First note that I am going to my MD next week to talk about this. I am just looking for some first-hand experience with this pill. I’ve done a little research with past threads and other internet search and this appears to be the most appealing so far. I’m kind of scared because I’ve never used hormonal b.c. before.
My reason really is because I am SO SICK of the PMS. Pregnancy is almost a zero issue to me. Alesse looks appealing because it’s low-dose. Also, I’m not sure about getting too much estrogen…this probably doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but my “woman’s intuition” tells me I don’t need that much estrogen.
I pretty much have the gamut of PMS symptoms. My biggest concern is that I want to avoid weight-gain as much as I can (I am regular exerciser and I’m a mostly healthy eater…no big health issues except the PMS). I’m not currently prone to migraines.
So, what about it? I’d like to hear all experiences, good and bad. Also, if you have thoughts about other brands that sound like something I would like, chime in as well.
I’ve never tried Alesse. I was Ortho Novum for many years. I liked it. It worked well for me.
Now I’m on the NuvaRing. The idea of it is a little creepy at first, but it’s not that bad. Granted I’ve only been on it a week, but I normally show signs by now if I’m going to have a problem.
I used Alesse for a couple of years and loved it. I only had good side effects: shorter periods, no more cramps at all, some slight breast growth (but not an unbearable amount), acne clearing up. I loved it, was switched to Levlen which is the same amount of estrogen, and it was pretty much the same.
Then, someone decided that my acne could stand to be cleared even more. I said “OK, sure, switch me,” and was put on Ortho-Tricyclen. Not the low-dose kind, either, so it was an immediate jump from 20 to 35 (and I am barely five feet tall and of average weight, so I could definitely get away with a low-estrogen pill). Nothing particularly bad happened; I still didn’t get cramps or anything, but my periods got a little heavier and longer, and my acne didn’t clear up and I’d even say it’s gotten slightly worse. Also, I suddenly became inexplicably manipulative…I can’t tell yet if that’s a good side effect or a bad one, we’ll see where it gets me
Anyway, I personally thought Alesse and other low-steady-dose pills were great. But, of course, there are so many wild variations on what sort of side effects one will have with birth control pills that it seems you often just have to try it and see.
This is, of course, not medical advice, just my experiences (I’ve posted approximately twice in the last four years, just making it clear I’m not trying to get banned so soon!).
I’ve been on Ortho Tricyclen since my early twenties. I haven’t had any problems and my periods are very light. They last about 3-4 days. I have no cramps or PMS.
Last year, I switched to Ortho Tricyclen Lo because it was cheaper through my student health center. I was told I could switch back if I didn’t like it. I haven’t really noticed a difference between the two. It is a low dose pill, but I haven’t had any break through bleeding. The only difference I saw was that the pills are smaller. I have not experienced weight gain on either pill.
Just finished my first month on Alesse. So far, I like it. My period was very light, although I did have killer cramps the first day.
I will warn you though…I had raging PMS this month. All carbon-based life forms annoyed me in the extreme. My temper was about as short as it could get. I usually get a little cranky, but nothing like this.
I just switched from a pretty high-dose pill that was giving me migraines. I have no idea if it is the Alesse that caused me to morph into the dragon-bitch from hell, or just the drastic change in hormones. YMMV.
And Gundhilde …please tell me you are joking about breast growth on this pill! That’s the last damn thing I need (already a 38 DDD :eek: ).
I used be on Ortho-Novum (1/35) I was happy with it for about the first 5 years. I started to notice a decrease in sex drive around then, and, at the same time I wanted to switch to a low-dose pill, so I went with Lo/Ovral (actually I take one of the generics of it, called Cryselle) which is a mono-cyclic pill – one dose through the whole cycle – and have been very happy with it. I have a few friends on Ortho-Tricyclen Lo. I would like to switch to the patch as soon as they create a formulation that is more similar to my Lo/Ovral. The current patch (Orth-Evra) is very similar to the Ortho-Novum pill, according to my Nurse Practitioner.
Even before the BCP, I had very regular, cramp-free periods, so I can’t speak to its affects on that. My periods are much lighter, maybe 1 day shorter (now 4 days).
The #1 thing to know about hormonal birth control is that there are MANY different kinds, all of them somewhat different chemically, and each person has a different rection to each formulation. So if one doesn’t work don’t think “birth control pills aren’t going to work for me.” Explain your dissatisfactions and your NP/Doctor should be able to guide you to a solution (there is even a troubleshooting guide! really!)
I’ve been on Alesse for several years and I’m happy with it. As others have said, I have shorter periods and if I get cramps at all, they aren’t bad. Not sure about the overall effect on acne because I am using various other products to treat that. I do still get PMS, which for me means some bloating, crankiness, a few more zits right before my period and being ravenous. Overall, I’d say it’s been a good experience.
I’ve been on Alesse for about 7 months and really love it. Nothing but good side effects (yes, breast growth, but it was minimal - now I am just a ever slightly fuller 36D), weight loss, acne is lessened, and my sex drive is up. I hate to say it’s a Panacea for me but - hell, it’s a Panacea.
I found Ortho Tri-Cyclen to be the Ugly Bitch Pill From Hell :smack: .
Well, I was a small 34 B and became a larger 34 B…so it was indeed minimal, but when you ain’t got much to work with, it’s more noticeable (and decidedly less annoying!). Besides, you probably would have noticed it by now; it started for me in the first month or so and was over within weeks. So, no worries!
Huh. I was on Alesse - switched over from Ortho Tri Cyclen b/c I was looking for something to help what I perceived as a low sex drive. Not sure it helped - I didn’t really notice much difference. I liked it, but I don’t know squat about the hormonals - I’ve never really noticed any hormonal changes in myself around “that time of month,” meaning that I don’t really suffer from PMS. I also have always had light periods and few cramps (yeah, I’m lucky), and while my light periods got even lighter (sometimes non-existant), I didn’t really notice any changes in the cramping.
