Okay, ladies--which would you choose: menstrual migraines, or wild mood swings? (TMI,

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay, so this is what I’m dealing with.

Off the pill, I sink into a deep depression the week before my period. The sobbing, no one likes me, I’m a waste, etc. kind of depression for about 3 days. Then, the period itself is a super-heavy and exhausting. My periods weren’t like this (or at least, this bad) until I had a baby; a year of it, and I ran to my OB/GYN and was placed back on the Pill to regulate my cycles. Once back on, the mood swings stopped and I feel “me” pretty much the entire month, and the flow is next to nothing.

On the pill, I get migraines the last few days of the active pills, and then on and off the week I’m taking those inert hormone-free pills. My doc gave me various migraine medications, which were okay but often too little too late. I didn’t fully realize the Pill connection until we started trying to have a baby. Once I was off the Pill, and the entire time I was pregnant and nursing–the migraines stopped. I don’t think I had a single headache the entire 2+ year period.

These migraines aren’t the worst of the worst–they’re just enough to flatten me on the sofa for half a day, downing ibuprofen and begging for silence. I get some aura (once or twice they were visual; usually they’re actually a weird twingey feeling in my skull–painless, but warning me the pain is coming in about a half hour), and I become incredibly noise-sensitive.

I had the worst headache I’ve had in years yesterday, and now I’m debating what was worse–the depressing mood swing, or the crippling headaches. I’m nauseated, exhausted, and hoping coffee will help numb the pain.

Of course, one temporary solution might be to go for RuffLlama 2.0, and that is something we’re considering–but not for another few months, if at all.

So, ladies (and gentlemen, if you’re listening)–what would you choose? The migraines, or the depression?

I’m a 35yro nonsmoking female, BTW. (Important as being over 35, a smoker, and on the Pill is a dangerous trio. My OB assured me since I don’t smoke I could be on the Pill until menopause.)

Edited to add–dangit, another migraine side effect is I can’t friggin’ think. Teaching yesterday was a pain (literally) as I couldn’t get my sentences out; I kept mixing up the words. Apparently did the same here. Can’t fix the thread title, durnnit!

2

I guess the depression. I’ve never had a migraine but if they’re as bad as everyone says (and I don’t doubt they are), I don’t want anything close to that!

Depression sucks, too, obviously, but I guess I’d just choose what sounds less bad.

3

The depression sucks (from the sounds of it, yours is a 10, and I just get about a 5), but the migraines suck too (I get aural migraines about once a month, and regular migraines every few months). I guess I’d start by switching Pills to see if a different formulation would work. Otherwise, I’d probably get a prescription for imitrex and take the Pill.

So I vote migraines!

4

I’m with Campion, and I get menstrual migraines, too.

Advice part - I know you didn’t ask for it. Taking the pills in time is a habit you just have to form. I don’t get aura (or particularly bad migraines, comparatively speaking), but one side of my nose will get stuffed up just before, and I start pressing my fingers against my temples and brow area unconsciously. I’ve trained myself to listen to these signals and take the pill before I actually feel the pain. Denial is the hardest part of this - oh, I’m just hungry - I can sit through it - I’m dehydrated - it’ll go away on its own. Wrong!

I already deal with depression, and the menstrual depths are the suckiest. I’d rather even that out for the sake of others if not myself, and deal with the migraines with medication. (Of course, I take meds for depression, too.)

I also agree with **Campion **that you’re not stuck with just the one type of bc pills. You can try out one which might not drop you so much. /advice part

5

Having suffered both, I’ll take the mood swings any day.

I got an IUD for precisely this reason. Especially if you have migraines with aura, taking hormonal birth control significantly increases your risk of stroke. Considering that many of my family members have suffered strokes, it’s a risk I didn’t want to take.

Four months after I got my IUD, my mother suffered a stroke, and I found out that I have the same heart condition she has that led to the stroke. I consider it a really good choice.

Migraines are more than just bad headaches, and they can do irreversible damage to your body and your brain. If you can avoid them, you should. There are plenty of birth control options out there. Copper IUDs today are incredibly safe and much more effective than even the pill. I’ve been so happy with mine, I can’t tell you. My periods are heavier, but my moods have settled and at six months out my body is really adjusting. I would recommend an IUD to anyone over hormonal birth control, any day. I don’t know why more people aren’t told about IUDs as a viable alternative. Doctors seem to want to push the pill or the ring, but so many people I’ve talked to have the same problems with them that I did.

