birth control

[ZTAngel]

Originally posted by swissmiss04
That was the first bcp I ever took. I didn't gain weight or anything but I was naseated as all get out. I used to lay in bed for hours w/o moving just so I wouldn't puke. Getting up in class every day to go get sick became a ritual. I quickly switched to something milder. I am glad that you have had no problems

Really? Wow...I've never experienced anything like that, thankfully!

[ambición6]

...

[GMUBunny]

Originally posted by JennRN
I am curious about the patch though. Does it irritate your skin were you have it on? I thought that was a possible side effect and my skin is sometimes sensitive.

My skin is sensitive, too but I haven't had any problems with irritation from the patch. The only complaint I do have is the "gunk" that DeltaBetaBaby mentioned. It's the same thing that happens when you have a band-aid on.

[adpialumcsuc]

I Started the patch in about April. Before that I had been on Ortho Novum 7/7/7 for 11 years. I had a random spike in blood pressure so my Dr. took me off of it in case that was what the cause was. He thought the hormone level was too high and wanted me on something lower, like the patch. I absolutely love and would not go back to the pill unless I had too.

As far as the sensitive skin goes, the first few weeks I used it I ended up with a dry patch of skin but nothing to major. I also hate the gunk around it but found that if I washed it well and scraped off any gunk that was on it daily it didn't get bad.

[kateshort]

Allesse and Trojans. One for me, one for him. I figure that's fair enough.

[*Very* rarely, like around July b-days/anniversary and Xmas/New Year's, we'll just have the pill. But I *really* don't want kids until after the promotions take effect and we buy a bigger house.]

[AOII_LB93]

Now here's a random question for those of you who are on or who were on the bcp. Has your sex drive changed at all? Increased? Decreased ? Remained the same? If so how long have you been on your current pill...just doing a little comparative research here.

[DWAlphaGam]

I've been on the pill for about 7 years. First 4 years was Ortho-Cept 28, but I started having crazy mood swings, so I switched to Ortho-Novum 1/35. I take the generic, though, because it's cheaper ($25 vs $10). I've been in a monogamous relationship for over 6 years, and we don't use any backup unless (1) I accidentally skip a pill or (2) I'm on antibiotics, which can mess up the pill. I've never been late or had any problems (*knocks on wood*).

Warning to Ortho Lo users: I know someone who got pregnant while on that, and a lot of gynos won't prescribe it because that can happen.

[AlethiaSi]

Originally posted by GMUBunny
Looks like I'm the first one here to be using the OrthoEvra patch. I was on the pill (OrthoTriCyclen) for years, but I'm horrible at remembering to take pills. I absolutely love the patch and wouldn't trade it for anything. It does not fall off! In fact, that sucker sticks better than duct tape and hurts like a mother when I pull it off every Sunday. Definitely happy with my patch

yea- i love the patch- i gained a bit of weight when i first started it- but i get really sick from the pill- (nauseousness- dizzyness- throwing up etc- even low doses do it to me) so this goes right to my bloodstream and i don't have to worry about it at all- and i'm not sick! woo hoo

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by AOII_LB93
Now here's a random question for those of you who are on or who were on the bcp. Has your sex drive changed at all? Increased? Decreased ? Remained the same? If so how long have you been on your current pill...just doing a little comparative research here.

I was on the pill for years, and I found that it decreased my sex drive. It's been a while since I was last on it, so I don't remember exactly how long I had been taking it.

The last time I tried taking the pill, I got something from Planned Parenthood that made me feel so awful I quit taking it after a week or two. I think my body just can't handle the hormones any more, so hopefully someday soon I'll be able to afford a tubal. I hate the hormonal feeling I get from pills.

[kateshort]

Originally posted by AOII_LB93
Now here's a random question for those of you who are on or who were on the bcp. Has your sex drive changed at all? Increased? Decreased ? Remained the same? If so how long have you been on your current pill...just doing a little comparative research here.

Went on them six years ago February. Have been on Allesse the whole time. Went on before having sex, so I'm not really sure about the sex drive! That's increased naturally over the past few years. (Keep in mind that your sex drive will change as you age-- supposedly ~18 is horniest time for guys, but I've heard that ~30 is the horniest time for women. Weird, eh?) Worst thing about the pill was feeling nauseous and having a bit of soreness in the chest area and other slight water weight gain (bloating?), which lasted about the first week. After that, pretty much fine.

I'm sure I'll have hormone withdrawl when I go off sometime next fall, though...

I was a wreck with pills... really emotional (worse than usual), very nauseous, etc. so I didn't stay on them very long.

I've been on Depo aobut 3 1/2 years...it's been great for me, no weight gain (at least none attributable to that), leveled off the over-emotionalness, and of course, AF hasn't come to visit once

I have noticed a slow decline in my drive... mostly in the last year or so, so maybe it builds up. I plan to go off of it after my wedding, so I guess we'll find out if it was the Depo or just me

edited to add: the only thing I've noticed with it is that I'm mega-emotional the week before I'm due (which happens to be this week... watch out!) and super... affectionate for about a week after. So those hormones really do hit you hard and you can feel a withdrawal-type feeling.

[DGqueen17]

I'm on Ortho-Tri-Cyclen and I have been since I was 16, but there was a few months in between where I went of Levlite because I felt the Ortho was making me fat. Now I don't care I just smoke more. And I think BC makes me hornier. That or I just haven't gotten any for a while.

[Shima-Mizu]

Originally posted by kateshort
Went on them six years ago February. Have been on Allesse the whole time. Went on before having sex, so I'm not really sure about the sex drive!

I've been on Alesse for 4 1/2 years now, also started before I'd ever had sex, so I can't tell how it changed my sex drive.

I've only been on Aless for the past 3 years or so. Had some other higher dosage pills and they didn't agree with me very well, I was too moody on higher dosages.

Might try Mircette next month since it's supposed to be cheaper and the same exact dosage as Alesse. We'll see how that works out. I'm weary of trying new pills.

[PennyCarter]

I've been on Zovia for a while now and never had any problems. I never had regular periods before, and now I skip a lot too. It makes me nervous, but my doctors say its normal (I am a small person). It doesn't seem to effect anything except that if I have a period its on time/regular, but I don't have mood swings or anything else. When I do have a period they are minimal and the side effects (cramps, moods, etc) are the same as before I was on the pill

[GMUBunny]

Originally posted by AOII_LB93
Now here's a random question for those of you who are on or who were on the bcp. Has your sex drive changed at all? Increased? Decreased ? Remained the same? If so how long have you been on your current pill...just doing a little comparative research here.

I've been on some form of bc for so long that I couldn't tell you what my sex drive was like before it.... but, I do know that it has increased since I stopped taking the pill. I think I have an overactive sex drive on the patch, but Mr. Bunny doesn't seem to mind