Ooops! That site says you only need to change it once a month, which is different from what I remembered. Sorry for the misinformation above.
I’m on the Pill and although my placebos start on a Sunday, my period doesn’t start until the following Friday or Saturday. It’s usually over by Sunday or on rare occasions, the following Monday. Mine are practically nonexistent even when they do occur.
I’ve also skipped a month a few times with no serious side effects, though one month I had worse PMS than normal.
I’m quite interested in the method Goo mentioned, and I hope it is approved as safe in the US next year.
Does anybody know if an IUD can be used with a tipped uterus? Will it aggravate any discomfort? I didn’t see anything about this on the site I’ve been at.
My 2 cents
I first used the pill - Triphasil 28 - ages ago, and was a psychotic bitch. SCARY mood swings - I thought I was bi-polar. Silly girl, I never mentioned it to my docs. Then I went off it, and was fine.
I went back on later, but switched to Ortho-Novum 1/35. I’ve been on it for about 2 1/2 years now, and I adore it. I believe it’s a large dose, compared to the other, more popular types. But - it’s the same dose every day, so no swings caused by fluxing hormone levels. It’s also a lot better if you miss a pill - very straightforward, since each week is the same senario. You can be more flexible with the time you take it as well - no need to obsess that you ingest at exactly 7:00pm each night. More like between 7:00 and 9:00.
A great side-effect - my periods are super light. It’s more like spotting now. No more cramping, either.
Finally, it’s ultra-cheap if you have insurance. I get the generic for $5/pack. Whooo!
What is the difference between low-dose and high-dose birth control pills?
I felt this too, and when I told the GYN, he said, “Hmm… that’s not supposed to happen.” And so we changed to something else instead. But at the time, I thought that maybe I was driving myself up the walls for no reason, thanks for letting me know I wasn’t nuts.
Karl, basically the difference is the level of hormones they introduce into your body. BC pills first debuted at high-doses, but were gradually replaced by lower-dose versions for a couple of reasons. One–high-dose pills tend to have a higher rate of blood clot complications (although there is still debate on whether or not this claim has been “proven”) Two–there were some fears that BC in high doses might contribute to breast cancer. This second reason was shot down pretty brutally, but the shift to lower dose pills had already occurred. Probably owing a lot to the attitude that “the least amount necessary to do the job (prevent pregnancy) is good enough”.
Ironically, however, high-dose pills have actually been shown to reduce the rates of uterine and ovarian cancers, help prevent osteoporosis, AND can eliminate acne much more sucessfully than their weaker sisters.
I’m using Depo now, and other than the complete randomness of whether or not I get a period- I can go months without, then get one for no discernable reason, ie. it doesn’t seem tied to the timing of my shots or anything like that- I find it works out wonderfully for me. I always forgot to take the pill when I was on it, so this is much better.
Mrs. Gaffer is on an IUD after we were blessed by the Skuzzbucket about two years before his expected arrival (I love saying that we are part of the 0.1%!!). Anyways, she couldn’t feel it after it was in place but I sure could. We eventually went back and had the copper string snipped a little shorter. No problems now. She likes not having to think about it and that it is non-hormonal. Her cramps are worse than when she was on the Pill but non unbearable.
Vertiginous Annie and miamouse, I was on Triphasil for a while and never had a problem, but when I went to see my doc to get my pill changed recently he said that the multi-phase pills were getting less and less popular, because they sometimes caused heavy periods and the kind of moodswings you both mentioned. Also, it’s difficult to skip a period on a multi-phase pill - I know, cos I tried it. I didn’t have a period at the usual time, but I spotted all the way through the next month. :rolleyes:
As for the high- vs low-dose question, I’ll let y’all know if my new low-dose pill makes any difference for me.
I wanted to go on the pills, not so I could have sex or anything, because I’m too young and its icky, but because My period is so heavy that In 15 minutes I went through 2 super and 1 regular tampon. I’m thinking that it’l make me bleed a little less… plus, the whole idea of clear skin is always a plus!
I just got a Nuvaring. Only it’s in my fridge–I haven’t put it in yet, but I have many girlfriends waiting to hear how I like it. I am the first person my doctor had prescribed it to, but he said he’d been studying it intensively.
I was interested in the patch, but the heavier you are, the less effective it is. I wasn’t willing to take the chance.
I’ve got a coupla months supply of birth control pills that I never took. I just can’t do daily birth control, which is why I went for the other options. I was going to ask my doctor about the IUD but then the Nuvaring came on the market.
Maybe I should go install it now…
Magic8ball-- I think that for many people it [the pill] does fix some problems like that. When I was younger I had awful cramps and an irregular cycle that the pill helped fix (oh, for unreasonably heavy flow, make sure you AREN’T taking ASPIRIN for cramps-- it took me until I was 20 to learn this and am still slightly bitter to all older women for the trauma I went through in junior high/ high school-- it, ahem, thins your blood and hilarity ensues).
I first wnet on ortho tri-cyclen, which, eh, I put on a lot of weight and my libido plummeted. Then I’ve been on nordette then currently lo-ovral, which is fine. I start my period every fourth wednesday, after starting placeboes on Sunday-- first day is very light but light cramps, then 2 medium days, and then very light for a couple. The usual conversation with the docs “Do you smoke?” “No. . .” “Just asking, because if you did we’d put you on the lower dose pill.” “Does it work as well?” “Sure.” “Then why don’t you put EVERYone on it? Can I go on the lower dose?” “Uh. . . yeah, sure. Of course.” I still don’t get that.
tritone, word of advice on microgynon…
it’s low dose, but i know several people who’ve had very odd reactions to it.
i had depression/moodswings/weightgain/heavier periods/aggravated cramps/migraine.
my friends had nausea and vomiting or constant spotting with acne and chloasma.
it’s the kind progesterone they use in it, it doesn’t seem to be that great for everyone.
because of the position of my uterus and cervix diaphragms, caps and IUDs are out of the question for me, and because of my apparent inability to cope with progesterone so are the POP, depo-provera and norplant.
i’m taking an oestrogen/anti androgen complex (Dianette) which suits me fine.
Magic 8ball, and anyone else considering the pill-
I cannot stress the mood swing problem I had enough. I think the pill (the one I’m on now) is great, especially because my period is so light.
But the one I was on drove me mad. I was known as “the emotional roller-coaster” and “psycho Annie” by me friends. I thought it was just me, as I’ve always been an emotional person. I only realized that it wasn’t when I went off the pill, and my moods leveled out.
By all means, go on the pill - but if you feel like you can’t control your emotions at all, talk to your GYN!
My first 2 years of college would have been sooooo much better if I’d just done that.
[slight hijack] Does anyone know numbers for how often the various varieties of Pill are sort-of abortive? Hey, that rhymes!
That seems like a weird and confusing sentence. Let’s try again. I know the Pill is primarily supposed to prevent ova from being released. I understand that if ova are released, one of the things the Pill does is prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum. Does anyone know what percentage of the time ova are fertilized? Have there been any studies? I’ve looked for information online, but I haven’t found anything.
I was on the Pill for a while to reduce cramps. I don’t remember which variety, though. They did reduce cramps, but I have a feeling that (whatever the type was) was connected to my occasional bouts of extreme nausea and dizziness. Ugh.
:eek:
Thanks for letting me know, irishgirl… I’ll see how I go on microgynon for a couple of months, but don’t worry, if I have any trouble, I’m prepared to march right in to the doctor and change to something else.