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Schroedinger posted:Are you still in Pennsylvania? She should apply for SelectPlan for Women, it's a health insurance program in PA that offers free birth control and reproductive healthcare for low-income women who are trying to not get pregnant (if you're already pregnant or can't get pregnant you don't qualify because I guess PA does not want to encourage the reproduction of poor people!). So, funny thing, she actually makes too much money for the SelectPlan program. Working two part-time jobs has backfired here, sadly--she makes under the program's maximum yearly, but because her jobs are academic, her monthly income during the school year is too high. Yay. I suggested she go back into Planned Parenthood and get a different prescription that will work better for her body chemistry, but she's a little wary of spending 60 dollars for a 5 minute appointment that may not do anything if the prescription is wrong.
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Mar 23, 2011 15:31
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Thanks for the tips. It makes more sense now.
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Mar 23, 2011 21:22
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:I know someone who doesn't bother with her placebo week, and just starts the new cycle anew every time, without waiting. I.e she just does a 3-week cycle with actives every day ad infinitum. She's been doing this since December. lol she's just skipping periods If you were a lady, and didn't get any annoying side effects from pill stacking and didn't get periods because of it, would you stack? Birth control is advertised to be "period control" anyway. Seriously, look for it next time you see a commercial for any birth control.
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Mar 23, 2011 21:29
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Anne Whateley posted:The lazy harlot will probably get cancer in a week or two, so -- yeah I guess I was conflating it with other serious medications where to take it without any down-time, or against directions, is putting your body through hell. and also she couldnt tell me why it wasnt a bad idea, she goes 'oh you're probably right, i dont know what its doing', so her being accidentally right doesnt make me a bad person for getting worried about another person's health but thanks for the replies, i'll let her know
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Mar 23, 2011 23:15
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I can't take combined oral contraceptives because I get migraines and my blood pressure has been higher than normal lately, but I'm supposed to be taking combined oral contraceptives to prevent ovulation and the ovarian cysts to which I'm prone and had surgically removed last year. I want to try the Mirena IUD really badly, and discussed it with a nurse practitioner at the women's clinic. She said there was no contraindication for ovarian cysts, but when I went home and did a little research, I learned that it can actually increase your risk for ovarian cysts. She prescribed me Jolivette (I had been on a combination pill, not realizing the risk) while I wait to get approved for the Illinois Healthy Women Program so my uninsured rear end can afford the Mirena. As I said, I really want to try it, but it seems like it wouldn't be the world's best idea to use it given the whole cyst thing, and I was wondering if anyone had any further input. I'm planning to talk to her about it soon, but I was really excited about getting off the pill and the possibility of not having to deal with my period (I don't want to try the copper IUD because my periods were terrible before birth control and there's no way I'm doing anything that might make them even worse than that). Now I'm just worried that it's a bad idea.  Edit for extra credit bonus question: When I had surgery for my cysts last year, I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo (and really liking it), but my doctor said I had to switch to Aviane to prevent them. I thought it was the estrogen that stopped ovulation, and that it didn't matter if the pill was mono- or tri-phasic, as long as it was a combination pill. Why did I have to switch? Sadsy Kitten fucked around with this message at 08:06 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 07:02
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Sadsy Kitten posted:I can't take combined oral contraceptives because I get migraines and my blood pressure has been higher than normal lately, but I'm supposed to be taking combined oral contraceptives to prevent ovulation and the ovarian cysts to which I'm prone and had surgically removed last year. Do your get migraines with aura, or just plain 'ole migraines? It's only migraines with aura that are contraindicated. Migraines with aura increases your risk of stroke, but normal migraines don't.
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Mar 24, 2011 14:45
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IIRC normal migraines also do but it's a much lower risk. Migraines with aura have a stupidly high risk though.Sadsy Kitten posted:When I had surgery for my cysts last year, I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo (and really liking it), but my doctor said I had to switch to Aviane to prevent them. I thought it was the estrogen that stopped ovulation, and that it didn't matter if the pill was mono- or tri-phasic, as long as it was a combination pill. Why did I have to switch? Estrogen is the hormone you need to avoid when you have migraines, so what you are looking for is progesterone-only birth control. What I remember of progesterone-only birth control is that it will reduce the incidence of ovarian cysts. It may just be IUDs that increase the incidence but that seems odd. Have you considered other kinds of progesterone-only birth controls? Implanon comes to mind. You could also try Depo Provera, but the side effects can be worse.
