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Post by Karen on May 8, 2009 6:30:49 GMT -5
So i was wondering, does anyone else on continous BC still get PMS symptoms? I find the week before the placebo pills (which i don't take, just go straight to the next packet) i feel really PMSy, i get a bit irratible and a bit more sore, as if things inside me are gearing up for the next week. I find this weird as there is no change in the hormones i'm taking, so how does my body know which week i am in? I was a bit slow to figure this out, but YES, I noticed that too (I was on Mirena). The more interesting thing? I kept track of my pain levels every day and even though I didn't get a period, I ALWAYS saw a spike in pain every 4th week, even without a period! I can't explain it, but I think it'd be impossible to be in your head.
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Post by rach on May 11, 2009 3:43:54 GMT -5
Wow so glad to hear someone else knows what i'm talking about!! It's very strange huh....(i'm waiting for someone like Ouchy, who knows so much about hormones and cycles and all that stuff i'm pretty clueless about, to give some insight...no pressure though haha!)
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Post by grneyes1281 on Oct 18, 2010 20:46:43 GMT -5
Hi all,
sorry, I am unsure as to where to post this topic. I have a question about birth control. Anyone on Loestrin24 for their endo? How do you take it? Is it typical to take the pills with no placebo pills (when done with the last pill, you automatically go to the next pack)? That's what I did this month. No placebo pills. Just straight to the next pack. I still got a period. My gyn was not specific as how to take them. He just told me when I started to take the pills, to start the first pack the first day i got my period. he's impossible to reach. he is only there wed for a few hrs (I am in class during this time), so I cant really ask, but I like him very much. It seems to be working for me...and I still got a period while I was on the pills. anyone else take pills with no placebo pills? i googled it and apparently its common for those who suffer with endo.
just confused.
thanks!!!
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Post by Tara on Oct 20, 2010 15:13:13 GMT -5
Yes I took continuous BC pills for 8 months, now I am trying the lupron injection so I have stopped the BC pills, I found them great, I no longer had a period (even though I always had a period on them before - it is the continuous part that stops the period). My periods were extremely bad, so this was great not to have them.
Yes you are correct you just don`t take the placebo pills and you start a new pack after your three weeks of the pills, so that your body does not have a cycle.
your doctor should have been more clear, you may want to talk to the pharmasist - they are the pill experts, if you can`t get a hold of your doctor.
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Post by chicagogal2 on Oct 20, 2010 20:57:30 GMT -5
Here's my experience with continuous BC pills. I was diagnosed in 2002 with endo but I was never given a grade for it and none of it was ever removed - this was all done in canada - maybe they handle removal differently. Anyways, after the laproscopy I was put on the BC pills. My endo was a little different than most being that I never suffered with long, heavy bleeding - it was just very painful. When I moved to Chicago 2 months later I saw one of the top gyno's and she put me on a different BC pill and I remained on that until June 2009. I took the pills all the time, just rolled from 1 pack to the next only stopping maybe 3x per year for a bleed. Sure, I had spotting from time to time and some cramping but that was easy to tolorate. Towards the end I started to have some bleeding during sex and the dr told me that my cervix was thinning and that she could freeze it but that might not be the best option if we wanted to try for a baby. Went off the pills in June 2009 - my body immediately protested - I went into menopause, had the hot flashes and didn't get a period back. I went back 2 months later for blood work and was told that my FSH level ( which is the hormone that controls the ovaries and egg production ) was thru the roof which is bad, a fertile woman should be very low and as you get older that # goes up which means you have less of a chance of ovulating. I was basically told that I was in ovarian failure, that I'd never have a baby and to start to consider adoption/egg donation. I was devistated but didn't give up. I prayed alot and stayed positive. Went to see the fertility dr. 1 month after that and was told the same thing as the first, my FSH was actually higher! I waited it out and finally in October of 2009 I got a period on my own! The next month got another one and on and on. I finally got pregnant on my own in March of this year but lost it after 6 weeks. I have follicles from the few ultra sounds and my FSH is finally at a 7. I guess the risk of the bc pills is that some people don't return to normal like I did so to me that's a big concern if you want to get pregnant. I would also say that if you are young and know you want a family in the future, to look into having your eggs frozen so when you want a family and if for some reason this happens to you - the eggs are available. The fertility dr. said that there is nothing wrong with our uterus - many of us can carry a full pregnancy, the trick with endo is if you have it on your tubes or other places that can block the eggs or sperms. Anyways, that was my experience with continuous bc pills. I am suffering monthly, every 30 days like clockwork with a period and just praying that one day I'll hit the jackpot again and be pregnant soon! If I don't get pregnant in the next 6 months I'm strongly thinking of having my eggs harvested and going back on the bc pill treatment.
