I will be seeing the neurologist tomorrow (finally) about my possible (very likely) pseudotumor cerebri. I saw my gynecologist yesterday and she warned me that it’s very likely that he will want me off the pill (Junel Fe 1/20).
My gynecologist told me to come back to see her if he does tell me to stop taking it and we’ll come up with another option. But, I’m bored and have a lot of time on my hands so I figured I could do some reading on other options while I wait.
So, what other options do I have that will help with the pain, long duration, heavy flow, blood clots, irregularity, and did I mention pain?
By the way, I will never take Depo again (I was on it long enough to get 2 shots and my period never stopped while I was on it and for 2 months after I got off it).
Have you had a child yet? If so I would highly recommend an iud. I had some trouble with mine but would get another in a heartbeat if I could. I think mine was placed too high in my uterus and it got wedged in the top of my uterus and got kinda stuck. I was the 1 in 1000 or something to have such a thing happen but it was great for the several years prior. I had really light periods, no cramping, no pms. Fantastic! If you’re concerned about hormones could go with a copper iud which I think is hormone-free.
If you haven’t have a kid/don’t want an IUD, you might try the Nuvaring. I tried honestly 4 or 5 different types of pills of various types/dosages and they either didn’t touch the pain, caused major breakthrough bleeding every month (2 periods every 28 days = awful), or made me totally emotional. Everyone is different. If you don’t like the ring, you can just take it out (shots last for several months, IUDS are harder to take back out). It’s easy to put in and take out, you can’t feel it when it’s there, and though I still have other daily medicines to taking a pill daily wasn’t hard at all, the constant, consistent dosage from the ring just seems to work better. Good luck at your appointment!
Is it just the pill, or will you not be able to use any hormonal birth control? A copper IUD might make your periods heavier and more painful, but you won’t know how it will affect you until it’s inserted.
I’m not sure about which birth controls will cause problems but my gynecologist did suggest that Mirena might be an option (I haven’t had a kid - isn’t that an IUD?) What’s the deal with IUD’s and not having kids? She knows I haven’t had any.
If you haven’t given birth, your cervical opening will be smaller and it may be more difficult to insert the IUD. There are also some doctors who don’t like to give IUDs to childless women because it’s a semi-permanent birth control, but since your doctor mentioned Mirena and knows you don’t have children, I don’t think you’ll have this problem.
In addition to NuvaRing and IUDs, there’s also the patch and the implant.
Well she also knows that having children isn’t high on my bucket list (actually, it’s not ON my bucket list) and that if I ever do have children I’d be just as happy adopting as incubating (probably happier). However, after my latest colposcopy and biopsy, I will take any option over having something stuck in my cervix again so I guess an IUD is out unless she wants to give me general anesthesia first.
I think she said something about which hormones were suspected problems. I’m trying like hell to find out which ones and I’m not finding what I’m looking for.
Holy crap there are a lot of birth control options out there! Ya know, I don’t even care about the birth control aspect of contraceptives. I can always use condoms and a diaphragm for that. I just need something that will take care of the damn PCOS problems without making my head want to explode at the same time.
Well thank you for the suggestions. I’ll keep them in mind. It seems I’ve been given an extension for now. My doctor said that he’s not going to recommend that I get off the pill for now because the Diamoxx is controlling my headache quite nicely and getting off the pill will make my life horribly miserable. He doesn’t think the maybe benefit to my head is worth the definite horribleness to my lady bits. It’s nice to have a male neurologist who understands the misery that is PCOS.
I know you won’t take Depo again, but just in case there are others out there… Depo really is the best thing I have found to manage what my doctor thinks is probably endometriosis. I’ve been on it about a year, no periods, only a couple hours of manageable cramps, and interestingly, no IBS.
Of course, that comes with weight gain, increased depression and frequent breakouts, but at least I can function again.
Well, this isn’t birth control, but I take tranexamic acid - you have to get it prescribed, but it makes such a difference, and there’s no weight gain/spots.
Are you married or otherwise in a committed relationship in which you will only be having sex with the same man? If so, I highly recommend surgical sterilization for your male partner. It’s usually outpatient surgery. Men even those who do not have children have considerably less trouble getting surgical sterilization than women. And with the possible exception of slipping on a puddle caused by a leak in the ice pack your partner is using as he recuperates, it has absolutely no physical risk for you. The sex is even better afterwards (I think it’s that overwhelming feeling of freedom caused from it being almost impossible to get pregnant.)
The relief of not having to think about birth control can improve one’s health significantly, not to mention that no longer having to put extra hormones and chemicals into her body could help with her period problems. The thread may be old, but someone having similiar problems may find it useful.
I loved my Mirena. Got one after baby one. No periods. No cramps. No PMS. Glorious!!! I got it put and two months later got pregnant with my daughter. As soon as she arrives, I will get another Mirena. Can’t speak highly enough about it.
I’ve got a mirena and haven’t had a period in 2 years. But I’ve had kids, believe this makes it easier to install. I also suspect it’s causing low grade mood swings/depression but I don’t know if I can be bothered removing it to check.
I started getting migraines in my late 30s, and after more than a year of suffering through them, I quit taking hormonal birth control, and they disappeared. Like congodwarf, I have PCOS, so the trade off for no migraines is weight gain, more unwanted hair, and crazy menstrual cycles. I’m not happy about it, but I was losing three days out of five to migraines, so no migraines wins.
There are issues with Nuva rings. Vanity Fair ran an article about the risks of Nuva ring and other third generation hormonal birth controls. I know that Yaz is facing a bunch of lawsuits, and Yasmin just about made me insane.
I have a close friend, childless, who has opted for Mirena. The insertion was not pleasant, but she’s very happy with the results - very light to nonexistent periods, especially. I think if your gynecologist is sensible, there are things you can do - local anesthesia, muscle relaxant, anti-anxiolytic meds - that can make the insertion more bearable.
