Tri Lo Sprintec side effects - anxiety?

I have been taking Orto Tri Cyclen Lo for about two years now & have been pretty good on it with minimal side effects. I recently had to switch to the new generic form, Tri Lo Sprintec. The first month on it I was fine, but I'm a week and a half into the second pack and I'm experiencing terrible anxiety. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience, and if you have switched to a different brand with better results? I was considering talking to my doctor about Yaz but would like to hear about some other options and experiences.

In the meantime, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this anxiety? For no real reason I feel nervous and my heart pounds, my stomach hurts, I am having trouble concentrating on anything and feel totally irrational. I think the anxiety is also making me paranoid, thinking that I am pregnant or something (although I just got my period a week and a half ago). I have never experienced this in the last 2 years on tri cyclen lo and when I previously took regular ortho tri cyclen for a year.

I've definitely had some horrible side effects since starting this medication a week and a half ago. The worst thing is that my breasts are incredibly, horribly tender. It's very painful. I also got a yeast infection right away after the switch, which still hasn't gone away even after taking medication for it.

On the more mental/emotional side I've been experiencing mood swings and anger/annoyance (like constant PMS), complete loss in sex drive, and anxiety. I've dealt with anxiety before but not for quite awhile, and just the other day realized that it started back up when I started on tri-lo-sprintec. It's awful!

I don't really know what to say about coping anxiety, as I was never very good at it. I guess what helped me the most would be to take big, deep breaths and really focus on my breathing, allowing myself to drift out of whatever situation was making me anxious.

I hope they'll get us back on ortho tri cyclen lo! I've been reading other forums with a lot of not-great reviews of the drug.

Rae wrote:

I've definitely had some horrible side effects since starting this medication a week and a half ago. The worst thing is that my breasts are incredibly, horribly tender. It's very painful. I also got a yeast infection right away after the switch, which still hasn't gone away even after taking medication for it.
On the more mental/emotional side I've been experiencing mood swings and anger/annoyance (like constant PMS), complete loss in sex drive, and anxiety. I've dealt with anxiety before but not for quite awhile, and just the other day realized that it started back up when I started on tri-lo-sprintec. It's awful!
I don't really know what to say about coping anxiety, as I was never very good at it. I guess what helped me the most would be to take big, deep breaths and really focus on my breathing, allowing myself to drift out of whatever situation was making me anxious.
I hope they'll get us back on ortho tri cyclen lo! I've been reading other forums with a lot of not-great reviews of the drug.

While I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems too, I'm glad I'm not the only one! Luckily the anxiety has faded. I have always experienced the breast tenderness you're talking about on any pill I've taken, it usually starts up for me the 2nd week of my cycle and goes away the following week. The pills do get rid of cramps, I have much lighter & shorter periods, really clear skin, and haven't experienced weight gain. It's also nice to be able to predict exactly when my period will be each month so there's no surprises!

I just hope if I stick with this one eventually my body will get used to it. I'm glad the anxiousness only lasted a couple of days, but it was really horrible - increased heart rate, paranoia, nausea, nervousness, panicking about nothing...not something I want to deal with every month (although it's possible my body was reacting to some other stress in my life and it wasn't the pills at all...I'm just more inclined to blame them since they're new).

Since you're only a couple weeks in I would certainly give it time for your body to adjust. I'm planning to keep taking my Tri Lo (I have this month to finish up and a whole new pack yet) til I run out. I'll then have been on it for 3 cycles, so hopefully I'll be used to it by then. If not, I'm talking to my doctor!

I am having horrible side effects from the tri-lo-sprintec. I hate it that my Pharmacist said everything was the same, blah blah. Now my body is a mess. I was fine for years on the Ortho-tri-cyclen lo... I'm so mad that I let her talk me into changing.

My side effects are the following...
Extreme breast tenderness, like walking up and down stairs hurts. Extreme swelling, My poor boobs are overflowing out of my bra.
My sex drive is GONE. My husband and I had sex everyday and now I have no desire, plus I have no sensitivity when we are having sex. So I can't climax.
I've had headaches on and off. Strange headaches, like in the back of my head. I'm so bloated and just went and bought a pregnancy test last week since I was convinced I was pregnant... the side effects were all just like pregnancy. Plus, my emotions are ridiculous, and I'm being a snotty brat. My poor husband wants his old wife back and I'm never changing from Ortho-Tri-Cyclen again. No more generics for me.

