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Advice
Apr 11, 2006 22:38:00 GMT -5
Post by Shannon on Apr 11, 2006 22:38:00 GMT -5
Hi all, I need some advice. Here is my situation. I am 25 years old and I've been on birth control for about 5 years. In these years I have noticed that when I have sex with my husband, there is almost always pain afterwards. It is kind of an achy pain and it lasts for about 30 minutes. My gynecologist had me have an ultrasound and a transvaginal ultrasound today. It did not show anything abnormal. She is switching me to a medium dose birth control pill (I am on low dose right now) to see if that helps. If not, she wants to do a laparoscopy. The problem is, I am not sure if I want to do this. In terms of missing work, dealing with surgery and having to pay for it. I think I might rather wait and if later, when I am trying to get pregnant, I am having problems, then have it done to check. Does this seem reasonable? Do you think most OB/GYNs would ask for a laparascopy at this point? I do not have any other symptoms and did not have any when I was younger and not on the pill. All my family is very fertile and back when I was off the pill, I could always feel myself ovulating. The pain after intercourse is a nuisance, but not something I would undergo surgery to possibly correct (if endometriosis is indeed the cause). It just seems like if it was, I would be having other symptoms. Any advice is welcome. Thanks
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Advice
Apr 11, 2006 23:04:24 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 11, 2006 23:04:24 GMT -5
Hi, Shannon! I don't' know whether or not you have read my other posts, but I will give you a little blurb on myself and my experience w/ birth control.
I just turned 26 and have been on about 10 different kinds in the past 5 years. I started on birth control pills for pain with periods about 3 months before I lost my virginity (to my then fiance, who is now my husband). My first intercourse was extremely painful. For the next almost 5 years it was hell. Hurting for about 30 minutes after each act. Had a surgery for endometriosis and figured my pain with intercourse was due to endo, which the dr. found. A couple more years go by, still pain w/ sex. Dr. gave me a prescription for Lidocaine to numb the pain. The numbing gel worked, but I didn't like the fact that it was just masking the symptom and not treating the problem. During my time on the b.c. pills, I always had a weird discharge, but it always cultured out negative for whatever they tested for. Even when the doc. thought it was yeast, it tested negative. He was confused and switched my b.c. prescription (because I also had really tender breasts due to the pill and really painful cysts on my scalp). I decided at the last minute not to take the new prescription of b.c. pills and to quit them all together. Wellll, three days after I quit them, the discharge went away...and the pain that I associated with endo surprisingly went away, too! I researched on the 'net, and found that vaginal atrophy (like with menopause) can happen due to birth control pills, especially with the high progestin in the pills that we're typically given to control endo. It's sad to think that I stayed on b.c. pills for 5 years to keep the "endo pain" from getting worse...when all this time it was most likely just from the b.c. pills drying me out! Even my face is looking younger now, too. You can find a post I have made with a link to a scientific study on how only 3 months of birth control pills can atrophy cervical lubrication crypts beyond point of regeneration. ...just some of the stuff they DON'T tell you about what the synthetic hormones in the pill actually do.
You may be wondering what I am using to keep from getting pregnant. I am using ovulation predictor strips (LH strips)--which I buy 50 at a time for $18.99 on e-Bay, BBT charting, saliva microscopy, and bio-feedback. I don't' have a regular cycle, so whenever I notice even a faint rise in LH, we use condoms. Your husband may biiiitch (monitor changed the b-word to "pregnant dog")about condoms, but if he loves you, your living pain-free is worth a piece of rubber!
If you go off of the pill for just a month and just use rubbers for protection, I bet you will be able to tell whether or not your pain is from the pill. I noticed a huge difference in just 3 days off of of the pill, and I do have endo! Now, for the first time ever, sex doesn't hurt--at all (except for during my LH rises, but I think my pain during that is lessening the longer I am off of the pill). If you find that your pain is from the synthetic hormones in the pill, I believe there is a non-hormonal IUD now which prevents pregnancy but doesn't jack w/ your hormones.
