To start or not to start Seasonale??

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
To start or not to start Seasonale??
7
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 12:31pm
I apologize in advance for bringing the dreaded issue of Seasonale back up again, but I have just been given a sample pack (3 mo. supply) from my doc. to try.

This is my 5th (yes, 5th) pill in less than a year. So far I have disliked all of them (OTC, OTC Lo, Mircette, Cyclessa). All caused weight gain, did not help at all with PMS (actually Mircette caused me to begin an unexplainable sobbing bought the day after my first placebo pill), and made me irritable. OTC & OTC Lo made me so irritable I thought I might go off the deep end... :( My growing discomfort with getting my period every month led me to want to try Seasonale.

My problem is this...I am getting married in 9 and a half weeks (isn't that movie??) and don't know if I want to take the risk of starting on a new pill that may/may not cause BTB. I never had any problem with that (BTB) with any of the other pills I was on. Does this mean I shouldn't expect it with Seasonale? From what I've read, most seem to have had to deal with BTB.

Any advice is appreciated.

Tx.!

Andi

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 12:43pm
One more question. I hate to sound like a dummy, but I am new to this board... what is AF?

Andi in NY

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 1:27pm
Hi Andi,

AF is Aunt Flo, your period. As far as Seasonale is concerned, a pretty high % (in the 30s I think) of first time users experience irregular bleeding at first. You might not, but there is no way of telling unless you try. Nordette is the same formulation of hormones in a 21/7 regimen so you might want to try that first but you are running out of time to get past any side effects prior to your wedding.

I forget what you are on now. OTC, OTC Lo and Cyclessa are all triphasics which are more likely to cause mood swings than are monophasics like Ortho Cyclen (the same level of hormones as the third week of OTC in all 21 active pills). You might want to consider NuvaRing. It has a very low hormonal dosage and is very low maintenance (wear for 3 weeks and remove for 1 for your period) and most of the members posting about it here like it. If you are interested you might see if your doc has some samples and the NuvaRing site http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/index.asp has a coupon for a free ring. Let us know what you decide, ok?

Good luck

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 1:41pm
Thanks, Jill, I don't feel like such a ninny anymore.

I've been thinking about trying NuvaRing but didn't know how I'd react to it. But you're right, quite a few on the board here seem to like it, so perhaps it's worth a go.

Tx again.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2002
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 1:53pm

My personal opinion--if you've only got nine weeks until your wedding and your weight is stable or predictable(so your dress fits), I wouldn't change ANYTHING until after the wedding.

Judie Image hosted by Photobucket.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Fri, 04-23-2004 - 1:42pm
It's extremely important to remember that the 3 month adjustment period when starting a new pill can be a bit of a rollercoaster, but that the ride usually stops during the third month. I was moody before I started OTC, and the first three months I was a total disaster. Unexplained constant weeping, irritability, sleeplessness, depression, manic episodes -- it was a nightmare. but, i stuck with it through the first few months and ended up being more emotionally stable than i had been before i started. I stayed on OTC for another 5 years. my sister went through the same thing when she started on loestrin (so it's not exclusive to the triphasics).

i'm starting seasonale soon (this sunday, in fact) and am hoping that the switch won't result in another mood swing episode like when i started OTC. when my sister switched from loestrin to the ring she didn't have any mood side affects, so if you're thinking you might want to try the ring that's a good thing to know.

however, your chances of having bad side affects are at their highest for the first three months for any hormonal birth control method, and if you never stick it out for those three months, you won't know which medications actually work best for you.

it can be frustrating but try to stay patient and take your pill for a solid three months before deciding how you feel about it. i plan on keeping the discussion board up-to-date about my experiences on seasonale. as someone who only once experienced (very, very mild) breakthrough bleeding on OCP, i'm hoping i'll be in that 35% of women who *don't* have BTB and spotting on seasonale in the first cycle. (~65% of women do, according to the literature)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Sat, 04-24-2004 - 12:31pm
I keep having to comment on Seasonale--I am just so displeased with it! I don't know if you saw my other posts--I have been off the Seasonale for a week now and back on my regular BC and guess what??? STILL bleeding! This Seasonale thing has really screwed me up! It has been so bad, that if I didn't know better, I would think I'd had an early, early pregnancy terminate itself--I have been passing clots like I NEVER have before. (I'd had maybe 1 during a period--maybe--and this has been every day--heavy)

I really liked Alesse, the only reason I stopped was because my ob/gyn didn't have samples at my visit, so I switched to Loestin. I did not like Ortho-Tri-Cyclen AT all--yuck.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding--I wish you the best!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Sat, 04-24-2004 - 1:11pm
Hey everybody, and happy weekend!

I firstly want to thank all of you for responding to my post...it has really helped! Why didn't I find this place earlier?? LOL

I think that I've decided to stick with my current method of BC (Mircette) for the time being... Then AFTER my wedding, I will revisit the issue. I really DO NOT like Mircette, but as cl-JudieRae suggested, if I can live with what I've got right now, I shouldn't mess with it since then I risk a bigger mess right before my wedding...that would be a nightmare, I'm stressed enough. So thanks Judie for your 2 cents!

I will probably try Seasonale after the wedding. If I experience major BTB problems, I will decide then whether or not to stick it out. I hope it does work for me, not having my AF for a few months at a time would be dreamy! ;)

Thanks again all!

Andi in NY