Birth Control Pill Side Effects: Ortho-Cyclen & Potential Health Concerns

Question
hi diane...
i hope u will help me regarding my concern.i have been taking birth conrol pill(ortho-cyclen)from november 2008.i took the pill for my irregular periods n i was fine wid it for 3 months.ya in between i had some leg swellin..if i would sit for long time.at that time i did not give much thought abt the occasional..swellin(which now i guess was because of the pill).so my periods were regular.but from feb 2009 i started feelin very sick..i was like.feeling nausea...lack of appetite..lots n lots of nervousness..n anxiety..oh gosh...dizziness..n kind of fear...n ya i used to get cold chills.i was totally depressed..n was kind of disoriented.i could not concentrate.actually i love being at home wid my 3 year old ,cookin..going to gym..bla bla.but feb whole month i was not at all interested in wat ever i was doing.wen i sleep n wake up i used to get panic attack..i felt like cryin jus like that thinking abt my son ..my hubby..i know it sounds very crazy..n in fact i thought i am going crazy.i had never in my life felt this wierd.n finally from this march 2009..i jus stopped takin the pills..i jus guess n did some research ..n thought it might be because of that pill i was taking.now its been 1 week i have stopped takin the pill n i my symptoms..have gradually...reduced.i am feelin very energetic.n feelin normal...ya i do occasionaly get lil nervousness..i mean very less..its kind of almost reduced.i jus wanted to know whether takin the birth control pill did all this to my mind n body?????????(otherwise i am very healthy person..i dont drink alcohol or smoke too)..jus wanted to know that was it the pill or sometihing else.coz i feel very much better now that i ma off pill.and also i had my previous period on 23 of feb 2009..n now i am bleeding..i started bleeding on the 14th day after my last period..i am concerned abt that too coz i am suppose to get my periods on the 23rd of march 2009.i am in foreign country..n its really hard wen ur health is messes up n we dont have our loved ones near to take care of us.anyway i would really appreciate ur advise..on my this problem.
looking forward for ur answer.
thank u
sabha

Answer
Hi Sabha,

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I'm not a medical professional so I urge you to consult your doctor about this. In my opinion, this symptoms could possibly be related to the hormones in the birth control pills. But I cannot diagnose you on the internet. I have heard of these symptoms and done research on this topic for many years. I am glad you're feeling better and like I said, please get a checkup with your regular doctor. If you would like to talk more, just email me at DCHERYL51@yahoo.com and I will write back.

Sincerely,
Diane Cheryl