Jill--Help
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| Fri, 03-30-2007 - 8:40pm |
Jill,
I don't know if you can help, but I respect how knowledgeable you are and I wanted to run this by you.
I have severe PMDD, which includes menstrual migraines that have also started to happen at other times of the month. I am 47 and may be in perimenopause.
I take Yaz, not for BC, but to treat the PMDD, which has been a life saver. Well, exept the migraines started coming every other day or everyday. Now I am on several meds to control the migraines because nobody so far has wanted to take me off the Yaz, until today.
I saw a GYN/Endochronologist who wants to take me off the Yaz so she can check my hormone levels (they were normal two years ago). She says that they have had great succes with treating PMS (she refuses to acknowledge that what I have is PMDD) using Depo Provera. She says it would shut down my cycle. My understaning is that Depo will shorten and eventually stop periods after about a year. I also understand that there is no antedote for depo so if I have a bad reaction, I am stuck with it for 3+ months. I also understand that it could make me much worse. Or it might make me all better. There is also a black box warning...I think it's about risk of osteoporosis if used for more than 2 years. Is that right?
I am afraid to go off the Yaz even for a short time to have my hormones checked. She wants me to finish this month's pills and have a period. Then I would not take the Yaz for two weeks and go see her and have my hormones checked. Then, I have no idea what happens...
She also said that Yaz cannot be used to skip periods as my Internist has me doing because there is not enough estrogen to keep one from having breakthrough bleeding (BB). I have been having BB and that is often when my migraines begin.
I am lost and very unhappy. I suddenly feel like there is no hope..like I am at square one...
I have to say that I did not like this doc. She was not at all empathetic. She did not take a complete medical history. She has no idea how long I have been on Yaz or how long I have had PMDD. She does not know that I don't use it for BC. It's as if nothing mattered to her about my past. The things I did check off on the history form she paid no attention to. I felt like I was some unwanted distraction that had wandered in off the streets to bother her.
Sorry, I had to vent.
Any feedback is much welcomed.
Marcella

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Hi Holly,
Please, I would love to hear of your experience with Depo and Norplant. It really helps to hear other people's experiences :-)
Marcella
One thing to keep in mind--when women are advised to stop birth control because they are having migraines, it is because migraine headaches that worsen on birth control can be indicative of a blood clotting problem that can cause LIFE THREATENING complications.
That is usually why we try to advise on the safe course--consider stopping the pill with the guidance of a medical professional. Better safe than sorry, and it's only advice.
Co-cl for Birth Control
Ok, I will share. Of course, I'm not an expert, just one single person. I almost never have trouble with hormonal bc either, so I may not be "average" whatever that should mean. I get moodier on Depo and my libido is gone, but I do not cycle or spot at all. I am on my 3rd shot now. I'm going to Mirena in May because I seek a longer term bc and I don't like the strong anger I sometimes feel on depo. Mircette is the only other homonal bc that I had mood swings while using.
I used Norplant for about 3.5 years. I liked it for the first 3 (only a very light, 2 day bleeding a couple of times per year) but started spotting/bleeding nonstop after year 3. I even tried using estrogen to stabilize the uterine lining with no luck. Other than that, Norplant was great. I don't recall mood swings on it, and my weight was great. It is NOT the same as Implanon but is similar. I would love to try Implanon but is not yet available in my area. Norplant was made for up to 5 years of use and I wonder if the dosage decreased slightly by the end of the third year, allowing the bleeding.
I think you are mostly curious about bleeding patterns so that is mostly what I addressed. If you have specific questions, please let me know.
Sincerely wishing you the best,
Holly
Thank you I appreciate you sharing. It means a lot.
Marcella
I do agree with that. As someone who suffers from a severe case of PMDD, I needed to speak up that just stopping Yaz can lead to serious consequences for someone like me. I do know that migraines can be serious as well, don't get me wrong. It's a no-win situation... stopping Yaz for PMDD can have life threatening affects as well... suicide.
I just felt the need to speak up b/c I have seen posts advising women who have PMDD from people who do not understand the condition and do not know what exactly is going on with a person who does have it.
