Birth control that won't affect my mood

[piano-player-94.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone!

I've been on a generic version of Ortho Tri Cyclen for about four months now, and it isn't working out for me. I get extremely moody the first week of my pack, I think it's contributing to my depression, and I've been getting migraine headaches more frequently since going on it. I have the migraines under control for the most part, but the mood issues are really unbearable. I was wondering if any of you could suggest another pill or birth control form that would be less likely to affect my mood and make me depressed. I don't think it's hormones, but rather ortho's specific combination of hormones that is doing it, because I was on DepoProvera for a short period of time without any noticeable mood issues. I'm not sure if an IUD would be the best choice since I'm still young and haven't had a child yet, but to be honest I don't know that much about them. Any advice? Also a form of birth control that would also get rid of the migraines would be awesome, but it isn't a must since I have some pills to take for them and other coping strategies.

Comments

[lilylemons.livejournal.com]

I got the Mirena IUD when I was 18 (no children). It has a low dose of hormones (progestin only, I think) and tends to work well for a lot of women who are sensitive to hormones. Unfortunately, I am ULTRA sensitive to hormones so after about 2-2 1/2 years on that I began to get severe mood issues with it, so I had it taken out.

The Paragard IUD doesn't have any hormones in it at all, though... which is what I'm planning to try next for long-term birth control. I've tried pills, the Nuvaring, etc... anything with the slightest amount of hormones turns me into a wreck. It's probably different for you though since you said you were on Depo at one point and didn't notice any mood problems. If I were to recommend anything I'd say try out an IUD. They're really, really nice and convenient if your uterus can take it (which you'll usually find out within the first month or so of having it inserted -- whether it gets rejected or what). I never had any problems with it besides Mirena and the hormones involved.

[piano-player-94.livejournal.com]

If I can't find a pill that works, I think I'll definitely try something like Paraguard. I'm just worried that getting it might be a hassle, since most doctors won't even mention it to me as a birth control option since I don't have kids.

[lilylemons.livejournal.com]

Yeah, mine didn't even mention it either, but I told them that's what I wanted to try anyway so they did it for me. I think the main thing with not having children before having it inserted is the pain you may experience during insertion, since you haven't previously been stretched up there by birthing a baby.

I've heard that it doesn't tend to hurt most women much, but when I got mine inserted it felt like he had driven a knife into my uterus. It was such a quick and severe pain that I broke out into a cold sweat immediately, but the pain faded right after that. An hour or so later I began to get some pretty bad cramping (comparable to menstrual cramps), so I just took a few Ibuprofen and relaxed. I don't recall having any other issues with it after that day.

[piano-player-94.livejournal.com]

I checked out IUD_Divas, and it sounds like the pain thing isn't uncommon. The med center that I'm close to is generally pretty good, so I'm hoping that if I go the IUD route I'll get someone who has a lot of experience with them, and who can make the process as painless as possible.