Lo Loestrin?

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I finally got off my lazy ass to talk to my doctor about going on birth control to keep endometriosis at bay (and I only really went there because I had what I thought was a horrible yeast infection. Nope, turned out my BV was back, and this time, instead of just making me leaky, sore and weird-smelling, it decided to itch like crazy. Fun times!) and he thinks that Lo Loestrin would be my best bet because it's the "mildest" form of hbc out there, apparently. He assured me that there would be no moodiness, nausea, weight gain or spotting (and while I know he can't promise that - and I'm 100% I will be nauseated on these pills because everything upsets my stomach - I get what he's saying.)

Thing is, I'm really freaked out to start it. My gyn/onc decided to start shooting me up with Lupron immediately, before I could talk to anyone about it, and assured me it'd be fine. Like a dumbass, I didn't question it, and entered into the most miserable month of my life. I was suicidally depressed and so moody my girlfriend wanted to break up with me because she couldn't take how short-tempered I'd gotten. That's really what's scaring me the most. I can deal with weight gain, spotting, whatever. I'm just terrified of turning into such a psycho bitch that the best thing that ever happened to me can't stand to be near me. I'd rather go back to being unable to sleep on my stomach because of the giant endo growths than lose her.

So I'm wondering, those of you who've taken it, what side effects did you notice? If it makes a difference, I'm supposed to only take the sugar pills every three months and suppress my period the two months before. I'm not sure if that makes a difference with regard to side effects.

Comments

[realt-stea.livejournal.com]

i have endo too, i took regular loestrin for a while. i've taken at least 10 different types of OCP and lupron. i'm one of those people that gets side effects from EVERYTHING. it was probably in the top 3 of OCPs i've been on that i liked the most. the primary reason i stopped it was because i could never remember to take it, so i would end up with pain and spotting. i did have some weight gain while i was on it, but i was also on abilify at the same time(crazy weight gain), so i'm not sure which it was.

[theatreant.livejournal.com]

When I was trying out birth controls I was scared for the exact same reasons. I *KNEW* birth control had the ability to turn me into a complete different person based on past experiences without me even realizing. So the b/f and I sat down and talked about it, and we agreed that I would try it for a month and see if I could adjust to it. I tried a lot of them over a period of many months and we fought like the dickens on some, I got depressed on other, but he stuck with me because he knew what was happening wasn't me. So I guess what I'm saying is be honest with her about your fears, tell her you're scared to try it because you don't know what could happen with your mood and your relationship, and let her know that you really need some relief that birth control can offer. Hopefully she'll be willing to work with you and get this to work if you really think BC could be the answer to what you need :)

Good luck. And remember, you're not alone! A whole lot of us have tried lots of BC's trying to find "the one".

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Okay, I had to sit here and laugh like a dork at your Stewie icon for about five minutes before I could focus on what you actually said :D

I gain weight from everything, and now I'm on zoloft, which makes me hungry enough to eat an entire continent, so what the hell, at this point, I'm just accepting the fact that I'm going to be fat forever :/ As long as it doesn't turn me completely psychotic, I'm happy.

I tend to take my pills around the same time daily anyway, because my bedtimes vary so much it's just easier, so hopefully that won't be an issue here. Guess I'll find out once this period ends and I start 'em. (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wait or not but this period's been kicking my ass and I just don't feel like adding more fuel to that fire.)

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's an excellent point. Unfortunately it can be hard for us to remember that we're not always in our right minds...we're both a little high strung, both with hormonal and mental health issues. Oh well. At least we're going into this more prepared than we did with the lupron.

[theatreant.livejournal.com]

Totally understandable! He definitely got frustrated with me, I didn't mean to paint a fa-la-la rainbows and happiness picture. Before we started, we printed out little cards that said "One Get out of Fight Card" and we each got some. It was our agreed rule that if things were getting out of hand we could use the card and each go to our side of the apartment and stew about how much we "hated" each other and pick it up later. It sounds really silly, but it was a great way to diffuse fights.

[realt-stea.livejournal.com]

glad i made you laugh :)

i hear you on the being fat thing, though it doesn't help my depression. i guess i've come to terms with it lol.

it's my understanding that you can either start it at the beginning, or sunday after your period. so which ever. i'm a pain in the ass patient and i always just start mine when i get them lol

[loototherah.livejournal.com]

I'm on Lo-Loesterin! First thing I'm going to warn you about is the cost -- my OB/GYN failed to inform me that I wouldn't get covered by insurance because it's a really new drug. It's $110 a month, but at CVS if you buy three months at a time, they give you a 10% discount. Still, big chunk of change. (for reference, I'm on BC/BS.)

Side effects? I don't normally get nauseous from meds, so I wouldn't be able to speak to that. My moods aren't nearly as intensely changing as they were when I was on Nuvaring. If anything, I'm maybe a little more prone to crying than usual, but I don't cry for no reason like I used to. The bleeding is hardly there. I did have one really awful month last month, where I bled for 12 days and had heavy cramps, but that was the first time since May. The nurse at my OB/GYN office said it was probably due to stress (I am in law school, so this is entirely possible) and to keep going with it.

