LOESTRIN FE 1/20 Reviews (ETHINYL ESTRADIOL; NORETHINDRONE ACETATE)

Average Rating: 2.4 (1356 Ratings)

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More on LOESTRIN FE 1/20: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR LOESTRIN FE 1/2COMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  Help w/mood swings and cramping Breast tenderness, occasional headaches, missed periods and BLOOD CLOT!!! I started taking this pill when I was 21 to help with mood swings and cramping before and during periods. I was always very reluctant to take any kind of bcp because of the risk of severe side effects. I eventually started taking this one after talking with my gyno and friends of mine who have been on birth control pills for years with no problems. I figured that because of my age and being a nonsmoker I wouldn't experience any severe side effects, but I was wrong. At first this pill was amazing!!! I had shorter periods with little to no cramping, and I knew when my periods were going to start. Mood swings vanished (no irritability, sadness, fatigue, etc.). I was myself the entire month, and it felt great. After a couple months, I experienced breast tenderness, headaches (different type of pain than what I am used to) and missed periods, but these side effects didn't bother me. I was diagnosed with a very extensive blood clot on 9/30/09. I had a sharp pain in my right side off/on for a couple of weeks. I thought it was my appendix and went to see my dr who ordered a cat scan, and it turned out that my appendix was fine but there's a blood clot. I was told to stop taking this pill. I had to start on lovenox then switched over to coumadin for 3 months. Blood clot resolved in 12/09, but I can never go on birth control pills again which sucks... There is no history of blood clots in my family. With any bcp be careful because your life can depend on it!!! F 23 11 months
20 1X day
4/6/2010
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 3  contraceptive Fatigue, occasional moodiness, yeast infections, some anxiety, lower sex drive, vaginal dryness. Most of the time Loestrin works fine for me. It is the first and only birth control I have been on and compared to most people, I don't have many side effects. However, some months my PMS is much worse than normal but other months it is okay. I have noticed that recently my moodiness has been a lot worse (about one year after starting the pill) but it is difficult to determine if stress from school is contributing more to that than I think. I am more anxious and tired most of the time and my sex drive has decreased. I do have constant yeast infections that can be attributed to Loestrin, which may be a determining factor in making me switch pills. However, I basically never have a period, which really makes up for some of the minor side effects. Also, I had no weight gain at all and actually unintentionally lost about 10 pounds while on this pill. I know a lot of people are dissatisfied with Loestrin but I would suggest trying it out for yourself, at least for a couple months to see if you can handle it. My gyno did tell me that not many people she sees are able to handle it, but those who can are all very satisfied. F 24 1.5 years
1X day
4/4/2010
 1  birth control Huge weight gain, depression/anxiety, crying all the time followed by anger/panic, NO sex drive For the past year and few months I have been taking Microgestin Fe 1/20. I have gained 40 POUNDS in less than a year despite diet and regular exercise. I have never, ever gained this amount of weight in a year. I cry almost every night, and until now I just attributed it to my acute anxiety getting magically worse after 19 years. I feel guilty all the time because I have almost completely lost my sex drive. I started getting concerned when I missed 4 periods, and googled it to see if this was a normal side effect. Wow, I had no idea this many women were having the same problems and that some of mine may be linked to this pill. I am calling my doctor this weekend. F 20 1 years
1X day
4/3/2010
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 2  regulate monthly periods awful breast tenderness, fatigue, nausea, bad cramping, headaches, When i started taking this pill the side effects didnt seem to bother me because i knew my body was getting use to the hormones, but it seemed that after the first month they got worse, especially the breast tenderness. I stopped taking the pill at the beginning of the 3rd pill pack due to the awful pain in my breasts. Ive been off the pill for a month now and the pain in my breast comes and goes especially around the time when im about to start and through my period. Im hoping this goes away as soon as my body clears from the hormones, before taking this pill i had no problems with breast tenderness. Im going to see to my doctor anyway for reassurance. F 29 2 months
1X day
3/31/2010
 2  Birth control Dizziness, breast tenderness that would not go away, extreme fatigue, weight gain, loss of mental clarity, some moodiness, loss of sex drive. After being on the Depo shot for 15 years (with little to no side effects), I decided to get off the shot and try something else. Dr recommended this because it was low dose of estrogen and progestin. I did not like this birth control. Immediately had problems, but stayed on it for two months to "give it a chance". I always felt like I was in a fog while on this BC. Extreme fatigue and dizziness started right away, then I gained 5 pounds, and had continual breast tenderness the whole time I was on it. F 39 2 months
1X day
3/30/2010
