Hey ya'll. I was diagnosed three months ago with moderate to severe depression, and the start of my depressive symptoms was close to the time I started taking the oral contraceptive Alesse. I was wondering if anyone knew whether Alesse has caused depressive episodes in other woman, or if maybe it was just a coincidence? Or, better yet, any woman who takes/has taken Alesse has any personal stories would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to the boards!! Birth Control affect women differently. They have hormones in them that can sometimes mess up your own hormone levels. What you can do to find out if it's hormones or actual depression is have your progesterone and estrogen level checked. I hear Thyroid problems can cause depression also, so you may want to consider having this done as well. You may want to ask this question on the Women's health board also. There's been many concerns with BCP and you should get a lot of feedback there. Hope this helps!! Keep us posted.

Unfortunately, although the docs never seem to tell you this, some of the side effects of the BCP is depression and if this depression co-incided with you starting the BCP, I would most definitely stop and see if it resolves. I would say that the two are most definitely linked.

There are also more natural ways in which to regulate your hormones. You do not need to take the BCP for this. Acupuncture, homeoopathy and herbal medicine are all very effective ways of doing this, as the other poster mentioned.

Good luck