Seasonique anxiety.

[engravers.livejournal.com]

So... I did a bad thing. I googled experiences with Seasonique, which my doctor just prescribed me today (although I wont start it until the 29th). I have awful anxiety in general and I have always been TERRIFIED of taking any kind anything other than antibiotics, whether it be birth control or pain killers because I am so afraid of the side effects or dependency/addiction. But I'm going to be moving in with my long-distance boyfriend in a month and quite frankly, the diaphragm sucks and is really inconvenient. So I figured I'd pull up my big girl panties and try the real stuff, until I read about never-ending periods, acne breakouts (which, along with weight gain, my doctor told me to my face would most definitely not happen on this birth control? Wut?!) The pharmacist already warned me that I'd probably experience some spotting while my body adjusts, which is fine, but... Weight gain and acne are the biggest reasons I have refused birth control - I just don't want to create any problems for myself, you know? I've never ever had any legitimate health problems (other than being quite overweight, although I have no problems and my health is otherwise perfect) and my periods have literally been regular since day one; they have consistently been five days long with cramps only on the first day. I've always considered myself pretty lucky in that aspect and now I'm terrified that my beautiful five-day-long period is going to turn into a months-long period from hell.

So I guess I'm just wondering if you all could share some success stories with Seasonique or the generics? Because now I kind of just want to throw the pack out and become a nun. :(

Comments

[loototherah.livejournal.com]

I haven't used Seasonique myself, but I have a friend who's on it and she absolutely adores it. We haven't talked in detail about it, but I know she's very happy with only having four periods a year instead of twelve. In addition, she was able to successfully diet her way down to a size six from a size ... I think it was fourteen, AFTER she started her BC. So, she didn't have any horrible stories of weight gain or inability to lose weight!

I've never had any godawful experiences on BC, per se. No massive weight gain, no new accumulations of zits (though I really wish BC would get rid of the ones I already was developing...), etc. My first BC worked for my cycle but eventually affected my mood to the point where I realized I wasn't quite myself anymore. No big deal, I went back to the gyno and asked for something different. Now I'm on Lo Loestrin, which is my BC godsend. :) So whether you find your meant-to-be BC on your first try or not, don't fret! You'll never know until you try. I'm so glad I decided to start BC. I was significantly (and still am) less worried about getting pregnant if a condom breaks or anything like that, I know with much more certainty when my period is going to come (though Lo Loestrin pretty much got rid of my period -- I only "bleed" for a day), I no longer have cramps, and having to take a pill every day has helped me get into a routine.

So! Long story short, there will be horror stories about every type of birth control. However, the majority of women who take each form don't suffer from all, or even some, or even any, of the negative side effects.

My only other advice to you would be this: If for some reason Seasonique makes you more nervous than other birth controls because of its method (four periods a year), then I would check all the posts in this community about stacking packs. Seasonique pretty much just stacks BC packs for you, from what I understand (I could be wrong, but that's what I've heard). Stacking is a common practice! Women regularly skip periods while they're on BC on purpose.

I don't think you need to declare nunhood just yet. Give Seasonique a fair chance. :) The best thing about BC pills is that you can stop whenever you want (as opposed to getting Implanon or something like that). That's what I did with my Nuvaring. I just didn't put one back in, and boom. Done. That was it!

Good luck!

[engravers.livejournal.com]

Thank you sooo much. I have read up on stacking but Seasonique stacking for me for 3 months is way cheaper! I only paid $20 for it with my insurance. $20 every 3 months, I mean, there literally could not be a better scenario for me, haha. But seriously, thank you again for this comment, it really made me feel better. I guess there's no point in freaking out because anything could happen and I won't know until I try. :)

[archangelbeth]

...HBC co-pays are totally irrational, if you pay the same amount for 3 months vs. 1 month, just because of brand! I want to go around with newspapers and nerf bats and chase insurance beancounters. (Not to make you pay more, but so other people could get, like, 3 packs and pay the same!)

Ahem. Anyway, far as I know, Seasonique follows the same 21/7 rules as almost all other combined estrogen/progesterone HBC. So if you ever get weird bleeding, you can figure if you'll be able to abide by 21-or-more active pills on either side of a 4-7 day break, and if so, take that break. That's often the fastest way to unconfuse a confused uterus.