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Post by camille on Mar 14, 2007 12:28:04 GMT -5
My doctor has strongly recommended birth control to me because my pain is spreading and increasing. She says I have a severe case of endo and that I need to do something to try to control the bleeding. I have scheduled blood work and a pelvic ultrasound for tomorrow and then my doc referred me to a new, highly recommended gynecologist.
I do not want to go on birth control because of everything that I have learned here but also because when I was on it in my early twenties it gave me severe anxiety. Has anyone else experienced this? anxiety, heart palpitations, etc. from BC pills?
I've read through the threads on BC but really feel at a loss for what to do. I really like my doctor, and I trust her. And, I have been doing all sorts of alternative therapies. I want to give it more time but she scared me when she described it as "bleeding internally".
and of course I have PMS so all of this overwhelms me...
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Post by ouchy on Mar 14, 2007 12:39:30 GMT -5
The first pill I was on, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, made my heart race like crazy. It also caused fibrocystic breast lumps. I had a lot of anxiety, but I don't know if that was totally attributed to the pill.
I actually had MORE bleeding while on every single birth control pill/patch I was on--10 or 11 in all! That is because I had breakthrough, sometimes lasting more than a month! Yes, you are "bleeding internally" w/ endo when you have your period, but if you have breakthrough for weeks at a time due to the pill, you will have that much more "internal bleeding."
Side effects can also include: Vaginal atrophy, death of cervical crypt mucus cells, increased risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), increased risk of stroke, increased risk of certain cancers (while the risk for other cancers decreases), breakthrough bleeding, dark patches of skin on the face, weight gain, increased risk of yeast infections...the list goes on.
Not all people experience all of these side effects, but many women do. It's ultimately up to you! If you don't feel comfortable with it...don't! I've actually managed my pain better since quitting the pill over a year ago! And most of my daily pain that I thought was from endo actually wound up being from vaginal atrophy from the pill--even urinary pain and pain from intercourse!
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trish
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Posts: 157
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Post by trish on Mar 14, 2007 13:56:05 GMT -5
I agree with ouchy...some people have side effects some do not. I have been on the pill for over 17yrs and never had problems. The Dr has switched pills and patch though out the those years.
They work well for me infact it was one of the many reasons I quit smoking....so I could stay on the pill.
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Post by ouchy on Mar 14, 2007 14:33:45 GMT -5
LOL! That's the coolest motivator I've heard of to quit smoking!
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trish
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Posts: 157
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Post by trish on Mar 15, 2007 7:52:09 GMT -5
Okay....I know there were alot of other reason to quit. But the Dr told me if I do not quit by 35 no more pills. Plus we do not want kiddies and my husband keeps putting off the snip, snip...who could blame him!!!
I do not mind BC pills they regulate my period. I have been on them so long my body does not know any better!!!
But I do have some GF who the pill just makes them sick!!!
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Post by camille on Mar 15, 2007 13:05:08 GMT -5
Maybe I should ask, are many of you on birth control and has it helped anything?
my doctor suggested that it will help keep the endometriosis from spreading. I don't see how unless I were to stop having a period all together?! which I won't do. Is there any reason to try this?
thanks ..........
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Post by camille on Mar 15, 2007 13:06:08 GMT -5
oh, and Ouchy, I was on Ortho also. I was told later that anxiety is a side effect!
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Post by ouchy on Mar 15, 2007 13:37:21 GMT -5
my doctor suggested that it will help keep the endometriosis from spreading. I don't see how unless I were to stop having a period all together?! which I won't do. Is there any reason to try this? Basically, it puts you into a false menopause. Even the placebo week you have is not a real period, so technically, it does stop your period. However, any bleeding that you do have (withdrawl or breakthrough) will still continue the progress of the endo. It does play with your hormones, and the progestin thins the lining of the uterus so the overall blood loss from the shedding of the uterus is supposed to be lighter. So, basically, if you skip placebos and don't have breakthrough bleeding, the overall loss of blood should be less.
