microgestin fe 1 20 vs junel fe 1 20

[new---noise.livejournal.com]

So I refilled my hbc at a different pharmacy and they gave me microgestin fe 1 20 instead of my usual junel fe 1 20. i was given microgestin when i first started my hbc, but i moved and have been getting junel a my new pharmacy ever since. i know they are basically the same, the same active ingredient, but has anyone who has taken one and then the other noticed a difference in side effects / one being better than the other?

also--my hbc and my ssri (zoloft) have caused some weight gain. if i dont take the sugar pills (i usually do just because...) would that have any significant effect? is that a silly question? haha..either way..any tips for slimming down from hbc? anything to avoid?

thanks in advance

Comments

[archangelbeth]

Some people are sensitive enough to the theoretically-inactive ingredients to experience different side effects on different generics, yes. It's not guaranteed, but it's not impossible, either. As to whether one is better? That's completely individual. (Some people find that they do well on a generic and not on the brand name!) You have to roll the dice for yourself; no one can tell you what you're likely to get. As with starting HBC, it can take about 3 months to determine if a new side effect is going to go away, or if it's going to be the way that brand/generic affects you.

(Loestrin is one of the few HBCs that does seem have a common effect -- causing people to skip withdrawal bleeds -- based on anecdotal reports from VP.)

The "sugar" pills should be minimal true sugar, though they do contain iron. The ingredients of the brown pills are: "
75
mg 
ferrous 
fumarate, 
USP , 
magnesium 
stearate, NF, 
microcrystalline cellulose, 
NF, 
sodium
 starch 
glycolate, 
NF" (http://www.contracept.org/docs/Microgestin-Microgestin-FE.pdf). I don't think that skipping them would do you any good.

For the weight gain... I'd check thyroid, because many doctors don't check thyroid enough, and get the numbers -- they should be around the .4 to 4 range for TSH. Water weight is another potential source of weight gain. Lack of good sleep can cause it. And some HBCs afflict some people with increased appetite, which has its obvious effect. For a few people, the increased hormones do seem to hamper muscle-mass gain (and thus the calorie-burning effects of having muscle-mass), and thus promote fat-gain; anecdotally, this seems relatively rare, compared to the other potential situations.

(And Depo does have a statistically significant chance of causing weight gain.)

Things to avoid: starvation diets! (Basically, don't send your body into famine mode.) dehydration is also not-good, and will tend to increase water-weight/bloating as your body goes, "DROUGHT! MUST THINK CAMEL!"

I'd suggest that thyroid test (since increased estrogen may interfere enough with a borderline thyroid to push your state over the edge into hypothyroidism), if you can, and asking if you can get a referral to, or suggestion for, a nutritionist who could help you make any dietary changes that might be useful.

Chances are, "exercise" will be on the menu. (It sure is on mine. *sigh* Can't wait to get the basement finished so I can stick a machine in there that I'd actually use.)

[indigo-forest.livejournal.com]

This.

Personal experience, HUGE difference how my body reacts to Loestrin vs. Microgestin vs. Junel.. it much prefers microgestin out of all of those.

[happymediocrity.livejournal.com]

I had a very different reaction from Junel than I did from Microgestin. I had experienced some depression on Microgestin, but when I started Junel, I experienced it severely. I've seen a lot of women post here about similar experiences.