:)
Vida
Edited 4/8/2007 11:15 pm ET by manoangeliukai
Thank you for making that clear. I am very aware of the chance of blood clots as is my nuerologist. He is a very well respected doctor and his wife is a GYN. If he felt that I needed to go off the Yaz he would have told me. My doctors feel strongly that since my moods are now stable and I am no longer suicidal on the Yaz it would be best to find a way to stop the migranes. FYI--the Lyrica has stopped them. I have increased the dose slowly over the last several weeks and I am not having them anymore. The real test will be during my period. I had planned to update this post after I see my Internist manana
;-)
Thanks for your help.
Glad to hear you've found a medication to control the migraines.
I see you were wanting to know about rayshinz experience on Depo and Norplant. I had a terrible experience with Depo, but have never used Norplant, or Implanon (never been available here in NZ). I have had a bad experience with every hormonal birth control I used those, so my experience was perhaps not typical. However, these were the side effects I had:
Severe mood swings (I had a history of depression already, and I was really considering going back on antidepressants, because I was out of control some days).
Bad breakthrough bleeding - I would bleed heavily for six weeks at a time, stop for two days and then start again.
Severe cramps to go with the breakthrough bleeding - one minute I was fine, the next I was on the floor, paralyzed with pain.
Hot flushes! I went from struggling to keep warm at night to throwing my blankets off in the middle of winter!
Hair loss - my hair started falling out, and thinned out quite a bit (thankfully I didn't get to the point where I started looking bald!)
Complete loss of libido. My BF at the time was lucky if I'd even give him a hug most of the time.
Naturally, from my experience, and the fact it took a long time to recover (I had to go on estrogen patches for two months to stop the bleeding, and afterwards I had heavy irregular bleeding for quite a few months, even once an IUD was put it), I struggle to recommend it to anyone. Particularly now, as it has been proven to cause bone density loss.
Hi,
I just wanted to update that so far none of my other doctors are in favor of Depo Provera as a treatment for PMDD. There are just too many bad side effects and then there is the whole black box osteoporosis thing. Since I have such severe PMDD, if the Depo made me worse I would really be in trouble and could end up in the hospital again so I am not going anywhere near it.
As I mentioned the migraines that I was getting from the Yaz almost daily are gone since I am now on the full dose of Lyrica. When I start to feel a headache coming I take two Midrin and poof it's gone.
It seems clear that Yaz does not have a high enough dose of estrogen to keep the uterus from shedding causing btb when trying to skip periods. I have now gotten confirmation from three doctors about that. Thus, looks like I will be having AF every month.
The only questions left are will the menstrual migraines also be controlled by the Lyrica and do I really need to have my hormones checked. My internist said it's not needed and I just need to wait a couple of years for menopause (I'm 47) and then I will feel better. The funny thing is doctors have been telling me that for about 10 years. At least now I have some medication that is making me feel better.
I am going to shop around for a GYN and see if I can find someone a little less cold than the last one! Even one of the nurses at my docs office said "oh you saw her! She is a and a total brain." As soon as I told the nurse the GYN was really cold she knew exactly who I meant. I guess she has a rep!
I know this is a total soap opera. I just hope it may help others who have similar problems to read what I have been going through.
Thanks for listening :-)
Marcella
>>>The only questions left are will the menstrual migraines also be controlled by the Lyrica and do I really need to have my hormones checked. My internist said it's not needed and I just need to wait a couple of years for menopause (I'm 47) and then I will feel better.<<<
It will be a wait and see thing to see if the Lyrica works during your period. If not, you might have to work with your internist to figure something out. But in your case I think that if you even feel the slightest hint of a migraine coming on, then you should take the Lyrica straight away, and if it doesn't prevent it, then you should get to a doc before the migraine becomes too much of an issue.
Your hormones should be relatively well suppressed by the Yaz, so I doubt that going off Yaz and having your hormones tested will be of any help, because at this point your natural hormones probably aren't doing much of anything, and so the migraines couldn't be explained by that.
Unfortunately you might not complete menopause until well into your late 50s, so "a couple of years" might be a long way off still :(.
What about a lupron shot? It would shut your reproductive system down for a few months, but I'm not sure how long you can go on taking them for, as it's usually used to help with other menstrual issues such as fibroids and endometriosis. I'm not saying try it right now, but it could be something to discuss with a gyn down the road if you are starting to go through menopause, and you want to shut things down a bit faster, rather than go through the erratic symptoms of menopause.
Oh, and I think I have to agree with the docs about Depo. It's just awful if anything goes wrong, and the osteoporosis thing as well....
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