Levest pill and headaches

Feel “out of it” a lot more but not necessarily depressed. However cramping is really bad

This is the first pill I’ve been on and after being so scared to start it, I’ve generally had quite a good experience. The first few weeks were quite rough, really bad headache, moodiness and nausea but this went away with time. I used to find I’d have a bit of nausea when starting the pill after the 7 day break but I shorted this to 4 days and had helped immensely! My periods are so regular and really light with way less cramping, my periods only last about 3/4 days now when they used to be over a week. I haven’t had any weight gain or changes to my libido. Overall it’s been quite good to me, my only issue is I’ve definitely become a lot moodier - still nothing crazy but not quite like how I used to be. I also can’t tell if my anxiety has worsened or if that’s just coincidental. I’m thinking of trying a different pill to see if my mood improves but nervous incase I get other side effects that I haven’t on this! My only other complaint is hair loss, I didn’t even know this was linked until I read this page and saw one of the hormones might cause this. Didn’t have any issues at the start but in the last few months I’ve been noticing a lot more hair coming out in the shower and am now wondering if this is linked.

I used this quite a while ago, I do not notably recall any mood-altering changes (hence why I rated "poor" instead of "terrible" to be fair, since every individual is different). But I will list below effects from when I was actively taking it and afterwards: - Heavier and more painful periods. I already struggle with painful periods, but while using Levest, they became unbearably painful (OTC barely helped, sweating, dizziness & nausea due to the pain). - I subtly started gaining more weight, despite no lifestyle or dietary changes. - I believe I had increased bodily hair growth. - After a period of heavy and painful periods, I eventually stopped having my period altogether, despite the 7 day break each month. When I stopped using it altogether, my cycle didn't resume. At one point, I didn't get my period for half a year until eventually being diagnosed with PCOS. However, Levest did not mask my symptoms during use either, it felt like it induced them (weight gain, hair growth, cycle dysregulation). I read another comment on here on hyperandrogenism concerns - and this symptom also relates to PCOS. While the issue of "pill-induced PCOS" is controversial and unconfirmed, it's still relatively acknowledged that those predisposed to the condition may find that using certain birth controls can induce it when otherwise dormant (especially progestin dominant ones, such as Levest). Synthetic progestin is often structured very similarly to androgens, hence why the body may register it as such. I heard that more recent brands have improved upon its configuration, so it's less similar - but from experience, I would say Levest hasn't quite got it yet.