birth control

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by nittanygirl

Most contraceptives stop the ovaries from releasing an egg, so that way there is not an egg in the uterus to be fertilized.
So I *think* you would still have a real period.

That's just how I always understood it.

No, agzg is right. It's withdrawal bleeding from not taking the hormones. That's why you can keep on taking the Pill without the placebo week without bleeding.

I never took Seasonique or Seasonale, but I did take the Pill straight without a placebo, a few months at a time, for a few years. I was never worried about pregnancy because it was never my only form of BC.

[nittanygirl]

From the Planned Parenthood website:

How Do Birth Control Pills Work?
It's pretty common for people to be confused about how birth control pills work. Here’s what it boils down to: birth control pills are made of hormones. Hormones are chemicals made in our bodies. They control how different parts of our bodies work.

Some birth control pills contain two hormones — estrogen and progestin. These are called combination pills. Some are progestin-only pills. Most women on the pill take combination pills.

The hormones in the pill work by keeping a woman’s ovaries from releasing eggs — ovulation. Pregnancy cannot happen if there is no egg to join with sperm. The hormones in the pill also prevent pregnancy by thickening a woman’s cervical mucus. The mucus blocks sperm and keeps it from joining with an egg.


The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

So that's how I always understood it. And your uterus still "sheds" but is thinner and not what it would be if you weren't on the pill.
Like I wouldn't think to think I could be pregnant if I were still getting a period. Hmm...

[Low C Sharp]

In the unlikely event of getting pregnant while on the pill, you shouldn't get the withdrawal bleeding, whether whether you're on a 21-day or a 3-month pill cycle. The pregnancy would keep the hormone levels high enough to avoid bleeding.
________
BossIsHere

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by honeychile

It's been years since I've taken the pill, but I have a question for those of you who do. I think the name is Seasonique (?), which has four periods a year? How do you know if you're pregnant on that? It may sound like a naive question (and probably is) but everytime I see the commercial, I wonder how.

Take a pregnancy test, basically. Or have unusual breakthrough bleeding.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

In the unlikely event of getting pregnant while on the pill, you shouldn't get the withdrawal bleeding, whether whether you're on a 21-day or a 3-month pill cycle. The pregnancy would keep the hormone levels high enough to avoid bleeding.

Or if you do it's usually far lighter than it is normally. I know someone that claimed she got her periods for three months before finding out she was 3 months along, but it turns out it was much lighter and she mistook it for a regular period.

I won't take Seasonique or such because I would feel the need to take a test every month...I like the sense of security I get with a normal regimen. But that's what I would do if I were on a pill like that and having sex...take a test halfway through the 3 months just to make sure.

[WCsweet<3]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

Or if you do it's usually far lighter than it is normally. I know someone that claimed she got her periods for three months before finding out she was 3 months along, but it turns out it was much lighter and she mistook it for a regular period.

I won't take Seasonique or such because I would feel the need to take a test every month...I like the sense of security I get with a normal regimen. But that's what I would do if I were on a pill like that and having sex...take a test halfway through the 3 months just to make sure.

This.

My best friend had two "periods" seven months before she gave birth to her daughter who was a full term baby.

My grandbig is on seasonique and she tests regularly just because she is worried. I probably would too.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by WCsweet<3

This.

My best friend had two "periods" seven months before she gave birth to her daughter who was a full term baby.

My grandbig is on seasonique and she tests regularly just because she is worried. I probably would too.

This is what I was thinking. I don't see having only four periods a year as any big plus, as you'd still want to know if you truly were pregnant (I would think!).

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by honeychile

This is what I was thinking. I don't see having only four periods a year as any big plus, as you'd still want to know if you truly were pregnant (I would think!).

Since you very well might still have the withdrawal bleeding when pregnant - and a lot of people just skip the placebo week as there's no medical reason for it - most people consider themselves protected as long as they keep using it appropriately.

When I was on Depo I didn't worry about it at all.

Now the month of spotting, that I worried about, but it wasn't anything like typical withdrawal bleeding or a period.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by honeychile

It's been years since I've taken the pill, but I have a question for those of you who do. I think the name is Seasonique (?), which has four periods a year? How do you know if you're pregnant on that? It may sound like a naive question (and probably is) but everytime I see the commercial, I wonder how.

I took Seasonique or Seasonale (the sister med with low dose estrogen in the withdrawl pills) for three years. I now take Lybrel which is taken continuously with no periods...EVER! I have not had a period in 18 months. If you take your medicine religiously, you know you aren't pregnant because you've been taking your medicine. If you are a nervous nelly, you can take a pregnancy test every month (which I did periodically until I got used to it.) If I was pregnant, it'd be the longest pregnancy ever! LOL After awhile, your ovaries are so controlled by the pill that you don't even have break through bleeding. Your likelihood of having a pregnancy is extremely low. BTW, I take Lybrel because of migraines and a need to prevent pregnancy. When I am on the withdrawl week, I will have 2 migraines per day every day until I start the pills again. Every three months was fine for awhile until they came out with Lybrel which made it possible for me to never have to do it again. It's been heaven!

[ThetaDancer]

I've been on Yaz for about two years now and I like it; I've never had any problems with side effects, aside from when I initiallly switched from Ortho to Yaz because the change in pills sort of messed up my system.

Four of my friends were also on Yaz and liked it, but their doctors have taken them off of it recently (like in the span of the past 6 months) because apparently their Drs no longer trust that it's safe (one of my friends even said her Dr mentioned a possible recall?).

