tell me what is going on

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2003
tell me what is going on
2
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 12:59am
Hi!

I've been having some problems with my gynecologist and a questionable condition of high blood pressure. Since Oct. 2002, I have been on Ortho Tri Cyclen (1 year) Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo (3 months) The Ring (3 months) and when I went on the ring my female doc. told me to go get my BP checked. Thing was I couldn't get an appointment for another month, so I asked if I could get another Ring, so I could have my BP checked while I was on that. They said NO! Okay. Then the boy and I were going out of the country traveling for a few days, and I was going to have no BC with me, so I realized I had an pack of Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo, that I had stolen the last pill from to correct another missed pill. (Hope that makes sense.) So I've been on that pill all this month with intentions of seeing the doctor for Blood Pressure and then seeing what I should do.

We were having sex for the first 2 weeks I was on the Pill and then I thought we should quit because I don't have the last pill of the pack. Well, 3 days ago I started spotting/breakthrough bleeding (is it the same thing?), which I have never experienced before. I am thinking this is because I was a dummy and took a higher dosage of horomones than I was getting on the Ring. Will my period be late because of the bleeding? Will I be able to distinguish the two? Ick.

And my doctor and I have decided it will best to take me off of BC completely for at least a month to make sure my Blood Pressure is okay.

Thanks for listening to my hysterics. :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 8:18am
My guess would be that you probably won't see a difference between what's going on now and your "period" if you're still taking active pills--this could be very normal considering that it's technically a pill switch (we'll get to your beating with a wet noodle later... ;) ) and it's the first cycle. Remember that late-cycle bleeding is very common when switching pills!

I had higher-than-normal bp for a while, I was taking Ortho Cyclen at the time, but I was also eating canned soup every day for lunch. Wouldn't you know it, I switched to the ring and stopped eating canned soup and my blood pressure went down! I guess I don't do well with large amounts of sodium....if you haven't already scrutinized your diet, that might be an easy place to start. Things like pre-prepared meals that you get out of the freezer and pop in the microwave, soups, snack foods, and diet soda can be really high in sodium and not necessarily taste salty. But your heart knows! Other obvious things are to exercise more, watch caffeine intake, drink plenty of water, try not to stress....

Good luck, I hope things go well!

Judie

Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 3:51pm
I'm not sure how high your blood pressure is/was, but when I first started on OTC my doctor was a little concerned because my BP was on the high end (it was about 130/80). so, we set up a routine: she gave me a six month prescription, and every six months i went back to get my blood pressure taken and get a refill. one thing that i had to do for the first couple years was lie down on the exam table for about 15 minutes before they took my blood pressure. I tend to be an anxious person, so I think that little relaxation method helped a lot. with some diet and lifestyle changes my blood pressure has been nice and low ever since. at it's worst it was as high as 150/90, but after 10-15 minutes of relaxing it went down to a normal level. You might want to talk to your doctor about your lifestyle choices and maybe make a routine like I had with my doc. just an idea.