[FAQ #4] Hormonal Birth Control (HBC): A guide to one of our most frequently pondered topics

[rockstarbob.livejournal.com]

What is this?
VP is initiating a new kind of FAQ called the Top 20 that will contain comprehensive answers to the questions that are most commonly asked in the community. This FAQ item deals with another oldie but goodie: HBC (Hormonal Birth Control). We will link this post from our side bar as well as the Archives (under "READ THIS BEFORE YOU POST ABOUT HBC") for ease of use.

NOTES & DISCLAIMERS: Before you post with HBC questions, please read this guide carefully. Chances are, you'll find many of the answers you need. We hope this becomes a valuable resource for everyone; however, as our profile page states, this guide should not be used as a subsitute for medical care/advice. Use this (as with everything else you see here) at your own risk/empowerment! This resource was compiled by the VP team and represents our own findings; sources are indicated/linked otherwise.

We get a lot of questions asking people to share their own personal experiences with a particular brand of HBC, to which jennifer0246 usually says, "Birth control is like hair dye. the exact same shade of brown will look very different on you than it looks on me. That is to say, birth control has lots of possible side effects, but they're totally different from woman to woman, and you can't really judge what your experience is going to be like based on what someone elses was like." So please keep that in mind when you're asking around.

Oh, and your comments are welcome, of course, so feel free to leave your own tips and questions here in this post. And hey, if this is the first time you're seeing this item, be sure to scroll all the way down to the comments to see what other VPers have to say.

Let's begin, shall we?

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This Top 20 Question covers the following items:

+ What is hormonal birth control (HBC) and how does it work?
+ What are the different types of HBC?
+ How do I get me some of that HBC?
+ OK, I've got some HBC now. How do I start taking it?
+ What are the side effects of HBC?
+ What happens if I experience periods or “withdrawal bleeding” on HBC?
+ Can I skip periods on HBC?
+ Am I still protected from pregnancy during my placebo week?
+ What do I do if I am late with my hormonal birth control? What if I miss a dose?
+ When do I need back-up protection?
+ Does HBC protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?
+ What can interfere with my HBC?
+ What about generic versions of HBC? Are they safe?
+ So, I've heard that HBC works by making my body think it is pregnant. Does that mean pregnancy tests won't work right while I am using HBC?

( Read more... )

Strange beginning to my period.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

Okay, so tonight I got my period. There was a bit of red blood like usual. Not heavy but I just noticed, except after the first initial bit of blood it always gets heavier. Except tonight I noticed that the blood that followed was a lot like (if not exactly like) the blood I usually experience right at the very end of my period. Brown and... well you know what I mean, not much like usual blood at all. I got my period atleast 4 hours ago and right now I should be normally experience a normal flow, but there isn't ANYTHING there. The last time I went to the toilet it was just like end-of-period blood.

I know it's not anything to really worry about. It will probably hit me when I wake up. BUT I've never actually had that happen to me before except once 4 years ago when I had my period for only a day and I had EXTREMELY painful cramps that followed the day after. I haven't been on the pill for over a year, so it isn't that.

Happened to anyone else? 

period sex!

[blu-birdie.livejournal.com]

A little background: My boyfriend lives faaar away from me for the time being. He visits for a couple of weeks every month and he's moving in with me in about a month or less. We began having sex in December '05, we were both virgins. He visited me last week and went home today. We had sex 2-4 times per day while he was here. And, I'm on a 3 antidepressants, 2 sleeping pills, Yasmin BC, and Provigil to keep me awake in the morning (gotta love my doctors! lol).

My boyfriend and I decided to have sex on my period for the first time. But I dried up very quickly. Also he said I was too "tight" to really get in, and when he could he felt like he was being pushed back out. It was pretty painful for me, too. I was also drier a couple of days before my period. Could the tightness and the feeling of being pushed out be because I wasn't wet enough? Was I not getting wet enough because of my period? Or could it be the medicines I'm on? I was pleanty wet before this. Enough to have sex (that lasts over 45 minutes) four times in one day, heh.

If lube would help could you reccomend a lube that doesn't have glycerin, not sticky, good for very sensitive skin, and available at drug stores? Anything natural would rock.

