I’m having a brief moment of clarity so I thought It’d be a good time to post about my new birth control, Alesse, with minimal rage.
Though I’m in my late 20s this is the first time I’ve taken birth control (I was worried about just this result). By day three of my first pack, I was crying like a baby at random intervals (and I never cry) and picking fights with my significant other for no reason. Up one second, down the next, bloated and bleeding (lightly) for six weeks straight. Plus the nausea and depression. At least my sex drive’s hanging on (for now).
I’ll be seeing a doctor in a month or so but everything I’ve read seems to indicate that his/her advice will be to ‘wait it out’ for the next 2-3 months. There was a warning for people with previous depression in the literature that came with the prescription, but nothing about the pill itself causing depression.
Right now I’m on the blanks and feeling a bit better. Any 'IANAD’s got any advice? Should I switch pills, methods, wait it out (or at least until it causes me to break up with my s.o.)? Any supplements I can take to ease the side effects? Does the time I take it make a difference (I’ve been taking it in the a.m. and the nausea starts about an hour later, continuing until the next day)? Am I a bad feminist for cursing The Pill (though I’m just as angry at the amount of cash being put into impotence drugs)?
The literature I got with my pills said some women have a problem with nausea if they take the pill first thing in the morning, and if that happens to take it at dinner or before bed. The emotional issues are likewise not unusual, but side effects like that are supposed to wear off in a couple of weeks. I dunno what to tell you about those problems but talk to your doctor.
I’d say wait it out for three months, although I think it’s pretty likely that Alesse isn’t right for you. If you still have problems though, switch. FWIW, Ortho Tri-cyclen and Depo-Provera (the shot) made me a Psycho Hose Beast, while Alesse was just what I needed. Other women tolerate Tri-cyclen and Alesse sucks for them. Everyone’s different - you’ll probably just have to find something that works for your body.
I don’t know about taking supplements, I’m not sure if any of them can monkey with the hormones. I know that St. John’s Wort is contra-indicated for women on the pill. Ask your doc or NP before starting on soy isoflavones or evening primrose (I used to take both before I got on the pill for more regular and less crappy periods).
Birth control is one of those things you just have to keep trying until you find the one that is right for you. I went through a bunch of different pills - and had different rotten problems with each one. Then I got the Depo shot - which was wonderful for me. No periods and no PMS.
Damn it - now I’m starting menopause and can’t have it any more. Wah!
Ortho 7/7/7 was terrible for me, I can’t remember if it was the white pills or the pinkest ones that caused me to flip. I had a much better time with Nordette, I think it has more progesterone.
Personally, I wouldn’t wait the 3 months. If you’ve given it 1 month, that seems like enough to me.
Wish I had a better suggestion. I finally quit the pill entirely at 36, and was pregnant by 38. Then my husband had the Big V so I’m done with it.
(Insert the standard IANAD disclaimers, etc., here!)
If you can, wait it out for three months: your body is still adjusting to having its hormonal settings tweaked, but I agree with Queen Bruin: it sounds like Alesse doesn’t have the right dosage for you. Don’t be afraid to ‘shop around’ and remember that your body will change over time so something that works really well now might not work so well a few years down the line. If things get really bad though, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your doc right away: even if that particular method would have turned out to be the best for you, is it worth going through hell until things settle out?
And I find it interesting that a side effect as depression isn’t listed when the other side effects include things like bloating, headaches, nausea, mood swings, etc., etc. If you suddenly bloated up like a dead water buffalo and started crying at the drop of a hat for no reason, wouldn’t you start feeling a bit depressed about it? :dubious:
Good luck, and hopefully your SO will be understanding that hey, your body chemistry is being tweaked here! It’s not like you’re bursting into tears over a GEICO commercial because you want to.
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Different pills have different forms of estrogen and progesterone. From what my doc said, the progesterone is what really affects your moods and causes most of the problems. The estrogen is added to mitigate the side effects of the progesterone.
After “waiting out” Depo-provera for three years though paralyzing depression, the death of my libido, and painful sex, Allesse was wonderful for me - the only side effect I had was an increased sex drive. I was on it for ~2 years with no problems. However, I’ve known a lot of women who try 5+ different pills before they find one that works for them.
Or you could do what I did and get the Mirena IUD. It has the lowest daily dose of hormones of any method of hormonal birth control, it is good for 5 years, and you don’t have to remember to take the @#$R#@ pill every day.
Oh, man, this brings back bad memories of my brief 3 month or so (?) stint on the pill…it was over 20 yrs ago, so couldn’t even tell you what brand or kind it was, but it made me absolutely crrrazy!
Prior to that, my periods were minimal, but once those hormones were in my bloodstream, I had crying jags, in public, over nothing…not good. I’d get sick to my stomach, too. My friends were getting frightened.
The icing on the cake is that at the time, I wasn’t even getting any action, so WTF was I putting myself through it for?
I told a friend of mine that one night while out in one of our favorite gathering places, and he said “what are you waiting for?”, and I took the little circular package out of my purse, dropped it on the floor, and stomped on it. Kinda always wondered what whoever had to sweep that up may have thought???
Went back to an IUD after that, then a diaphragm, then a cervical cap…I honestly couldn’t stand what those hormones did to me. My last two long term bf’s had V’s…Viva L V!!!
Echoing the advice to try something different. I loved Ortho Tri-Cyclen; it was like a miracle drug, while Junel (a generic form of Lo-Estrin) made me into the bleedy, moody bitch from beyond.
