Choosing a pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2004
Choosing a pill
3
Tue, 11-16-2004 - 7:27pm
Hey,
my college infirmary just discontinued puchase of ortho tri-cyclen, the pill i've been on for the last couple of years. if i want, they can switch me over to several other pills. i was wondering if anyone had good/bad/helpful things to say about Alesse, Desogen, Mircette, or Nordette for me, particularly as it pertains to finding something kinda similar to the pill i was on before. obviously, i'm consulting with the doctor before i can change over, but i was hoping i might get some personal testimonies here as well :) i am 21 and am taking the pill for birth control, but also to help alleviate the wicked cramps i get each month and hopefuly continue to clear up my skin. thanks for your time!
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2004
In reply to: krysis
Tue, 11-16-2004 - 10:17pm
I am on Desogen, but I'm not using it as birth control so I can't tell you how effective it is for that.


CL for Acne

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-02-2004
In reply to: krysis
Tue, 11-16-2004 - 11:19pm

My doc put me on Mircette to help with cramps, but it didn't really help at all. Otherwise it was a pretty good pill, but i switched due to the fact i was still getting bad cramps. Good Luck!

Allison

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: krysis
Wed, 11-17-2004 - 7:16am

In theory, any of the birth control pills on the market should be able to help with what you're looking for. But some will do it better for you than others, probably. The unfortunate part is that no two women will have the same reaction to the same pill (well, they can, but we don't know who that will be ahead of time!). So even if I were to tell you that Pill Q made me walk on water, you might try it and hate it. ;)

Desogen and Mircette have the same progestin in the same dose, but Desogen has 30mcg of estrogen and Mircette has 20. It's a similar situation with Alesse and Nordette--the progestin is the same, but Nordette has more of both the progestin and the estrogen and Alesse has less. The progestin that's in Nordette and Alesse is related to the one in Ortho Tri Cyclen, so if you're looking for similarity you -might- find it there. Norgestimate (in OTC) is derived from levonorgestrel (Nordette), so it's got the same parent, but it's a lot less strong. Sometimes side effects can be related to the progestin itself, sometimes just to the strength of the progestin compared with the estroge, and sometimes due to the estrogen content.

It's kind of a crapshoot! But all four are good reliable pills, so don't be afraid to try any of them! Good luck to you!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control