You are not my doctor, you are probably not even **a **doctor, and this advice is worth what I’m paying for it. If I get injured or die as a result of taking any advice in this thread, I promise not to sue you (and if my family tries to sue you for wrongful death, I will haunt them SO HARD!).
Okay. I was prescribed a 5-day regimen of Provera today, to clear out my post-amenorrheic endometrium (only 12.5mm on ultrasound, so it’s not severe) in preparation for starting Yasmin. I’m going to start the Provera on Wednesday morning, and will take the final pill on Sunday. Then I’m supposed to start my birth control after that. I’d like to know how long I actually HAVE to wait, because my CNP said to wait a week or 2 after the Provera before starting on Yasmin. I don’t know whether that’s actually necessary though, or whether it’s just one of those super-cautious recommendations. Because she also said I wouldn’t be protected from pregnancy until the 2nd month, when in actuality I know efficacy only takes 7 days.
Is it necessary to wait so long before starting birth control after a course of Provera? Or is that just a common OBGYN CYA? Thanks for any advice!
Starting birth control at the beginning of my cycle always really lightens my bleeding - which could presumably counteract what you are trying to accomplish with the provera.
If it were me I would finish the provera, wait for the bleeding to start, then only add the yasmin when the bleeding is tapering on it’s own.
I have no advice on your question in the OP, but I just wanted to mention that Yasmin fucked up my world. I’ve been on birth control for a long time, but that one did a number on me. YMMV, of course, and I’m sure you’ve done research, but there’s all kinds of issues with that one causing lesions on your brain and all kinds of other scary things. It caused me to have debilitating migraines where I’d pass out-- and it took away my sex drive 100%.
And yet, for those of us for whom Yasmin works, it works fantastically. Better than any other oral contraceptive I tried. Taking it without breaks has effectively controlled my menstrual migraines. So count me as the other end of the spectrum of DiosaBellissima’s experience. It does seem that women who can’t tolerate it can have some spectacular side-effects, though.
This is the kind of common sense approach I can get behind! Thanks. It’s been a couple years since I took birth control, and I always stacked it so I’d have fewer periods. So this is very useful information.
Also, thanks to all for the stories about Yasmin. I’ve never tried it before. I’m going to be trying it now because it has more anti-androgens than a regular birth control pill. I’ve just been diagnosed with PCOS and hypothyroidism, and the extra hormones in Yasmin are supposed to help control the side effects. I don’t know how the side effects of Yasmin will hit me yet, of course. But if I start losing consciousness or my sex drive, I’d definitely nix it ASAP. I’ve tried ortho-cyclen (gave me ocular migraines), Mircette (lubrication issues), and NuvaRing (pain in the ass) before.
I am willing to try other hormonal pills if Yasmin doesn’t work for me. Eventually I may just say fuck it and get an IUD, though.
Ortho-cyclen messed me up too, actually-- also gave me bad migraines. Just a data point, of course, as these things are tremendously different from person to person. Sounds like you’re aware of what to keep an eye out for, so you’ll be good :).
I actually said that myself when I reacted horribly to the Depo shot-- no one wanted to sleep with me while I was bloated, sobbing, constantly having to throw up, and had hair falling out anyway. No wonder that stuff is 99.9% effective!
D: See, this worries me. I’ve been thinking that maybe the only reason I have a sex drive at all is because I’m so… testosterony. So once I start on an anti-androgenic pill to decrease my free-floating testosterone, maybe I’ll lose my sex drive as a result. I really hope not. But no need to cry over milk that hasn’t spilled yet.
Meh, there’re always copper IUDs or vasectomies. =)
Whoa. This was exactly my experience and almost exactly what I said about it. “Nobody would want to have sex with me because I’m such a crazy raging bitch half the time and the other half I’m crying in the bathroom”.
I’ve had a copper IUD for almost three years now and I’ve had no problems associated with it (heavy periods and the like). My only complaint was the insertion…VERY painful. Felt like she was trying to yank my cervix out with pliers :eek:. Then again, this varies from person to person, and I was told to take Motrin an hour before removal, so that might have helped with insertion pain. I’ve given birth three times, so it’s not like I have a tightly closed cervix or anything else I can think of that would have made insertion so painful…
I really WANT hormonal bc to work for me. I love light periods, skipping periods, and only having one when it’s convenient. It’s not worth having a low or no sex drive, though. We’ll see. Hopefully Yasmin is a miracle drug. :3
After a decade of struggling with hormonal BC, I just gave up. For the last year and a half or so, I’ve just been tracking my cycle on an iPhone app, using condoms, and using the morning after pill on the off time something happens. I’ve never felt better-- and I’m sort of kicking myself for wasting a decade thinking “feeling like poo” was actually normal. In reality, it was just the BC that was messing with me. YMMV, of course, and I do hope it works out for you. Oh, and also: no babies for me thus far. Or any other pregnancy related problems, of course.
I tried to get a copper IUD and PP wouldn’t do it because I wasn’t married. :rolleyes: I realize I could doctor shop, but I just gave up and here I am. This is working well enough for now, so I’ll stick with it.
I loved Yasmin, it worked great for me. Then like 4 years ago all that stuff came out about the lawsuits against it and horror stories about it and I stopped because I was scared. Nothing I tried after that really worked for me. I also didn’t have insurance back then, still don’t, and Yasmin was $60 a month. My doctor told me that Yasmin was still very safe, all BC has warnings and issues, but I just couldn’t afford it anymore. I wonder has the price gone down because I’d love to go back on it. Oh yeah, Yasmin did not change my sex drive at all.
I wonder why your marital status mattered, Diosa? That’s a bizarrely random thing to care about. I’ve heard of docs who refuse to do IUDs in nulliparous women, but NEVER one who asked about marital status. Anyway… I don’t do condoms in long-term relationships, so I’d definitely go doctor-shopping (or lie and say I was married, how are they going to prove I’m not?). I would use condoms as a last last LAST resort, but so far it’s never been necessary.
Lor213: Syeda is Walmart’s generic for Yasmin. Not sure how much it costs without insurance, but you could call a Walmart pharmacy to figure it out. It’s not on their $4 or $9 formulary unfortunately, only ortho-cyclen & tri-cyclen (Sprintec and Tri-Sprintec) are. My insurance covers bc pills at 100% with no copay, fortunately. I dunno what I’d do without it. /hugs insurance policy
When I was on Yasmin I was fine for the first year or so and then I started getting dizzy and nauseous all the time. My eyes hurt and I wore sunglasses whenever I was awake because regular light hurt my eyes. Turns out the Yasmin jacked up my blood pressure to crazy levels. If you start feeling at all unwell talk to your doctor about it and ask if your symptoms are potentially related to the Yasmin.
According the PP doctor, because I am not married and therefore not monogamous, my odds of getting some STD that leads to PID are much much higher, so I’m likely to become infertile or die. Now, actual research says that’s just bullshit nonsense, but whatever. Plus I’ve never had an STD in my life, but hey, whatever.
I suspect you wouldn’t have this issue-- as I know plenty of single girls who have IUDs. It was just annoying enough for me that I temporarily gave up my IUD quest
I had the same issue trying to find a doc to give me an IUD. They all wanted to know my marital status, figuring that I would be more likely to “change my mind” if I wasn’t. I dunno, I haven’t heard of men getting interrogated about their marital status or questioning their seriousness about getting a vasectomy, and that’s a pretty invasive (but also reversible) procedure.
Thanks. It’s been a couple years since I took birth control, and I always stacked it so I’d have fewer periods. So this is very useful information.