feeling: Overall feeling the same. The first cycle I experienced more crampiness and I "felt" everything...cant explain it. Also, a little more bloated during the final week of AF.

Overall, I have had a positive experience off of BCP's.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Sex Drive? Definitely increased! I feel normal again!
Moodiness? This I haven't noticed TOO much...maybe a slight increase.
General health feeling: I don't feel too different health-wise.

As far as AF....I've only been off of it for one cycle BTW...I was shocked at how light it was. I didn't have the usual 'brownish' spotting on the final days. I certainly felt cramps again though! Plus this really nasty shooting pain that I haven't had since before the pill.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

ooh glad to hear about the sex drive increase I'm hoping mine will come back after stopping the pill as well. Does it take a long time to ummm notice the change?

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Sex Drive? No change really

Moodiness? OH MY GOD - way more moody - i feel insane sometimes... i had no idea how many hormones would come out FULL FLEDGED once i stopped...

General health feeling: no difference really

Acne: MUCH WORSE - like i'm a teenager again

AF time: OH MY GOD - the pain is terrible.....much worse than the WORST pain i had while on the BCP...

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

eek that sounds scary. Hopefully I won't turn into to much of an emotional reck. hhehe My skin was also bad before BCP's so i'm not expecting anything good to come from stopping them

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

actually now that I think about it...I have become more moody but it isn't psycho or anything like Jess. I just notice my DH annoys me in a pinch now! And then I give him the silent treatment all day long...haven't done that in awhile!

forgot to mention- definite increase in acne. Where I would normally MAYBE get one zit around AF time...I've been getting 3 or 4.

Message edited 7/30/2008 11:07:58 AM.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Sex drive def increase, moodiness def increase. I've been snapping at poor DH for the last couple of weeks over everything, I'm just so cranky. Acne, not a problem. I haven't gotten a real period since I've been off (only a couple of weeks) so I can't comment on that.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

i've been off BCP for about a year now. it's one of the best things i ever did. the only downside is that my face breaks out a little more during AF.

increase in sex drive? YES! BCP ruined my sex drive completely. it was back within a few months.

moodiness? i am so much more even now. except during AF i sometimes get moody. but now, i cry b/c i am actually sad and not b/c of the hormones

acne? definitely worse now.

overall, when i get AF my symptoms are a little worse than when on BCP but i don't get every symptom every month. and AF lasts longer, up to 7 days but not any heavier.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

I went off BCP in Jan and at first i broke out alittle on my face and lots on my chest and back. That has calmed down.

I think my sex drive is WAY higher now too. I also think i lost a few lbs (like 2-3).

The only BAD thing is that my periods are KILLER. Back to cramps and the works

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

I could have written this myself! My story is exactly the same. This is my second month off the pill.

Sex Drive - Increase! It was gone with the pill. I would only do it for my husband's sake, and would start to enjoy it, but now I'm actually initiating more.

Moodiness - Less ... I started having mood issues over the last year on my pill. I feel normal now.

General health feeling - more energetic, acne is the same - I never really had issues before or after the pill.

The only thing right now is that my period is a week late. We've been using condoms, and there wasn't any breakage, so I'm assuming my body is just adjusting to being off the pill. If I don't get it by the weekend, I'm going to test. Although we're not TTC, we a little excited not knowing if I'm pregnant or not.

Message edited 7/30/2008 1:13:10 PM.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

You girls rock, thanks for all of the comments. It's always good to hear other people experiences even if they are different. I totally hope the sex drive thing goes upup up :)

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

For me it is definatly increased sex drive, but also terrible mood swings.
I also have the worst cramps since coming off BCP. And my face is breaking out like crazy!

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Bigger sex drive, but worse breaking out. Ugh!
Also, the first month I thought I was pregnant... getting heartburn, major cramps, moodswings, etc... then I realized it's just my body adjusting.
Why do people say your the most fertile getting off the pill and I had the opposite reaction. Took a while to ovulate.

Re: Post your experience- stopping BCP

Well we'll see how this goes. This is my first week off (just finished AF) and so far no changes whatsoever. I'm totally not looking forward to increased acne. I already have that issue