Went off pill - could use your advice
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| Thu, 02-12-2004 - 9:44am |
I am 33 years old and have no kids, getting married for the first time to my awesome live-in fiance in June, four months from today. I've been on the pill on and off for years, have forgotten all the different kinds I've taken, but most recently have been on Yasmin for about two years I think. And everything was fine until a little over 4 months ago when we got engaged and moved into a ridiculously large and beautiful home. You would think I'd be so happy -- had a great fiance and new house, all of that -- but instead I started feeling depressed and not only that, but angry -- like I would wake up and immediately feel like wanting to rip someone's head off. So this has been going on for four months.
I've never wanted to take antidepressants and still don't. So recently I was thinking, what could I do that might help me feel better? So last week I decided to go off the pill - it was a Sunday and I was supposed to start another pack, and I was like I just can't do it, I want to see if I feel better off of it, away from the hormones just in case that has had something to do with this. And it hasn't even been a week and mentally, I felt like a new person. Now there are several bad things about this, though - as in a) what the heck do I do for birth control now, and b) I am worried that my endometriosis will be painful now that I'm off it, as the pill is supposed to minimize pain from endometriosis, isn't it?? I kind of made this decision w/o checking with my doc, cause heck, you can never get in to see them anyway. But I have my annual appt at the end of this month and obviously this is going to be a MAJOR topic of discussion. For now I feel so much better mentally, but I have no idea what is going to happen physically which makes me uneasy. Was I crazy for doing this?? Please share any experiences you, too, may have had. Thank you -- fzz.

I know what you mean! I never had depression, but on OTC my libido nearly died the 3rd year I was taking it. When I stopped hormones, 22 cycles ago I felt sooo much more alive and my libido came roaring back!
Your doc should be your best friend in your search for a good method of contraception. Until you sort out what you want to do be sure to use condoms and a good spermicide (not the stuff that comes with some condoms). Together they make a very effective method of BC. There are a lot of different OCs available so there is probably one that’s right for you. Or, you might want to consider NuvaRing. http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/index.asp It’s a vaginal ring that is worn for 3 weeks and removed for one for your period. It is very low dose and low maintenance and a method that works well for a lot of members.
Good luck
Jill
Fortunately, I don't have endo, so I don't know what to tell you in that respect. But, I know that I, personally, am not interested in taking anymore hormonal birth control.
Getting an IUD requires a cost-benefit analysis because it can cost about $500 (without insurace) so if one does not keep it in for at least a couple of years, it may not be worth it financially. However, one can get an IUD for 5 years or 10 years. I don't know much about endometriosis and how an IUD affects it, but you might want to look into it.
In case you were thinking about Depo Provera- I would think twice. My best friend was on it, and it made her a psycho- worse than the pill. It nearly ended her relationship, seriously. If you cannot find an alternative to the pill, you might want to try a pill with a low dose of estrogen- this helped me to some degree.