If you are thinking of changing, don't. Even if your Dr./Pharmacist says they are the same... they aren't.

i have taken sprintec for 2 years with no side effects... great skin, light periods all good then BAM 4 months ago i started having panic attacks and crazy uncontrollable anxiety..my head hurts in different places the back one day the side the next day, been very jittery like u can't be comfortable in your own skin.. really horrible i noticed the correlation between the birth control and this about 4 weeks ago and stopped taking the birth control however the symptoms have not yet subsided..anyone know when the insanity will end?? started taking xanax

I'm glad to read all of your posts, thank you. My ins company duped me and auto renewed with tri lo sprintec instead of the ortho tri cyclen lo. I told them no way I want the brand name so now I have to get a new prescription. good thing i have some samples laying around still....no way i'm changing my pill i've been on for over 5 years. nice try insurance company...and yes, they did tell me they were the "same" -- when it comes to hormones i don't think so.

I am so thankful for this web site and other ones I have been looking at this evening. This is my first week on sprintec and I am totally miserable. I am not experiancing the breast tenderness, but the bloating, nausea, killer headaches & anxity is out of control. I left work today to get a pregnancy test cause I thought for sure I was pregnant. I will be calling my doctor in the morning to find out if I can switch back to Ortho Lo so I can try and feel normal again. Why screw up a good thing...?

I am so glad that I am not alone. I have been experiencing extreme anxiety for the past week (I've been on this bc pill for just over a week now); my heart is beating out of my chest and I have trouble taking in deep breaths. I am offically off this pill as of today.

I am on the 3rd week of taking tri lo sprintec and it is the worst ever! I miss taking ortho low. I had no or very mild side effects with ortho and now that the pharmacist gave me the generic, I've have REALLY sore boobs. it hurts to touch them and even not wear a bra, so now i have to wear a sports bra to bed. I've been very emotional. I either feel like crying or i'm angry. and I've been getting dizzy lately.

in my opinion, worst bc pill ever.

Just an update; my anxiety has gone away now that I'm in the 4th week (placebo week) of the 2nd month of pills. It was weird how I had no side effects for the first month, everything was fine as if I was still taking the name-brand Ortho Lo...then all of a sudden, I get anxiety, nausea, depression, mood swings, etc that last for a week. All the symptoms have gone away and I now feel fine, so I'm going to try taking the Tri Lo for another month and see how it goes. I hope you all have better luck in the future!

Today my pharmacist filled the generic version of Ortho Lo. I was just about to start day 1 of the Sprintec tablets when I thought I would look up more info on peoples experiences switching. I am SO happy I found this forum! I'm calling my doctor first thing tomorrow, and returning the Sprintec. Thanks for your posts!!!

wow thank goodness there are other people out there like me! I, too, was unknowingly switched to the generic tri lo sprintec from Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, which i have been taking for over a year. I knew when i got it that i would get headaches. Sure enough i have a horrid headache every single day, and i typically do not get these headaches (except when i forget to take the pill at night and wait until the morning). I just started a new job with great medication benefits. My name brand was only $25, instead of $60 like i paid in college, when i finished the prescription last month. I joined a gym and have been eating better than i did in college, thanks to a schedule. I have gained over 5 lbs. on this generic brand. I am finishing up my first pack this week and already had my doctor write me a "medically-necessary " name brand script. I hate the pharmaceutical industry. I haven't noticed an increase in sex drive because i have never had a problem with mine. I have been a little moody but my main concern is the 5 lbs to my mid section!!! I thought it was because i have been doing a little strength training, but not that much! I thought i was going crazy!! You know, the government should subsidize birth control. Other countries offer oral contraceptive for free!

I was on Ortho Lo for many years and then i was switched to this crap! I have had two infections (yeast and bacterial) while on this pill for two months. I just took the first pill for the next pack, but i think i might see what happens if i take the month off. Really horrible pill. I also noticed the anxiety now that you bring it up!

After reading countless pages of horrible stories of people like you guys experiencing the same things like me I felt I would join the cause and curse the generic tri-lo sprintec. Pharmacist told me it would the same... yeah right. I had been on Ortho for almost a year with little to no side effects. During my second week of the active pill I started spotting, then came the nausea and for the past two weeks terrible anxiety. I will buy a pregnancy test today and make sure I am not pregnant. My sex drive is also gone and I am so moody and explosive, and I cry so much my poor fiance is about to go insane. Good luck ladies and definately DO NOT let anyone tell you generic is the same as the brand name!

i am soo glad that other people besides me have had these side effects.. this is my second month switched from ortho lo to the sprintec tab.. and i cant stand it.. the anxiety attacks are AWFUL i find myself constantly worried an stressed out and its driving my boyfriend and family insane!!.. plus for the past 4 days i have had horrible nipple and breast tenderness it hurts so bad.. i was scared i might be pregnant so i took a test and it came out negative.. but i saved the other one to take once i get closer to my period..

i havent had sex since july and my sex drive also is completely gone.. but since i have had sex i have had my period the just have been not as heavy but they are still coming when they are suppose to.. last month it was 3 days late because i was so stressed out.. but i think im going to switch back to ortho lo i had not experienced any side effects with that and i cant deal with the anxiety anymore..

if any of you ladies can share some more of your experiences it would really put my mind at ease!

