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I'm getting ready to go off the pill for the first time in about six years, and I can't seem to find any good resources for information on what kinds of side effects to expect. Is this discussed somewhere in the thread? I'm on Loestrin 24 Fe and will be going totally contraceptive-free at the end of my current pack. How long should I expect it to take for my period to re-regulate? Before I went on the pill I was regular like clockwork (21 days unfortunately, but what can you do). Is there a chance it will never go back to being regular on its own?
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Nov 21, 2011 15:43
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Has anybody gone a really long time without a period after getting off the pill? That's the one that sounded weirdest to me - a few friends have said they had a period immediately after the last pack like normal, but then didn't have one for quite a while. Thankfully I don't have to concern myself too much with "omg I haven't had a period if 40 days am I pregnant?!" but it still sounds a little off-putting. Maybe I'm over thinking this. Most of the medications I've taken over the years had side effects associated with cessation, so I guess I'm just used to that and confused that there might be a medicine that just leaves me alone when I'm done with it.
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Nov 21, 2011 19:12
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razz posted:It was bad, I was miserable. Nothing made it go away except getting back on BC. I'm freaking 25! I didn't know my acne was still waiting to erupt, I figured by this age it wouldn't be a problem anymore. I have cystic acne, and I have no idea if BC helped it or not, so I don't now what to expect. It's pretty bad even on the pill, though. I inherited it from my dad, who is 56 and has just as much trouble now as he did in his teens. No hope of growing out of it  Still, I guess dealing with acne is better than a steadily declining libido and vaginal dryness, which my doctor tells me is likely caused by my pill. I know I can try other pills, but my husband had a vasectomy earlier this year and it seems like a needless expense and hassle to try others until I get one that doesn't gently caress up my sex life.
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Nov 22, 2011 22:07
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When I was on Loestrin, I got a coupon from Warner Chilcott that made my prescription only $24/pack, even when I was on an insurance that only paid for generic BCs. Definitely worth looking into. I got my card from my gyno, but I bet PP has them too.
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Jan 12, 2012 12:30
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Have you tried non-latex condoms? Sex was pretty miserable for me before I figured out that I'm allergic to latex.
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Feb 13, 2012 19:13
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Skywriter posted:I've posted before about my BC problems. It's long and complicated, but to make a long story short: I have PCOS and a bicornuate uterus. I also have migraines with aura. A total hysterectomy will remove uterus and ovaries both. This will "take care" of your polycystic ovaries, but you might continue to have hormone issues (just different ones) because you'll lack ovaries. Normally a patient whose ovaries are removed will go on estrogen therapy, but if you can't take estrogen, you may experience a rapid shift into a basically post-menopausal state. It may really, really suck. There are progestin-only treatments that are believed to be safer for migraine with aura patients, but I haven't seen that much info on them. Then again, if you have a family history of non-awful menopause, you may be just fine with no added hormones. Having just the uterus out will prevent you from becoming pregnant, and of course you won't have terrible periods from the PCOS, but you will probably still experience some of the whole-body issues you're currently experiencing because your ovaries will still be in there loving things up. I know a couple of migraine with aura sufferers who also have PCOS, and one of them did choose to have her ovaries removed. Her migraines went away almost immediately. I'm not sure how much (if any) HRT she might have done after the surgery, though. There's some kind of connection between hormone issues and migraines that doctors still haven't quite figured out. Hopefully you have a good endo, and if you aren't seeing a neurologist for your migraines you might consider that as well. Definitely talk to your endocrinologist about the possibility of a hysterectomy, it sounds like you have enough going on that the easiest route might just be to remove everything and deal with the set of issues that come with that because they're more straightforward than the issues you have.
