Breast Enlargement

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2004
Breast Enlargement
11
Fri, 11-19-2004 - 11:02am

I had been using the ring for a while, but I didn't like having to remove it for sex (my partner can feel it & it hurts him). I now switched to Alesse last month but my breasts are sore and growing! In college I took another pill (Ortho-Tricyclin) and grew one whole cup size to a D. I dread that happening again! Is this just the first month swelling or what? Will they go back to normal? I don't want to wait and see for a few months because I really don't need them to be any larger on a permanent basis and when they grew last time, they never reduced once I quit the pill.

Is there another pill that won't do this? I know the ring was a lower dose. Do you think the patch is a lower dose? Or would the progesterin only pills not do this? Help! I know I'm already on a low-dose pill but with the ring I did not have this side effect.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2003
Fri, 11-19-2004 - 12:24pm

IVHealth Ruth Ann
Community Leader/Ask the Health Librarian

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2004
Fri, 11-19-2004 - 2:18pm

Ok, I have now read all those and still they hardly mention breast growth. Apparently most people find this a good thing.

I wonder, does the patch come in low dose? I could not find that out either.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-14-2004
Fri, 11-19-2004 - 3:39pm

No, the patch comes in only one dosage. There isn`t a low, sorry!

For comparison`s purpose:

The patch has: 0.15mg norelgestromin, 20mcg EE per day for 7 days
The ring has: 0.12mg etonorgestrel, 15mcg EE per day for 21 days
Alesse has: 0.1mg levonorgestrel, 20mcg EE
Ortho-Tri-Cyclen has: 0.18mg norgestimate (7), 0.215mg (7), 0.25 (7), 35mcg EE (21)

As you can tell, there`s a pretty wide variety of differences between these pills. The first hormone listed is the progestin, the second is the estrogen. My guess is that it is the progestin causing your breast enlargement; it`s a fairly common side effect that really does annoy some people.

I think your best bet is to try the patch and if that doesn`t work, perhaps just try, through trial and error, to find a pill that doesn`t give you this side effect. I would try to stay away from pills with the levonorgestrel and norgestimate progestins, since they seem to give you the worst problems.

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-bhcontracept&msg=12548.1&ctx=0

Here is a list of most of the birth control pills on the market and what type/how much of the hormones they contain. I`m sorry I can`t be more helpful - it`s really just luck for some women to finally find the method that works best for them with minimal bad side effects.

Lena

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Fri, 11-19-2004 - 10:55pm
Alesse does cause breast enlargement! At least it did for me. I took it for three years, starting out at a small B cup and ending at a C cup.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 1:14pm
Alesse icreased my size from a c to a D in two months. I just took myself off them because of this. Ortho Tri Low also caused breast enlargement for me, but it didn't seem AS bad. I was also on the patch....horrible for me. The only pill I hae ever liked was Levlite and my Dr said they don't make it anymore!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sun, 11-21-2004 - 10:07pm

Breast enlargement is typically due to estrogen, but when in combination with the progestin can make the difference between one pill and another. The ring does have the lowest dose of estrogen, it also has a small dose of a derivative of a strong progestin. Alesse has more estrogen, but the progestin is pretty strong too. Norgestimate is derived from levonorgestrel, but is not as strong--I had the most breast growth with Ortho Cyclen and on Nuvaring I have the same breast size I had before I started hormones when I was 22.

I found when I had breast growth, it was the worst in the first month and in the next couple of months the soreness went away. The most I ever had was about a half a cup size, so I wasn't too worried about it. But in reality any pill change can cause a change in your breast size. The patch isn't going to be any more low-dose than Alesse, and it may even be worse because the progestin is less strong.

I'm not sure if this is a help or not, it really is an individual thing, but if need be, you could go to a pill like Mircette which has a stronger progestin in a larger dose and the same estrogen dose. That might open you up to other side effects, but that'd be the case with any new thing you tried.

Good luck!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2004
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 4:20pm

Wow, this is complicated. All I know is I liked the dosage of the ring, but I also understand it is absorbed differently than pills so can cause fewer side effects. Thanks for all your replies.

Another question -- do most people return to their orginal breast size after they quit or not? Also, how long should I wait before asking to be switched? I already notice the pain has lessened, but still I would like them to shrink back to normal no matter what my boyfriend says.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 11-23-2004 - 7:29am

I'd have to think that whether you return to your original breast size or not might depend on your own body, in theory it would make sense that if you remove the hormones that the breast tissue might shrink, but I can't think that's always the case (because that would work way too reliably and predictably, and we can't have that...lol).

Good luck!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2004
Wed, 11-24-2004 - 2:16am

The breast enlargement experiences I'm reading from the girls here is interesting. I'm in the midst of considering contraceptive options for myself & I'm a first timer. I don't mind at all a one cup size enlargement, but I'm just curious if it's a localise growth or an overall growth, that is, if the pill caused a bigger breast or there is an overall weight gain causing the breast to grow bigger simultaneously? How much time do you experience this after starting on the pill?

It would be great to hear back, thanks.

JJ

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2004
Wed, 11-24-2004 - 10:51am
I do get overall weight gain, which is half the reason why my breast always get bigger. My breast are tender about 4 days after i start taking BCP, then they start swelling. I usually don't notice the weight gain for a month. Some of it is water, but not all of it! My breast is usually the first place I gain weight though... so that could have a contributing factor also. I'm naturally a large c, and when I go on BCP I'm a large D. And I only weigh 110 (122 now that i have been on BCP) so this is a problem for me!

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