feeling sick after taking BC

[jsmontage04.livejournal.com]

I'm on day 10 of taking Ortho Cyclen for the first time. I am feeling really sick throughout the day for about 5 days now. If I don't feel sick I do after eating. Is this normal?

also....

I noticed I have 7 green (placebo) pills I was told when I take those I would be getting my period. However she also told me my period would not last 7 days but be shorter and lighter. So if I take the green pills 7 days on a row yet not have a period for 7 days will I still be protected? I noticed other brands do not have as many pills in the middle. My friend has Yaz and it only has a few if I remember. What is the purpose of this?

Thanks!

Comments

[jenn-possible.livejournal.com]

Could you take the pill right before you go to bed or with a meal? That might help.

As long as you're taking 21 active pills and no more than seven days of placebos, you're protected. You might start bleeding a few days into your placebo week, you might start a couple days before, you might start after, or you might skip your period altogether (it doesn't happen all the time, but it can).

Most brands of birth control have seven placebo pills, but a few (Yaz, Loestrin 24, a few others) have 3 or 4.

[laigaiem.livejournal.com]

I used to get sick right after taking my pills in the morning, but I found that if I took them at night, since I was going to bed at the same hour every day, I didn't get sick.

You have seven placebo pills because you're supposed to have seven days off your hormones. The placebo pills help by keeping you in the habit of taking the pill at the same time every day. Even if you don't have your period for seven days, you'll still be protected. The brands with fewer placebo pills are generally lower-dose and so have fewer days off per pack.

Your doctor said your period would probably be shorter and lighter than normal now that you're on the pill. This is true of most people. My pill-periods were shorter and lighter, but they were still seven days and I usually found myself starting the new pack before I stopped bleeding.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

It's normal to have some nausea during the initial three-month adjustment period to a new brand of HBC. If it continues past that, then you might want to try a different pill.

As others mentioned, you are completely protected during your placebo pills, so long as you took all the active pills in the pack and do not go more than seven days without hormones.

Most women taking the pill don't start bleeding until at least their third placebo day (or later!), and HBC can make your periods very short -- when I'm on HBC, my "periods" are only 12 hours of light spotting.

Anyway, how much you do or don't bleed has nothing to do with your pregnancy protection. Sometimes you may even skip a period entirely on HBC and not bleed during that week -- but as long as you're taking your pills as directed, you're fully protected.

My friend has Yaz and it only has a few if I remember. What is the purpose of this?

A couple of brands -- Yaz and LoEstrin 24 FE come to mind -- have a shorter placebo week based on the idea that it'll make withdrawal bleeds (or "periods") even shorter and lighter. It doesn't make a difference protection-wise.

You might find some of the questions in our HBC Vulvapedia entry (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Hormonal_Birth_Control) helpful as well. :)

[hellospaceship.livejournal.com]

I take the same pills and when I started them they made me nauseous too. It eventually went away. It helped if I ate a little something when I took the pill.

As for the 7 placebo pills, I usually don't even get my period until the Thursday or Friday of the placebo week (I'm a Sunday start) and even then it's pretty light. I basically start a new pack of pills 2 days after my period comes.

And yep you're still protected.

[torsornin.livejournal.com]

I was the same when I started pills years ago, it went away after about 3 cycles..it was annoying but not debilitating...Eating or not didnt matter to me I was nauseated either way

[hiriel1804.livejournal.com]

I was very sick when I first started my pills. It passed in about a week. Everyone is different though, and it's recommended to give your body 3 months to adjust before considering changing brands/stopping. I take my pill before bed, and still wake up with a bit of morning sickness if I get up early. If I don't get up until like 9, then the nausea will have passed before I wake up :)

[1girl.livejournal.com]

Have you considered that your nausea may be caused by factors other than your birth control? Honestly, what you're describing is exactly how I felt when I had an ulcer. If I were you, I'd monitor it, and if switching up your pill schedule/experimenting with eating before or after taking it doesn't make things better, or if it doesn't get better gradually on its own, it's something you might want to entertain as a possibility.

[murflegirl.livejournal.com]

I'm on day eleven of my first time taking the same pill, and I'm getting the nausea too. And HEADACHES. I knew it would take some adjustment though.