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Mar 24, 2011 15:15
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Bagleworm posted:Do your get migraines with aura, or just plain 'ole migraines? It's only migraines with aura that are contraindicated. Migraines with aura increases your risk of stroke, but normal migraines don't. They were with aura-- ten minutes of a disconcerting zig-zag light show in one eye, and once they disappeared, horrible, horrible pain on the opposite side of my head that eventually spread to my whole head. Reene posted:Estrogen is the hormone you need to avoid when you have migraines, so what you are looking for is progesterone-only birth control. What I remember of progesterone-only birth control is that it will reduce the incidence of ovarian cysts. It may just be IUDs that increase the incidence but that seems odd. The switch to Aviane was before I'd had any migraines. I got switched to the progestin-only pills a few days ago when I went to the clinic and mentioned the migraines. I briefly considered Implanon or Depo, but the pill is my second choice after an IUD, so I'd only consider those if the pill wasn't an option any more. Something about the idea of sticking a little piece of plastic in my arm (as opposed to my uterus, which I'm fine with) makes me all queasy. The cysts are less of a concern to me than the super-high stroke risk, but yeah, I wasn't sure how bad of an idea it would be to use something that carries a 10% chance of ovarian cysts as a side effect.
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Mar 24, 2011 19:43
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Sadsy Kitten posted:The cysts are less of a concern to me than the super-high stroke risk, but yeah, I wasn't sure how bad of an idea it would be to use something that carries a 10% chance of ovarian cysts as a side effect. The rate of ovarian cysts was only 10% in one study - in a much larger study it was actually only in around 1 in 100 women per year. In any case, most of the ovarian cysts in these studies did not cause any symptoms of discomfort and resolved on their own in 2 to 3 months. Reene posted:IIRC normal migraines also do but it's a much lower risk. Migraines with aura have a stupidly high risk though. Migraines without aura aren't associated with a significant increase of stroke on their own, but are associated with a higher risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular disease. "Stupidly high" is a bit of an overblown statement too, you essentially go from a yearly risk of 0.002 without migraine to 0.0038 if you have migraines with aura. Exercising, not smoking and eating your vegetables will bring your risk right back to that first number or lower. Take that, statistics! DRP Solved! fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 20:01
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I've been on Tri-Sprintec for about a year and a half now. Last month I decided to skip the placebo pills and go directly to a new pack. I wanted to skip my period because I was visiting my boyfriend, who lives across the country from me. I've never done it before and heard that you can do that to skip your period. Well, it didn't work. I started spotting at the end of the 1st week of the new pack. I've had my period for two weeks now. Next week I'm on the placebo pills again. Will my period go back to normal once I've taken those pills and started a new pack? I'm really tired of being on my period.
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Mar 26, 2011 01:55
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This might be a long shot since I guess it's pretty rare & they don't even list it on the side effects on my pills, but does anyone have any experience or know anyone that has had Erythema Nodosum (swelling bumps on the fatty tissue around the shins) from taking birth control pills? The two seem to be linked according to some websites I have read, but my doctors haven't shown any concern at all. I developed symptoms about a week after switching to Apri, a different generic of the pill I have been taking. I am not on any other medications and otherwise healthy so I thought it would at least be worth looking in to. I do still have to get the diagnosis and then they are going to run a bunch of tests, none of which can really rule out BC pills as an underlying cause. So if anyone does have experience with this I'd like to know if they had any luck with switching to a different pill or something else like nuva ring. I haven't been able to find much information about it.
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Mar 27, 2011 16:03
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Spiffy! posted:This might be a long shot since I guess it's pretty rare & they don't even list it on the side effects on my pills, but does anyone have any experience or know anyone that has had Erythema Nodosum (swelling bumps on the fatty tissue around the shins) from taking birth control pills? The two seem to be linked according to some websites I have read, but my doctors haven't shown any concern at all.
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Mar 27, 2011 17:07
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Innovative Salad posted:Yes! I have a friend who had this for a long while and her doctor never showed any concern. This was many years ago, but I think she finally switched doctors and had the biggest "well there's your problem" moment. The EN resolved almost immediately after she went off the pill. I don't think she ever went back on hormonal BC though. Wow! That's excellent that it worked for her so quickly. I'm going off the pill starting today so crossing my fingers that that is what is causing my problems.