I just wanted to say that I am so glad I looked this up. I've been taking ortho tri-cyclen lo for months now because i'm very prone to side effects and this was the only one i didn't have that effect on me. My pharmacist switched me and i just started to notice that i was boated and cranky as hell. I've been so angry for 3 or 4 days and that is not me at all. My pharmacist told me the same thing too when i called today. That they were identical. Bull....obviously not. I'm sorry everyone is having the same problems as me...but I'm glad I found this. I'm not taking another pill.

Melissa wrote:

I am having horrible side effects from the tri-lo-sprintec. I hate it that my Pharmacist said everything was the same, blah blah. Now my body is a mess. I was fine for years on the Ortho-tri-cyclen lo... I'm so mad that I let her talk me into changing.
My side effects are the following...
Extreme breast tenderness, like walking up and down stairs hurts. Extreme swelling, My poor boobs are overflowing out of my bra.
My sex drive is GONE. My husband and I had sex everyday and now I have no desire, plus I have no sensitivity when we are having sex. So I can't climax.
I've had headaches on and off. Strange headaches, like in the back of my head. I'm so bloated and just went and bought a pregnancy test last week since I was convinced I was pregnant... the side effects were all just like pregnancy. Plus, my emotions are ridiculous, and I'm being a snotty brat. My poor husband wants his old wife back and I'm never changing from Ortho-Tri-Cyclen again. No more generics for me.
If you are thinking of changing, don't. Even if your Dr./Pharmacist says they are the same... they aren't.

I am back... I am finally off the pill and feel wonderful... The spotting is almost gone... I did the pregnancy test and came out negative. This pill made me realize that I will NEVER take generic again, I rather pay extra than relive the past couple of weeks. good luck to all of you!

Carrie wrote:

I have been taking Orto Tri Cyclen Lo for about two years now & have been pretty good on it with minimal side effects. I recently had to switch to the new generic form, Tri Lo Sprintec. The first month on it I was fine, but I'm a week and a half into the second pack and I'm experiencing terrible anxiety. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience, and if you have switched to a different brand with better results? I was considering talking to my doctor about Yaz but would like to hear about some other options and experiences.
In the meantime, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this anxiety? For no real reason I feel nervous and my heart pounds, my stomach hurts, I am having trouble concentrating on anything and feel totally irrational. I think the anxiety is also making me paranoid, thinking that I am pregnant or something (although I just got my period a week and a half ago). I have never experienced this in the last 2 years on tri cyclen lo and when I previously took regular ortho tri cyclen for a year.

YES! I was so happy to see others like you experiencing exactly what I am experiencing. Not that I am happy that you are going through this, too, but that I am not the only one.

But anyway same things are happening to me....I was on Ortho Tri Cyclin Lo and then my pharmacist switched me to the crap I'm on now Tri Lo Sprintec. The first month I experienced nausea, moodiness, and a change in my flow. Then the next month I began noticing my heart pounding faster and feeling anxious all the time, still having major mood swings like never before, making me feel CRAZY! I finally started trying to figure out why I could be feeling this way and it all made sense that it began when I started this new shitty pill!

I am in my 3rd week of the pill and I just took the last one I am ever going to take of this terrible pill! I was SO pissed when I spoke with my pharmacist and she blew me off as if I was crazy for feeling this way and all she told me was, "Well, you are the only person we have ever gotten to report negative effects. It is exactly the same as Ortho-Tri Lo. " This was also after I visited this forum, so I already knew I was not the only report like this. I told her she needs to do a little more research of her own before handing this out to someone else.

It cannot be possible that these two pills are exactly the same, if I am experiencing all these crazy side effects and many others like you are, too. She told me to just finish this pack, but I cannot take one more day of feeling like this. I am just going to stop taking the pill all together to be sure that the side effects are coming from the pill. I am 31 and need to get off soon anyway. I have been on the pill (Ortho) for about 10 years now. So, the side effects that I have been having are DEFINITELY linked to this shitty ass pill. You can see the bitchiness has not gone away yet! Ha ha! Good luck. My advice would be get back on Ortho or try Yaz. I have heard good things from friends who use Yaz.

Thank goodness, I am not the only one going through this. I was on ortho tri lo for about 3 years with no side effects and then 2 weeks ago, went to pick up a pack of pills at the pharmacy and they gave me tri lo sprintec. So About 3 days ago I started having very bad breast tenderness and a day after that I got an awful pain in my stomach, it felt like someone punched me there. and I still have these symptoms. I was thinking I was pregnant but only after 3 weeks of my last period?? So I decided to research this pill and am a little relieved to find out I'm not the only one having these symptoms.

Did any of you have luck getting back on OrthoLo? Do you have to talk to your insurance or your Dr? They are telling me it's the same and that my insurance won't fill my ortho again without a Dr's note, but my doc won't write me one til I've tried Sprintec. I'm scared!