hi everyone :)

[awwison.livejournal.com]

i recently went to the gyno for the first time (an experience i don't look forward to repeating) to get some birthcontrol. My doctor put me on the pill and acted like everyone in the world should be on the pill. He seriously didn't tell me about any side effects or anything but I talk to friends who have been on the pill and they tell me a whole nother story. I'm sure this has been asked a million times but you guys are so nice so I figured you wouldn't mind giving me some advice/input.

Did you guys experience a noticable difference in your moods/emotions once you started the pill? Did you act different? Did anything physically change? Weight gain, spotting, ect.

I'm emotional and bitchy enough without the pill to make it worse. lol. I'm 15, if that would effect it at all. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

xoxo
Allison

Comments

[sarahliz.livejournal.com]

When I went on the pill the first time I was on ortho tricyclen and had serious mood swings the week before my period (during the last week of pills). It took me a couple of months to figure out what was going on, but it became pretty clear that it was hormonal. I did some reading and discovered that this isn't exactly uncommon. My solution was to take B6 supplements (since the pill can really mess with your nutritional levels and I found a number of articles recommending B6) and switched to ortho cyclen. I didn't have any problems after that, though I had to go off the pill a few months later because I was having chronic headaches (as the result of a viral infection) and the hormones weren't helping those. I went back on the pill four months ago and immediately began taking B6 to forestall any problems. So far I haven't noticed particular changes in my mood but it's hard to tell. I'm a graduate student so I'm prone to rather drastic stress-related mood problems. As near as I can tell, however, being back on the pill hasn't made those worse.

[awwison.livejournal.com]

my doctor gave me ortho tricyclen. did your mood swings start right away? I'm thinking that if I do notice a difference in my moods I can go off the pill but I'm still worried.

[pull-rank.livejournal.com]

I've been on Ortho Novum 777 for almost four years and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. But everyone is different. I had no noticable bad side effects, only good ones like shorter, lighter periods and bigger breasts.

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

id like shorter, lighter periods and bigger breasts. lol.

[poekitty.livejournal.com]

it made me a giant bitch, to everyone around me. plus, it made me more depressed. that is why i dont take hormones:)

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

did you notice those side effects right away? when you went off, did they go away soon?

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[poekitty.livejournal.com]

hmmm... i am still a giant bitch and havent been on the pill in over a year... ;) i stopped wanting to die though. now i just talk about it. :)

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

do you think that is pill related?

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[poekitty.livejournal.com]

yes, i know the increase in my mood swings and depression were based on the pill. it was the tri-cyclen kind. the other kinds where it is one strenght throughout i was fine :)

[erynchrista.livejournal.com]

the moodiness is key! and sometimes, when you least expect it, you may have a SUPER light to NO period. which is sometimes cool, but sometimes not, because then you freak out totally. but yeah, the first month i was on the pill i was an emotional basket case. i cried too much. :p anyway, don't worry too much about weight gain. there aren't too many pills out there anymore where that is a significant worry. usually, that worry goes along with the shots.
um...let's see.....oh, and on the good side of things....NO PMS symptoms. I don't know about anyone else, but I never have to deal with major cramps and bloating anymore. Oh, and ortho tricyclen and some others are supposed to be awesome for the complexion. i'm on a different pill (but will be changing to ortho evera the patch soon...), but i've seen good results. :D

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

these bad symptons seem to be outweighing the good :(

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[erynchrista.livejournal.com]

ahh...but the bad symptoms don't last much past the first month! it's worth it in the end. i promise!

If you're happy and you know it

[ramona-romaine.livejournal.com]

I was only on the pill for about 2 months and was miserable, rude, aggressive, less creative.. just generally, not a happy girl. There is the possibility that it might have balanced itself out had I stayed on for longer, but it really didn't seem like it was worth the wait to find out.
I definitely appreciate my hormone-free body and thousand times more now.

[elizabeth.livejournal.com]

I've been on Ortho Tricyclin for a couple of years. I've tried quite a few other brands, and this is the one that made me the least psycho. Even still, I had a bit of a roller coaster ride for the first month, but it was really not too bad. I cried at Hallmark commercials, convinced myself that my boyfriend was cheating on me, and decided to quit everything and get an MFA (not anything I ever considered before). Then my first period came and everything went back to its normal state of insanity.

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

have you been normal once that first month was over?

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[elizabeth.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Normal for me, anyway. ;)

[najalaise.livejournal.com]

You're getting a lot of good information on side effects, so I thought I'd address a different issue altogether. You should never feel pressured into medication, particularly if you don't feel that possible side effects have been addressed in enough depth.

I do agree with your doctor, however, that sexually active women who have not made a well thought out decision that they want children should be on some form of birth control. Condoms don't quite count, in my opinion. They're the best bet we have for disease prevention, so I'm a strong advocate of their use for that purpose. However, there's just too much of a chance of them breaking to trust 'em any further than you have to. For birth control, have a back-up plan.

Birth control that isn't condoms doesn't automatically mean the pill, though. There are all kinds of other options that you should read about and discuss with your doctor. If he doesn't seem well-informed, or pushes the pill too hard, look into Family Planning or Planned Parenthood. Also, if one pill doesn't work for you, never be afraid to ask to switch. You don't need to decide to live with side effects before making sure that nothing else will work better. There are tons of different kinds- monophasic/triphasic, low dose or higher doses, combination or progesterone only, and many variations within those groups.

Find a method of birth control and a doctor you're happy with!

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[awwison.livejournal.com]

thank you :)