Trying to solve the problem with BTB
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Trying to solve the problem with BTB
| Tue, 06-13-2006 - 1:01pm |
Hi,
I am new here and I wanted to post my question here to see if anyone else has been in my situation. I have been taking Alesse for now 6 cycles and at the third week of EVERY cycle I get breakthrough bleeding that goes into the hormone-free week. After reading some of the posts here, I realize that I am certainly not alone with this problem and that Alesse is notorious for causing BTB. My other side effect with it is enlarged breasts during the third week (I have big breasts as it is, so I don't need any extra) and they feel heavy and sore. I remember one of the doctors I have seen say that if I don't do well on Alesse, I should try Lo/Ovral, which seems to be pretty good at preventing BTB. My only concern is will the higher estrogen amount make my breasts hurt even more? Another option I was considering was Loestrin 1/20 since it's so close in formulation to Alesse but I am not sure if it would solve my problem. If you have experience with breakthrough bleeding, Lo/Ovral and/or Loestrin, please reply.
I am new here and I wanted to post my question here to see if anyone else has been in my situation. I have been taking Alesse for now 6 cycles and at the third week of EVERY cycle I get breakthrough bleeding that goes into the hormone-free week. After reading some of the posts here, I realize that I am certainly not alone with this problem and that Alesse is notorious for causing BTB. My other side effect with it is enlarged breasts during the third week (I have big breasts as it is, so I don't need any extra) and they feel heavy and sore. I remember one of the doctors I have seen say that if I don't do well on Alesse, I should try Lo/Ovral, which seems to be pretty good at preventing BTB. My only concern is will the higher estrogen amount make my breasts hurt even more? Another option I was considering was Loestrin 1/20 since it's so close in formulation to Alesse but I am not sure if it would solve my problem. If you have experience with breakthrough bleeding, Lo/Ovral and/or Loestrin, please reply.

Just looking at the estrogen content of a pill doesn't really tell you that much about how a pill and you are going to get along--the progestins in the pills can be very different from each other (as is the case with Alesse and Loestrin 1/20).