 1  endometriosis Weight gain +8-10 lbs despite diet/exercise; increased appetite; Bloating/gas; can’t concentrate/focus/forgetful; difficulty getting to sleep/staying asleep; extreme fatigue despite at least 7 hours of sleep per night; no energy, night sweats, anxiety, acne, irritability/irrationality/mood swings/felt crazy/hopeless/depression/didn't want to be around anyone; rapid heart beat at night; difficulty breathing/feels like weight on chest; left arm tingly; painful cramps (sharp pains) during last period I've been taking the generic version, Microgestin. I had read the comments on this website before I began taking it and was a little worried, but the first few months I felt ok. Looking back on it I realize I did have symptoms of side effects from the beginning, but attributed them to stress and/or colds. Over the past few months the intensity of the symptoms have greatly increased, to the point I felt like I was going crazy and was considering going to get treatment for depression. Today I finally put it all together and realized it's this pill. I wish I had kept a journal of symptoms from the time I began taking it so I could have made the connection sooner! There were times I felt better & realize those were the weeks I wasn't taking the active pills. I'm stopping these pills today & will come back to update on how long it takes me to feel normal again. F 33 7 months
20 1X day
3/30/2010
 1  Heavy Periods Went to my Gyno because my periods were so heavy. She put me on Loestrin and at age 52, not a good choice. Not only did I gain weight, cried all the time, I started not to be able to catch my breath. My husband took me to the emergency room, and I was diagnosed with BI-Laterial Pulmonary Embolisim. Blood clots in both lungs. Was within mins, doc said it could have killed me, and I was in Hospital for 9 days, off work for 3 weeks, and been on cumiden (blood thinner), for 6 mo. Scared my family to death, and no one, especially that age, should be put on a birth control pill, especially Loestrin! F 52 28 days
1X day
3/28/2010
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 1  breast pain & emotional around per. Breast pain got much, much worse, but my doc said to tough it out and it did go away after about three months. See right post for more... At three months, I began to have joint pain, depression and anxiety, lots of fatigue. I had to drop some summer classes because I couldn't write. Then in January of this year (9 months in), I had more diffuse bone and joint pain, sweating, spider veins and petechiae all over my body and my vagina is dry like the Sahara. I saw a rheumatologist who can't give me an answer about how sick I've been feeling, but he recommended I go off the birth control for a while, which I'm doing. I'm also seeing a hematologist to rule out the more serious stuff. If this all was from the pill, I'm never, ever going on birth control again. 24 1 years
1/20 1X day
3/26/2010
 5  Preventing Pregnancy I have been taking this pill for 6 years and never experienced weight gain or any problems. I know all medicines affect everyone differently, but based on my experience I was surprised to see how many people had problems with Loestrin. F 33 6 years
1X day
3/24/2010
 1  Reduce Bleeding & Fibrod tumors Severe Chest pain, inability to raise arm, headaches, constant bleeding throughout the month, mood swings & weight gain Taking Loestrin off & on for the first 2 months (because I kept forgeting to take the pills)then during the thrid month I took daily for 22 days. During the this time is when I experienced the greatest severity of symptoms. Headaches, irritability and bloating were present initially. After 22 consistent days of taking the medication I began to get really bad chest pain and could not sleep. I had trouble breathing and felt like I had a huge weight sitting on my chest. I immediately stop taking the pills and noticed a change for the better. There is no medication worth risking a heart attack. F 44 3 months
1X day
3/21/2010
 1  birth control Severe depression, loss of sex drive, dizziness, severe tiredness, very low blood pressure Never will take Loestrin again. I was not myself. Tired, dizzy. Did not want to move and talk. Horrible experience. F 34 3 months
1X day
3/18/2010
 1  regulate hormones Copious amounts of vaginal bleeing in week three, very bad pelvic cramps, bloating, mood swings, feeling week and anxious, weight gain I would recommend the FDA research and comment on the use of this drug for perimenopausal women over age of 35 as the side effects seemed down right dangerous F 46 24 days
1mg/20mcg 1X day
3/13/2010
 2  Contraceptive bad acne (some of it slightly cystic), weight gain, irregular flow I was switched to Loestrin24Fe after a horrid run with Yaz. The first two months I had no issue, beside some irregular flow (one period was barely any flow, the next was extremely heavy) for those first two months. I've heard it takes several months for a body to get use to a birth control. Well, on the 3rd month I started breaking out like mad. Face, neck, chest, back.. I started washing all areas with ache was every day and night and using 2 in one acne lotion and spot treatment was well as drinking tons of water and avoiding refined sugar and flour and greasy foods. Through this I have been able to keep breakouts on the face to a minimum but my chest and back are still awful. Most of the achne was a bit cystic and I got a full blown cyst on my neck despite constant care (but not over care). Then the 4th month I gained 10 lbs. Too much trouble for me. Looking for another pill or maybe an IUD. F 20 4 months
1X day
3/8/2010
 4  contraception and control periods dizziness and nausea (although i think i was experiencing a lot before anyway), depression mainly during 7 day break, stomach bloating :( still got tummy pains altho not usually as bad.weight gain. Everyone is different, this is only my experience of it. Even tho i have some of these bad side effects i LOVE loestrin purely because i used to be VERY heavy and now for the past 2 months iv had hardly anything (and btw no im not pregnant lol) its just a load off my mind and i find myself smiling about it :L If any of my symptoms got particulary bad then i'd stop but for now its working a treat (Y) and every morning i wake up and take the pill without fail, so easy and yet usually im so forgetful lol. Oh and iv had no change in my sex drive :) so its all hunkydory x F 16 4 months
