Which pill to prevent BTB? HATE Seasonal

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2004
Which pill to prevent BTB? HATE Seasonal
3
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 10:37am
I started Seasonale almost 2 months ago. The BTB has been HORRIBLE!!! When I started, I had my regular period for almost three weeks. It finally went away, and had about 2 weeks of nothing, then I got stomach flu and missed a pill one day. That was two weeks ago and got BTB because of the missed pill and it's still there! I really hate Seasonale so far. I want to switch to a different pill NOW. I used to be on Ortho Tri Cyclen, but when I tried to skip the placebo week to skip my period, I got BTB then as well. Was this because OTC is a pill with different hormone levels for different weeks? What pill dosen't have changing hormone levels? What pills have you all used that you were able to effectively skip your period on.

I definitely CANNOT reccomend Seasonale to anyone...sounds like the majority of people on it are having my same problem.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 1:33pm
Hey Peach:

I am currently using Mircette. It is a monophasic pill (same dose of hormones continuously for 21 days/then placebos). I have never had any issues with BTB on this pill, but then again, I didn't have that problem on the other 3 I tried before this one either (OTC, OTC-Lo, Cyclessa). My body just didn't respond in that way. I did have a bit of an irregular period for the first 2-3 packs when I first started taking the pill about a year ago, but that subsided as my body adjusted.

I've never tried skipping a period, so I don't know how my body would respond to that. . . sorry I can't help you there. But I would recommend Mircette if you have BTB probs. as I haven't had any with it.

And it's my understanding that most women do experience BTB with Seasonale (65% or so) during the first course of the pills (3 months), so perhaps you may want to wait it out a bit longer, but if not, I would certainly understand! :)

Just my 2 cents!

Hope that helps,

Andi in NY

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 3:32pm
Ugh--I am so hating Seasonale too--as everyone knows! (see my latest post up top!) I didn't like Ortho-Tri Cyclen at all. You may want to try a monaphasic pill where the dosage remains the same all 3 weeks--I like Alesse and Loestrin--I have never had so much as a DROP of BTB with those when I skipped the placebo week.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 8:29am
One thing to keep in mind is that the 2-4 months for getting used to a new pill applies to Seasonale too, if not more so than other pills. Breakthrough bleeding is very common AT FIRST with Seasonale because for most women it's a much longer interval between periods and it does take time for the body to get used to that. 2-3 pill cycles is what physicians are recommending for getting used to Seasonale, and that doesn't sound unreasonable when you think about what you're trying to do. I believe the clinical trials for Seasonale went on for a year to a year and a half, and that's where the data for breakthrough bleeding and the other side effects is taken. And to prevent bleeding, especially in a long-duration cycle, it's very important to not miss pills.

Formulation-wise, Seasonale is much like other birth control pills. It has exactly the same hormones as Nordette (and its generics) and the same dosing could be done off-label with any monophasic pill, of which there are a good number, but the progestin in Seasonale is supposed to be a little better at keeping the endometrium stable.

It's up to you if you want to quit early, but what's happening could happen with any monophasic pill on the market, it all depends on how your body handles the particular hormones in that pill.

Good luck!

Judie Cl for Birth Control