Going back on BC
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| Sun, 02-18-2007 - 11:39pm |
I'm in my last month of Lupron injections for my endometriosis and I have a gyno appointment on the 28th for a follow up because he doesn't know how things have been since I started it. I've been on it for 4 months so I haven't had a period and I haven't been ovulating so it's really been the best type of birth control in a way.
I was on a high dose pill before and it's the estrogen hormone that triggers endometrial pain so I have to go on a non or very low dose pill. I've looked into other forms of birth control aside from the pill and I don't think they're rght for me, I have my reasons. I was on Ortho tri-cyclen years ago and it didn't help me any but I was reading about ortho try-cyclen low and I'm wondering what the difference is between the two other than the lower dose of estrogen. Would it be any different?
I tried doing a search for non or low dose pills and the most common is tri cyclen low and alesse. Then for low dose there was depo-provera but I don't think that one is the best choice for me. I thought about the patch but I've been told by too many people who did try it that it came un-stuck too often and I don't want to deal with that.
I also want to take into consideration the possibility of weight gain and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. Stories of experience would be appreciated.
Are there other options I'm not finding or just don't know about?

Hi melony21,
Do not try the depo shot. If anything goes wrong with side effects, it can take your body 18 months to 2 years to recover. It is also the only birth control method proven to cause weight gain, and is not recommended for use for longer than two years, because it causes irreparable bone density loss.
The patch is quite high in hormones compared to other methods, and is known to have an increased risk of blood clots. By placing the patch in the right places, they should stay on, however. But it can be a matter of trial and error to find a spot that doesn't rub so much on your clothing.
You might want to consider Yaz, which only has four placebo pills, and should give you shorter periods (and in theory less symptoms to go with it). It has been approved for use for PMDD, so may help with your endometrial symptoms as well. Other options such as Seasonale (only four periods a year) may be an option, but breakthrough bleeding is quite common for the first year, and can get quite annoying while you ride it out.
While the lupron shots may have shrunk or stalled your endometriosis, as soon as you stop them, there is a high possibility of the endometriosis regrowing, so be aware of that.
I'm sure Jill will have some other suggestions.
Hi melony21, welcome!
Jill