Horrible, horrible side effects

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Horrible, horrible side effects
4
Mon, 07-02-2007 - 9:25am

Hello everyone!
Here is my situation: I've been on Ortho TriCyclen Lo for 4 years now. In general, I liked it, but over the course of these 4 years, the side effects have been getting worse, especially the last 6 months: I've been getting nasty breakouts in odd places of my body, like my back and the back of my thighs (I NEVER broke out in these areas before starting this pill, and its slowly been getting worse since I started taking it); my libido is in the dumps; and the 3rd week of the month, the week before my period, I've been suffering from fatigue that is almost crippling (which does not help with my 1-hour, 40-mile commute, and it is interfering with my ability to work) and drastic mood swings that I can't seem to control. It's getting to a point where my fiancee actually dreads the week before my period; I turn into a maniacally depressed Jekyll who seems to be affected by everything. It is HORRIBLE, and I know I'm not like this.

I really, really want to switch pills. The one that has worked for me the best was regular Ortho TriCyclen. I would like to go back to it-I'm afraid of trying something different because I've had really nasty experiences with other hormone combinations.

However, one thing concerns me: I took regular OTC for 2 years, and during my last 6 months on it, I had 1-2 days of spotting at the beginning of the 3rd week of pills. I know this has to do with the hormone combination of this particular pill; I've had it happen to a lesser degree on OTC-Lo, though I've discovered if I take 500mg of vitamin C a day, I don't spot at all.

My question is this: is it okay to be on a pill that causes spotting on the 3rd week of the pill pack? I don't mind the spotting; it used to happen for just a day or two, not a major inconvenience. I just want to feel normal again, and on regular OTC I felt as if I weren't on the pill at all-I actually cried when I was told I'd have to switch because of the spotting, which made no sense to me since, due to the nature of the spotting, I had read everywhere that it did not mean the pill was not working at preventing pregnancy; it was just having problems keeping endometrium conditions stable.

It's also been 6 years since I took regular OTC, so I'm hoping my body has changed enough that I won't spot this time around, or to be able to control it with the vitamin C (I believe I read somewhere in this board that it helps with estrogen absorption?).

Is my assumption correct? Spotting at the beginning of the 3rd week (as long as I am not taking antibiotics or diet pills, not sick to my stomach and take them on time every day) only means the endometrium is not 100% stable; the pill would still work at preventing pregnancy, right?

Sorry for such a long post. I know I should ask a doctor, but everyone in this message board seems to be better informed than most doctors I know! I just want to know if the pill is supposed to still work at preventing pregnancy despite the spotting on the 3rd week. Any advice/suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 07-02-2007 - 9:14pm

Hi dianna, welcome back!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Mon, 07-02-2007 - 10:34pm

Thanks, Jill, for the advice! I'll ask my doctor about Ortho Cyclen. I was trying to avoid a monophasic pill, as I was on Yasmin before and it did decrease my libido, but right now the mood swings are literally driving me crazy!
What about Yaz? I know the formulation is similar to Yasmin, but I read that it is specifically meant to treat PMDD, which OTC-Lo seems to be provoking-I have each and every symptom. :(

On the other hand: how bad of an idea would it be to give my body a 3-month break from the hormones before starting a different pill formulation? I've been on one pill or another nonstop for 7 years. Would it be a bad idea to switch to barrier methods for 3 months to take a break and then start a new pill, or would it be better to just do the switch without interruption?

I honestly would like to take a short break, just to remember what my body felt like as its normal self (at this moment in particular it seems like a fantastic idea, since I'm smack in the middle of my "bad" week) but I worry that it will take longer than 3 months to get back to normal, especially after being on oral contraceptives for such a long time, and that my normal "real" period will be delayed and then be unable to start the pill again, since you need to start taking the pill on the 1st day of your period...Maybe I'm worrying about nothing, but I just wonder.

Any advice? <:)

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 07-02-2007 - 11:50pm

>> What about Yaz? I know the formulation is similar to Yasmin, but I read that it is specifically meant to treat PMDD <<


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Tue, 07-03-2007 - 11:51am
Thanks, Jill! :) I'll keep you posted.