Birth Control Concerns
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Haven- Ortho-tricyclen was the WORST! It gave me horrible acne and turned me into a moody witch. The switch to Yasmin turned everything around, though. |
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I started out on Ortho-tri and was on that probably 5 years until I decided to try the patch. Then I was on seasonale and then yaz. Maybe I should try orth again... I haven''t taken it since high school and I don''t remember having as much moodiness. Then again, maybe my hormones, etc have changed since then.
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I tried to talk BC pills once just so I could see if it would make my chest bigger. I think I lasted maybe...three weeks. I couldn''t remember to take the dang pill...then I was a crying moody mess. I chucked the idea, but bigger breasts weren''t worth the trauma I was going to put myself and my friends and family through.
I used an IUD for a few years. I wish they made reliable birth control for men. 
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So I just did some research and found a whole website devoted to the negative effects of taking birth control, specifically Yaz and Yasmin. Now I don''t know what to do
 I never really put a whole lot of thought into the negative side effects of birth control but now I''m wondering if I should be on any at all.
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I am one of the group that doesn''t think taking BC is very good for the body. I know that many women fell they have no choice, but I think that BC should be the responsibility of both partners and not put such a health risk all on the womens body. It definately carries risks, so my advice would be to explore all your options and not view the pills as the only choice. There are many other options that are safer for long term use. IMO.
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hey Miracles!
Warning: this is completely OT!!! I am actually in the other camp... I think taking the pill can (perhaps) allow you to remain youthful (youthful bones) for longer, by having a slightly elevated level of oestrogen in your body also, might be clutching at straws, but I wonder if taking the Pill would allow you to fall pregnant later in life, as you have released fewer eggs? hmm, something for the medicos to discuss, I guess, I know it''s totally only a theory Anyway, on the social side, I have mixed feelings about the Pill, women do feel under pressure to take it, and I''m not so sure it hasn''t had some fairly deep negative social effects, as well as plenty of positive ones! And delayed birth, to the point of infertility, is one of those negative things, ironically! |
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absolutely!! i have never taken bc and have never been pregnant, so there are definitely options that don''t mess with the natural course of the body. |
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I''ve never had acne, but when I took Yasmin, I had the worst cramps and moodiness ever. I was taking Ortho-tricyclen before that, but I switched gynos and the new one was very against Ortho, so she insisted that I use Yasmin. I have never been more miserable-breakthrough bleeding, and cramps all month long. So then I switched gynos and they suggested that since I did fine on Ortho before, that I should try Ortho-tricyclen Lo. And I''ve been on it ever since.
I should mention that I had awful cramps, headaches, moodiness and inconsistent periods until I started taking the pill. I would have a period and then 3 weeks later I''d have another one, and then 8 weeks after that, I''d get the next one. It was horrible, and so finally the Ortho evened it out. My best friend is on Yaz, and she has been on it forever-and has no problems at all. I really think it''s just a matter of trial and error, and finding out what works for your specific body chemistry. |
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I think that the main thing is finding what works for you. I think I''ve been on, maybe, 6 or 7 different kinds of birth control and only this most recent one works best for me. I have absolutely no symptoms. No moodiness, sensitivity, acne, weight gain, etc etc etc. There are risks to birth control, but I think it''s important to note that lots of doctors prescribe birth control, which means they feel the benefits outweigh the risks. There are benefits other than just no pregnancy. Using hormonal birth control for over 10 years cuts your risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer in half, for example. I think it''s important to get information for reliable sources (peer-reviewed journals, for example) before you trust a random website. Health care professionals work hard to stay up to date on medications and I don''t think it''s fair that they immediately get discredited because someone sent out a chain letter email that said you were going to die if you take birth control. Sorry for that rant but I''m almost a pharmacist and I see a lot of misinformation everyday about medications and their risks and I like to encourage people to do their research in the right places. This is obviously a very personal choice and there are lots of other non-hormonal options for birth control: An IUD and natural family planning are popular options. But if you do choose to continue on HBC, you may need to try a few before you find the right one. |
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I felt 100% better when I went off the pill, as did 2 or 3 of my close friends. I was much moodier, and my friends dealt with depression issues on the pill. Definitely it is not for every woman. But the other methods can "fail" if you aren''t careful, so you have to balance the costs and benefits!
RE: pills = fertile longer. The eggs age whether or not they are released with ovulation, so I think that one is a bit of a myth unfortunately. |
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I generally stay away from these threads :) for fear of giving TMI....but Oobiecco, I had to start taking something bc of potentially serious issues and I was given Yaz....I hadn't broken out like that since...ever....ever....and while I have mood issues to begin with, I would get VERY VERY sad and cry a lot in the two months I was on it. .... Dr. had initially given me another pill (I forget the name) whilch I'm taking now bc I switched on my own....I had initially researched it to death and chose the Yaz initially bc it was supposed to make me NOT break out and the one I'm taking had a bad rep according to some...great according to others...I'll let you know how it goes and will get the name...I think the pill is probably safer than other medications if you ask me....
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haha this is hilarious
The Pill 'skews women's taste in men' http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24174493-601,00.html TO millions of women it has been the great liberator over the past four decades, allowing them the freedom to control their fertility and their relationships. But the contraceptive Pill could also be responsible for skewing their hormones and attracting them to the "wrong" partner. |
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This is a much snappier, more entertaining report of the same study...
http://www.gotgames.com.au/forums/general-discussion-165/pill-makes-women-pick-bad-mates-26375/ Basically, the story is kinda saying the pill (which pill?) makes us docile, and because we think we're pregnant, we want to hang around with our rellies (not sexy boyfriends) and prep for the 'big event' haha anyway, sorry Obiecoo, this is completely OT! 