If you need to talk more or anything, feel free to e-mail me here on the site. Good luck with everything!
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Advice
Apr 11, 2006 23:35:41 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 11, 2006 23:35:41 GMT -5
Oh yah. Forgot to add, my gyne. told me to quit using chemical lubricants and anything unnatural in the vagina (but I can still use condoms). For a lubricant, my doc. recommended olive oil--extra virgin. Instead of vagisil or anything like that for irritation--the gyne. said to use...no joke, Crisco. Just plain, not butter flavored. hehe. I know it sounds bizarre, and I laughed at him, but it really does work. It works kinda' like chapstick! He said that if you have any pain or irritation vaginally, chemical products just make it worse. Thought I'd share.
****Forgot to note: Olive oil and Crisco can weaken latex, but we haven't had a problem with it so far. I've got the morning-after pill on hand, just in case.
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Advice
Apr 13, 2006 17:57:14 GMT -5
Post by Shannon on Apr 13, 2006 17:57:14 GMT -5
Hi ouchy, I didn't see any way to PM or email you, but I am not very familiar with this site yet. I looked for that link you mentioned, but did not see it. Could you point me in the right direction? It seems odd to me, that the side effects of birth control never list this as a problem. Do you know if others have this problem? It would be a relief if I knew that was all it was before I had to get a laparoscopy to check for endo. It would make sense for me, because I have always been on birth control since I starting having sex, so I have no idea how it would be without being on them. The only concern I would have is that I really can't get pregnant right now so it would make me nervous to go off of them. But I think I definately should at least try before I have laparoscopy. Especially since this is my only symptom. Before I got on b.c. I could feel a slight pain for a few hours around the time I was ovolating. On the higher dosage b.c. I could also feel pain sometimes around the middle of my cycle, but this stopped after I got onto a low dosage. I do not have a lot of problems with lubrication or with abnormal discharge...there may be some problems, but then I don't know what "normal" is really. The pain after sex is about 30 minutes, not horribly painful, but more just achy and I don't want to move around. I never really have any pain during sex, it is only afterwards. The odd thing is that I think the few times we have used condoms, I have not had pain. I thought maybe I had a semen allergy but we tried putting some on my arm (yes, I know, TMI) to see if I would have a reaction and I did not. My OBGYN seemed to think that this is very rare and didn't mention anything about testing for it...she also said my symptoms should be somewhat different if that was what it was. Thanks so much for your help!
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Advice
Apr 13, 2006 20:02:51 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 13, 2006 20:02:51 GMT -5
GOSH! That really makes me mad! No wonder you can't find my thread! Somehow, my whole thread has been deleted! I will try to search for the study online again. sorry!!!!!
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Advice
Apr 13, 2006 20:47:20 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 13, 2006 20:47:20 GMT -5
Okay, this isn't exactly what I was looking for, but it has references from the same author of the study on birth control and cervical crypt atrophy. www.billings-ovulation-method.org.au/act/pill.shtml . if i find the other, better page, I'll post it. It had graphs and all kinds of cool things.
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Advice
Apr 13, 2006 21:11:53 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 13, 2006 21:11:53 GMT -5
Okay, so there is one link, just not the one I exactly posted befre...but I can't find that link now! Too bad the entire thread got deleted somehow!
I do know that a lot of women on here have similar problems and are on birth control pills, but I dont' think they've tried testing to see if the pills are causing most of the problem. A lot of women on here have tried many different pills, though, due to many problems.
I, too, had always been on the pill since before sex, so that is why I also had nothing to compare to--sex before, sex after...So, now that I have quit the pill, I have an after-comparison, and I am almost convinced that the pill was the base of my pain/problem!