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Mar 27, 2011 17:26
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I've been having a kind of weird side effect since getting the paragard IUD and was wondering if anyone else has had it... Whenever I get my period, I also get a stomachache. I get cramps too and this is different. It feels like I ate something that gave me food poisoning and food runs through me. The first time it happened, I was under a lot of stress and chalked it up to that. But after months of this happening, I'm noticing a pattern.
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Mar 27, 2011 20:12
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Lackadaisical posted:I've been having a kind of weird side effect since getting the paragard IUD and was wondering if anyone else has had it... I think that's a not uncommon PMS/period symptom. Were you on hormonal BC before? Perhaps the hormonal BC was suppressing it. That is my first guess, because it's an odd symptom to be caused directly by a copper IUD.
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Mar 27, 2011 20:24
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Lackadaisical posted:I've been having a kind of weird side effect since getting the paragard IUD and was wondering if anyone else has had it... It's normal when you get heavy cramping. http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/5953.html Has your cramping increased with the Paragard?
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Mar 27, 2011 20:45
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Getting a Mirena within the next two weeks, any tips? I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this Friday, should I save some painkillers for the insertion? Or try to buy something from someone? Or is it not as bad as people say?
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Mar 27, 2011 21:08
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Bagleworm posted:I think that's a not uncommon PMS/period symptom. Were you on hormonal BC before? Perhaps the hormonal BC was suppressing it. That is my first guess, because it's an odd symptom to be caused directly by a copper IUD. Yep, I had been on hormonal BC for close to a decade before. Ceridwen posted:It's normal when you get heavy cramping. http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/5953.html Dear god yes. I used to barely notice it, now it's awful. Thanks for that link - it's really informative. I guess the big question is how do I help minimize it? I'm afraid to eat food for 1/4th of the month. When I'm home, a heating pad helps but I'm not sure what to do for days when I'm supposed to be on campus for 9 hours. Lackadaisical fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Mar 27, 2011 |
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Mar 27, 2011 21:22
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Lackadaisical posted:I guess the big question is how do I help minimize it? I'm afraid to eat food for 1/4th of the month. When I'm home, a heating pad helps but I'm not sure what to do for days when I'm supposed to be on campus for 9 hours. Get something like ThermaCare pads, you stick them to your underwear and it works wonders. I haven't seen the menstrual cramps ones in a while, but the neck/shoulder ones are a bit bigger but fit well enough to get the job done.
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Mar 27, 2011 21:39
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I've been taking vitamin E religiously with my paragard and I haven't had a problem with cramps at all.
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Mar 27, 2011 21:45
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Lackadaisical posted:Yep, I had been on hormonal BC for close to a decade before. Anything that helps reduce your cramping should help. You might try taking advil for a day or so before your period starts, it really reduces the cramping for a lot of women.
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Mar 28, 2011 00:26
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Ceridwen posted:Anything that helps reduce your cramping should help. You might try taking advil for a day or so before your period starts, it really reduces the cramping for a lot of women. I have had the Paragard for nearly 4 years now and noticed an increase in cramping. Taking Advil or Aleve helps me, also cuddling up with a heating pad at night. Does anyone have experience with the Implanon hormonal implant? I am having my iud taken out early next month and would like input from people who have used this. I had many emotional ups and downs while taking triphasic BCPs (Ortho Tri-Cyclen and Tri-Sprintec, the generic version) and Ortho-Evra patches and don't want to have those again. Olphij fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Mar 28, 2011 |
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Mar 28, 2011 00:44
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Olphij posted:I have had the Paragard for nearly 4 years now and noticed an increase in cramping. Taking Advil or Aleve helps me, also cuddling up with a heating pad at night. There's quite a few of us who've posted about Implanon in this thread. Generally (with one poster as the exception), Implanon is great for hormone stability which in turn keeps emotions stable. I'm on my second Implanon and I love it.
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Mar 28, 2011 03:21
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fork bomb posted:There's quite a few of us who've posted about Implanon in this thread. Generally (with one poster as the exception), Implanon is great for hormone stability which in turn keeps emotions stable. I'm on my second Implanon and I love it. Thanks, fork bomb. I went through and read all the Implanon posts. Still considering it or maybe some non-estrogen BCPs.
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Mar 29, 2011 00:51
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I'm just beginning my placebo week for my first pack of Tri-Sprintec and my period is super light/practically non-existent. Is this normal? My periods used to be super irregular before, as in over a month between periods and virtually untrackable. Should it sort itself out as I continue? This is my first time on BC that I've actually stuck with this long.