Thanks!

EDIT Thanks everyone! I'm going to try more foreplay and lube, thanks to the great lube post. I don't know how I missed that!

three periods in almost one month??

[nickybelle.livejournal.com]

I posted well actually about nineteen days ago about having come off the Nuva Ring and getting what was my second period. I had had one two weeks prior to that period then decided to take the ring out ( had problems with it it was not staying in etc etc ). Well I had a full blown period two weeks after another full blown period. Now this was about the 3rd of Feb. Now today I just started my period AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not on any Birth Control we have opted to use condoms because we are considering trying to conceive in March. So this multiple period deal has me freaked. I have always been super regular and never missed a period - only when I had my daughter- after her it started normally was never on any BC but decided in Sept to go on it for conveince and added security... I was on a low dose pill for three months it made me depressed moody and just plain miserable my doctor took me off that and I started the ring in January. I could only handle it for two weeks it kept slipping to the point where I was readjusting so much I was really sore. I had a normal period when it was put in took it out two weeks later got another normal but way ahead of schedule period a few days after removal that was about the 3rd of Feb. I have always had a like clock work 28 day cycle and getting my period today makes for a less than nineteen days between.

Could it be the fact that I was on some form of Birth Control for almost four months and now Im not??
but I had to take a month off between the Pill and Ring,
I had been on an antibiotic and messed up when I was supposed to restart the pill - so there was a month between the pill and Ring - a cycle to be more exact.

I just dont get it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because I am clueless. Do I need to call my Doctor. I mean I am not in any pain its a " normal" period for me its just too early.

Anti-depressants & discharge

[apfelsaft.livejournal.com]

I know a lot has been posted regarding anti-depressants and a lack of sex drive, but what about the effect anti-depressants can have on things like discharge and secretions?

I'm on Seroxat (Paxil in the US) & it seems to have a big impact on my vaginal...landscape? Every night when I take off my pants, the gusset is literally *wet.* I have a huge damp patch. I am pretty sure I am not incontinent nor is it sexual arousal (my sex drive is non-existant.) Also, when I look at myself in the mirror, I see lots and lots of...white paste type stuff (which I think might be smegma) around my clitoris and around my inner labia and sort of up inside as well. I wash daily, but it comes back incredibly quickly. Now, I was the same when I was taking Prozac, another SSRI anti-depressant but for a while last year I was on another anti-depressant called lofepramine which is a tricyclic anti-depressant (a completely different type) and I didn't get all these excessive secretions and white gunk.

So....has anyone else had similar experiences with SSRI anti-depressants? Is it even possible for anti-depressants to affect you in this way?
I need to bring it up with my doctor but I'm having trouble plucking up the courage because a) he's male & b) he's a sort of grandfather type figure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

so a slightly funny story, told because of the recent incidences of carding at random stores. XD

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

I just remembered this story, and thought you girls might find it humourous in a "wtf?" kind of way.

I have a prescription for birth control, and generally my mum picks it up for me, considering I can't drive and she pays for it. For some reason, we had dropped off the original 'scrip at Albertsons, instead of Sav-on where my mum normally gets my meds.

Now, recently, she forgot that, and went to Sav-on. So she asks the guy at the counter if they have it ready, and he says "Sorry, there's no birth control prescription for Noelle [last name] here."

My mum thinks about it for a minute and then says "Oh, I'm sorry, I got a little mixed up - I forgot that we dropped it off at Albertsons. My mistake."

To which he says ... "Yeah, well, what's she doing on the pill anyways? She was only born on 1/10/1990."

My mother blinked, and said, "Yes, I know, I was there. She's my 16 year old daughter, and why do you care if she's on the pill or not?" And then she left.

People are amusingly dumb.

Bad doctor

[stillaworm.livejournal.com]

I needed to rant about this somewhere...