6

I’d also suggest switching brands of pill, or trying a mini-pill, or a vaginal ring, patch or IUD with a low but constant hormone dose. You still have far more options to try before consigning yourself to one form of hell or the other.

7

Totally agree with WhyNot. I’m not sure where people get the idea that there is “the pill.” I believe there are around 45 different unique combinations (many of which also have a generic).

8

Migraines or mood swings? Mood swings all the way. They suck, but I too get menstrual migraines only while on the pill and those were debilitating. I didn’t on the minipill but my periods were so late I had a couple of scares on it, then we broke up, and I haven’t been on anything for a couple of years now.

I got the headaches on three different brand of pills and the ring (which I otherwise loved).

I’ll have to figure out what to try should the opportunity arise again, but for now, I’m staying off any birth control, since I don’t need it.

9

I vote neither. Has your gynecologist or neurologist discussed continuous birth control pill usage with you as an alternative? (If you haven’t seen a neurologist yet, you perhaps should.)

I had problems with terrible migraines every day of my menstrual period while on the pill, and shortly before the period. (I have them otherwise, but not every day.) My neurologist asked if I’d like to go on continuous birth control pills. No period means no menstrual migraines. I asked my gynecologist and she said she saw no reason not to do that, so we went ahead with it. She writes the prescription to note that its for continuous usage.

Maybe every 2-3 months I get some breakthrough bleeding that won’t stop in a day, so I go off the pill for 3 days. I do get some migraines during that time but it’s much better than before.

10

Huh. I guess I’m different. I’d take migraines. I know they suck, but at least people can deal with you when you have a migraine (by leaving you alone to suffer). I have a harder time explaining away mood swings. Plus, depression just sucks worse for me than any physical pain. But it’s more important what YOU prefer than what I or any other person chooses.

That said, I agree you should talk to your doctor about getting a better scrip. You shouldn’t have to pick the lesser of two sucky options. There are plenty of different types of “pills” out there.

11

Yeah, I’m thinking I need to talk to my doc. This month was HORR-I-BLE, and it’s hard on everyone. The depression is frightening to me because it seems so real at the time, and they do affect everyone…but so does the headache. RuffLlama was worried when he came home yesterday afternoon, excitedly chirping “Mommy Mommy Mommy!” then finding me prone on the couch. He kissed my “owie” several times and brought me Ouch Mouse, a mouse-shaped ice pack we keep in the freezer while DeathLlama rubbed my head.

Today, I’m weak and queasy, and feel like I’m always on the verge of another whopper of a headache. I’m debating whether to start the new pill pack on Sunday–maybe skip, call my doc Monday, and go from there.

12

Go for the mood swings and lots of soy milk and Vitamin B complex. It’s working pretty well for my perimenopausal mood swinging. (“Mood swings” sounds too much like fun - like you’re at a playground, and the swings have been painted psychedelic colours or something. They need a better term for it - “Wanting to rip everyone’s face off,” or “Run! Here she comes again!” or “Hormone roller coaster” or something.)

13

Just what I was recently contemplating. I’m 52, and I’m on the last few months of BCP in my life, I believe. My gyn recently started me on a different pill to up the estrogen level a bit, as I was experiencing some horrific depression and anxiety as I approached menopause. I was already on the pill, but I felt the nasty mood swings right through it. My mom’s death a year and a half ago probably exacerbated this.

But this new pill is, I believe, giving me migraine-like symptoms during the week of inert pills. My GP wanted me to come off of them, but I think I’ll take the migraines over the mood swings. At least the migraines don’t make me fantasize about buying a small hibachi and lighting it up in a closed car.

14

Second this. I can’t handle any type of hormonal BC, but skipping ‘periods’ (i.e. withdrawal bleeding) altogether has worked for some friends with wicked PMS.

15

I finally broke down crying just in exhaustion. I fell asleep with this fucker, I woke up with this fucker, and I am shuffling around like a stroke victim all day today because of this fucker. This gets OLD.