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Feb 26, 2012 20:47
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Does anyone use a period tracker app for their phone or tablet that they would recommend? The one I've been using doesn't actually adjust the calculations based on your actual periods, which I didn't realize. I can change the number of days it uses to tell me when my next period will be, but that means sitting down and calculating out all the ones I've recorded previously. What I'd really like is an app that says "oh, your last cycle was 21 days, and the one before that was 24, let's average that and predict the next one that way" or some such. Otherwise I'll just go back to writing it down in the back of a notebook like I did in college, I guess. My last period was "late" enough that I started to get worried, even though my husband has had a vasectomy. As expensive as pregnancy tests are, buying ovulation monitors by accident is WAY more expensive. Thankfully I noticed my mistake before I opened the package and was able to get $30 back. I don't think my period was actually late, I think my tracker app is just not calibrated to my current cycle. Since I always had short cycles when I was younger, I assumed that would be the case once I got off BC, and got a little panicky around the 30 day mark. And now I have two extra pregnancy test wands, because they only had packets of three. I hid them in my desk drawer at work, there's no sense spreading my paranoia to my husband.
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Mar 15, 2012 14:14
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uberwekkness posted:Send them to me. I can totally do that, PM me and I'll slip them in a padded envelope and send them off.
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Mar 16, 2012 13:54
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She mentioned migraines - a lot of doctors are uncomfortable prescribing combined pills to migraine sufferers because of the potential for increased risk of stroke.
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Mar 29, 2012 23:01
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You know, I didn't think about that. I have migraine with aura, as well as hemiplegic migraines, so I'm like crazy at risk, and it didn't occur to me that not all migraine sufferers are.
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Mar 30, 2012 02:53
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For small spots, one of the most effective removers is actually saliva. Spit on the stain and scrub it. It's weird, but it works really well. Supposedly it's because there are enzymes in saliva that dissolves protein chains in blood, or something.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:48
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DeADHeaD posted:This is the same reason you shouldn't lick a finger and try to clean the blood off a cut with it. Saliva is an anticoagulant. Well, and your mouth is filthy. Human saliva is full of bacteria that can infect a wound, which is why human bites are taken very seriously in emergency rooms.
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Apr 12, 2012 01:26
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I thought I was totally okay with having a male gyno when the lady I'd seen previously was unavailable, but I actually kind of freaked out when the appointment finally happened. He was a totally nice older Jewish guy, too, not at all intimidating. He mentioned that my heart rate was through the roof and I made some lame excuse about being nervous at the doctor's office (which is kind of true actually), because I felt so silly about my reaction. But I have actually had a male doctor give me a pelvic exam since then and I was fine, so maybe I was having a panic attack for a totally unrelated reason that day. And there are definitely people who are morally opposed to the idea of male gynos. I guess because he's looking at your sex-hole and therefore is clearly thinking about fornicating with you, or something equally stupid.
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Apr 25, 2012 19:41
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I've also found that on the occasions where the doctor on call was primarily an obstetrician, I didn't feel like I got very good care. I always make annual exam appointments based on convenience rather than who is in the office that day, so I've seen a fair number of the doctors in the practice I go to. I guess since I am not going to be popping out any babies the OBs didn't think I was worth their time, or something. One of them scraped me so deeply that I bled for the rest of the day.  The scrape itself hurt like a bitch. After that it wasn't painful, per se, but I had this really uncomfortable tightness all day long. She definitely gave me the "Oh, that happens sometimes" blow-off. She was also in and out of the exam room in about two minutes, after making me wait almost an hour after my appointment time.I hate how they'll call you back even if the doctor is nowhere near ready to see you and then you just sit in your stupid gown thing forever. Also, I've been off the pill for a few months now, and my period still hasn't settled down. I was regular like a clock before I went on the pill. It was a very short cycle (21 days) but it was totally regular. So far I've had 26 days, 34 days, 28 days, 38 days, 24 days...the yo-yo thing is really annoying. I was under the impression that your cycle normally went back to how it was before the pill, so I'm a little frustrated that it still hasn't evened out.
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Apr 27, 2012 04:24
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Reformed Tomboy posted:Were you regular before you started? Also your cycle (length) can change over time, so it may be settling into something new. It was also my impression that coming to a regular cycle again could take a year, but your fertility comes back pretty much immediately. Then again, I've never been regular (off of bc) nor stopped since I started, so take that how you like. Yep, I could set my watch by it back in college, which is the last time I was au naturel. I shouldn't complain, really. All the things I hated about being on the pill have gone away. My libido is back, and the vaginal dryness has cleared up. And although my acne has definitely resurged, I was expecting a lot worse than what I've got. Hopefully it'll settle down into something regular and longer than 21 days. Maybe the 30-plus day ones will be my new normal, that would be nice!
