Types of birth control symptoms and conditions

Well, I'm kind of nervous reading these postings now. I just got the Mirena put in today and I had my first child in September. It didn't hurt at all when he put it in, because he used a local anesthetic, but I started having a little cramping after he finished up. Now I'm home and I've noticed that the cramping is a little bit worse than before. I was already on my period (because they said you have to get it put in during your period or immediately after it stops), but it was almost over. Now i'm bleeding a little more, and I'm feeling aching pain in my pelvic area and back. I can't afford those major side effects that have been discussed here. Should I keep it in and wait and see if I am different, or get it out now? I'm worried!

I have endometreosis and casuses me a lot of pain.I've been on all types of birth control Ortho- Evra, Ortho tricycline...My doctor put me on Jolessa about 1.5 years ago. During the first 10 months I was perfect it help me out a great deal with my endo. But during these last few months I have experienced headaches, severe mood swings, depression, blood pressure irregularities, cramping and on top of that hair loss. I'd much rather deal with the pain than go through all of this. Not sure of whats out there that will help me out?

I just want to thank everyone for their experiences with Mirena. I went to the GYN on Tuesday for my annual exam and inquired about birth control since I am now in a relationship. I am 42, no children. She recommended Mirena and gave me a booklet on it. I have been researching it.

I am now deciding AGAINST this. I will stick with condoms for now and start researching another type of birth control. I don't want weight gain (I am already overweight but have lost over a lot of weight thanks to Weight Watchers). I don't want acne or bleeding everyday.

It helps so much hearing everyone's experience with this. The brochure doesn't list all these side effects. The doctor was pretty honest with me but thinks I would be a good candidate but I think I really need to rethink this.

Has anyone had any good experiences with other types of birth control?

Thanks!

I have been reading all the side-effects women have been experiencing with the Mirena, and I just needed to add my two cents. I am a 28 year old woman, no children, very physically active, and I have had no problems with my mirena. I have had my Mirena in place for a year and a half. I have had no weight gain, no tenderness, no facial hair, no mood swings, nothing. The only side effects I have experienced are very light to non-existent periods. I have had my Mirena checked by my doctor regularly, just to be on the safe side. So, some women may experience negative side-effects, but others do not. I have been on several different types of birth control; the pill, the patch, the ring, natural planning, and now the Mirena and this is BY FAR the best method I have used. I feel for the women who have experienced negative side effects, but for me it's the one that works. Oh, and it did hurt having it put in since I have not had children. My cervix did not want to dilate, and it took two tries to get it in, but once in, I was good to go. Now my husband can be active any where at any time with no worries.

Almost everyone is affected differently by different types of birth control pills. They are not all the same, please talk with your doctor about what is best for you. Sometimes is DOES take a few tries with different pills to find the best one for YOU.
This is my personal experience with Yaz... I have been on it for 1 year and 1 month exactly. I am 22. I was on Ortho-Cyclen (not tri-cyclen mind you) for a full year previous to Yaz. My periods without birth control were usually very heavy and lasted a week plus a day or two without birth control. My doctor suggested birth control to help with those problem. Ortho-Cyclen helped somewhat shortening my periods to about 5-6 days and made them a "normal-like" flow. After taking it for a year, she suggested Yaz to me help make them even shorter and lighter. Well I switched immediately after the last pill of my Ortho-Cyclen and things proceeded very nicely since I had already been using a method to regulate my cycle.
Yaz has helped me tremendously, my periods are only 3-4 days now and much lighter. I start them after 2 days of placebo and usually have a little bleeding into the first 2 active pills of my next pack.
The only side effects I have noticed are;
1) Weight gain: (I have gained about 8 lbs on this pill) and I even get more exercise than I used to when I was on Ortho-Cyclen. I eat healthy as well.
2) Breast tenderness: I have more noticeable breast tenderness while taking this pill. (But it is not every single day)
3) Cramps: I get cramps now on the first day of bleeding, but they are well taken care of with an aspirin or ibuprofen.
4) Slight depression: I cannot directly link this to Yaz as I am not a professional. However, I do find that a week to a few days before my pill period, there may be a day or two when I find myself crying over some nonsensical thing. (I never noticed this with Ortho-Cyclen.)

Another thing I have noticed though, and it's pretty nice, while I have gained a little weight on this pill, I do not get bloating before/during my period as I used to before I started using birth control pills. And yes, I used to get bloated using Ortho-Cyclen. So I can say that I have to thank Yaz for this "desired effect."
Also, I never suffered from any bad acne problems before using birth control, just the occasional breakout before getting my period, and Yaz actually did away with even that little issue.

