I'm so annoyed. I've been on the minipill since Tyler was born, because I was breastfeeding. He weaned about a month ago, and I just continued to use the minipill because I have a pap appointment on the 25th and thought I could just wait and get a new type of bc then. But ever since I weaned I've been bleeding practically nonstop! I figured out it was breakthrough bleeding from the hormone in the minipill not being strong enough now that I'm not b/fing, so I stopped taking it in hopes that I'd stop bleeding (it slowed down almost immediately and now I'm just spotting).
I called my dr office to see if they could call me in a bc prescription for the regular pill just to hold me over until my appointment (my old dr did this for me), and they were just like, Nope, the pharmacy can fax us and we'll tell them to give you another refill. I was like, um, that won't help me because I have an rx for the minipill and that's why I'm having problems etc. They were just like no, and they weren't nice about it. Ugh. So I guess we just have to use condoms until my appointment.
Anyway, I'm debating what type of bc to start using now that I have a choice of using any type I want. I'm debating between Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and the patch. Anyone have any other bc suggestions or experience with either or those types of bc?
I'm on the patch and love it. I stick it on my lower back/butt area and it has never fallen off. Some people have issues with it staying on or minor skin irritation from the adhesive. I have never had either of these problems...if you decide on it you need to make sure that you wash and dry your skin thoroughly before you stick the patch on.
I got pg on ortho low my first 2 months of taking it the regular ortho i didnt have a problem with but im afraid to use it lol
and as fo r the drs they wont call in a new script for u until they check you i had a big problem with that too and I dont know why they do that. sorry that really sucks :wink:
My only hesitation about trying the patch is that I have eczema, and my skin tends to get irritated easily. Otherwise, I love the concept of not having to take the pill every day! I think I will ask for the patch first and if my skin gets irritated, I'll go back to the pill.
Uh oh, that's not good that you got pg on it! LOL! I've been on regular Ortho which worked good, but my only problem with it was that it made me kinda moody and irritated. I don't know if I'd still have that problem.
It pisses me off that they were so rude about it - my old ob/gyn used to do it for me no problem. Argh. I guess they'd rather me get pregnant? Sheesh!
I have eczema, too. Mostly on my face, though. I haven't had any kind of problem with eczema where the patch is, plus you can put it in various areas of your body if you have "problem areas" with eczema.
Oh, that's good to know. Thank you! My main eczema spots are on my neck, upper back/shoulders, scalp, and eyelids, but obviously I wouldn't be putting the patch on any of those areas :lol: I doubt I'll have any problems with my skin getting irritated from it, hopefully not.
I was/am on reg ortho tri cyclen, it's okay but I bled for the first whole month non stop. The dr. said it was breakthrough bleeding...it sucked, but now that it stopped its okay. I just have problems remembering a pill everyday.
I'm on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and have been for almost a year (actually planning on heading in to get exam/refill next week) and it's worked well for me thus far. The only thing I've noticed is that I really get PMS and I never really did without the pill. On the other hand, without the pill, God only knew when my period would show up and now it's like clockwork- so nice! :D
Breakthrough bleeding sucks! I've only every experienced that on the minipill ... it happened to me all the time. I hate remembering a pill every day, too. :? I'm not very good at it!
I've had that same problem with the pill ... PMSing. But I *love* being so regular on it! That's definitely a plus. :)
Add me to the list of people that got pregnant on Ortho Tri-Cyclen.
Oh and I took it at 10:58PM every night (had an alarm set) so it wasn't that I screwed up taking it.
The ring is nice if you get skin irritation from Ortho Evra because you just pop it in and (literally) forget about it. I marked the days I had to change it on my calendar. A blue X for when to put a new one in if I WANTED to have a period, and a red X for when to put it in if I wanted to skip my period.
The ring sounds really great, but it seems like it would fall out! LOL! Is it easy to insert?
Not to sound TOO crass here, but if you can finger yourself you can insert the ring.
It doesn't fall out for the same reason a tampon doesn't fall out. Muscles :D.
Rough sex with it in is fine too, it won't shift or get knocked out.
There is a slight possibility it can slip out of place, in which case you just rinse it off (per the instructions) and re-insert it. I didn't have it happen in the half year I used it.
