[gritsgal2010]

Okay so now I've been using bc for about a year. I had a doctor at the beginning that was not interested in teaching me about bc. I have a new doctor but only have seen her once and it was a quick visit. I am pretty much on my own about this kind of stuff (my mom never used it, my sister for only a few years over 10 years ago) so here are some questions and please feel free to tell me extra info, the more the better!

1. I'm on my third brand of bc, does anyone have any great recommendations of pills? (I've been on femcon fe, junel fe, and I'm now on apri (but I may consider changing))

2. Wow, this happened with my last doctor visit. I come with a bunch of questions and forget them all. I guess this is it. Anything y'all offer would be great info! Thanks!

[ren_07]

It's sad how little time and effort some doctors put into explaining things to their patients.

Why is this your third brand? AKA what happened with your others that didn't work so well and made you switch? What aren't you happy about with your current brand that is making you considering changing?

[gritsgal2010]

My first brand was femcon fe and I had breakthrough bleeding for a week before I would have my period so my doctor (the first one) switched me to junel fe (and didn't tell me what was different, so idk) and this one made me gain lots of weight. Which I hated even worse because with the femcon I didn't diet or exercise and gained maybe only 5 pounds, then when I switched to junel I started eating right and exercising and I gained about 15 pounds. So now I am on apri and so far it's just been weird. At the beginning of the month I had a stomach flu and then constipation and then the worst case of hives my mother or I have seen. My allergist (who I went to see for the hives) suggested that the med could be an underlying participant (many different things but it could definitely have a huge effect) (I had just gotten home from college, which meant release of stress, changed sleeping, eating, and exercising habits) and then the bc was the only other thing. My allergist wanted me to switch back to junel right away as she saw it as having a major role but I told her about the weight gain and she told me to be very careful as to what goes on this month (anything else related to the pill). And then my period finally started two days later than normal and is a little bit lighter than usual. Wow that was long and probably way more than you were looking for, but thank you!

[gritsgal2010]

Btw if I had a kind of lighter month (like two days but it looks like normal period blood and I think I remember seeing some of the uterin lining) after a month when my bf and I fooled around but didn't have sex and then this month it started late but I have bled normal blood and gotten lining but it's only looking like it's going to be two days or maybe three, I'm not pregnant right?

[Katsaly]

When I was on the pill my flow gradually got light and started a few days later, so I assume that part is pretty normal. I'd give your current BC another month or two, unless the hives are getting worse. Most of the side effects tend to fade with time (with the unfortunate exception of weight gain). If side effects are a really big deal, you might considered something completely different, like an IUD. My doctor suggested I try an IUD because of side effects I was experiencing. I plan for it to be my BC once I have a baby, but I haven't tried it yet.

[ren_07]

Haha no I wanted to hear that info bc now I have a better understanding of what to suggest for you!

As Katsaly said, I also had gradually lighter periods and they would start on my third brown/inactive pill and only last three-four days. If you've bled I would say the chances of you being pregnant are pretty low, especially with you being on the pill.

What the doctors don't tell you that the fine print does is that you need to wait out 2-3 packs of the pills until your body is fully adjusted to decide if it's right for you. Most of the side-effects will disappear by then. It's just a matter of pushing thru. I had break-thru bleeding for the first month and now I'm perfectly fine 2 years later. However, symptoms like hives are not normal and I wouldn't stick with a brand that's giving you such a reaction. That would be more than enough means to switch in my book!

I am currently taking loestrin24fe and have always been on this pill. It was a rough start with the bleeding and moodiness, but it's perfect now. It cleared up my acne and my boobs got a little bigger. My cramping has been controlled (they were extremely painful before) and my periods are shorter, and often lighter.

It's true that weight gain is something that sticks around. The other side-effects should disappear. You may want to consider doing another form of BC also like Katsaly said. If you still want to try a pill, I'd recommend going to a lower-dose hormone. Like loestrin24fe. They just came out with Lo loestrin24fe which has the lowest dose of hormones on the market thus far I believe and lower hormones = lower side-effects.

**I needed to edit this because I forgot to add something else important! I needed to take my pill at the EXACT SAME TIME everyday when I first began using it for many months or I would have worse side-effects or bleed. This varies from person to person, but it would definitely help you reduce your problems if you set an alarm on your cell phone like I do for a set time such as 11:30am and take it at that time every day. You may be surprised how this helps you. It'll also make the pregnancy virtually a non-issue since that ensures it's over 99% effective

[gritsgal2010]

Wow thank you so much for your help and advice! I did take the femcon for about 5-6 months and so it was a huge relief to switch to junel but the weight gain was impossible to stop... I believe my doctor told me that junel was the generic for loestrin? Is there a difference of side-effects and what not between the brand names and the generics? The hives have actually cleared up now and I am going to give the apri (which I guess I should clarify as the generic for ortho-cept) another month. Thank you again for the advice!

Another question: is beyaz a good pill? I know it's relatively new but I think it's related to yaz. My sister in law (and idk how I found this out because we aren't that personal with each other) used yaz for years and loved it but had to change when they took it off the market.

I've been trying to keep the amount of hormone low because I have such a high risk for breast cancer already, how can I tell how much are in the pills? I've never known anything about that and neither doctor explained what's different about each brand, they just hand me a new prescription and that's it. Thank you again! Sorry for all the questions! I greatly appreciate everything anybody gives me!

[ren_07]

I too have those frustrations. I told my doctor I wasn't sure the loestrin was for me and he didn't even make an appointment to see me, he just filled a new prescription for Ortho Tri-Cyclin. I thought "This is absurd! He doesn't even know what's wrong!" and decided to stick it out to find out for myself if the loestrin was wrong for me. But it turned out to be okay I think doctors see too many patients sometimes and get a little too eager to fix a problem they see repeatedly.

I really don't think there should be a huge difference in side-effects. It's the same pill essentially. You can search for that info if you want specifics on those brands vs. their generic components but most websites will just list a range of side-effects which are usually the same across all pills. It's just a gamble as to what you'll end up experiencing and for how long. Everyone's body is different so it's hard to say what will happen to you.

I've only seen some web advertisements for beyaz. Since it's related to the yaz brand and that was obviously decided to be unsafe, I'd be iffy about taken something associated with it. Although it does provide the benefit of having B vitamins in the pill, but you could take a multi-vitamin yourself each day to solve any issues with nutrition...

The dosage of how much estrogen are in your pills should be on the labels that came with it somewhere in the tiny print. If you're curious as to what old brands contained, Google them to see. I would look into what's the lowest dose per pill and bring it up with your doctor but chances are if he/she knows your risks for cancer, he/she is already making sure you have a low dose (but then again, they don't seem very involved to begin with :/).