I would also say get to the doctor stat. I’m not fond of the usual advice for when you’re having terrible side effects with medication; “Just wait it out. Just give it a couple of months. Your body will work it out.” You know, I’ve taken a few medications in my life, and when they suited me, they suited me from day one, and if they didn’t suit me, my body let me know right freakin’ now, and it was up to me to listen to what my body was saying. Get to a good doctor and find a pill that doesn’t make you wonder if pregnancy wouldn’t be so bad after all. Or some other method of birth control. Not having babies shouldn’t be making you miserable. I gave up on the hormonal stuff a decade ago, and never looked back. (If you’re lucky like me, you have mittleschmirtz so you have no doubt when you’re ovulating. )
I spent 8 months or so on Yasmin, happy as can be, no discernible side effects. Then I switched jobs and my new prescription coverage meant that I could pay 5 dollars every three months for a tier one generic pill, or keep going with the Yasmin for 29 dollars a month. I was all, “WOW! Five bucks every three months! I’ll do THAT!” The doc switched me to a generic form of Ortho TriCyclen. I stuck it out for two months, and they were the worst two months ever. Mood swings, skin breakouts, weight gain, and then, after bleeding for three weeks straight, I went back to the doctor. I decided that a pill that I know won’t make me crazy was worth the extra cost, so I went back to Yasmin.
If it doesn’t clear up by month 2 or 3, ask to switch to a different pill. I had great results on Mercette but I didn’t do well with Ortho Trycyclene (sp?), and my sister couldn’t handle Mercette but loves her Yasmin.
I am now on Depo Provera and it works great for me. However, I know someone who had their hair start to fall out when they were on it. I know another person who gained a lot of weight on it.
Any time you fuck with hormones, you’re going to have side effects. The one thing I love about Depo is that I don’t get periods. I have horrible periods where I’m in incredible pain and bleed like a stuck pig, and am just generally a bitch. But everyone’s experience is different.
At least you’re not allergic. A friend of mine can’t take any form of oral contraceptive because she’s allergic to synthetic hormones or something, and she had a bad experience with Depo.
I did hear that the Mirena coil is good. Ask about that if nothing seems to work for you.
I want to simply second this - there’s no reason that you should simply sit on side effects that are bothering you this much. Talk to you doctor. You may find yourself very surprised by his or her response. Honestly, given all the options for birth control out there, I suspect your doctor will offer an immediate prescription change. There’s no need to begin by making yourself miserable for several months. If, after you’ve tried all the options out there you still find that they all give you those or similar side effects, then you can consider sticking with a medication for several months.
I’m a guy, but I have to cast my vote for the Mirena IUD as well. It’s the best of the birth control methods I’ve seen (in SOs and regular sexual partners, that is): doesn’t affect sexual pleasure like condoms, doesn’t intrude into your life like pills and patches, and doesn’t seem to have the hormonal side effects of the pill. It makes sex painful for some women, though. Like a couple other posters have said, some things will work with your body and some won’t. You just have to figure out which ones do.
I had the same reservations about new BC products after I had reacted so horribly to the Nuvaring (severe depression, panic and anxiety attacks, unable to eat or sleep and near suicidal. And that was only after a week. Seriously). I switched docs though and he gave me some good information.
Like SusanStoHelit said, if you have tendencies towards depression, a higher ratio of progesterone to estrogen can exacerbate that depression. What you want to try is something that has a higher ratio of estrogen to progesterone. The nuvaring has a lot of artificial progesterone but not much estrogen. He had me try Ortho Novum (and now Yasmin) and both of them have worked great. My drive has gone down, but I’ll trade that for not becoming suicidal and freaking out daily.
You poor thing. I really feel for you. I’ve been there myself.
When I first went on BC, my gyno gave me the pill. I was miserable: constantly nauseous and moody. I lot a lot of weight because I couldn’t eat and that’s not good for someone who’s already scrawny. I tried to get my doctor to switch me to another type of pill, but she kept insisting that this was the “right one” for me and I just had to wait until my body adjusted.
Looking back on it, I wonder if she was getting some kind of kickback from the manufacturer. I can’t think of any other reason for her behavior. I was reacting badly to this medication.
I finally went to another doctor who immediately switched me to the Depo shot. It was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I had a 100% improvement in my mood and it also addressed another medical issue that I had. I praise that stuff to the heavens whenever I get a chance because it really did change my life.
I started on the Nuva Ring a couple of weeks ago. According to my doctor the effect of the hormones is lessened because it they are being absorbed differently. (Sorry that’s not a great explanation but my brain is mushy today).
I figure I will give it a three month trial and then decide if I like it or not. My main worry is raging PMS, as that is what I experienced when I was on the Pill.
Oh, I forgot, I actually do have some advice for PMS - I take a B-complex vitamin for the second half of my cycle, and it does seem to make a huge difference in PMS symptoms for me.
That’s right, Mirena is essentially the same way. The hormone is administered locally rather than systemically. The actual amount of hormones that make it into your bloodstream is very low, so the risk of side effects is less.
Also, remember to check the type of progesterone. Levonorgestrel, the progesterone found in Allesse, is the same as what’s in Mirena. Medroxyprogesterone acetate is in Depo-provera, drospirenone is in Yasmin and norgestimate is in Ortho-trycyclen. Chances are good that if you have a reaction it will be to the progesterone, so you may want to avoid another pill with that same type in it.
Cat Fight I use the Ortho Evra patch and I’ve never experienced any side affects. That could just be me, you have 3 patches per box. You wear one every week changing the place you put it. I find my “cheeks” work best for me. I can’t tell I have one on. True they can get stuck to yer unders but if you place it right this won’t happen. When my 3 weeks are up you leave it it off and you get your period soon after that. Mine is on a Wednesday everytime. I like the patch more than the pill IMHO. Then on that Sunday you put another on and start again.
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