Overall, I really like Lo-Loestrin. :)

[teprometo.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to that particular brand of pill nor of endometriosis, but I can give my input based on a recent switch I made from a monthly period HBC (which I'd been taking for 7 years, though not the same variety all that time) to an every three month period HBC (Reclipsen, generic for Desogen).

I have really no memory of life before HBC because I got on it just a year after I began menstruating. In the couple years I've become much more body-aware and I learned that I have really bad PMS mood swings and also terrible menstrual migraines. So I decided fewer periods in a year was a better bet for me. So far, so good. That week before the period now is complete and utter hell mood-wise. I'm just a total anxious wreck, but I warn my partner when that week is coming up so he knows to be extra invincible when I'm behaving poorly. The headaches are worse, too, but I've been doing a preemptive Ibuprofen regimen that's kept me mostly symptom-free.

I have no idea what I'd be like off the pill, but I find being on the pill totally manageable except that one week every three months when I fall into a suicidal rage. Also, the first couple days of the period, I bleed enough to overflow my menstrual cup in 4 hours. But still. Only 4 times a year!

I'd say try it out and just have a sit-down with your partner about it. Ask for patience and honesty, and try to keep your cool if she tells you your behavior is whack.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I recently got dumped by my insurance carrier (and they're refusing to pay for the surgery I was told I was absolutely covered for, BY THE COMPANY, ugh) so I'm paying out of pocket anyway. Sigh.

Prone to crying I can deal with - I'm like that anyway :) I just can't cope with being short-tempered and ragey.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a misery but...what can I do? I should definitely try harder to lose weight (I lost forty pounds changing antidepressants, but...it's ba-ack), but at this point, I doubt I'll notice a little more weight gain.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

That's hilarious and genius. I may steal that one :)

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I definitely do need to work on not getting snarly when people point out that I've turned into a complete lunatic. I hope my PMS doesn't get much worse (this month was unusually bad for me and my poor girlfriend has been constantly reassuring me that yes everything is okay, somehow without screaming NOW FOR GOD'S SAKE STOP ASKING! The girl's a saint.) but eh, four times a year, I can deal with it even if it does ;)

[elephantus45.livejournal.com]

I have endo, which I'm currently treating with a Mirena (up for debate how well that's going atm). I was on loestrin for about a year or more. It did not make me ragey, like yasmin did, but it gave me migraines.

You just have to try it and see. Its sad really. But do let people close around you know whats going on, it can really help.

[teprometo.livejournal.com]

This is pretty much a verbatim conversation my partner and I have several times every PMS cycle:

Me: *ranting angrily and accusatorily about something I've chosen to misinterpret*
Him: I'd be happy to have this conversation with you, but I think it would be more productive next week.
Me: No, I want to solve this now because I'm angry about it now.
Him: I understand that, but don't you think your mood might be affected by the fact that you have a period coming up?
Me: Yes, but I don't care. I want to talk about it now.
Him: Right, but I don't think we'll actually solve the problem by talking about it now. I think it's best if we wait a few days, and if it's still bothering you, we can talk about it then.
Me: Yeah, but I'm not gonna want to talk about it then because it's a stupid problem and I won't care anymore.
Him: Okay, so does that solve it?
Me: Yeah, for you, but I still FEEL ALL THE FEELINGS!

And then in a few days I'm fine again.

But I think it does help him to know that I'm not actually that impossible to deal with. And giving him some warning helps him bulk up for the impending doom.

[ladysarahii.livejournal.com]

Loestrin didn't work at all for me -- made me have extreme mood swings, and I got very crampy. I never had problems with periods before Loestrin. I was only using birth control for protection, so it might have just made my hormones (which weren't that extreme before) go completely out of whack.

On the other hand, I have a really good friend who thinks Loestrin is one of the best birth controls out there, and my gyno kept assuring me it was really mild. I guess it totally depends on the person.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I'll run that by the gf and see if it sounds like something she could handle. We're both not great at being that rational in the face of being crabbed at, but it's something I know I, at least, need to be working on, so...

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Migraines I can deal with - I hate 'em (like everyone else, I imagine), but I can deal with 'em. Glad to hear it didn't bring on the rage.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm forever the person who gets the side effects that no one else does, so I'm always wary when doctors insist there are no side effects to worry about.

[collsers.livejournal.com]

I'm on Loestrin24, and it only makes me nauseous if I don't eat anything before taking it (I take it in the morning). But if I eat a bowl of cereal, I'm fine.

However, I have had spotting more months than I don't. My period is pretty much non-existent, so I put up with the spotting.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

I was on Lo Loestrin for 2 months. My moods were great, my skin looked amazing. About 1 month in I experienced the most terrible itching and burning problems and it took me over three months, research into vulvodynia when all tests came out negative for STIs, BV, Yeast, or any kind of Vaginitis, and 3 doctors to realize that that lo loestrin was such a low dose of estrogen that I was going through some sort of terrible vaginal wall menopausal reaction.

I've been told that this story is irrelevant and that every person's reaction to BC is different, but you asked for our side effects so this is mine!

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

oh—i also spotted continuously for about 2 months.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Yikes, that's crazy! And hey I'd rather be warned now than think I'm losing my mind later...