I've had Mirena for nearly two and a half years now. About 6 weeks after I got it in I had to take a pregnancy test because I was dizzy, nauseous, bloated, and had sore breasts. I was not pregnant. But I've had a repeat experience every few months since then. Sometimes I feel so sick and tired that I can't do anything but lie on the sofa. After I stopped nursing I got bad pregnancy symptoms and cramps so horrible I thought my IUD had punctured something. Currently I feel sick to my stomach, and I've been getting headaches, and I'm tired and terribly thirsty all the time. I've read about others who had the same problem. I've also had nearly continuous yeast infections and vaginal irritation since I got it in. My libido has dropped incredibly and I'm always kind of dry during sex. I had problems with depression before getting the Mirena, but now I have anxiety on top of that. At the two-year mark I started getting nasty under-the-skin acne under my chin, and I've gained ten pounds since then. Some of that might have been my own fault, but I currently eat healthily and exercise 1 to 1 1/2 hours most days, and it's taken weeks for me to stop gaining, and I know I'm losing way slower than is natural. I put up with it this long because I haven't gained huge amounts of weight or had really bad mood swings, and I'm afraid of what might happen with other types of birth control, but I am sick of being sick all the time. I'm getting this thing out!

I am so glad that this site is here. I too was given Yaz not as birth control but as an alternative to mood swings, No periods for months, and heavy bad periods.. I am 31 and the mother of 4. I had my tubes tied at 24 after my last child. I had taken other types of birth control at younger ages and had no problems. Well this was the start of my 4th month. I too didn't get my period till the week after the white pills. It was shorter and lighter at first, but since its terrible. I bleed longer and harder than before I started taking Yaz. I too cry for no reason and get very mad very easily. My sex drive too went from anytime any where to none. My husband has begged me for weeks to stop taking this pill. With the heavy bleeding he was concerned for my health. I stopped taking the Yaz pill one week ago today, and I am still having very heavy bleeding. This is the second week of it. I just want it all to stop. I too was feeling very tired and would catch myself falling asleep in the middle of the day. But at night when I would go to bed I would lie there awake. I was lucky if I could sleep for 5 hours at a time. My only concern now is when will this bleeding stop, and when is it something that I should contact a doctor about. I will never go on this pill again and I will tell anyone who wants to not to. I don't like going for three and four months with out my period, but I am not sure after this experience if I will try another for of the pill or not.

I am 21 years old and I was on Yasmin for three in a half months (i stopped the last pack half way through). The first month i was on it, i had a lot of leg pains especially at night and sometimes to the point where i couldn't sleep. I went to the doctors and told her about this and she said it had nothing to do with the pill. My leg pain stopped after the first month i was on it and for two months i was fine. At the end of the third pack i began to get leg cramps again, but this time it was different i had little sharp pains here and there and tingling and my legs became extremely itchy. In the matter of two months i got spider veins and cellulite on my upper legs. Before the pill i had NOTHING on my legs. I searched the internet and found that birth control can cause spider veins because of the hormonal change so I thought my legs were itchy because of the spider veins so i stopped using the pill and made a doctors appointment. Three days after stopping i got my period for the second time that month. I also broke out with lumps that are red and extremely itchy. The doctor told me that the bumps are eczema and i also have a lymph node, which she said is from the eczema (which i find very strange). Two days after i broke out and got a lymph node, i got sick with a fever, extremely soar throat and a swollen neck. Today is my 7th day off the pill and im still sick. Hopefully i get better. But from being a 21 year old whos 95 pounds and having nothing wrong and starting this pill and getting spider veins, cellulite and then eczema all around the same time, i feel like im aging before my time. If anyone else has had any similar effects please let me know. Thank you.

Just to clarify, aren't YAZ and Yasmin two diffy types of birth control?

I've been on Yasmin for about 3 1/2 years and had nothing but GREAT experiences. My face cleared up (not that it was ever bad though), I lost weight and it elevated my mood and evened out my mood swings. My husband thinks it's the greatest thing ever. One thing I do find interesting, however, is that I have been experiencing more headaches the last year or so. I never thought it was related to Yasmin and neither do my doctors (other than the week I go off of it to have my period and my hormone levels drop). I have stopped taking Yasmin this week as we will be trying to conceive soon. For any out there who are nervous about starting Yasmin after reading these posts, please know that all types of birth control will have side effects. I have had a great experience on Yasmin and so have some of my best friends.

