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Birth Control Woes
Spacemilk
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi everyone! So I've been having problems with my current birth control and I need a recommendation for a new pill... I'm going to my gyno tomorrow and I want to make sure I'm prepared.
I started taking the pill this past May because I finally got fed up with how horrible my periods were (so painful I'd black out, had to miss work every month which was not good). I started on Levora, which did wonders for my period but gave me truly horrible mood swings. I was capable of dealing with them, because I knew it was the pills causing it, but I eventually decided to make the switch.
I switched to Yaz a little under two months ago and initially I loved it. No period pains whatsoever. Shorter period. I lost 10 lbs in two weeks. No mood swings at all, at first... then I went out one weekend a few weeks after starting Yaz, got pretty drunk, and ended up SCREAMING at my boyfriend for some pissy little tiny thing. I was an absolute psycho. This was a 180-degree change for me - normally when I get drunk I'm about as happy-go-lucky and chill as they come. At first I chalked this little episode up to stress, but then it happened the next weekend. And the next. And the next. We're talking emotional meltdowns whenever I go past tipsy, to the point where my boyfriend and I would almost break up.
I've finally figured out that it was Yaz, thanks to process of elimination (I haven't made any other lifestyle changes) and a google search that says I'm not the only one this happens to. This is not an acceptable situation, because I want to drink and hang out and have fun, without side effects. One of these episodes happened last night and this morning my boyfriend essentially said that when I drink with him it makes him so anxious he can't have fun even if I don't have a meltdown.
So, any ideas? I do not want to be a psychotic girlfriend and if that means I have to put up with shitty side effects to get rid of the mood swings, I'll do it. Switching pills blows huge monkey balls but I'll do it again.
tl;dr: I need a new birth control pill. Any ideas? If you're a guy, can you ask your girlfriend for me please?
Much appreciated!
Side effects I'm not willing to put up with:
-Mood swings.
-Excessive weight gain
Side effects I'm willing to put up with:
-Tender breasts
-Painful or long periods
-Mild weight gain
-Increase in breast size :winky:
edit: I know everyone is different, and others' experiences with birth control can be very very different from what I would experience. But if everyone comes back and says, "OMFG YAZ BLOWS" then I'm gonna assume that it's likely Yaz will suck for me, for example. Basically I'm just trying to get all the help I can get.
I started taking the pill this past May because I finally got fed up with how horrible my periods were (so painful I'd black out, had to miss work every month which was not good). I started on Levora, which did wonders for my period but gave me truly horrible mood swings. I was capable of dealing with them, because I knew it was the pills causing it, but I eventually decided to make the switch.
I switched to Yaz a little under two months ago and initially I loved it. No period pains whatsoever. Shorter period. I lost 10 lbs in two weeks. No mood swings at all, at first... then I went out one weekend a few weeks after starting Yaz, got pretty drunk, and ended up SCREAMING at my boyfriend for some pissy little tiny thing. I was an absolute psycho. This was a 180-degree change for me - normally when I get drunk I'm about as happy-go-lucky and chill as they come. At first I chalked this little episode up to stress, but then it happened the next weekend. And the next. And the next. We're talking emotional meltdowns whenever I go past tipsy, to the point where my boyfriend and I would almost break up.
I've finally figured out that it was Yaz, thanks to process of elimination (I haven't made any other lifestyle changes) and a google search that says I'm not the only one this happens to. This is not an acceptable situation, because I want to drink and hang out and have fun, without side effects. One of these episodes happened last night and this morning my boyfriend essentially said that when I drink with him it makes him so anxious he can't have fun even if I don't have a meltdown.
So, any ideas? I do not want to be a psychotic girlfriend and if that means I have to put up with shitty side effects to get rid of the mood swings, I'll do it. Switching pills blows huge monkey balls but I'll do it again.
tl;dr: I need a new birth control pill. Any ideas? If you're a guy, can you ask your girlfriend for me please?
Much appreciated!Side effects I'm not willing to put up with:
-Mood swings.
-Excessive weight gain
Side effects I'm willing to put up with:
-Tender breasts
-Painful or long periods
-Mild weight gain
-Increase in breast size :winky:
edit: I know everyone is different, and others' experiences with birth control can be very very different from what I would experience. But if everyone comes back and says, "OMFG YAZ BLOWS" then I'm gonna assume that it's likely Yaz will suck for me, for example. Basically I'm just trying to get all the help I can get.