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Apr 27, 2012 05:04
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They actually sent us home from sex ed at school with a little zip-pouch of pads of different weights and some of the skinny lightweight tampons, and a pamphlet with instructions. It was all sponsored by Kotex I think. I was 7 I think, so I didn't actually start my period until a few years after that, but there were certainly girls in my class who were starting theirs by that point. By the time I actually needed any of the stuff I knew where my mom kept hers. We never really talked about it other than me saying "I'm using your pads, by the way" so she could start buying more, and me asking her to buy some of the lighter tampons because the heavy ones she used were too much for me. I'd say we have more conversations about it now, since she's starting to go through menopause. My poor father, though. He knew he needed to keep a stock of that sort of thing at his apartment, and he for some reason decided it was less awkward for him to go buy it on his own than to take my sister and me with him. He was overwhelmed by the variety of feminine products available. I know at one point he started taking the empty package from the previous purchase with him so he could compare it to what was on the shelf. It didn't help that the companies seem to change their packaging every few months.
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May 16, 2012 16:29
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Mean Bean posted:I don't know about that paragard, I'm allergic to something in metal - maybe nickel? I can't wear a watch or most jewelry because it gives me a rash:( I want that Essure thing! Stupid Germany. The Essure coils contain nickel titanium, so they may not be an option for you either if you have metal allergies. I looked into Essure before we ended up deciding on a vasectomy for my husband instead. It made more sense - he's a few years older than me and already has a child from a previous relationship, so the doctor was much more willing to go the permanent route than my doctor was for me. It's not all sparkles and sunshine, there are some very gruesome stories out there. Of course, my own mother had a really complicated and unpleasant tubal ligation, so overall Essure sounds like a better option for a lot of women. But it isn't a perfect procedure (little in medicine is, really).
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May 27, 2012 15:46
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When I was still on the pill, I had a few months like that here and there. You should definitely take a pregnancy test if you need it for your peace of mind, but a super light period like that is well within normal.
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May 31, 2012 21:30
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NaturalLow posted:She also might have better luck if she waits until her husband is back and can go with her to discuss this. As hosed up as it is, some doctors have reservations about doing tubal ligation on married women unless their husbands make it clear they're on board with it too. My husband's urologist wanted to make sure I was on board with his vasectomy, too. They don't want to be responsible for helping gently caress up your marriage if it's a unilateral decision, I imagine.
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Jun 7, 2012 02:54
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I have a set of chocolate brown towels that I use during my period, and they're darker than any potential blood stains.
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Jun 10, 2012 02:58
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Robo Kitty posted:The only thing that's changed recently is that I started working out regularly this summer but it's really not that strenuous or anything. Any ideas what caused this? Or when I should be concerned? (Spoiler: I am already concerned) My grandmother had similar symptoms before being diagnosed with benign uterine cysts. I'd say it's worth making an appointment with your gyno.
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Jul 29, 2012 14:54
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Robo Kitty posted:
My grandmother waited a couple of years before seeking treatment, and eventually had a hysterectomy, though my understanding is that uterine fibroids are often not a big deal. I wouldn't get super freaked out if I were you, but again, probably worthwhile to see your doctor at next convenience. I'm not sure what her thought process was in waiting so long. "Hmm, the chunks of flesh that are falling out of my vagina seem to keep getting bigger, but that's normal, right?"
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Jul 29, 2012 20:37
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Jesus-tapdancing-Christ.
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Okay, just checking. I am sorry you've had many a UTI in your day. I'm on my first one right now ;_; Antibiotics are making it better but now I'm super paranoid that I'm going to get a rash and die because that is what I was told to look out for. Well, not the dying. The rash. So everything itches for no reason. Just be glad you don't have stubborn UTIs that require a second round of antibiotics, which come with the side effects of insomnia, neck pain, and a metallic taste in the mouth 
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Aug 9, 2012 04:12
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 08:33 |
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Geolicious posted:I had about a week and a half of mini "oh my god I forgot my pill" freakouts. I still have them from time to time, I'll look at the clock and realize it's time to take my pill, and then remember that I've been off it for six or seven months now.
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Aug 18, 2012 19:46
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