I did it b/c otherwise, I would have had my period during my honeymoon. It worked fine & I was able to get back to my regular schedule afterwards. Just don't do it continuously.

I've heard that period skipping doesn't work as well if you're taking triphasic pills; supposedly, it works better with monophasic, where the pills are all the same. That said, it's probably worth a try and won't hurt you.

I think that's true. I tried to skip once when I was on OTC and it didn't really work. I've switched to a monophasic pill, I might try it again

I tried to take pills continuously the last time I went on them.....I would like to qualify this by saying I have never done real well with the Pill, but when I was really young I could take them with no problem other than slightly elevated blood pressure. Anyway this last time (which was about a year ago) I just skipped the placebos and kept on going with the actives.....it worked great...at first. I was period-free for about 6 weeks. But then I began to bleed and it didn't stop for over a month. Finally I gave up on it. I stopped bleeding about a week after I quit, and then it didn't take long for my normal cycle to kick back in.

My husband and I have used the old shotgun method ever since our younger child was born almost 6 years ago. I was on the pill briefly when he was about 2 and got pregnant on it (I miscarried.) Then I tried the pill again last year. The old shotgun method has worked fine for us, but then again we are 30 somethings with 2 kids for whom pregnancy is not desired but also would not be a disaster. So it's all very individual. I think I am going to have him neutered this year and not have to worry about it!!!!!!!!!!!

for the first time in my life, i'm changing my pill!

i'm moving away from ortho and onto seasonale.

i was on ortho tri cyclen to begin with, switched to ortho tri cyclen lo, and i decided i'm done with having a period 12 times a year. i'm going for 4. well, after the first year, i'll be going for every 4. although i'm hoping my body takes to this drug nicely.

you'll have to let us know how you like it. i'm intreged by this pill.
good luck with it

I'm not on seasonale but I only have do the period 4x a yr routine. The one thing I will say is that you forget how much the whole PMS/Cramps/Periods package sucks and then when you finally hit the 4 months you wish you never had to deal with it!

Anyone use an IUD? My gyno suggested it today. It just sounded a bit risky. (Still have to research on my own.)

i heart seasonale. the summer has been much more enjoyable. i haven't had any problems with seasonale.

eta: no problems with craps or pms either.

Lol craps or cramps? Both can be problems during that special time. (lol sorry for the TMI)

I loved Alesse, but it wasn't formulary and expensive, and I'm allergic to the generic form. I switched to Levlen (Yasmin) about a year ago and the only thing I've had problems with were my cycles started a day later (and were shorter!) and at the risk of being TMI, the "dried out" side affect seems to be a bit more noticable. But I can't go off of a lo-dose pill because of my diabetes, so the docs gave me other ideas. But that's the only real change I've experienced.

But why change a good thing? If you love Alesse, why switch?

What's Levlen? I've never heard of that. I'm on Yasmin and at $47 a month, I can't afford it anymore, but I also can't afford the excruciating cramps 1-2 week "visits".

It was on the Yasmin chart in my doc's office. It's low-dose and generic. So it might be in the same "family"/drug manufacturer as Yasmin, but may not be an exact relative of it.

Sorry for the confusion. I threw out the box as I'm waiting for my refill pills to ship. The Rx label usually says what it substitutes if it's generic. I'll look it up and see what it's non-generic form is.

So my doctor just put me on Ortho Lo to regulate me and help with my pain. This will be my first time on the pill. I'm supposed to start the sunday after my cycle begins - will this prolong my period? Anyone know?

Is it new? I was in the doc office I think in February, but then again I duno if there was even a Yasmin chart up. The reason I'm on Yasmin is because it has a diaretic in it so that bloating will be kept at a minimum... not that it still doesn't happen. He said there is no generic to Yasmin, so if this pill is a relative of it, I'm definitely gona look into it. It's ridiculous that my insurance doesn't cover birth control, even for medical purposes. I'm sure if I was a guy and needed Viagara it'd cover it.

The pill will probably cut your period short if you start taking it while you have your period. In general, the pill often makes your period shorter and lighter.