Spacemilk on
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In me and my friends experiences you really just have to try a few until you find one that doesn't mess with you, you should be able to find something with the right balance of hormones that won't make you crazy, pile on weight, or be in pain all the time.
Good luck.
Long story short, talk to your doctor and your insurance (because sometimes they don't cover the new meds and whoa $$), and go from there. Good luck!
It does have side effects, the worst one my wife gets is an acne breakout along her chinline, usually in week 2 and lasting a week. It's easily covered up with makeup. Beyond that she loves it and swears she'll never go back to the pill.
I know it sucks but it really is trial and error, everybody responds slightly differently to the same pills. I would suggest you look into some pills that have generic versions because each generic will have similar but slightly different side effects so if you find one you mostly like you can try all the different generics and likely one will work really well for you (this is what I did).
I don't know much about all the pills out there I just know it's always worked for me; no weight change, it's helped with moods (sober or not), no crazy pains or anything.
But, as others said, definitely talk to you gyno about your different options and work to find something that works for you. It might take few more gos to get the right one/type.
I started off on ortho tri cyclen, it was fine save for I kept getting yeast infections (there's an increased chance of getting them with any of the triphasic pills - pills with a different dose each week), I went to depo which would have been fine save for the, oh, 40lbs I gained on it in 9 months. Yeah, not my favourite one ever, I'd basically only recommend it if you're definitely not sensitive to hormones (which doesn't sound like what's going on with you at the moment).
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It works on the same basic idea as the pill, by releasing hormones, (ie. not a physical barrier, as said above) but it's a lower dose because it's acting locally. Lower dose = fewer side effects, wheee!
The only issue I've ever had with it was once my boyfriend... caught it O.o Which was awkward, because I hadn't completely explained what kind of birth control I was on. Apart from that one time though, he says he normally can't tell it's there during sex either.
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What you're thinking of was the commercials for Yaz and some other pill that the same company makes. Essentially, they misrepresented some numbers that they got from some study on their commercials, and were smacked by the FDA with having to put out new commercials with corrects and a mea culpa. Since then, they've had a buncha lawsuits (And the FDA smacked them again for screwing up something about the amounts of some medicine in a drug, but I don't think anything came of that) but it hasn't been banned.
So, I switched to the Mirena IUD a couple of years ago, and it was the best decision I've ever made (when it comes to BC). The doctor checks on it every year at my regular check up, my semi-depression is gone, and my libido is back, much to the delight of my husband.
Also, a friend of mine uses and recommends the Nuva Ring.
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Look, I hate to pull this up because there's no way to say it without looking like an asshole, but the pill has a weird stigma for a lot of people, so things often get blamed on it that might not be its fault. Its not some crazy magic medicine that totally changes your body, it just does the one thing. If you come from a background where a lot of the people around you had uhhhh... opinions about contraception, its worth evaluating how comfortable you really are with taking it. The mind does affect the body in weird ways.
With that aside, because in enough cases it really is the pill and not just displacement or psychosomatic (and I'm not an asshole), you can't just rock up to a doctor and say 'my friends/mum/tv/some blog told me this pill was awesome, so I want it'. Direct drug marketing really is the devil (see above, since the company selling it got dinged for dodgy marketing).
As you know, people react differently to the same stuff, and a bunch of anecdotes won't help you figure out your own potential reactions. If you're having adaptation problems, a hormonal specialist is the best course of action, because they can do a blood test and interpret the results intelligently, and based on your background hormone levels they can narrow down types of pill that will work for you and what won't. Did wonders for me; the doctor I saw warned me off the common brands (Depo would apparently make me asplode) and found me an appropriate one, and I've never had a problem.
That said, I have UHC here. If you can't find a good specialist locally or afford the fees, the IUD recommendation is the gold option. Most female OB-GYNs use them, so I figure they'd know :P
It seems you could fix the situation by not drinking anymore.
