questions about stopping the pill...

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
questions about stopping the pill...
6
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 4:34pm
hi, i have soooo many questions about going off the pill.

when i was 17 (i'm 24 now) i went on orthocyclen for birth control. about a year ago i switched to ortho-tricyclen lo. (planned parenthood had switched over, so i did too).

ever since i can remember i've been sort of a "psycho" in relationships, i've been very emotional and moody, and it's really killing me. one doctor even diagnosed me with anxiety disorder about 2 years ago. i also have weird weight fluctuations- there are times where i feel bloated and also times where i feel very thin. i'm a leo (emotional anyways), and a friend of mine who's also a leo said she'd been on the pill for years like me, and when she went off it, she felt awesome. she use to get really bad mood swings etc as well.

i'm wondering if the pill is what's causing all my trouble! i'd really love to experiement going off of it, but i'm unsure how it will affect me, since i've been on it for 7 years. please help!

thanks!

kitten

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2003
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 4:50pm
I was on the pill for 20 years, except for 2 pregnancies and most recently 6 years. When I went off the pill in August, I immediately felt great! No more moodiness, lost weight, had more enery and a great sex drive. If you can rely on another form of contraception (my husband is getting a vasectomy) I would highly recommend going off the pill. But honestly, if he wasnt getting the vasectomy, the pill would be my #1 choice(or a form of it such as the patch or nuvaring).
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 5:16pm
Hi Kitten welcome!

Triphasic pills (like OTC-lo) stand a greater chance of causing mood swings than do monophasics. I was on OTC for 3 years. When I stopped, 23 cycles ago (But who’s counting, right?) I felt sooo much more alive after the first week. I dropped a bit of weight and my libido came roaring back within 2 weeks. I definitely recommend you give it a try. If you decide to stop then, as ilv2cook said, be sure to begin using another effective method of contraception immediately after your last pack. What I use is a cervical cap between periods and a diaphragm for flow control and contraception during them. That combination has worked very well for me. If you want to know more about non-hormonal choices just ask. If you find that you want to go back on HCs, or just switch to something other than OTC-lo, then NuvaRing is a very low dose, low maintenance device that a lot of posters here have had good luck with.

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2003
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 5:35pm
Going off of the pill could help your problems, every woman's body reacts differently!!!

I went off the pill last summer, after nearly ten years on the pill. My moods are MUCH more even, I really like how my body feels under the influence of its own hormones!!! I also happen to have shorter, more widely spaced periods, with minimal PMS & cramps, than I did on the pill.

Make sure you have a reliable means of birth control lined up if you do decide to go off the pill!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 11:00pm
same here, I have a lot of questions about stopping the pill. I've been on it for 4-5 years now and it's jsut recently that I've been having problems with PMS cramps (never had it in my life until the past 3-4 months), major headaches during that week, and loss of libido. Do you think these are a result of the pills? I'm currently taking Triquilar ED, I used to be on Orthotricyclen until I switched to the other one 2 years ago. Also, some of my friends say that the pills lower the chances to get pregnant in the future. Is that true?
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 10:35am
"Also, some of my friends say that the pills lower the chances to get pregnant in the future. Is that true?"

Some people claim this, but I have never heard medical proof of the claim. My theory on this (don't take it as truth, just my thoughts) is that you don't know whether or not you CAN concieve, until you try. Someone's been on the pill for years, then wants a baby & can't concieve....... they blame the pill....... who says they would have been capable of concieving in the first place?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:58am
I think for some it may take longer for the pill to get out of their system. It took me 10 months to conceive my first child just after stopping the pill and start trying to conceive the following month. With my second child, I was off the pill 7 months before trying to conceive and got pregnant on the first try......