I came off it in September last year after nearly five years. I 'd also heard some really terrible stories and even posted a link on here to a site of possible side effects but I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected.
To be honest mood swings were hard to judge as my dad died shortly afterwards so I was all over the place anyway. Physically, it did take a few months for my periods to return ( and now I wish they'd go away again) , I didn't want any more children so wasn't really worried about my fertility. My weight has stayed pretty constant - which is to say I'm not anymore overweight than i was,
The only side effect that I'd read about which I would say i really experienced was pregnancy like symptoms - sore boobs, tiredness etc. Had me panicked a couple of times but that was partly my own insecurities at not trusting condoms at all.
Everybody's different of course, your experience might be different again from mine. Hope it all goes well for you.