[teenagewoman]

Hi all,

So about three months ago I switched my birth control from Ocella (due to being discontinued or something)to something I never heard of called Zarah. Ever since I have been getting a lot more headaches, but the weirdest thing is that my face and hands get hot reallly fast, and for no reason. My cheeks, chin, and hands get really red to the point where it looks like I'm sunburnt pretty badly. This can last for awhile too. The headache usually accompanies this redness too, but not always. It's very uncomfortable and embarrassing in public. Is this a sign of the pill not agreeing with me? I didn't get a blood test after switching, should I have?

Also, I was wondering.. if I stop birth control, which I have been on for about a year and a half, will I go back to having my unusual periods and heavy flow? They were always like2-4 months apart and lasted like 7-9 days. I don't want to go back to that, but i also don't want the pill making me sick!

[LanaBear]

You probably need to switch pills. I had to a couple of times before going to a low dose pill that finally didn't have as many side effects as the others.

You may or may not go back to the irregularity. Only after getting off the pill for a while will you know.

Go back to the Dr and tell him/her that you need to switch pills. They should be able to give you samples so that you don't have to pay for a prescription until you know it agrees with you.

[Ashlee T.]

The headaches and facial redness could be an increase in your blood pressure. Don't put up with that....you need to get into your doctor and let them know what's going on.

[kira]

I believe Ocella and zarah are the generics for yasmin. There is currently a law suit against yasmin and ocella which is why pharmacies are only using zarah. Technically it's the same medication but generics can be mixed with different ingredients and a lot of people find they won't tolerate certain generics. I know some people who will go around asking pharmacies which companies they use for their generics to avoid certain ones.

[kygirl09]

It sounds like it may be raising your blood pressure. You might want to try a lower dose. I have high blood pressure and had to take a low dose birth control pill like ortho-tri cyclen lo to prevent pregnancy and not cause severe spikes in my b/p.