For those with birth control problems...

**heylala** · 05-01-2010 07:25 AM

I've seen a lot of posts on problems with birth control so I'd like to share my story and hopefully it helps, sorry its so long....

Depo Shot:
After having my first child I wanted to get back on birth control. The first thing I tried was the Depo shot, I bled and spotted everyday for the first 3 months, they talked me into trying one more shot thinking my body hadn't adjusted yet...so I kept bleeding for another few weeks, at this point I had some kind of bleeding EVERYDAY for almost 6 months. I went back and said I can't take it anymore. He gave me a pack of pills, I don't remember what kind that stopped the bleeding instantly and then I had the IUD inserted.

Mirena IUD:
I had it inserted and the first month I got a small period and after that NO period, it was great! I had started to develop Bacne, very painful acne all over my back, it was like large rocks under my skin. I didn't realize it was the IUD until I went in for my yearly pap and he told me that was causing my problem. So I had him take it out and he perscribed me Yaz.

Yaz:
He prescribed it so I could take it continuously for 3 months at a time. My skin started clearing up immediately and I didn't have any problems for almost a whole year. Then they came out with Ocella, my insurance would no longer cover the Yaz and only the Ocella.

Ocella:
I was told Ocella was no different than Yaz so I didn't put up a fuss and took it home from the pharmacy. After starting it I noticed no effects right away, it seemed to be working fine. After a few months someone brought to my attention that I had been really snippy lately, I blew them off thinking I was just annoyed by them. Until I snapped at my daughter for no reason and had no idea why I was so mad she spilled. I started paying attention and noticed how fast and how easy I got mad at the stupidest stuff and the constant crying was for no reason too. Turns out the "fillers" they use to make the pills are different, hormones may be the same amount but there is more to the pill than just those.

Alesse/Lutera:
So I went back in, my normal doc was booked for weeks, so I saw someone else since it was just a consult. She put me on Alesse, mad mood swings gone, but the acne started coming back... turns out has the same hormone as Mirena, levonorgestrel. Pissed I made an appt with someone else.

Nuva Ring:
She tried to give me the Norplant when I went in, I was like are you kidding me after what I told you about the bacne and this Levonorgestrel seeming to be the cause and you want to give me some more in a different form. I said how about you give me the Nuva Ring or something! So I got it, I bled and spotted everyday for a few months and made a new appt.

The Patch:
So I get back to my reg doctor and tell him whats been going on, he says do you want to try the patch? I said sure. Bleeding stopped right away, all was well except how much it irritated my skin. If I put it on the back buttocks area it didn't get irritated but my pants going up and down going to the bathroom kept pulling them off. New appt time.

Zovia 1/35:
Didn't have the acne causing hormone and was lower dose so we decided to give this a try. Whatever was in this gave me horrid headaches and caused me to cry cry cry for no reason what so ever. So instead of being angry I was poor little lala and everything was a reason to cry. Blah. New appt.

Ortho Cyclen:
Reluctantly I decided to try one more, no acne, no mood swings, no headaches, no constant bleeding. No problems til I took antibiotic this month, hopefully its just a fluke cuz I like this one.

**heylala** · 05-01-2010 07:31 PM

Sorry about the link, I wasn't paying attention it was late... Here is a copy of the chart that helped me out.

Side Effect/Problem Principal Pill Suggestions

Acne: higher estrogen, lower androgen potency Yasmin®, Demulen® 1/50, Othro-Tri Cyclen®, Ortho-Cyclen®, Yasmin®, Brevicon®, Modicon®, Necon®, Ortho Evra®, Mircette®

Break-through bleeding: higher estrogen, higher progestin potency, lower androgen potency Yasmin®, Demulen® 1/50, Zovia® 1/50E, Ovcon® 50, Desogen®, Ortho-Cept®, Estrostep® Fe, Loestrin® 1/20

Absent or too light menstrual flow: higher estrogen, lower progestin potency Ortho-Cyclen®, Ovcon® 35, Brevicon®, Modicon®, Necon® 1/50, Norinyl® 1/50, Ortho-Novum® 1/50, Necon® 1/35, Norinyl® 1/35, Ortho-Novum® 1/35

