Question about BC pills

[Deleted]

I know this has been asked before, but I'm looking to change to a pill.  Right now I use the patch, but it's expensive and I'm tired of seeing the ring it leaves on my skin. I've never had a kid, so I'm not interested in an IUD, the thought of it scares the crap out of me because I'm afraid of the pain that would come with it.

I know it is obviously different for everyone, but I need some recommendations.  I would like a low dose pill, but the side effects seem kind of scary.  I'm just wondering what the occurrence of the side effects actually is.  This is a dumb question, but the patch is a higher dose of hormones.  By switching to something with a lower amount of hormones, can I expect a lesser incidence of side effects?  Or is this something that is completely dependent on the individual pill?

I am going to see my doctor tomorrow and I'm wondering if it's worth bringing up.  I asked about switching a few years ago, but I chickened out of actually switching because I can barely remember to take a multivitamin daily. 

[pantsparty]

What are your side effects?

I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen for years and the only side effect was clearer skin. I had an alarm on my phone that reminded me when to take the pill.

[DotAndBuzz]

I was on Mircette (both name brand, and generic) for about 9 years before I got pg (on purpose), and then another year or so between kids. Never had any trouble, noticeable weight gain, etc. I don't know about if it is a higher or lower dose, but I think with the lower dose pills you have to be *really* careful about taking them at exactly the same time of day. With "typical" bcp, you have a little wiggle room if you forget to take it at exactly the one hour window when you typically take it.

ETA:  this is not to say you can just, like, not take it, skip days, etc.  But if you forget by a couple hours, it is probably ok.  Like, sometimes I took mine at 8 pm, sometimes at midnight, you get the picture.  An alarm on your phone would be a good idea though. 

[VillainV]

Have you thought about the vaginal ring? I've heard it's a lower dose, and you wouldn't have to remember.

Personally, I am HORRIBLE about taking stuff every day, but managed to remember to take a birth control pill faithfully every single day for over 10 years. I just made sure that my pills were close to my toothbrush, so every day when I brushed my teeth I remembered to take a pill. It helped that my pills were small enough that I didn't need to drink water to get them down like I do with my vitamins. You can always try it to see if you can make yourself remember (you use a back-up method the first month anyway, so it might be worth a try).

As far as WHICH pill might work for you, it's really personal to the individual, and what worked for me might not work for you. You may need to try a few brands before you get one you like. I had some that killed my sex drive and some that gave me headaches. All, however, prevented pregnancy:-)

[Deleted]

I take Loestrin24Fe.
I am extremely prone to side effects from any medication that I take, and I haven't had any from it so far -knock on wood-.

[Deleted]

TMI...

I've been using the patch for 8 years. In the beginning, I would get horrible nausea and threw up a few times. The vomiting went away, but the horrible nausea remains when I start a new cycle of patches. I found by taking the patch off for 3 days instead of 7 really helped the nausea. But now I'm getting breakthrough bleeding and headaches and every couple months horrible cramps.

[Deleted]

I would like to find something that has a generic. If the patch had one, I would keep using it. I have looked into Nuvaring, but cost-wise, it's about the same as the patch.

[dragonfly08]

I took Ortho Tri Cyclen, and later the generic version, for years without problems (well, other than some breakthrough bleeding on name brand that prompted the switch to the generic and that worked).

I do know that I, personally, need a tri-phasic pill. A monophasic regimen, including the patch, is absolutely not strong enough for me...I had breakthrough bleeding all.the.time, irregular cycles, and a constant fear that if those things were happening I had increased likelihood of pregnancy even while on the pill, so I was stressed every month. Moving to tri-phasic fixed all of my problems.

[RoxMonster]

I was on Microgestin 1/20 for awhile which was a lower dose pill and liked it.

Most recently I switched to a progestin-only pill called Jolivette and am doing OK with it so far. I switched because the pill with estrogen was elevating my BP higher than it had ever been before (no other changes in my lifestyle and it is a known side effect of BCP) so my doc recommended I go on progestin-only.

[basilosaurus]

An iud isn't *that* painful for those of us who haven't had kids.

BUT you may be interested to know the fda has recently approved a much smaller iud specifically geared for us. It lasts 3 years instead of 5 for hormonal and 10 for copper. It's called skyla. I have no idea how widely available it is right now, but it's definitely worth asking around if your only concern is pain.

[VillainV]

Jan 20, 2013 16:07:08 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

An iud isn't *that* painful for those of us who haven't had kids.

BUT you may be interested to know the fda has recently approved a much smaller iud specifically geared for us. It lasts 3 years instead of 5 for hormonal and 10 for copper. It's called skyla. I have no idea how widely available it is right now, but it's definitely worth asking around if your only concern is pain.

Good to know.  I'll have to remember that one.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 16:07:08 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

That's good to know. Thanks!

I'm just worried that I'll spend months trying to find something that works for me. I'm a big baby when it comes to pain and nausea/vomiting.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using proboards

[PinkSquirrel]

I haven't been on the pill in years because none of them agreed with me, but with the mini pills the half-life is 22 hours, so you have to take your pill at the exact same time every day. You have less leeway than with the regular pills

[grover]

Jan 20, 2013 12:49:03 GMT -5 @pixiechinchilla said:

I take Loestrin24Fe.
I am extremely prone to side effects from any medication that I take, and I haven't had any from it so far -knock on wood-.

I've been using Loestrin24fe for ~5 or so years and haven't had any side effects. I also like the prescription savings card that cuts the price I'd pay with my regular insurance in half.

[emjacobs]

Here's my reviews for everything I've been on
Ortho tri cyclen lo: dizzy spells and blacking out. Last straw was passing out in the shower

Ortho evra: never could keep the patch on

Yaz: weight gain and horrible mood swings

Nuva ring: personally didn't like the concept. Could feel it during sex

Lo estrin fe 24: love it.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 17:02:52 GMT -5 grover said:

Jan 20, 2013 12:49:03 GMT -5 @pixiechinchilla said:

I take Loestrin24Fe.
I am extremely prone to side effects from any medication that I take, and I haven't had any from it so far -knock on wood-.

I've been using Loestrin24fe for ~5 or so years and haven't had any side effects. I also like the prescription savings card that cuts the price I'd pay with my regular insurance in half.

Can I ask where you got the prescription savings card?  That's my biggest problem with the patch right now, is the cost.

[grover]

Jan 20, 2013 19:57:47 GMT -5 @rpbc said:

Jan 20, 2013 17:02:52 GMT -5 grover said:

I've been using Loestrin24fe for ~5 or so years and haven't had any side effects. I also like the prescription savings card that cuts the price I'd pay with my regular insurance in half.

Can I ask where you got the prescription savings card?  That's my biggest problem with the patch right now, is the cost.

My friend works as a pharmacist and he originally told me about it, but it was listed on the brand's website.  When I first got it, it was only supposed to be a one year deal, but I've been able to renew it an additional two years. It's the only way I can afford this particular pill (I pay $24/month, with insurance only it'd be $50, retail price is now close to $90). I tried the generic but had side effects, and I tried a few others and I found this one to be best for me.  Another thing you can do is ask you doctor for samples- my new gyn won't give me samples since she knows I've been on this pill for a while, but my old gyn would give me between 1-3 sample packs each year at my yearly.

[alzi]

Side effects are SO personal.

People here mentioned liking ortho, it made me get fat ( think 10 lbs water weight that would not budge until I stopped the pill. )

Yasmin generic had horrible nausea effects on me.

I loved Yaz ( name brand)