Second of all, I didn't suspect the pill at all at first. I honestly thought I was just being super-sensitive to stuff my boyfriend was doing. (the first couple times it happened, I felt like he was flirting with some other girls, and I was decently drunk at the time, so when I was reasonable and sober the next day I just chalked it up to the alcohol, not BC at all) Also, these incidents started extremely soon after I switched to Yaz. You have to understand, I've spent the last month and a half or so trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and BC was the last thing I've thought of. Yet the empirical evidence is such that I can't see how it could be anything else. Yes, but like I said in the OP, I'm really using this as a gauge for overarching problems. I'm not going to read one post that says, "OH I LOVE ___" and go out and get "___". I'm really checking to see if there's unanimous consent about a certain thing, and then I'm going to go ask my doctor and see what she says. Honestly her advice to switch to Yaz was amazing, because it's been great except for this one thing. So I do trust her, I just think my perscription needs to be tweaked or something so this doesn't happen.
Thanks so much for the advice everyone, I'm going to my doctor's appointment today and I'll make sure to post what she says. One quick question: Anyone know anything about B vitamins and helping with your mood swings? I've read a little about this stuff here and there and was wondering if anyone knew about it.
Eh...my wife was on Depo for a year, and it induced horrible depression and 40lb weight gain - plus, it has a tenancy to cause bone loss comparable to osteoporosis (from what I've heard). It's different for everyone, but I've heard stories from at least four people (that I know) who had some really terrible reactions to it.
There are a million different brands and names for pills out there, many of which are the same thing, so the long and short of it is, talk to your doctor about it and he/she should have a good idea of what they can change and they should be able to look up what will be covered by your insurance too.
on that note, you could look into Seasonale or whatever the generic is
or, you can ask your doctor about taking Yaz (or a similar monophasic pill) like you'd take Seasonale, three months on and then a week off - it's pretty fantastic only having PMS and a period four times a year
She then switched gynos and brought it up again and they talked about an IUD (non-hormonal), and she got it and loves it. It's annoying the first couple months (heavy periods for 3-6 months after insertion is common) but none of the weight, mood, or more serious side effects.
She now uses it as a gauge for the quality of your gyno. If you bring up an IUD and they say "they're not supposed to be used if you haven't given birth," your gyno is relying on old wives tales rather than actual scientific data, and you should probably change to one who actually pays attention to science and medical research. They are typically more difficult to insert for women who haven't given birth, but rarely is there a biological reason why you can't have one. They're the most common birth control method by far in China, partly because of their efficacy and partly because of their very low price -- an IUD will last for 7-10 years.
I'm really starting to lean towards the NuvaRing. I have a couple of questions about it:
-Does it often cause a decrease in sex drive?
-How often are there problems during sex with it? My boyfriend and I generally have sex at least once a day, and frequent issues with the ring would really put a cramp in that.
-How common are yeast infections, irritation, and discharge? I've heard that loading up on yogurt helps with these problems; anyone have thoughts on that?
-So you go for 7 days without it... do periods generally last that long, in your experience? Based on what I've been reading it sounds like periods are very light and short. How is it in comparison with other birth controls?
-Breakthrough bleeding/spotting - yeah I'm expecting it for the first few months, but does it go away or is it a persistent problem?
Edit: Just wanted to say thanks so much for all the thoughts and help... it has been really great! This is not a very fun experience and your help is much appreciated.
Fixed that for you. Depo is not for everyone.
Why do I know so many women who have egregious periods?
here are the side effects that I encountered that eventually caused me to abandon it:
- weight gain -- not terrible, maybe five pounds, but noticeable
- extreme depression, to the point of suicidal thoughts -- this made no sense as everything in life was great at the time
- horrible, bizarre breakouts on my chest
- yeast infections -- I went from having had one my entire life to four inside of two months
- dryness during sex
the conclusion that my doctor and I came to was that my body was used to ortho lo, and that mirena and nuva ring delivered a higher dose of hormones and freaked my body out like crazy. it wasn't until after I was experiencing these symptoms that I did my research online, and found all kinds of stories of horrors about these methods... though far less with the nuva ring.
I think that if you're used to taking the normal dose of hormones on the pill (and you aren't on the low-hormone kind like I am), you'll like nuva ring just fine. and your doctor should be able to give you a sample of it, which is just one ring for you to try out for a month, to see how you like it.
We've done the Nuva ring thing and found it to be much better than messing with a pull every day.
Answers for you:
I saw no decrease in sex drive. In fact, we may have been having it more often.