I didn't think I had a problem with lubrication until my last year on the pill (I was also taking them continuously.). I noticed it on a very strong progestin pill that I was on. And, I had no idea that I had a problem with lubrication when I first had sex, but comparitively now, I did! Now that I am not on the pill, I can't believe the difference, and I guess it makes sense if the pill atrophies the cervical mucus crypts! I also didn't realize I had a discharge until the last few months on the pill. The doc. had always noted the discharge, but never amounted to anything, yeast once, but a lot of times, and even when it was the worst, right before I quit the pill, the culture was negative. Now, I have nothing like that!
Most of my pain with sex was on penetration, no pain during, and then pain for about 30 min. afterwards, difficult to describe the pain for me, but pinching/aching. Basically, it just had to subside on its own! SOMETHIGN STRANGE---I have experienced the same thing.....there was wayyyyyyyyyy less burning, almost non-existant, if we used a condom. I also brought up semen allergy to my gyne. He said that if the vagina is irritated, any foreign substance will cause a reaction. Now that I have quit the pill....my "semen allergy" disappeared!
I think that more doctors and women in general should be made aware that the pill isn't for everyone! And if we have problems of vaginal irritation and pain with sex, it's not always an STD! I dont' know howwwwwwwwww many times I was tested for STD's....always came back negative. I finally blew up at the doc... test me for something else! I've only been w/ one person and all the tests keep coming back neg!... That's when we got the endometriosis train rolling. I still wish I would have been off of the pill first, though. I believe now that I have had more pain from the pill than from the endo. I'm glad I was diagnosed, but what the pills did to my body was just as bad if not worse! I have so much more energy now that I am off of them! Hope this helps!
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Advice
Apr 14, 2006 11:55:23 GMT -5
Post by M HOBBS on Apr 14, 2006 11:55:23 GMT -5
I HAVE SEVERE PAIN FOR 13 YEARS AND FINALLY 2 YEARS AGO GAVE IN AND HAD THE LAPRASCOPIC SURGERY AND FOUND THAT I HAD IT REALLY BAD! THEY DID A D&C AND SOMETHING ELSE TO BURN OFF THE TISSUE THAT WAS SO BAD THAT IT HAD MATTED SOME OF MY VARIOUS ORGANS TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE UTERINE WALL. AFTER SURGERY THEY PUT ME ON A SHOT WHICH SENT ME INTO A STATE OF MENOPAUSE FOR 6 MONTHS! ALTHOUGH I DO FEEL BETTER I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE SHOT. I ALSO BEGAN TO GAIN WEIGHT AND HAVE HAD A PROBLEM IN GETTING THAT IN CONTROL ESPECIALLY SINCE I AM SOMEONE THAT HAS NEVER HAD A PROBLEM AT ALL WITH WEIGHT GAIN! EVEN THOUGH I AM OFF THE SHOT AND NOT ON ANY MEDS I FEEL BETTER STILL SOME PROBLEMS BUT NOW MY BODY TEMP IS STILL NOT RIGHT I STILL HAVE NIGHT SWEATS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE! I WISH YOU ALL LUCK I AM SORRY BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU I HAVE HAD PAIN IN EVERYTHING THAT I DO!