I saw my Dr. last week and she said its a-ok. I trust my Dr. and I really don't want to change pills, but I'm sort of confused about why other doctors might not trust it. My attempts to do my own research have made things even more confusing.

[nittanygirl]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

I've been on Yaz for about two years now and I like it; I've never had any problems with side effects, aside from when I initiallly switched from Ortho to Yaz because the change in pills sort of messed up my system.

Four of my friends were also on Yaz and liked it, but their doctors have taken them off of it recently (like in the span of the past 6 months) because apparently their Drs no longer trust that it's safe (one of my friends even said her Dr mentioned a possible recall?).

I saw my Dr. last week and she said its a-ok. I trust my Dr. and I really don't want to change pills, but I'm sort of confused about why other doctors might not trust it. My attempts to do my own research have made things even more confusing.

I did a switch from Ortho to Yaz and wanted to throw up every single morning for the first month and a half I was on Yaz. The change made me so sick in the beginning. But I was also switched off Yaz for health concerns about it. Maybe it has to do with yours/their medical history that some are more at risk?

[amanda6035]

Originally Posted by amanda6035

It just flat out sucked. I know I'm going to seem like a wimpy baby to the other women on here who've had it done, and without trying to be gross or give TMI, I understand now why when they first came out, they were only given to women who had kids already - because your junk stretches easier.

I had EVER intention of going back to work after the appt. Yeah right. I was thisclose to passing out when it was over. I was wearing a sweatshirt, and I got flush while I was waiting to check out. The lady in front of me was taking forever. Before i could get my sweatshirt off because I realized I was about to roast in it, I slowly slid down the wall I was leaning against. They brought me a glass of water. I thought I was going to throw up. I dont get nautious easily, so it really took me by surprise that I reacted this way.

I am NOT a wimp. It was super embarrassing, and I was trying so hard to just....have it done and be over with. It hurt like hell two little times, but when they were finished actually getting it in, it just felt like regular period cramps. It sucked REAL BAD when they were doing it, but as quickly as it hurt, it was overwith too... I wouldnt discourage anyone from getting one, just caution them that it will hurt. I dont think I was properly prepared for what it was going to be like.

I ended up taking the rest of the day off from work and piled up on the couch with Motrin, M&Ms and Coke. I've had some lower back pain this week, but they said that was normal.

*Bump*

How many of you who had an IUD prior to having a baby, have now had it removed?

I'm scheduled to have mine removed next Monday.....as you can see from my insertion experience, I'm terrified of how it's going to be.

My husband is driving me to work that day, picking me up to take me to the doc, and then taking me home. If it's only half as bad as getting it put in, It's still going to suck. What should I do to be prepared for this?

[APiPhiHottie]

I'm no longer on oral contraceptive birth control, but I tried it out in my first year of university.

I took about 17 pills of Alesse - it gave me ridiculous mood swings, so I stopped.

I then went on Yasmin and, oh boy, did the problems start. I gained 10-15 pounds overnight and felt constantly bloated. I'm a pretty small person, so gaining the weight so quickly gave me stretch marks on my bust (which, luckily, faded once I went off the medication - but it did take a good year). I brought up the issue with the doctor at the campus clinic, but he said it was likely the freshmen fifteen. It wasn't, because I hadn't changed my diet/exercise, but I figured gaining a few pounds was better than getting pregnant. Whatever, right?

Then, a good 4-5 months I started getting these nasty migraines, to the point where I was so nauseous I couldn't go to class. These migraines had no rhyme or reason to them, they just happened out of the blue. The campus clinic doctor told me to keep taking the pill, that it was stress, my period, etc. causing the migraines.

I finally went home at the end of first year and brought up the issues with my family doctor. She immediately told me to stop taking Yasmin and any combined oral contraceptive - she said the migraines could be a reaction/allergy/intolerance to the synthesized estrogen in the pill. She said, if I continued I could possibly have stroke - even though I don't smoke, am relatively healthy and don't have a family history of strokes.

The second I went off Yasmine, I lost fifteen pounds. All gone in ten days. My family doctor said I could trying the "mini-pill" as a future contraceptive. It doesn't have estrogen in it, however, it's not as effective as the combined-pill. I would still have to use another method of birth control if I wanted to be 99.9 percent sure.

Instead of playing russian roulette with birth control pills, my current main method of contraception are "barrier methods" (i.e. condoms, form, sponges, etc.) It might not be as sexy as the "spur of the moments" which the pill allows, but my hormones are not all over the place, I don't gain weight and I don't have to worry about taking medication/hormones which may affect my health.

Silver lining: When I was on yasmin, my skin got really clear. As in I could sleep in my makeup and wake up with beautiful, crystal clear and smooth skin.

[sceniczip]

^^^I've been taking yasmin for about four years and haven't had any problems or cramping beyond light, normal cramping. I've never tried another pill other than the generic of yasmin.

[PM_Mama00]

Same with me for Yasmin. Well, Yasmin, then Ocella, and now Zarah. Same shit, different pill. My week off, I get headaches, but annoying sinus headaches. The day I'm going to start, I get a horrendous cramp that last's not even a minute and then goes away. BUT, I have endometriosis. My doc said to stay on the pill because that'll alleviate the pain from it, and it actually helps to shrink the floating tissue that causes endo cramps. He also knows that I'm a smoker and hasn't mentioned much about that.

I did gain 5lbs every time BCBS switched me from original to generic to new generic.