Wow, that really sounds awesome. Better than the patch because no one can see it. I'm going to have to talk to my dr about that, it sounds like a great option! Thanks for the info. :)
Eve...you've used the rings consecutively to not have a period? I know you can do it with certain pills, but I wasn't sure about the ring (I just started it this cycle). Do you have spotting when you do it?
Anyway, I second the ring as being great. I can't feel it at all and it was really easy to insert. I only know it's there because my boyfriend can feel it when he fingers me :)
I was on annuale (the pills you take for three months w/o taking any sugar pills). The idea was that since you never take the sugar pills your body never wants to have a period. Didn't really work out that way. I ended up bleeding EVERY FUCKING DAY for like three months and had weird sharp cramp things. It was horrible. I became anemic and I had to go into the doctor like four times for all these tests because they weren't sure what was wrong. It ended up just being the pill, but it sucked! My sister is having a similar problem on it right now. It may be that our family has issues with it, but i also suspect that it may just be horrid.
I third the Ring here... I just finished my first cycle with it.. whoooh, how nice it was not to have to take a pill every day. Also, from what my doctor told me, that the Ring is half the normal dosage of hormones of the pill. Woooh for that. I'm looking forward to jumping my period, and just insert another ring next cycle.
If you go to the Rings website www.nuvaring.com You can print out a free coupon to try it (has to be the first time you get it...). In case your insurance doesn't cover it. There's also a timer you can download and reminds you on your computer when to take it out...
I'm such a ring pimp,
ames
Yep, works great.
I've used orthro tri cyclen, ortho evra (the patch) and the nuva ring.
I couldn't stay on the pill for too long because I just couldn't get in the habit of remembering and I was regularly sexually active and not interested in taking any chances while I tried to make the habit.
The patch worked well for me. Honestly, it was probably the best form of birth control I've tried. I also have ecsema, with the worst spots of irritation being on my torso and neck. I was still able to comfortably apply the patch on my back, even in places where I would sometimes have irritation due to ecsema. I didn't find that the patch increased the irritation at all. However, the only thing I do to help my skin is apply vaseline after the shower (really helps with the ecsema a lot!!), which I'd have to be careful doing. Putting something like that around the patch would help it fall off.
The ring, however, I HATED. I don't even think I used it for a whole cycle because it felt like a constant yeast infection. It itched and itched and itched relentlessly, which made sex less enjoyable. It did stay in place though. But hardly something I could forget about!
Anyway, good luck finding what works for you!
That's horrible about that pill! I've thought about using it, but I figure I'd rather just occasionally go to the next pack and skip the sugar pills on my regular pills if I wanted to skip my period that month. Thanks for the info about the ring, I am going to talk to my dr about it!
Well after all these good reviews, I'm going to have to talk to the dr about it. :) My ob/gyn recommended it to me while I was pregnant with Tyler, but I ended up breastfeeding almost two years so obviously I wasn't able to use it at that point. Thanks!
Emeraldfirefly - thanks for the input! I am debating between the patch and the ring right now. I'd like to try one of those methods right now and see how it feels not to take a pill every day, lol! :lol: That's an odd side effect you had with the ring, that must've sucked! What did your dr say about it? Is that common?
I don't know if it's common, but it is a known side effect. It stopped right after I took it out, so I didn't really worry about it too much. My doctor didn't seem to be surprised and we just switched to the patch. I took it for a good amount of time too, until I wanted to concieve!
My friend was on Ortho Tricyclen and it made her gain a lot of weight. Im sure its different for everyone but like as soon as she got off of it and onto a new kind, she lost all the weight she had gained. Just to let ya know!
I was on Ortho Tricyclen a few years ago and i gained 15 pounds!
I'm going to get the Mirena IUD put in soon. I hope i don't have any freaky side effects or anything.
I'm on the ring now and it is quite possibly the greatest thing ever. I was on the pill for 4 years (estrostaph FE) and just got tired of it. My bf has hit it once or twice during sex, but the ring is positioned in a funny spot because of the way my cervix sits. I am a total ring supporter though. And if you have any questions the customer service line people for the ring are so pleasent to speak to. (Didnt have a printer to print the coupon off) I highly reccomend this method. 8)