Birth Control Forum - Paranoia and birth control

Womens Health > Birth Control Forum > Paranoia and birth control

Birth control is helpful in preventing pregnancy. Need to know more about birth control? Start here to learn more about popular methods of birth control....

Q: Paranoia and birth control

asked by: DoctorQuestion on April 27th, 2008

I have been taking Ortho-Tri Cyclin Lo for a few years. As a result I have suffered nearly every side effect possible: migrains, weight gain, occasional nausea/vomitting, and finally gall stones. Now the gall stones were the last straw, and honestly I didn't know that birth control could lead to all those conditions. Within the last year I have also had increasing irrational paranoia. I have almost delusions or periods filled with intense fear that everyone around me is working against me, and I become unrecognizabley angry. In hindsight I recognize that my paranoia was silly, but when I become anxious, I believe it is real. I am hoping that paranoia is a symptom that has been linked to birth control. My question is: Can I expect in a few months that my paranoia will dissapate once the pill has had a month or two to leave my body?

Replies(1)

Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD

replied on May 2nd, 2008

Birth Control Answer A4025

It doesn’t seem likely to me that you have paranoia. Paranoia is a severe psychotic disorder where the patient strongly believes in his paranoid (delusive) thoughts and suspicions. In your case, you are aware that all those thoughts are not true which is the strongest evidence that you don’t have the psychotic disorder - paranoia. You may only have a paranoid personality which is not the same as paranoia. Birth control pills can cause an anxious-depressive disorder as a side effect. This anxious-depressive disorder may potentiate your paranoid personality. Your mental problems should vanish after going off the birth control pills, if they are the cause. You can try that but you may also want to consult a mental health professional about this.

DISCLAIMER: "Ask a Doctor" questions are answered by certified physicians and other medical professionals who volunteer their time on eHealth Forum. For more information about experts participating in the "Ask a Doctor" Network, please visit our medical experts page. You may also visit our Birth Control , for moderated patient to patient support and information.

The information provided on eHealth Forum is designed to improve, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his/her own physician. Personal consultation(s) with a qualified medical professional is the proper means for diagnosing any medical condition.

This question has been answered by the doctor. This topic is now open for public discussion, however no comments below this point will be answered by a doctor.

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc