"i have been off and on this medication for the past year and a half. the first month or two, i am very bloated, moody/depressed, no sex drive, and i have a period that lasts 2 weeks. if i stick with it for a few months, the good thing is that i stop having a period altogether, and the bloating and moodiness seem to stabilize. however, it continues to have a very negative effect on my sex drive, which seems kind of counter-intuitive for what you want in a birth control medication. like at least one other contributor here, i thought it couldn&#039;t actually be the pill, but when i&#039;ve gone off of it (because of side effects), the side effects are gone within the week."