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Post by ouchy on Mar 15, 2007 13:41:16 GMT -5
oh, and Ouchy, I was on Ortho also. I was told later that anxiety is a side effect! In my case, I believe my anxiety was from being stalked. I quit the Ortho Tri-Cyclen while I was still being stalked, and my anxiety/stress level was the same. It's good that quitting Ortho Tri-Cyclen could help some people w/ stress/anxiety, though!
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trish
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Posts: 157
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Post by trish on Mar 15, 2007 14:25:43 GMT -5
That is why I questioned seasonale....is it safe not to have a period??? Any ideas?? I did a little reading and it does not seem as bad a I thought.
They compared continous BC and no period to being pregnant for 9 months...you have no period when your preggers.
Never heard as anxiety being a side effect but everyone is different. I started anxiety after I quit smoking . Anxiety can be caused by alot of things in one life.
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Post by ouchy on Mar 15, 2007 14:35:36 GMT -5
Yah. I guess the only thing different in taking the pill as compared to being pregnant are the synthetic hormones and their effect on the body. I guess it is more like a menopause, though, in what it does w/ the hormones.
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Post by camille on Mar 15, 2007 16:14:52 GMT -5
thanks! Ouchy, you should be a doctor!
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Post by ouchy on Mar 15, 2007 16:23:14 GMT -5
I was gonna' be. Actually probably would have gone in to gynecology or genetics. Then, I found a loophole in another medical field of interest that only required a M.S. degree. Once I finished my B.S. degree, the requirement changed to a doctorate! None of the undergrads were grandfathered in!!! Now, I'm stuck w/ a useless degree and a lot of science and biology books. lol. I'm far from a doctor, but I may go back someday. In the meantime, I just read, read, read.
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Post by painpainpain on May 22, 2007 16:02:15 GMT -5
I am on the pill continuously(Alesse21)...I am still experiencing pain in my RLQ, back pain and nausea. I also have had breakthrough bleeding for 18 days the first time I started bleeding and now am bleeding again and this is day 19. Not to mention I had a regular period during the first pack of pills. So I maybe will bleed for a total of 40 days and I'm in my fifth pack of pills shortly going to start my 6th. I do have some other issues though that I will be tested for shortly. I am convinced that the pill is not working, if this is solely endo related, and I will be telling my gyno that I'm coming off of it after the 6th pack is finished. He told me anyways that my endo should be gone after 6 packs and I'd be back to normal!!! HAHA was he wrong...nothing has changed really other than the fact that I don't have a regular period anymore...I just bleed and bleed and bleed. I think I would rather know when my period is coming and not be totally shocked that I just start bleeding for no reason what-so-ever. Anyways, not meaning to discourage you because the pill does work for some women and not others. I have other things going on, I think, that may be affecting the pills performance so I have to take that into consideration as well. It's your choice and don't be pushed into it. I wish I had that way of thinking when this started. I'm not sure if I thought I had a choice whether or not I would have went on it but I was so convinced that this doc was my saviour that I just did what he said. You don't have to do that...neither do I!! Our bodies, our choices. So always weigh the good with the bad and make informed choices that you feel comfortable with! You'll feel better for it.
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Post by ouchy on May 22, 2007 16:08:28 GMT -5
I think that's stupid for your doctor to tell you that after 6 packs of a low dose like Alesse to tell you that endo would be gone. I was on a high dose--wayyy higher than Alesse for over a year continuously (no placebos for over a year), and I still had endo during my lap! If it makes you feel better, I had breakthrough with Alesse as well. Several of my friends even without endo (have had diagnostic laps) have breakthrough bleeding while on the pill, too. It's more of a hormonal thing rather than an endo thing. We women w/ endo seem to be pretty susceptible to hormonal things, though! They can give you supplemental estrogen to stop the breakthrough or have you double up on pills, but that gets old after a while! I wound up having to double up at least a couple times a week to prevent breakthrough. That's when I decided to stop the pill completely.
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