Which HBC has lowest hormones / causes least emotional disturbance?

[numbersnletters.livejournal.com]

After the horrorshow that was my six-hour stint with the Nuvaring (read all about it at badbirthcontrol), I am skittish around all forms of HBC. However, condoms being what they are, I remain curious about HBC. I have a few questions for you gals.

1) Which form of (non-implantable, non-injectable) HBC has the lowest levels of (estrogen and) progesterone?

2) When it comes to the effect on mood, what are the differences between combined estrogen-progesterone HBC and progesterone-only HBC? Is one less likely to cause problems?

3) Are certain forms of HBC notorious for causing emotional distress?

4) Are certain forms of HBC known for being less likely to cause these problems?

Thanks so much, lovely women!

Comments

[scien.livejournal.com]

The thing is - some people find they get on better with high dose pills than low dose. It's a mistake to think that a lower dose = fewer side effects. If this was so, we'd all be on the lowest dose pills. Of course, it doesn't work the other way around either.

Finding a pill that works for you is really just a matter of trial and error, and the occasional educated guess. It's not even all about the dose as such, but the proportions of oestrogen and progesterone. But if there was a pill which caused emotional distress (or didn't!) noticably more than any other, doctors would prescribe accordingly. As it is, they'll generally have a personal preference for a starting pill, and then adjust the dose from there.

It's very possible that POPs affect mood differently than combined pills, but I'm afraid I don't know much about them. I suggest you google for the patient information leaflets and read what they say.

[scien.livejournal.com]

I've just read your post on the ring. Your experience was very extreme, and is definitely something you should discuss with your doctor when you talk about going on the pill. Perhaps HBC is simply not the best method for you. There are plenty of others out there :)

[pyrettablaze.livejournal.com]

yes! my own dr. doesnt believe me. I told her that i needed to be on higher dose pills because the lower doses are making me crazy and emotional. I practically had to beg for her to put me back on ortho rather than ortho lo. It really depends on your body and you need to try different things.

[scien.livejournal.com]

*thwaps your doctor for you*

[loonylupinlover.livejournal.com]

Agreed! While after a few months the NuvaRing has worked out fine for me, the first two months were pretty bad -- raging moodswings, nausea, painful cramping, constant headaches. The Patch, which has a much higher amount of hormones (and a different progestin than the Ring), gave me side effects that I could tolerate fairly easily, and I didn't feel like my moods were turning me into some kind of monster. Low-dose doesn't always mean low side effects.

[oceanica.livejournal.com]

I'm going to agree with sweetrush on this one. Definitely consult with your doctor if you haven't already. We all have different experiences with different pills (I'm on Yasmin and I've had a very mild rise in mood swings, but the effects are totally worth the occasional weepy day) and it sounds like since your experience was pretty atypical, it's probably best that you seek professional advice rather than looking around here.

[bronwe.livejournal.com]

NuvaRing has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, levels of hormones. But lots of people find that forms of HBC with higher hormone levels cause less side effects. Hormones affect people differently, so you really have to experiment, because nobody can tell you what your experiences will be.

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this site! It's definitely going in my bookmarks.

Way too many people think that lower horomone is always better... stupid TV adverts for low-hormone pills.

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

Horomones definitely affect people differently.

In order to not go crazy from my own estrogen, I have to be on massive amounts of progestin (yaaay Depo Provera!). My suitemate last year had to have higher estrogen and low progestin, because progestin made her depressed (like massively, scarily so).

So really... it's just trial and error until you find out what your body can handle. Which sucks, I know, especially since it can take up to three months for your body to "get used to" horomonal birth control. But once you find one that works, it's definitely worth it (IMHO).

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

I'm also going to agree with sweetrush and point you to this section (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Hormonal_Birth_Control#What_are_the_side_effects_of_HBC.3F) of the Vulvapedia entry on HBC. Really, there's no one brand and/or combination of hormones that's more or less likely to cause specific side effects than are other brands or dosages. Also, one person's experiences on a particular brand of HBC don't really do anything to predict what another person is likely to experience, so even if people mentioned brands that worked out well for them, it doesn't necessarily hold true that those brands would have similar results for others.