( Cut for me being really pissed off )

Herbal Interactions

[ilikemytie.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of you gals take black cohosh, so I was wondering if it will interfer with B/C. Specifically, I use Ortho Evra.

period oral sex

[naugthy-pucca.livejournal.com]

I feel kinda silly asking this, but here it goes....
So I was talking with my boyfriend today. We were talking about having sex while on my period (Somewhere in the near future. We havent had sex yet). When we used to talk about it, he said he will do it if I feel comfortable. He said he would like to perform oral sex as well.
Lately though, he said that he got info from some magazine saying that guys can't perform oral sex when a girl has a period. He said it is because of certain "microbes" that we have during that time of the month that buys aren't immune to....
That made me laugh a lot. I want to tell him he is wrong but I don't have any backup. Do you guys know of any articles saying that is okay to do it? Do you guys do it?
I think he seriously believes about these "microbes". I would like to add that it doesnt have anything to do with my blood, because he said he would finger me gladly. He is very understanding and thinks it is very natural and even beautiful. I just don't know from where he read that and if it is true. I tried to look it up in the memories but I didn't found anything relating to this "microbes" specifically. Probably because they don't exist!! ^.^

I think I am rambling now =P
help please?

ps. we are both std-free

The strange period just got normal... and that means a bad period for me.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

As a follow up to my post about the beginning of a strange period lastnight, I was right... it was heavy and frustrating when I woke up.

I know that I should be embracing my womanhood, I should be a proud owner of a vagina, but it's this time of month that I wish I were male. I think I'd be willing to give up sex as a woman, give up the "better" orgasms that I've heard are better than the ones that men have, just so I can avoid this pain, the aching in my lower back, my ankles swelling and knees hurting, the dull ache in my abdomen, my boobs extremely sensitive and an entire cup size bigger during this time of month, the headaches, the slight nauseated feeling, my bad mood, the cleaning of the bedsheets and clothes (yes it can get that heavy a lot of the time)... just for a little bit of peace and quiet.

I had a date tonight, but there is no way I can sit through dinner and drinks like this.

Tender Breasts, Late pill... I think I missed my period. = /

[eebohc.livejournal.com]

I haven't noticed until maybe last week, but apparently my breasts have been getting bigger... and for the past week and a half or so, my breasts were sensitive (But my sensitive to touch, does that mean a slight press will hurt, or a full pressured poke?) When I poked them. Today they don't seem as sore, but I'm supposed to be on my period.. Today.

Since I've been on OTC-Lo, me period has always come 4 days into my placebo pills (Always a Friday). On that day, I always get it right when I wake up, or sometime before noon.

I took my second last pill late. I was busy that day and completely forgot about it until I got home at around 9PM, 11 hours after my deadline. I took my last pill on time, and two days later I had unprotected sex (This past Wednesday) and my boyfriend finished inside me.

I'm so worried about this, I was hysterical just a few hours ago when I told my boyfriend that I hadn't gotten my period yet.

Any one know what it might be? Am I really pregnant, or am I over reacting?

Major Bloating and diurex

[nickybelle.livejournal.com]

I am on day two of my period and I am really bloated. I can even notice a change in my face. I read through the archieves and there was only one Post about period bloating and it really did'nt help me at all. I have some diurex but I have never used it before. I am weary of using anything like Midol because they tend to upset my stomach- part of the reason why I have not popped a diurex - that and for some reason I fear it may end up giving me a UTI and I had a crippling one last November.
Does anyone have any experience with Diurex positive ? negative?
I know my mother and Grandmother have used it for years for Period bloating- to simple water retention.
I know the basic anti bloat drill - you get to when you are nine months pregnant in July- avoid salty foods and sodas drink plenty of water.
So basically now I guess I am wondering about the Diurex? since the box i have says these particular ones are for menstral relief.

Every time I get bloated like this I feel like Princess Fiona from Shrek. You know when she goes from being the Princess to the Ogre and her body swells up.

VPFUAA (VP's Frequently-Used Acronyms and Abbreviations)

[rockstarbob.livejournal.com]

This is an update on the post Jen made with all the handy VP abbreviations. It's the same info with just a few additions and some alphabetizing/formatting. As always, feel free to chime in if you'd like to see anything added/modified.

( That's a lot of pink, don't hate me! )

Pills causing cold sore outbreaks?

[byrdee.livejournal.com]

So I'm on Levlen and ever since I started on it, it seems that I've been having cold sore after cold sore after cold sore.