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Mar 29, 2011 05:22
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I've taken a look at the FAQ but my question wasn't really directly addressed. My girlfriend's been on Sprintec for about five months now. On her most recent cycle, her period began two days before she went on the placebo pills. Similarly, her period ended with two days of the placebo pills left. She mentioned some slight cramping today as well but bleeding has stopped completely (she's scheduled to start the first hormone pill of the next cycle tomorrow). I know that back up birth control is not needed during the placebo week, but does the irregular period indicate some sort of fault in the birth control? Long story short, we're too afraid to have sex because we're not sure if this stuff is working the way it's supposed to now that this has happened. Thoughts? I know she should probably talk to her pharmacist, and we plan on doing so, but she's worried and I was hoping that goons might be able to offer some solace...or scare her more if it's bad news. But hopefully solace! Thanks for your time
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Mar 29, 2011 08:06
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Egad! posted:I'm just beginning my placebo week for my first pack of Tri-Sprintec and my period is super light/practically non-existent. Is this normal? My periods used to be super irregular before, as in over a month between periods and virtually untrackable. Should it sort itself out as I continue? This is my first time on BC that I've actually stuck with this long. Periods are usually lighter on BC. By "just beginning" what do you mean? I used to take my pills with a Thursday-starting-day schedule and I wouldn't really start bleeding much till late Sunday or Monday. monkeyboydc posted:I've taken a look at the FAQ but my question wasn't really directly addressed.
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Mar 29, 2011 13:33
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Periods are usually lighter on BC. By "just beginning" what do you mean? I used to take my pills with a Thursday-starting-day schedule and I wouldn't really start bleeding much till late Sunday or Monday. Oh, sorry, I wrote that when it was late and I was tired. My first placebo pill was Sunday so I'm just beginning the week of them. But I guess this means I'll just have to keep an eye out for it  I think I was just expecting Sunday to hit and BAM period.
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Mar 29, 2011 13:57
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Does anyone have any ideas about assistance programs or something for getting an IUD in Massachusetts? I have health insurance, but it doesn't cover birth control or "healthy" gynecological visits (annuals, birth control consultations). I went to Planned Parenthood in Boston and they told me $500, no questions asked, up front immediately, no payment plans. I live on loans and some family contributions and only make about $80 a week right now. I called the Planned Parenthood where my family lives in NJ and they quoted me from $250-400, which is nicer, but I'm still unable to pay that. I'm really sick of Nuvaring right now - I've started having a bunch of problems with it and I have had horrible luck with pills. I don't want children for at least the next 10-15 years.
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Mar 29, 2011 14:54
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monkeyboydc posted:I know that back up birth control is not needed during the placebo week, but does the irregular period indicate some sort of fault in the birth control? Long story short, we're too afraid to have sex because we're not sure if this stuff is working the way it's supposed to now that this has happened. How your period acts has nothing to do with the effectiveness of hormonal birth control. She is just as protected now as she ever is. Some women will start spotting/bleeding a few days after they miss a pill, but it's because of the extreme change in the level of hormones and it's generally obvious when someone missed a pill. Some women randomly start spotting and bleeding for no reason in particular; things like stress can have an effect on the hormonal cycle, and most of the time there's no discernible cause as to why their cycle is acting up. Bagleworm fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Mar 29, 2011 |
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Mar 29, 2011 15:43
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Periods are usually lighter on BC. By "just beginning" what do you mean? I used to take my pills with a Thursday-starting-day schedule and I wouldn't really start bleeding much till late Sunday or Monday. She isn't on any medications and she's sure she has been taking them on time so maybe this was just an odd month. But thank you! We'll be careful in the meantime. Bagleworm posted:things like stress can have an effect on the hormonal cycle, and most of the time there's no discernible cause as to why their cycle is acting up. Thanks for the words of wisdom. I think you probably hit the nail on the head though. We graduate from our university in a month so it's coming right down to the wire for paper deadlines, all with classes starting to wrap up. I know I'M stressed anyways. Thanks for the help everyone!
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Mar 29, 2011 17:04
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I was re-reading the information packet for Cerazette today and it talks about thrombosis symptoms. I thought that the progestin-only pill carried no risk of thrombosis/DVT's, since the NHS website says that they carry no risk. Is that not true, then?