20mg 1X day
3/7/2010
 1  BIRTH CONTROL NUMBNESS IN LEFT ARM, DEPRESSION, HIVES, HEADACHES, CRY,THEN VERY ANGRY SLEEPLESSNESS AFTER HAVING MY BABY MY DOCTOR PUT ME ON LOESTRIN I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT! I AM NOT MY CHEERFUL HAPPY SELF I CRY AT THE DROP OF A HAT I HAVE SHUT ALL MY FRIENDS OUT I AM MEAN TO EVERYBODY! THEN I GET SO ENRAGED MY POOR HUSBAND AND 16YR OLD DAUGHTER HEAR ME GO OFF OVER NOTHING I HAVE STOPPED TAKING IT AND WILL NEVER TAKE IT AGAIN NOR DO I RECOMMEND THIS PILL TO ANYONE! F 36 9 months
1X day
3/4/2010
 1  heavy periods, birth control My doctor switched me to Loestrin from Yaz after all the negative Yaz press. I never had any problems with Yaz, it lightened my periods and curbed my PMS. I started taking Loestrin 10 days ago. I am hungry all of the time. I gained 4 pounds in 9 days! I am also very moody, paranoid, have had bad thoughts and had my first migrain-ever. I am exhausted, often going to bed before 9pm. I think I may have even had an allergic reaction as my lips became swollen and started to peel. I blamed this on the cold weather and use of heater but after ready the side effects, lip, tongue and facial swelling are a sign of serious allergic reaction. I immediately contacted my obgyn. The nurse stated that she thought I was having a reaction and should stop medication immediately. I have an appointment to see her this week. I found this site after I made the appointment and am shocked at all the side effect that were never discussed with me. In fact, I was told that this medication would be better than the F 35 10 days
1X day
3/2/2010
 1  PCOS Uncontrollable appetite (and I'm very health-conscious), itching and acne on back, neck and arms, chronic fatigue, loss of sex drive. I went to this webpage because, after 5 years of being on YAZ (which I loved), I buckled to pressure of changing to a different brand. My GP suggested Loestrin. I am changing not only my medication, but my doctor also for suggesting this horrid pill. I should not have panicked when I listened to those obviously fictitious ads about YAZ, at least not for myself. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Mine was fine with YAZ; never once did I have a problem with it. I never gained weight, had great skin that didn't itch constantly, never had mood swings, didn't have a loss of sex drive, and my boobs even got a little bigger (which for me was fantastic). I'm now on some random pill I've never heard of--Kariva--so I'm gong to cross my fingers and see what happens. F 29 24 days
1X day
3/1/2010
 1  Birth control Numbness in left arm, headaches, dizziness, nausea, severe depression, severe mood swings,extremely tired, weight gain terrible facial acne, insomnia. I've been on loestrin for 2 months now and I figured that i just needed to let my body adjust to it. Now that i've read these reviews i'm wondering if i ever will. I gained 7 pounds in the past month even though i eat right and excercise. My acne is horrible, I just had a baby 3 months ago so i beleived the mood swings were baby blues but they are so intense i feel like im going insane. At times ill start crying and 2 seconds later i want to rip my husband's head off for no reason. The worst part is the numbness, it makes me feel like im going to have a heart attack, IM ONLY 20!! I don't understand how a doctor could prescribe something like this when there are so many terrible things it may cause and so many people that are dissatified with it. I'm in the process of trying to get mirena. I have to wait untill i get a period,and unfortunately I HAVEN'T GOTTEN IT YET. If i don't by sunday i'm calling my obgyn and trying to get a new kind of birth control pill because i am trully unhappy with this one. F 20 2 days
1X day
2/26/2010
 4  birth control light spotting for 2 weeks, hives. I just finished my first pack and I was very pleased with it. I had started taking the generic Micogestin. That was a nightmare. I hated it. But I switched to the brand and I LOVE it. Downside- had light bleeding for about 2 weeks. Then I got my period a day later when the bleeding stopped. Upside- Period was extreamly light and lasted only 3 days. It did worry me at first, since it was so light and I wasn't dying in misery over cramps. I did have some cramps, but nothing that popping a midol didn't fix. During intercourse it hurt a bit because of dryness (used a condom) I recommend this pill- but everyone is different. I've only been on it for a month but so far its great. F 26 1 months
1/20 1X day
2/25/2010
 1  birth control lack of sex drive, depression, mood swings, headaches, weight gain, soreness I have 3 specialists, on top of a therapist and a pharmacologist, with my regular doctor, and I'm wondering if I get off this pill, like right now, maybe my problems will go away. My neurologist diagnosed me with headaches, I have IBS and severe depression with mood swings. I don't find sex appealing and sleep all day. I've been on this pill for over a year, and had a hunch that it may have something to do with my health, and after reading these comments, I had no idea that I could be affected this severely. Since being on the medication, I can't shake off the 20lbs I've gained, and I have a very physical job. Sex is not on my do to list, and sleep hours a day. Though terrified of how bad my periods are, it may be better than losing my fiance and my life. F 29
1X day
2/24/2010
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