Problems during sex? Seldom, if ever. You can hook it with a finger if you try, but otherwise, you won't even know it is there.
I again saw no increase in yeast infections or other icky side effects.
Periods seemed relatively light.
Breakthrough maybe once the first month, that was it?
We liked the ring a lot.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I didn't bother with a week off, I put one nuvaring in and took it out four weeks later and put in a new one right away. Doing this I had extremely short (48hrish) periods and no breakthrough bleeding unlike the one time I tried continuous pills.
I used it for several years and have had several friends with it, no one had problems during sex. One couple always ended up with it around the guy's penis afterwards (not a huge issue, you just have to put it back in). It is soft enough that most guys don't notice it, one guy thought it gave him extra stimulation.
One girl did have a lot of yeast infections while using nuvaring, but she had fairly frequent ones before starting as well. Nobody I know had a discharge problem, but several girls had more of the normal secretions than they did on the pill (but the pill can decrease normal secretions so that might only be in comparison to the pill and not in comparison to "normal").
I definitely had no decrease in sex drive, don't know about anybody else.
Currently I'm on seasonique and I'm actually loving it...takes a little bit for your body to get used to because it's a steady dose of hormones instead of a normal 28 day pack that shifts the dose as you get closer to the time you're supposed to start your cycle. On this one, you get your period once every 3 months. Which is acceptable to me personally.
I have a history of PMS type migraines and those have basically stopped.... I get a mild headache now and then but nothing like before. My sex drive during non-period months has actually seemed to Increase .... which my b/f is quite happy about. And I have not had any noticeable weight gain.
My insurance doesn't exactly cover it... it's $70/3months through mail order pharm. So that's definitely something to think about.
i have a ton of friends who say that the iud (mirena as mentioned previously) are fantastic
they aren't for everyone, however
i was supposed to have one, but i ended up being the 1% of women who can't have 'em
i'm on micronor 28, and i've found it to be much better than yasmin
it's better if you have blood pressure issues at all
i have never stopped spotting since taking it, but my periods have become pretty much nill
it's like i never have an actual period, i just spot for a few days and then go back to normal
though i do get cramps and mood swings, but i'm pretty moody regardless
really all you can do is try different things and see how it goes for you
my step sister is on the shot and she loves it
but my step mom says that it makes her absolutely insanely horrible to deal with
man reading about the nuvaring thing totally weirds me out
this is an informational thread
We have a friend who's on Mirena and likes it, but my wife uses a plain copper IUD.
Decreased sex drive has never been an issue for me with the Nuva Ring. In fact, I feel like that went up when I switched from the pill to the ring.
I've only ever had that one issue during sex, which, when we look back at it now is something we laugh about. But definitely tell your SO about it and how it works first, cause doing that in the middle of the act will totally kill the mood >.< Apart from that, neither of us feel it.
I've never had a yeast infection in my life, and there has been no type of irritation at all from the ring. A few of my friends that are also on it say they have a bit more normal discharge than usual for a few days after their period, so they have to wear a panty liner sometimes. I've never had this problem... though I love yogurt and eat at least a little cup thingy a day. I never heard anything about that affecting discharge though... but apparently it works for me!
My period never lasts the whole seven days. When you start, you put the ring in the day after your period ends, and take it out 21 days later, wait 7 days, then put in a new one. This doesn't mean that your period won't 'move around' a bit during those seven days (partly because it seems to get shorter). Mine took a few months to get in a steady cycle (it never was before on any BC) but now, I take it out on Saturday, and my period will start Tuesday morning and be done by Friday, and put the new ring in on Saturday again. This is especially awesome because I only get to see my fiancé on weekends =D If for whatever reason your period moves and is still going after you put the new ring in, you can still use tampons, just make sure you don't pull the ring out as well when removing it.
Breakthrough bleeding/ spotting has never been a problem for me either. It was for one friend when she started using it, but again, just needed to wear a panty liner for a few days until her body got used to it. Other people have complained about breakouts and weight gain... again, never had these either. I guess I'm lucky!
All in all, I love it and will never go back to taking a pill. Remembering two days a months is soooo much less stressful than remembering a pill at the same time every day!
Anyway she gave me 3 free samples of NuvaRing and told me to schedule a followup. I've got to finish my current pack of Yaz then I'll start the ring.