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Advice
Apr 14, 2006 12:05:53 GMT -5
Post by M HOBBS on Apr 14, 2006 12:05:53 GMT -5
I ALSO WANTED TO SAY WHEN I FIRST REALIZED THAT I MIGHT HAVE THIS WAS WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN IN COLLEGE AND ON THE WAY HOME DRIVING A STANDARD I COULD BARELY LIFT MY LEGS.... BY THE TIME I ARRIVED HOME I COULDN'T LIFT MY LEG TO GET OUT OF MY PANTS. MY MOTHER TOOK ME TO ER AND THE DUMB GUY SAID I WAS JUST HAVING A "BAD" OVULATION. MEN ARE IGNORANT WHEN IT COMES TO THIS. YEARS LATER WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I WOULD HAVE SEX I WOULD HAVE SEVERE PAIN DURING AND MOST ESPECIALLY AFTER. A HORRIBLE ALMOST THROBBING SENSATION AND WHEN WE WERE HAVING SEX IT ALMOST FELT LIKE THAT HE WAS HITTING SOMETHING INSIDE OF ME THAT HE SHOULDN'T. ALONG WITH THIS THE BACK PAIN, AND ALSO BEFORE I START MY MONTHLY CYCLE I HAVE VERY PAINFUL CRAMPS SPASMS WITH MY BOWELS. ( YET ANOTHER SYMPTOM) I HAVE TRIED THE PILL BEFORE BUT I DON'T LIKE TO TAKE MEDS SO I DIDN'T STAY ON THE PILL! WHEN I DID GO FOR SURGERY IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS TIRED OF THIS AND INSURANCE WAS GOOD AND THOUGHT THAT I NEEDED TO JUST GET SOME RELIEF EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT A PERM ANT CURE IT WILL COME BACK MORE THAN LIKELY! I HAVE HAD ONE KID BEFORE I HAD THE SURGERY HE IS 10 NOW AND THAT DIDN'T SEEM TO CHANGE THINGS, I WOULD SAY THAT CONSIDERING HOW BAD I HAD IT I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE HIM! I HOPE THAT THIS HELPS....
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Advice
Apr 15, 2006 0:32:29 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 15, 2006 0:32:29 GMT -5
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Advice
Apr 24, 2006 9:16:11 GMT -5
Post by Cathi on Apr 24, 2006 9:16:11 GMT -5
Hi ouchy, I didn't see any way to PM or email you, but I am not very familiar with this site yet. I looked for that link you mentioned, but did not see it. Could you point me in the right direction? It seems odd to me, that the side effects of birth control never list this as a problem. Do you know if others have this problem? It would be a relief if I knew that was all it was before I had to get a laparoscopy to check for endo. It would make sense for me, because I have always been on birth control since I starting having sex, so I have no idea how it would be without being on them. The only concern I would have is that I really can't get pregnant right now so it would make me nervous to go off of them. But I think I definately should at least try before I have laparoscopy. Especially since this is my only symptom. Before I got on b.c. I could feel a slight pain for a few hours around the time I was ovolating. On the higher dosage b.c. I could also feel pain sometimes around the middle of my cycle, but this stopped after I got onto a low dosage. I do not have a lot of problems with lubrication or with abnormal discharge...there may be some problems, but then I don't know what "normal" is really. The pain after sex is about 30 minutes, not horribly painful, but more just achy and I don't want to move around. I never really have any pain during sex, it is only afterwards. The odd thing is that I think the few times we have used condoms, I have not had pain. I thought maybe I had a semen allergy but we tried putting some on my arm (yes, I know, TMI) to see if I would have a reaction and I did not. My OBGYN seemed to think that this is very rare and didn't mention anything about testing for it...she also said my symptoms should be somewhat different if that was what it was. Thanks so much for your help!
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Advice
Apr 24, 2006 15:14:39 GMT -5
Post by Janet on Apr 24, 2006 15:14:39 GMT -5
If you want to try life off the pill to see if that is the problem there is always an IUD. Or condoms used correctly are pretty effective. My bf and I were using the natural lamb condoms which are more expensive but they feel more real. I was the one with the complaint on condoms, I hate that it doesn't feel right, but with those it feels almost the same as nothing. Plus natural lamb are stronger and less likely to break. They do not protect against STD's but you dont' need that. I now have the mirena IUD which you could use too as the hormones are localized in the uterus and not systemic like the pill. There is also the paragard copper T IUD with no hormones in it. Both IUDs are more effective than the pill since there is no issue with taking a pill everyday at the same time. I spent 11 years on the pill. I didn't have the problems you and ouchy have mentioned, but I did have a lower sex drive and depression side effects.
Good luck to you.
Janet
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Advice
Apr 24, 2006 18:28:36 GMT -5
Post by ouchy on Apr 24, 2006 18:28:36 GMT -5
Hi, Cathy. I noticed that you quoted a reply in the thread directed to me. If you are curious, I already replied to that earlier in this thread and found the links I was fretting over.
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