Depression: lower progestin potency Ortho Evra®, Ovcon® 35, Ortho-TriCyclen®, Othro-Cyclen®, Brevicon®, Modicon®, Necon® 1/35, Alesse®, Levlite®, Tri-Levlen®, Triphasil®, Trivora®

Moodiness or irritability: lower progestin potency Ortho Evra®, Ovcon® 35, Ortho Tri-Cyclen®, Othro-Cyclen®, Brevicon®, Modicon®, Necon® 1/35, Alesse®, Levlite®, Tri-Levlen®, Triphasil®, Trivora®

Headaches (not menstrual migraines): lower estrogen, lower progestin potency Ortho Evra®, Alesse®, Levlite®,

Breast soreness: lower estrogen, lower progestin potency Yasmin®*, Ortho Evra®, Alesse®, Levlite®, Loestrin® 1/20 Fe, any lower estrogen pill than currently on

Weight gain: lower estrogen, lower progestin potency Yasmin®*, Ortho Evra®, Alesse®, Levlite®, Loestrin® 1/20 Fe, any lower estrogen pill than currently on

Severe menstrual cramps: higher progestin potency Yasmin®, Desogen®, Ortho-Cept®, Mircette®, Loestrin® 1.5/30, Demulen® 1/35, Zovia® 1/35E, Demulen® 1/50, Zovia® 1/50E

Endometriosis or endometriosis prevention: lower estrogen, higher progestin potency, higher androgen potency Loestrin® 1.5/30, Loestrin® 1/20 Fe, LoOvral®, Levlen®, Levora®, Nordette®, Demulen® 1/35, Zovia® 1/35,
(used either continuously with zero days of placebo pills or with only 4 days of placebo pills for prevention)

**GlassDaemon** · 05-01-2010 08:02 PM

Antibotics will eff up any birth control to my knowledge. I'm on the nuva ring, it's the first BC I've ever used, I don't spot at all, it works for me, except my sex drive is near non-existent in comparison to what it used to be. Antibotics can also be the cause of yeast infections because they remove bacteria that your vagina actually needs to prevent them, go figure lol. That was a random bit of info.

I can't swallow pills, doctors hate me when I get anything done and they need to prescribe me medicine, because at 19 and at 230lbs, it's a pain in the butt to get liquid, chewables or strips.

I didn't even know there was this many birth controls, but if you're having so much trouble with all of them... maybe you should go back to trusty ol' condoms. lol Yea, they're annoying, but from what it sounds like you have crappy luck.

**heylala** · 05-01-2010 09:01 PM

I actually take them for more reasons that having sex. When off of them I get acne because I produce too many of my own hormones and I get horrid periods. Heavy bleeding, headaches, bloating so bad I can't get jeans on, cramps so bad I throw up for the first 2-3 days of the period. I used to miss school the first day of my period everytime so thats when I first started taking it before I was even having sex.

**GlassDaemon** · 05-01-2010 09:09 PM

Well then, I'd give it a week (as according to the BC pill after getting off antibiotics you're suppose to have at least a week - or maybe it's two - before having sex without condoms because it's lost it's merit). So if you really like this Ortho Cyclen, give it a week(or two), see if you get back to your normal regiment. I would think you would.

**pinknfwuffy** · 05-02-2010 12:23 AM

Thank you for posting your story. You really can say you have tried everything! (Or just about). I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble just to find the right birth control for your needs. I hate how complicated it is, we are messing with hormones afterall, and how different medications can cause such drastic side effects for many women. Or none at all! I personally just started recently on Sprintec (Ortho Cyclen generic) and only had to deal with nausea the first few days. I'm still waiting to see how things are in a few months in terms of cycles and skin clearing up. I do believe birth control should do what it is defined to do: prevent an unwanted pregnancy. That is my main priority, but still, that safety can really be overshadowed by miserable and sometimes intolerable side effects.