Well this is excellent news! Thanks valkyrie. I need to start writing these questions down before i go see my doctor :)

birth control
 

I do not trust condoms , 2 years ago I was pregnant , unfortunately decided to abortion. now I do not have a regular sex life so wondering if there is a healthy way for protection other than condom.

I've never used protection in my life. :D

Hopefully, then, you're a virgin.

Either that, or he likes Mr. Winkie resembling a cauliflower.

I'm not a virgin. My partners have always been on birth control pills. I never wore condom. :)

Birth control pills are not 100% effective against pregnancy. They do not protect at all against sexually transmitted diseases.

This is not rocket science.

Wrap it up or live with the consequences.

You are right.

I love it too, i think i have an infection, i'm not sure if its from the ring though, but so far, my skin has cleared up, my mood swings aren't as bad as they usually are, and i'm finally regular, esp after going 6 months of not getting my period after getting off the patch... (i wish they still had it though... :()

ROTFLMAO!

I started NuvaRing almost 2 months ago and I don't have any problems with it.

Anyone on NuvaRing can you PM me?

I'm taking the progestin-only pills (sometimes they're called mini-pills but I don't really know why because they're no smaller than combination bcp's) and so far, I have only had a little bit of spotting during the week when I "should" have had a period but so far no actual periods! I've been taking them for several months now and it's great. I have to take them because I'm breastfeeding, but I'm sure anyone could request from their doctor to take them instead of the combination pills because they're just as effective. I'm just saying...not having periods is a wonderful thing.

You're not having periods because of the breastfeeding...not because of the pills.

And they're called mini-pills because they're not as effective as regular pills. You don't need them to be when you're breastfeeding. You wouldn't want to take them instead of normal BC pills.

NUVARING is the best thing that has happened to birth control in a long time, one thing I hate about hormones though, is my poor facial skin...it's just getting spotty all the time, and that's not cute!

I have never had problems with acne until now:mad:

psht... i wish... when i'm not on BC... it's soooo bad... and its finally starting to clear up- but its still so annoying and gross :(

try cetaphil, it's been working for me

I just got my last shot oif Depo last week - I've been on it for 7 years. This shot is going to get me through my wedding, then my doctor is putting me on this pill called "Estrostep" (I think) so that my skin can clear up. My skin has only been REAL bad on Depo in the past year or so, it kinda sucks. She says this new pill is going to definitely clear things up for me. She actually has me starting the pill about a month before my wedding so my skin can clear up before the big day. Yay!

I was on estrostep for like 5 seconds and thats one of the BC's that totally messed with my head and made me act so crazy... I HOPE that doesn't happen to you ( i think i just have a very adverse reaction to BC pills) and I hope it clears everything up :)
btw- I have had a few friends on Depo and they either loved it or they hated it (one of my friends kept getting crazy infections and was very very dry during sex.... but i've had other friends that swore by it)

No, before I started taking the pills I was having regular periods every month, which is part of the reason why I started taking them in the first place, since having periods was a sign that I was ovulating despite the breastfeeding. The literature that came with the pills compared them with regular BCPs and they're only like 3% less effective.

I think that's just evidence that all types of birth control really do affect different women in a variety of ways...my sister was on Depo and she went through the same reaction you described to being on Estrostep. I think people assume that what works for some women will work for them...but that's not necessarily the case.

Hmmmm...I haven't been through the whole thread, but is anyone else on Loestrin 24 Fe? I stopped for a while because my insurance sucketh and stopped paying for anything, but I've since gotten back on it, and have been for a couple weeks.

Thing is, I got it primarily to avoid the monthly cramps from hell and to help clear up my skin...only two weeks back on and my skin's still a mess (well, as messy as mine ever gets, which isn't a lot, but it's still not fun to deal with past high school!).

I haven't built up a tolerance to this, have I? Eesh.

I'm on Loestrin 24 Fe, and have been for about 6 months. I like it okay--it all but eliminates my period, and I've never really had bad skin. So, it's virtually a wonder drug for me. The fact that the placebo pills are iron supplements make it even better.

I had some anemia issues, so that's why I was put on the Fe version.

I guess I have to wait a little while for my face to clear back up...maybe it's stress instead? Bah.