I have been on the NuvaRing for almost two years. I have had several of the side effects mentioned on this site to a lesser degree - anxiety, moodiness, depression, fatigue, etc. Lately, intercourse has been painful for me, and I have no sex drive at all. Reading this site makes me feel much better because I have been completely stressed out about my loss of sex drive. Four days ago, my boyfriend and I had sex, and I started bleeding afterwards. The bleeding was very light and lasted for two days. This was a week before I was supposed to remove the ring, so I started freaking out and assumed that I was pregnant and experiencing implantation bleeding. When I was still noticing a bit of blood a couple days later, I removed the NuvaRing and repositioned it, and the bleeding stopped. I am still worried about being pregnant, but I honestly think that the NuvaRing caused an abrasion to my vaginal wall, which is what caused the bleeding. Either way, I am seriously considering taking the NuvaRing out for good. I have been on other types of birth control, and the NuvaRing doesn't seem to be any worse than the others for me, but maybe being on birth control at all is a bad idea. I'm just terrified of resorting to condoms as my only form of birth control. Is it worth it?

I went on NuvaRing in June or July 2005. and in may 2006 I started having eye pain behind my eyes, which i thought was my sinuses but it turns out it is posterior Scleritis, which is a form of localized autoimmune disease, which of course, the doctors know nothing about and cant treat unless I agree to take steroids all the time or Methotrexate (the same medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and which causes hepatitis as a side effect). no one has told me that the NuvaRing and Scleritis could be related but after reading the multitude of symptoms women have had on this site, i am starting to wonder if there is a relationship between the two. i have no history of anything like this, I'm 26 and otherwise very healthy.

I have been on the NuvaRing for about a year and a half now and it has been the best thing ever! I am a 20-year-old junior in college and had previously been on the pill since 8th grade due to the unbearable cramps I experienced. They kept me from going to school, participating in extra curriculars, and everything! I was literally bedridden for about four days every month. When I started college, and was out in a dorm on my own, there was was little to no stability in my schedule. I was forgetting to take that pill everyday and on tope of this, I was becoming sexually active. My risks of not taking my pill everyday at the same time were growing from just having cramps to actually having a baby! So I decided that there had to be an easier way, because I have heard so many horror stories from friends using condoms alone, and did not want to have one to add to the list.

In my freshman intro to biology class, the professor was going over the different types of birth control methods and discussed one that had just recently achieved FDA approval, and told us that we would start seeing commercials for it. It was the NuvaRing and I started a little research. I asked my doctor if it would be a good option for me, and she agreed, especially since she was going to discontinue writing prescriptions for the patch because of the high risk of blook clots. I picked up my prescription and was very scared because of the entry method. Didn't exactly want to put my finger inside, but "gotta do what ya gotta do."

I DID NOT experience any side effects that even compare to what these women have gone into detail about on this site, and my heart goes out to them. However, my chest grew a full cup size (hooray!) Definetly not a problem for me...it was a good day when I was at Victoria's Secret and explained to the saleswoman that I didn't understand why my bras weren't fitting as they usually did. She measured and indeed, had grown a full cup size, a very nice surprise when I had considered implants previously. I also have increased discharge but not a problem, I just use pantiliners. The increased discharge is not really a con to the NuvaRing, in fact I think it has increased my libido and my boyfriend's as well. No need for lube, it is all natural now (haha). Yes, the male can feel the ring during intercourse, and you can as well, but that is such a small price to pay for the peace of mind. It is never an issue for me or my boyfriend.

I recently thought of switching to an IUD, because of a commercial I saw on tv, about a five year plan. I don't want to have kids for at least another five years, but read about all of the side effects, including infertility, and that was enough to scare me away. I am perfectly happy with the NuvaRing but just wanted something I wouldn't have to worry about for five years.

Also mentionable, I gained a little more than the "freshman 15." It was the freshman 25 for me, and since switching to NuvaRing I have lost 15 lbs. Still not as small as I was in high school, but I am a happy 130 right now, and on my small 5'2" frame, it's not too bad. Don't really know if it was a result of the ring, but I didn't do any exercise, or much change to my eating habits (I have always eaten a tremendous amout of food!) I don't drink any carbonated drinks, only juices and water, but walking back and forth to class and the dorm might have something to do with it!

Just got back from doctor, blood pressure is normal.

Please don't think that the ring is terrible, yes some experience negative side effects, but not all. I love this thing, and will probably continue to use it until I am ready for a baby. I would recommend discussing it with your doctor first, and let them know at the first sight of any side-effects. Based off of my experience, I would suggest everyone get it, and I do to all my friends when they forget to take their pill.

