Scared of the pill.....

[Miss Sparkly]

I've been spending the entire weekend fretting about my dr. appointment on Tuesday. I've been off the pill for a year and a half and am loving the sex drive and my one week of happiness. That's the problem - I only have one week of happiness, menstrual headaches, extreem fatigue that interferes with my job and life and I can't get rid of the acne on my shoulders and chest - even with a perscription. None of these were issues while I was on the pill, but, I did have some very severe maritial issues at that time and a horrible doctor (I've since switched) who perscribed me Cymbalta when my syptoms were not severe enough to warrent Cymbalta which caused a lot of issues for a couple months. Life is now going good overall, and I am a lot healthier mentally and physically then I was. I guess I'm still a bit scared of pills and am looking for any GOOD stories about how the pill has helped

I am going to ask for loestrin 24

WILL NOT ever touch Depo again

don't want an IUD and wish I could use the patch but it doesn't stick to my skin well

 

[Amanda.Rx]

Hey there!

It wouldn''t be a bad idea to TRY the pill again. It would most likely help with the headaches and acne. It does WONDERS for my acne. My only problem is sex drive. Birth control pills can definitely diminish your drive over time. However, if your other symptoms are making your life awful, then try it again!

The marital issues may have been completely unrelated to the pill. The beauty is, you can ALWAYS stop taking it if you feel like things are getting worse.

The IUD isn''t going to help your hormonal-related issues much. The patch shouldn''t act ANY differently in your body than the pill. I tried the patch too, for a while, and it didn''t stick to me either.

Just express your issues to your doctor. Hopefully this doctor will be much better than your last one. I wouldn''t be scared of it. You can''t always stop it when you want to.

 

[Amanda.Rx]

You *can always stop it when you want to- oops.

 

[mary poppins]

Different pills have different levels of hormones and associated side effects. Perhaps a pill other than the one you were using will work better for you this time. You should discuss your concerns with your doctor to see if he/she has any suggestions.

 

[yssie]

I take ortho lo - I specifically wanted the lowest possible dose of hormones.



I did notice a tendency to want to eat more than usual. I went into it knowing I'd have to revamp my eating habits if I didn't want to gain weight, and so I've actually lost a little, but it's something I had to consciously counteract at first - my body has settled into it at this point (3 years in).


My "natural" sex drive is also in the tank - I don't generally physically feel the need to get it on randomly in the middle of the afternoon (not sure if I ever did though, so that could just be me), but I find that if I tell myself that we're going to have sex and I'm going to let myself enjoy it, it certainly is enjoyable

Even with the low hormone dose my skin is fabulous! I'm bad about taking the pills - I've forgotten and doubled up, I don't usually take it at the same time every day, I "extend" and "skip" to time my period and I've A) never had a pregnancy scare, and B) never had spotting/skin issues/irritation/upset stomach.


Lots of upsides, a few downsides, some pills will work better for you than others. I hope you find the right one quickly!

 

[pancake]

Date: 5/31/2010 2:48:39 PM
Author: mary poppins
Different pills have different levels of hormones and associated side effects. Perhaps a pill other than the one you were using will work better for you this time. You should discuss your concerns with your doctor to see if he/she has any suggestions.

Precisely - different pills also contain different progesterone and oestrogen analogues, each with their own set of pluses and minuses. There should be one that suits you, but it may take a few goes to see what is best.

 

[zipzapgirl]

Have you ever thought about Nuvaring? It is inserted and released the hormones inside of you. I started using it because I was having migraines on an oral contraceptive and had read that this delivery might help a bit.

I have had quite a few friends who didn''t take well to the pill or shots, so I feel your pain. Hope you find something that works for you this time around.

 

[joflier]

Thanks for starting this thread. I''m in the same boat. Been off the pill for about 3+ years. I just got raging hormonal mood swings on it. I''d like to maybe possibly try again soon, but I just dunno....The fear of just breaking down crying because someone looked at me halfway sideways or something is immense.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I started on the generic of lestrin 1/20 - so far so good after one pill - LOL! We''ll see in a few days how it goes

 

[Ninna]

Another Nuva user, luv it!

 

[vc10um]

I''ve been on Loestrin 24 for nearly a year now.

I don''t really have any mood swings different than the bit of crankiness I had prior to going on the pill, so I''d say it really hasn''t had an affect on my emotions.

As for the sex drive issues, I think my SO would attest to the fact that if my sex drive were any "healthier"...we''d be in trouble.

I really haven''t noticed any issues or any sort of progressive decline. I get in the mood as often as I did in college. If it''s less, it''s only because I drink way less now!

So don''t be scared! Like Amanda said, you can always stop if you feel negative effects.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Date: 6/6/2010 4:58:17 PM
Author: vc10um
I''ve been on Loestrin 24 for nearly a year now.

I don''t really have any mood swings different than the bit of crankiness I had prior to going on the pill, so I''d say it really hasn''t had an affect on my emotions.

As for the sex drive issues, I think my SO would attest to the fact that if my sex drive were any ''healthier''...we''d be in trouble.

I really haven''t noticed any issues or any sort of progressive decline. I get in the mood as often as I did in college. If it''s less, it''s only because I drink way less now!

So don''t be scared! Like Amanda said, you can always stop if you feel negative effects.

I''m loving it too! I''m usually so high strung/high energy and I refuse to take prozac. This pill has mellowed me out just enough to enter into "normal" yet not feel depressed or dead to the world.

Plus my skin is amazing! aahhhhhh