I did a little Googling and did confirm this is, indeed, a migraine and not just a tension/sinus/bad headache. Got my info mostly from this MSNBC article, just FTR. I met all three criteria bam-bam-bam: 1) lasts 4-72 hours (I’m at 24 hours now); 2) located in one specific part of the head (top of the right side–and spreading from there), often accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting (oy, yes–so freakin’ queasy x24 hours now); 3) pain gets worse with noise, light, or physical activity (noise–especially anything remotely “bang”-like, such as dropping a book, practically shatters my skull). It’s reassuring, I suppose, to know what it is. I just hate that it is.

One description totally nailed what I was trying to explain to DeathLlama/hubby–yesterday, as the headache warned of its impending arrival, I just couldn’t…talk. Trying to give my students directions, teach concepts, and the words just got tangled up. Then I read this about the aura: “You may also have an unpleasant feeling of pins and needles or numbness in parts of your body [I wouldn’t really notice, as I have permanent nerve damage in my spine so tingling is just a normal occurrence], and in some cases, develop some difficulty talking. If aura occurs, it usually begins five to 60 minutes prior to the onset of headache pain.” I first notice the verbal vomiting around 30min before the pain started. So apparently…I have verbal aura?

I am SO not starting the pill packet tomorrow. I restarted the Pill in February, was fine until about September/October, then started getting headaches that each month have been progressively worse. This fucker has me yelling “ENOUGH!”

Considering we might be trying for a baby in 3-4 months anyway, maybe I should just quit the thing. But yes, again, I will be calling my doc. Question is–OB or GP?

teela brown, thankfully my depression never hit that stage–yikes. I hope you find a workable solution for you. When I was postpartum I wanted to put my head through a glass window a few times, but never to the point where I would actually do it or feared I might (now I know how bad I get; I’ll be asking my OB for postpartum help should there be another baby).

Cat Fight, I read about taking 3mos of the Pill continuously, rather than opting for the inert week, but I fear that would mess with my body’s ability to ovulate. My sister’s system was all honked up once she got off the Pill; I fear the same for me since I’m not so sure I’m done with my eggs yet. My doc and Ob mentioned it to me once (“There is no medical need for a woman to menstruate when she’s on the Pill”), but it kind of squicks me out. Not that I like my periods or anything, but it seems unnatural not to have one if I’m not preggo. Since we might be trying soon, I want to not mess with an aging system any more than I have, if that makes sense.

16

I don’t understand this. Is there a medical link between continuous dosing of the Pill and subsequent ovulation issues? Because continuous or interrupted, you’re not ovulating on the Pill for the years that you’re taking it.

17

Norethindrone.

Serious fucking lifesaver. Total suppression of the menses, No PCOS, no migraines, no mood swings. No more bleeding like a stuck pig, no more paralyzing cramps. Sweet heavenly bliss.

Please, for the love of your body, ask your OBGYN about total suppression. It wsa the best thing in the world for me, it was bad enough I was considering seeing if i could get a panhystoeuvrectomy to stop the fucking insanity that by body subjected me to. I would rather have been hollowed out totally if it would have stopped the bleeding, mood swings, migraines and labor pains and dealt with the menopause effect.

18

Crap - tough call! I’ve had migraines, but they’re not tied to that part of the month, and they’re pretty rare, and from what I’ve heard, mine are on the very minor end of the scale.

Any chance you could eliminate both? Either take the pill nonstop (Seasonale?) where you only have to deal with the menstration a few times a year, or add an antidepressant such as Zoloft to the non-pill mix? It sure sounds like there’s a rock and a hard place involved in your month-to-month life :frowning:

On preview, I see you’ve already discussed the longer-term pill.

19

Just FYI, I think any non-cyclic (single-dose) oral contraceptive can be taken as continuous contraception. There’s also no real reason to stop at all, but IIRC they have the “occasional period” method because some women feel nervous about not getting a period at least once in a while.

I used to be that way, but no longer! Now I get grouchy when I do get breakthrough bleeding and have to stop taking the pill for 3 days to “reset” my system.

20

I don’t know enough about the connection between all types of BC and future conception to comment intelligently, but if the OP fears for her fertility there’s little evidence that taking a break from the hormones every four weeks is better than taking them continuously. As mentioned, you’re not really getting your period, your body is experiencing withdrawal from hormones, which can send your body and mind on a bit of a rollercoaster (some info).