I was just wondering if being on certain types of birth control can cause outbreaks of cold sores? It's really been driving me nuts! I've been on different pills, but only Levlen seems to be doing this to me. I've also had cold sores since I was a little kid, but never this frequently (like, one every other week for the last few months..).

Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you ladies!

bump on cervix

[jaleenafied.livejournal.com]

ok, so google had a little bit to say about this, but not enough to assuage me...and forgive my oversight if this is in the archives...

so, i felt a bump on my cervix. in fact, i felt it a long time ago, a few years, and was approaching a gyno exam. i didn't worry too much about it at the time, assuming that if it was a big deal, the doctor would have let me know, plus i was tested for a few sti's and got a pap, blah blah...

and, well, i forgot about my cervix for a while.

and then tonight i felt it again. it's very near the opening, and it feels smooth and hard and smaller than a pea, but big enough that you could see it if, well, you could look. it doesn't hurt. and i think it's in the same spot that i remember feeling something before, but i wouldn't swear to this.

i'm not trying to screw around with cervical cancer, but i would also be glad to know if this may be non-panic-inducing. any advice is appreciated to the maximum.

Cramping, but no period?

[badcinderella.livejournal.com]

I've been cramping for at least 4-5 days, but there's no period anywhere. I'm kinda nervous. It's not extreme, or debilitating, there's a VERY (I want to stress this.) slim chance that I could be having a miscarriage (Also, I've had one before, and I doubt that's what it is).

Has anyone every experienced this? Am I actually GOING to get my period? Meep?

PS: Usually I 'PMS' for 2 days, then get my period for 6-7. Usually being the keyword, I'm not regulated yet.

UTIs - chronic and intense

[photobooth15501.livejournal.com]

So since the age of about seven I've gotten UTIs that are very intense and very frequent.

What I mean by intense is like I cannot leave the bathroom intense. Let alone go to school or work. I have actually SLEPT on the toilet, DEAD SOBER. If I go to the doctor's for a urine sample I am inevitably in tears by the time I get there, because the pain is so bad. Granted I have never given birth, broken a bone, or had surgery. But the general impression I've gotten from friends is that their UTIs are not this horrible. They are able to do normal daily activities and the infection sometimes just goes away on its own.

One of my kidneys has always been larger than the other, and I've always sort of suspected this may have something to do with my problem. I am on hormonal birth control and I am sexually active, but obviously my problem started way before that, and it hasn't gotten worse or better.

I was wondering if anyone else in the community has experienced intense or chronic UTIs (not related to hygiene or sex). My doctor has never been able to figure it out, but then again my mom made me go to the pediatrician until I was 18 and refused to let me see a gyno (joy!).

I would appreciate stories, information I haven't found, comments, anything.

Antibiotics delaying period?

[poldalle.livejournal.com]

Can antibiotics delay your period? I got my wisdom teeth out last friday and was on antibiotics for four days afterwards. My period should have started on Wednesday and has been eerily regular for the past year so I'm trying to figure out what happened.

Infection

[venus-orbiting.livejournal.com]

I had a mishap on Saturday night. My boyfriend and I were having anal sex, but he was kinda drunk and when he pulled all the way out near the end, he accidentally missed and entered my vagina.

A few days later, I started feeling pain. It burned to pee. I looked up the symptoms, and they lined up with those of a UTI. So I went to the doctor immediately and got antibiotics for the UTI. The urine test isn't back yet, but she agreed with my diagnosis and gave me antibiotics anyway.

The pain receded after three of the pills and I thought all was well, but it suddenly started hurting a LOT to pee this afternoon, much more than it was before. I just checked down there with a mirror. There are a few weird little reddish marks/bumps around the bottom of my opening, and there's a bit of a milky discharge. It really, really hurts to poke the red... whatever they are. So now I know why it hurts so damned much to pee.

What the HELL is THAT all about? :\ I know it's not an STD; we're both free of those. It's gotta be an infection, but I have no idea what it is. I'll go see a doctor about it, but I'd like to have an idea of what it is before I go. Being informed beforehand will make me feel better.

Oh, and randomly, my clit is really negatively sensitive to touch. This symptom is on-and-off; sometimes it's like that, sometimes it's not.