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Post by jhogan on Oct 22, 2010 9:41:35 GMT -5
Looks like I'm late on this post, but I'm a new member so I do feel like I need to weigh in on the BC pills question due to recent experience. Continuous pills have not worked well for me because they use progestin which thins the lining of the uterus and in my case, thinned it so much that the uterine wall can not hold onto any tissue or blood at all so it constantly sloughs off causing me to experience break through bleeding and two week periods with heavy bleeding intermittently. Unfortunate side-effect of these types of bc pills my gyn says - and I'm supposed to just be okay with that? I will say that I have less cramping and pelvic pain, so if that is your primary goal then it might be great for you. I want lighter and less bleeding AND relief from pelvic pain, abdominal pain, IBS, etc. Also, my gyn put me on the Vivelle dot (estrogen patch) to stop the bleeding from the pills and WOW, just that little bit of estrogen made such a difference in my emotional state. So sad that women need estrogen but for women like us, endo is an estrogen driven disease so.....
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Post by jessabug on Aug 1, 2011 17:00:33 GMT -5
Hi ladies,
As some of you know I've been on the NuvaRing but my new OBGYN told me to start using it continuously and only remove it every 3 months for a period. I've never done continuous BC before, and was wondering, do you still get period symptoms when you aren't supposed to get your period? I would be on my period now if I weren't using NuvaRing on a continuous cycle.
I had cramps and backache and a crotchety attitude on the last two days of my last ring, but as soon as I took that one out and shoved a new one in those symptoms went away...... but the crotchety attitude didn't. If the other symptoms are gone, shouldn't this one be too? I feel really ornery and irritable this week (I usually get pretty crabby on my period, but am very amiable when not on or near it) and even the smallest things really get under my skin and drive me nuts. What's my issue?!
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Post by 1234 on Aug 1, 2011 17:03:35 GMT -5
I've been on continuous BC before, several times, and all I did--EVERY TIME--was bleed like a stuck pig.
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Post by jessabug on Aug 1, 2011 17:05:51 GMT -5
That's yucky myrtle! I hope that doesn't happen to me! So far I haven't had any breakthrough bleeding, but it hasn't been long. As of yet I'm stuck with on & off nausea and a real peachy attitude.. lol
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Post by Karen on Aug 1, 2011 19:06:38 GMT -5
Hmm, I think we have some threads on this already... I'll have to dig!
Even though you're not getting your period, I recently read that you ovaries still go through the cycle, though not to the extent that it would before.
Every time I used to skip my periods, I would ALWAYS get the symptoms, including the weight gain. The kicker was that if I got my period, my weight would go back down to normal. If I didn't get my period, my weight would never go down.
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Post by Karen on Aug 1, 2011 19:07:33 GMT -5
(I'm going to combine this with an existing thread)
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Post by cherry on Aug 2, 2011 8:35:07 GMT -5
My year on the pill has come to a nasty end, I've been spotting for weeks (as my gyn said, my body would let me know when it wanted a break) so have stopped in order to have clear out of the old womb. An ultrasound showed it all chubby and ready to go, so we're gonna go. Go have a bitch-ass period. Tell you what though, I feel far less hormonal/pre-menstrually psychotic and I'm only on my second pill free day. I hate hormones but between being a moody cow or cycling every month with the full compliment of endo symptoms, I have to pick being a cow. According to my mother we bleed more if we drink alcohol cos the body uses the period as a kind of waste disposal. So I'm expecting that next week I will wake up looking as fresh faced as a supermodel mermaid from Pirates of the Caribbean. And to have disposed of some rusty old bicycles and household rubbish, like a canal that needed dredging.
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Post by painttheseconds on Aug 2, 2011 9:59:58 GMT -5
I'm been on continuous bc for a year now as well and my body hates it. I've gained 15 pounds over the course of being on the bc and I'm bloated nearly all the time. I'm seeing a new obgyn tomorrow to discuss bc options. All I know is I just can't do this continuous bc anymore. It's making me miserable. I'm seriously considering the diaphragm or nuva ring.
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Post by disturbedme on Aug 29, 2011 21:43:16 GMT -5
Is there anyone here with happy/good stories of being on continuous birth control and it helping them? I am thinking of getting on birth control after having a laparoscopy for an endometrioma and the surgeon finding some endometriosis. I want to hear of the good stories/successful stories people have had on birth control. I am trying to figure out what would be the best birth control for me and I'm having a hard time deciding. I don't want side effects and I don't want to gain weight from it either.
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Post by JC on Aug 30, 2011 5:29:34 GMT -5
You're never going to know what side effects you get from the birth control unless you try it. That's the sh*tty part about treating this disease. You just have to try it. There seems to be a general consensus that the nuva ring has the least amount of side effects for all of us although there are some women who have had a hard time with it. It's all a matter of trial and error unfortunately. I wish I could tell you which one would be best for you and promise that they won't have side effects but there's just no way of telling.
When you see your doctor again, tell him/her your concerns and ask him, "what will be our plan if I start getting bad migraines," or "what will you do for me if I start to gain weight." If you talk to your doctor about what you're worried about and ask what he plans to do about it, then it might give you a little peace of mind knowing there's a plan if you have a hard time trying a particular birth control. If you're concerned with blood clots then ask if he'll monitor your PT/INR levels while taking the BC. If you develop a plan with your doctor then it takes a lot of mystery and fear out of trying these things.
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