I’ve recently switched again to Mirena, the hormonal IUD. Love it. Lots. Apparently, this IUD also uses a low dose of hormones (lower than the Pill? I don’t know, but it could be the case) more effectively as it’s delivering them at the source, as it were. It also has the happy side effect of eliminating periods in some women, and I haven’t seen mine since insertion (which was in February). Insertion is a bitch - be warned - but the rest is great. I love never worrying, never even thinking about birth control.
I’ve been on Mircette for the past year and as of a month and a half ago switched to the generic version. I’ve had absolutely no problems with the switch, and the only problems I had when starting the Mircette was that for several weeks my breasts were s-o-r-e. But that went away. Oddly, I’m a little more crampy on the pill than off, but it’s nothing bad.
I don’t get nasty headaches during my periods with this brand, either. I can also extend the cycle a week, which you can’t really do on something like Ortho-TriCyclen, because my natural cycle is about a week longer than the pill one, and I HATE that.
I’m virtually uninsured or I’d think about looking into getting a Mirena. Except that I haven’t had kids, so insertion is guaranteed to be a bitch, it sounds great.
I was on Alesse or the generic version for about 7 years and loved it - low dose hormones were good for me (I’m prone to migraines), my periods were 2 days long, no cramps, better skin, slightly bigger 34Bs, even my leg and eyebrow hair grew slower.
Last year I made a huge mistake and switched to a different pill because it was cheaper (Mircette). I gained 20 pounds while training for a marathon and kept gaining even after I finally went off it. It has been absolute torture to lose the weight because my metabolism got totally messed up.
I’ve now been off the pill for a year and have about 5 pounds to go. As soon as I’m back to my pre-Mircette weight, I’m going back on Alesse - it was good for me, plus my boyfriend and I hate condoms. I’m not willing to do the Mirena (right now, anyway) because I might want to get pregnant within 5 years (or at least, I’d like the option) so I’m not a good candidate for it.
I’m a high dose girl. After many problems with other brands I was on Dianette, a pill with 35mcg of oestrogen and an anti-androgenic progestin usually used for acne. It suited me really well for 3 years, but I decided to switch to a lower dose.
I’m 6 days into my first packet of Yasmin, and so far I’m not noticing any changes from the status quo. Very happy.
For me, going up a cup size (in my case from a 30E to a 30F, so it’s noticable only to me) is something I can deal with, and since that’s been my only side effect since starting Dianette, I’m happy enough.
On pills that don’t suit me I’ve had weight gain (16lbs…I ate everything in sight), acne, depression, heavy periods, mood swings and severe nausea and vomiting.
Just keep trying different combinations until you find what suits, and don’t be afraid to be counter-intuitive. When I was having problems with nausea I tried Dianette, even though it has a higher oestrogen, and in theory would have made things worse, however, it worked for me.
I keep up on these threads because I’m looking to start BCP again soon, and I’m pretty sure that I need something higher-dose than what I used to take, which was Ortho Tri-Cyclen. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I had my period for seven days every time–longer than my natural five-day cycle, though I would say the total amount was reduced by a third to half. I think perhaps a monophasic pill would take care of that, though.
Cheaper? Good Lord. I switched to the generic because I moved to an area without a Planned Parenthood. Goodbye twenty-one dollar pill packs…sob I’m paying thirty bucks each for the generic!
I also just finished my first month on Alesse. I’ve been on Loestrin and Ortho Tricyclen Lo, and thus far, I like Alesse more than either of them. I usually have huddled-in-the-fetal-position-on-the-floor cramps, and I had almost nothing this time around. It was like a five-second cramp that seemed to be saying “Hey, look out, it’s coming.” My period was extraordinarily light, and only lasted four days. I could definitely get used to that.
I haven’t noticed any weight gain, and my boobs are big enough that I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything there, either. I had one day of unadulterated rage, but I think that was more due to work stress than any PMS. And now that I notice, my skin is clearer. Unexpected bonus.
It was $18 a month for me at Planned Parenthood and the Alesse generic was $35. I was poor. Should have paid the money anyway, as it’s completely screwed me up.
I tried the Nuvaring and it was utter hell. I’m talking the kind where I had such bad anxiety attacks and mood swings that I almost went to the emergency room to try to get something to make it stop. People tell me “keep trying different combinations” but if there is a chance another brand I try gives anything near that reaction, NO FREAKIN’ WAY.
Is there any way to predict “if patient did bad on A, avoid B and C, but she should try D”?
The mood problems can occur with most kinds of hormonal contraception, and for that reason most women with bi-polar disorder, depression or anxiety disorders are usually advised to use other forms of contraception.
The only good news is that if your particular problem was caused by the type or progestin in Nuvaring, it shouldn’t occur again on any other type of BCP, as they contain different progestins.
The advice on changing brands has to do with what side effects you’re complaining of, and your general build. As a rule, for example, smaller, lighter women can get away with lower doses of oestrogen than heavier women.
The advice is usually to try a pill with the same dose of oestrogen and a different brand of progestin, before switching to a different dose of oestrogen.
In my case, knowing that my sister wasn’t having any side effects on a certain brand made me suggest to the Dr that I try that as a last resort. What do you know, it worked!
If you can ask your female relatives for their experiences, you might be able to have a better idea of what your body is going to like.
In my case it means losts of oestrogen and as little progestin as it can get away with, other people are the opposite. Just be glad that there are lots of formulations to try.
BTW you don’t have to give them all a 3 month trial. If it’s doing horrible things to you, 1 month is enough before switching.