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Mar 29, 2011 19:54
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Egad! posted:I think I was just expecting Sunday to hit and BAM period. I've been on the pill (Lo-Ovral-28) for, drat, 8 years now. I've always been a Sunday starter and even when I first started, I didn't get my period until Tuesday. Now, it doesn't even show up until Thursday/Friday. (Cue a few panicky months and pee sticks when it was adjusting.) That's one reason I am really, really hesitant to come off the pill and onto something else. It has nearly obliterated my period. I just get enough to go "yep not pregnant" and I'm on my way. But I also haven't had any janky side effects like mood swings, weight gain, etc. I want a more "hassle-free" method like IUD or Implanon, but I don't want to go back to period-land. At. All.
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Mar 29, 2011 21:01
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I've been on the pill (Jolessa) for about a year or so now. I had been taking the pill a little irregularly about a week before but got back on schedule the next week and had sex that weekend. How much would that bit of irregularity effect its....effectiveness? He also pulled out just in case, but I'm still really paranoid...
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Mar 30, 2011 19:49
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Grushenka posted:I was re-reading the information packet for Cerazette today and it talks about thrombosis symptoms. I thought that the progestin-only pill carried no risk of thrombosis/DVT's, since the NHS website says that they carry no risk. Is that not true, then? - combination pills definitely elevate your risk of clotting - progestin-only pills haven't been around as long and haven't been shown to have much effect on clotting - since progestin is in the combination pills (and there are no estrogen-only pills to compare), they include a warning to stay on the safe side The WHO released a fact sheet saying that Implanon (progestin-only implant) was safe for women predisposed to clotting (Leiden factor V), which was good enough for me and my doctor. I haven't died yet, which is sort of promising. You can google "progestin only clotting" and get a ton of information. I think there haven't been a lot of long-term studies and they've been pretty inconclusive. Progestin-only methods aren't nearly as bad as methods that contain estrogen; the question (which studies have been unclear about) is whether they raise your risk at all, or not really.
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Mar 30, 2011 20:55
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My Little Puni posted:I've been on the pill (Jolessa) for about a year or so now. I had been taking the pill a little irregularly about a week before but got back on schedule the next week and had sex that weekend. How much would that bit of irregularity effect its....effectiveness? He also pulled out just in case, but I'm still really paranoid... I'm a little unclear on what you're saying, but if you had been taking your pill regularly for 7 days or more when you had sex, you were protected. eta: Also, since it's a combined hormone pill, the time window for "regularly" is effectively much larger than for a mini pill. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Mar 30, 2011 |
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Mar 30, 2011 21:10
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So now that my period has actually started, I'm relieved but I also feel terrible. Everything I've heard before has made it seem like BC makes your periods more bearable, but mine has done the opposite. Should I just try it for a couple more months and see what happens?
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Mar 31, 2011 00:18
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Thanks for the info. I think you understood it right, I should be fine. I have one more question, birth control pill has heart problem warnings for if you smoke. I don't smoke cigarettes, just a lot of weed. Anybody know if this is okay or if it will have the same effect as cigarettes?
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Mar 31, 2011 02:41
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Egad! posted:So now that my period has actually started, I'm relieved but I also feel terrible. Everything I've heard before has made it seem like BC makes your periods more bearable, but mine has done the opposite. Should I just try it for a couple more months and see what happens? Yeah. Totally. Give it at least 3 months for your body to go "oh hey what have we here". When I first started the pill, I was pretty disappointed that my periods were still the same (i.e. horrible), but after 6 months, complete change.
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Mar 31, 2011 03:05
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Egad! posted:So now that my period has actually started, I'm relieved but I also feel terrible. Everything I've heard before has made it seem like BC makes your periods more bearable, but mine has done the opposite. Should I just try it for a couple more months and see what happens? This is your first time on it, right? Yes, try to stick with it for 3 packs. In rare occasions it's absolutely killer, but you can try to convince your doc to write you another Rx. Don't quit so soon unless it's unlivable. For example, I once was on a type where I had a full-heavy period for every day since starting the pack; after the first pack was done I got something else. My Little Puni posted:I have one more question, birth control pill has heart problem warnings for if you smoke. I don't smoke cigarettes, just a lot of weed. Anybody know if this is okay or if it will have the same effect as cigarettes? Nope, you're good.
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Mar 31, 2011 03:06
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