Also today I bought a ton of b-complex vitamins. As I finish out my pack of Yaz (I just started a new one 5 days ago so I've got a little while) I'll let you guys know whether the supplements help or not.
a full multivitamin is an idea once you run out of B. They have the B complex and iron etc in them plus all the extra minerals and whatnot. Just be careful with some of the ones that have extra herbal stuff in them - for instance, the 'antistress' ones often contain valerian, which works great for some people but gives a lot of other people really weird dreams. 'Women's' ones can contain a whole shitload of random herbs whose interactions with your hormone balance can be unpredictable. check the ingredients, do some googling.
As for yeast infections, as far as I know the yoghurt thing is bullshit - its very difficult to change your gut flora significantly, and that goes double for the bugs living elsewhere. Yeast infections are best treated with the standard medication (its often a one-dose antifungal pill nowadays), and warding them off is pretty closely related to managing stress and hygiene - immune system maintenance.
Just for the love of christ don't start douching with anything. The vagina's a self-cleaning organ, let it do its thing. Most douching products (including 'home' remedies) just make things worse by screwing up the pH balance in there.
Haha, this is VERY good to know. I don't know if I'm unique in that my pee changes colors when I start to get sick, so I probably would've thought I was catching a cold or the flu or something.
Levora
The story:
In May of this year, I went through a particular awful period. Blackouts, throwing up, I might have performed surgery on myself to remove my ovaries if I had been capable of moving from the floor of my bathroom. When the pain and agony wore off, I said "Fuck this shit" and went to the local Planned Parenthood clinic to get some BC. (I didn't have a gyno at the time) They gave me 3 packs of Levora and I was off. Took about two months for the breakthrough bleeding to completely stop.
The good:
-Period pains were pretty much gone and my period was very predictable
-My boobs grew an entire cup size!
-After about a month, I had the clearest skin I've ever had in my life. I don't have acne but I do occasionally have spots. I didn't have anything happen while on Levora.
The bad:
-I gained about 5 lbs. Meh, it wasn't noticeable so this is a pretty small one.
-This isn't really a "bad" thing but my periods were not any shorter. I was hoping for this side effect and was disappointed not to see it with Levora. Also I tended to be pretty bloated during my period - I remember one time my pants didn't fit and I had a crying fit. :?
-The dealbreaker: Mood swings. I started dating a guy about 2 months in to Levora, and luckily while he didn't see me act like a psycho, I was on the verge of having mental breakdowns trying to interpret his every little action, behavior, or word. I would literally sob like a maniac over a little thing, then five minutes later I'd be calm and cheerful. My poor best friend had to take the brunt of these mood swings. I finally realized that my weird behavior, which was completely different from how I'd been in the past, was the result of BC and I switched.
Yaz
The story:
I finally got a gyno (yay) and she recommended that I switch to Yaz because it is one of the few (possibly the only) pills that the FDA has approved to help with PMDD (pre menstrual dysphoric disorder) and other mood swing-related pill side effects. On top of that it's supposed to be the best at helping with acne. I started taking Yaz at the beginning of September.
The good:
-I lost 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks of taking Yaz. Some of that was Levora-caused weight, some of it was water weight. Either way I felt great!
-No mood swings while sober! In some ways I actually feel more well-adjusted than I did before even starting BC.
-My periods were not only super light and super painless, but they also only lasted a few days! Keep in mind I have only had two periods while on Yaz, but both were very nice. Also Yaz apparently includes a diuretic in the pill, so I have no bloating whatsoever while on my period.
-My sex drive went through the roof.
The bad:
-My skin issues returned to pre-Levora status only now it seems that spots take longer to heal. But it could be that since I've only been taking Yaz for 2 months, I haven't seen the effects manifest themselves yet (my gyno initially said it'd take about 3 months to see marked improvements in my skin)
-My boobs went back to their pre-Levora size
-The dealbreaker: Mood swings while drunk. I like to drink, I like to go out with my friends. I don't get wasted, I'm not an alcoholic, but it's an extracurricular activity I enjoy. But the fact is, a few sips of any alcoholic beverage turns me in to a raging psycho to my boyfriend (so far I haven't gone off on anyone else *shrug*), and that is not acceptable.