I’ll be part of the next wave of reservists going overseas, and I have already been talking to my doctor about doing this. I’m not going to live in a tent and have to deal with tampons, cramps, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need to take a shower every day while I’m on my rag. Can’t count on having that luxury.
I have been skipping the placebos for years now. I have my period every once in a while for good measure, but otherwise, why bother?
:eek: $50 for three months !!! :eek:
Checks online converter (assuming you’re American) USD 50 =AUD 75.85.
I get 4 months worth (4 x 28) for AUD 18… which is USD 11.85 !
Yay for Australia when it comes to birth control !
Wow. I never thought of that! Going the whole time without a shower would be pretty hard…good luck over there, BTW.
Oh, and since I am the OPer, the rest of you can feel free to hijack away!
All my friends are interested in this too. Let the revolution begin!
Great tip about the baby-test as well. It will probably end up costing the same as Midol and tampons anyway…
There are some good links and experiences in a thread I started in 2000, some of the links are still active too! Also, some real life experiences from some people that I haven’t seen post in ages.
I have known this trick for years, but it doesn’t really work on me.
I have tried it twice. Both times resulted in spotting for three weeks until I was back to my next round of sugar pills. Then I had a real period. For me three weeks of spotting was much worse then just having my period for four or five days.
I don’t want to rain on the parade, but…
am I the only person here who is creeped out by the notion of completely erasing a natural biological function for the sake of convenience (does not apply to chicas who are really suffering).
YMMV
I just got a script for the pill made up yesterday and it cost me AUD $49.95. Maybe mine is stronger or something post-pregnancy.
There’s been some research that has linked the amount of periods women get now to cervical cancer or something. Historically, women would spend so much time being pregnant that she wouldn’t mentruate as much as we do now. The Seasonale people use that in their information:
http://www.body1.com/news/index.cfm/6/26/1
It makes some sense, at least to me.
I’m planning to ask my gynecologist about this the next time I see her (just waiting for my insurance to kick in). I have endo, too, and the thought of not suffering two weeks every month…I’m on the Pill right now, and it has seriously reduced my symptoms, but I’m still a crying, blubbering mess for at least four days a month with lesser symptoms the other week and a half.
I do have the whole pregnancy fear, especially since I already have an irrational fear of pregnancy, and I do worry that it will make it harder to get pregnant when stopping the pills in a couple of years when we’re ready for kids, but that’s something to ask the doc about. I’m glad to hear that someone’s experiencing something positive - I’ll have to follow your lead and look into this.
Ava
Are you breastfeeding, Leechy ? My SIL needed a different type of hormonal BC while breastfeeding, and she said it was more expensive than the usual (not that she actually paid for it, she got it free, but that’s another thread 
) That could be why the huge price difference ?
Couple of thoughts on a couple of issues.
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Insurance: Would you believe there are medical insurance plans in the U.S. that don’t cover BC pills, but DO cover Viagra?
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Stopping BC pills: This is just my personal experience, but I was on the Pill for 5+ years while finishing school. When I stopped I didn’t menstruate at all for a few months. Then I started in just about every other week. And I felt absolutely horrible. I was not PG, although that was my wish at the time. I had to have a D&C to “clean things out” and get started again. Ironically, after a couple of years of trying, I needed fertility treatments in order to conceive, which made all the trouble I went to on birth control kind of irrelevant. Had I but known! I don’t think at all that the pills caused my infertility, I just never was ovulating regularly at all and did not know it.
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I read one theory as to why humans menstruate but other mammals generally don’t. (There may be an exception, but if there is I don’t know about it.) Humans are also sexually receptive all the time. This offers more opportunity for vaginal, cervical and uterine infections. The theory was that the shedding of the uterine lining was a protection against such infection.
Well personally I am against all hormone based birth control…(I get nasty side effects, (for instance, my regular depression becomes suicidal depression…) have tried at leas half a dozen variations) but thats for ME, not for you gals. I agree that the monthly "visit from Aunt Flo’ " is rotten and I seriously would consider taking pills straight through if I thought I could.
I agree women today have more periods than in previous generations. If I think about my grandmother who had 10 children …Grandma missed at LEAST 90 periods…
(I have no desire to emulate her… i dont think I could if I tried, since Im 12 weeks along …and Im 33 … but still … missing that many visits… sthe mind boggles.)
**juji_mojo, ** I had a similar problem with the Pill. God, I was so sick and miserable. Depo was different for me-- my PMS-related depression (probably due to dreading the agony) dissapeared. I honestly have never felt better.
I would recommend it as an option to look into for any woman with endometriosis. Mine was horrible. During the pain, I was not only thinking I was going to die, I was * hoping * I was going to die. The Pill did nothing for my cramps.
Finally, I found a doctor who recommended Depo. It changed my life.
I just hated my periods, and I decided on Depo for other reasons than that I’d no longer get my period (namely, the once-every-three-months thing rocks) but DAMN is it a good side effect.
I never wanna go back.
I’ve heard this described as “the best-kept secret of modern medicine”. I agree with all the women here, I just don’t get why this information isn’t freely distributed to all and sundry. You’ll have to do the pregnancy test thing, but that seems like a small loss to me.
I’m not allowed to breastfeed so I don’t think its that. I checked the box and there is 3 months worth in there. I’m hanging out for the month to pass before the Pill starts working again. As I ended up preggers despite the Pill and condoms I’m being ultra cautious now. Actually that may explain the increased cost - i think the Dr put me on a stronger Pill this time.
Great idea to skip the sugar pills, my dad (a doctor) told me to do that back when I first went on the pill. Am forever gratefull to him for that advice.
Just wanted to add that the hormonal IUD also causes most women to have very light periods, or no periods at all. I’ve had mine for two years now and I get a little spotting most months, some months nothing at all. My anemia is gone, it’s wonderful. I hated the Pill but I love my fantastic plastic.
I am in agreement with this. Whilst not a natural-earth-tree-hugging-ommmmm- type I’d like to be, but frankly, I’m lazy , and I have no problem with those that use pills or fantastic plastic ( and have used pills for years) I just cannot think that putting chemicals in your body until you get the right combination that doesn’t result in unfavorable side effects, just cannot be good in the long run for the body.
Since going off the pill (three years now) and using no BC except exhaustion, crankiness and condoms ( which are apparently a life time supply now 
) my monthly migraines have lessened in severity.
Crankiness is a wonderful form of BC. The only side effect is a pouting husband.
**And now, my bad joke that I’ve been itching to use upon reading the Title **
Skipping periods? Wouldn’t it then be a run on sentance?
Bah ha ha ha ha.
Thank you for not pelting me with rotten fruit. Enjoy the next act.
Makes sense to me. I have an autoimmune disease that usually shows up in babies or very small children. I didn’t get it until I hit puberty. But I’ve never been on the Pill. I’m a little leery of doing so; since it was most likely the hormones that triggered my immune system into going nutso on me, I’m not real keen on hormonal birth control. I’m in remission anyway, so I’m not too concerned about it. I know when my platelet count is low and I know how to handle it.