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I really do appreciate everyone''s input. I can''t believe how awful I feel on the Yaz and I was really feeling like maybe I was just naturally becoming a moody witch! It''s so comforting to see that other people have had negative affects with bc and that many have been able to find one that fits them well.
MoreMore- This sounds exactly how I feel! Let me know the name of the new pill you have when you find out. I''ve taken Yaz about a year now but it seems like the past couple of months have just been the worst. It seems weird that I wasn''t super-affected until now. Does anyone use the "sympto-Thermal" birth control method? (I think thats what its called) DH is Catholic and they were really pushing that method at our marriage retreat and I think we may look into it. Apparently it has like a 99.0% reliability rate. |
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I would talk to my doctor about trying a different pill before going off it all together. The different estrogen levels between the various brands can affect you differently. I personally have only like ortho trycyclin (not ortho tryciclyn low).
If you have serious cramps you likely have endometriosis. Being on the pill is the best way to keep it at bay. My dodctor calls the pill a fertility perserver. |
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Not sure about "sympto-thermal" but the Fertility Awareness Method is very reliable and scientifically validated. There is an excellent book that explains the method, "Taking Charge of your Fertility", which has a compantion website with very useful forums, including forums for people using FAM to conceive and people using FAM to avoid conception: http://forums.ovusoft.com/default.asp I know some people who use this method and if you are very careful it works as well as barrier methods. Not as effective as the pill, I believe. |
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I''m pretty sure it doesn''t have a 99% reliability rate unless you throw out all the people that didn''t use it properly/have wonky cycles/were not super-conservative in their approach etc. In other words, the ones that got knocked up! The pill''s "typical user" rate is below 99% (though "perfect user" is more like 99.7%), and surgical sterilization has a 1-2% failure rate, for example. Those two methods are usually considered more effective than behavioral methods, apart from abstinence. This method really fits into the Catholic ideology on sex and reproduction - they want each sex act to be open to conceiving a child - this is why no barrier methods, pill is too effective and "interferes" with God''s will, etc., and it is a good choice for disciplined couples willing to schedule their intercourse and *are* on some level open to receiving a child or are put off by barrier or hormonal b/c methods. I personally know of several family members conceived through this method! Though in fairness, failures of other b/c methods are responsible for a few others. But the "natural family planning method" takes most of the jokes: You know what they call people who use it? Parents... (cringe) |
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I'll look tonight for sure and post it....(too lazy to walk down the stairs LOL)....
Diamond- I KNOW you're coming from a good place, but I think your statement is wrong..it doesn't mean she LIKELY has it or could have it....I know what you're saying in that craps CAN be a sign, but it's really not a blanket thing like that...she's already freaked out enough LOL JK :) 
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I am laughing so hard right now....I have been looking in to this method as the pill makes me LOOPY more messed up than Gary Busey.... |
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That''s very interesting! Dreamer: Thanks, I''ll look into the site! The marriage retreat we went to made it sound like most doctors wouldn''t know much info on the natural birth control methods and that we would have to go to a special Natural Family Planning doctor. Is that right? It seems weird that a gyno wouldn''t know enough about it to give me some info. Cara: There are many pregnancies while using the method but they were mostly traced back to not knowing enough information to use the technique properly. So the 99% should be for couples who fully understand and practice the method. Same as with the pill... if you skip a day or whatever then your effectiveness rate goes down. MoreMore: Thanks for checking on the name for me! I don''t think I''ve ever heard of that one so I''ll look into it. IWanna: I HIGHLY doubt you''re more messed up than that basket case! I hope you find a good solution though 
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U look just like one of my sorority sisters... cutie. 
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I don't think you are comparing apples to apples saying the pill and natural family planning have the same effectiveness... The Catholic Church might be cherry-picking its information on this one! This fda chart is old, but has the general idea:
1 yr failure rates (ie. pregnancy occured) for couples using: regular pill: 5% (typical use) 0.1% (lowest expected rate) natural family planning: 25% (typical use) 1-9% (lowest expected rate) But if you compare typical use, natural family planning has a 25 % failure rate, which is too risky for many couples, and is 5 times more risky than typical pill use. If you compare ideal use, the pill is at least an order of magnitude more effective than one would expect natural family planning to be (0.1% vs 1%). And for many couples, the pill will be almost 2 orders of magnitue more effective (0.1% vs 9%.) The effectiveness of natural family planning will vary a lot with implementation - how diligent is the woman at charting, how regular is her cycle, how much self control does the couple have, how conservative are they in setting safe-for-sex days and no sex days. Obviously if you take natural family planning to the extreme and practice abstinence (an age-old method), then it should be highly effective. The typical use failure rates make this a method best for those that have some reason for not using other forms of b/c, will be very disciplined, and are OK with the higher failure rate of this method. It DOES fit with the Catholic Church's ideology of having sex "open to the possibility of having a child." So make sure that you are on board with that ideology as well  .As for the pill, yeah try changing it up. Pre-pill, whenever I found myself crying I was almost always PMSing. Post-pill, I am just confused when I find myself crying. Are my hormones a wreck because of this pill? Am I gaining weight cause that is what I do or because of this pill? Why crying this month and not the previous 30? Am I stressing for other things and just blaming this. Currently on nuvaring (which I love for convenience reasons) but would like to give up the hormonal b/c just to see what its like without, but we are not ready for a little one yet! Finally, married and out of my 20s, I could consider a less effective method as an unexpected pregnancy would not be a disaster, but I don't think we have the self-control/discipline for natural family planning. Not until we are actually planning to grow our family, that is
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