I thought that been on the ring would be more covenient than taking Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. And it is but, the headaches are too much for me. I only was on Nuvaring for 3 weeks and discontinue its use. I started feeling the side effects about 2 weeks after inserting it. I would be so hungry and my head would kill me. I thought maybe it was me, because I normally get headaches when I wait to long to eat. But these headaches were horrible. After I would eat I would still have a headaches, so I knew it had to be the ring. I also experienced excessive wetness and irritation. My ring would always come out. I tried to push it back in, but later in the day it would push its way back down. I waited until the third week to take it out and call my gyn to get back on the pill. The pill is inconevient since you have take it everyday, but I don't suffer from any side effects. Before using the ring recently, I was on the pill for 2 yrs with no problem. Everyones' body is different so use whatever works for you. But don't put yourself through unnecessary pain. If you are feeling awful discontinue it and try something else. There are like 15-20 different types of birth control. And please don't just not use anything unless you are planning to have a child. Good Luck to all!

Hello,

I read about how YAZ birth control pill affects the body and psych and I am now scared. This is my 2nd day of YAZ (I've never been on birth control pills ever and I am 27 years old), it's all new to me but after reading all these negative posts about Yaz I don't know what to do. Before the birth control pills, I was depressed, annoying, serious weight problems - 210 lbs :~~((, low energy, low libido, always tired, terrible migraines every 2nd day, ridiculously increased appetite and excessive hunger, hair where it shouldn't be, menstrual blood clots, excessive cramping etc
I have all these problems for 3 years now and now that the family doc. put me on YAZ birth control pill I am even more scared - mainly of more weight gain, it would be a tragedy for me, I am fat enough already and what's worse I can't lose the weight, exercise doesn't help, diet doesn't help, NOTHING. Will YAZ birth control pill worsen my already tragic condition? I just don't know what to do and what to believe ... I appreciate any advice or help you can give me ... Thank You to all!

I have tried many types of birth control and I think this is the worst. I have been irritable and edgy since I put it in and yesterday I left class early because I felt tired, nauseas, and had a headache. I woke up feeling not much better today, and realized I was depressed too, so I decided to look into it on the web. It has all been the ring! When it is time to take it out this month it is not going back in. If any figures out a better way to prevent pregnancy please pass it on.

I'm so glad I googled side effects of Yasmin and found this site. All of the sudden my mood swings for the past almost YEAR make sense. I started out fine. The pill was great, and I haven't had to worry about acne at all. Of course I gained a few pounds, but not too much. However, I'm a pre medical student trying to study for the MCAT this summer. I've been SO tired and drained and majorly depressed that I just can't seem to concentrate. I feel like I'm always crying over the stupidest stuff (AKA: no reason at ALL), and my grades are starting to suffer. Hopefully now that I've read this, I can stop taking this pill and see an improvement. It's just not worth the depression. I'm 22 right now, and until recently had never had a suicidal thought. I was starting to panic, because I couldn't identify the cause of my depression. I'm a good student, have lots of friends, and have the most amazing boyfriend and family. Life is good, I shouldn't feel this bad. Now that I have a clue as to what this may be, I can fix it.

I just started yasmin. After reading your posts i dont think i want to take this pill. i went to a clinic and this was the only kid of birth control pills they had. I dont want to have any kids ever and i wanted some other kind of birth control besides condoms. I wanted to make sure that i used two types of birth control condoms and something else to make sure that i never will get pregnant. This is the first birth control i have ever taken. I have only taken one pill and i have a headach behind my eyes, i am extemely hungry but get nausea when i look at or smell food, i am tired i can barely stay awake, and i kept waking up like five or six times last night and was sweating. any suggestions on what other types of birth control i should try.

I have been on Aviane for about six months and I too have experienced weight gain (after working very hard to get rid of it prior to going on Aviane...), mood swings, which are horrible just before and continue the first few days of my period, mild depression (probably a result of the weight gain), and similar pregnancy-type symptoms (swollen breasts, going to the bathroom more often, and cravings). This is the first month that I've put two and two together to recognize that the symptoms/side effects are probaby related to the birth control. I've been on so many different types of birth control, I really don't know what to switch to next. I know that I need a lo-dose of estrogen, because I frequently experience a lessened sex-drive on BC pills.

hi guest 31475,
i do not know what other birth control pill would be better than yasmin as i have only taken dianette (about 10 years ago) and yasmin. a very low dose pill may be ok yasmin seems to have quite high levels of hormones compared to some of the older brands of pills. yasmin is considered a new generation pill so maybe one of the original types may be better. yasmin has not been proven to better than any other brand i think that just because it is one of the newer types it is more readily prescribed. talk to your health care giver about the problems you have had with the artificial hormones and they may be able to recommend a brand. I will not be trying any form of hormonal birth control in the future as i had no idea that something so seamingly simple could have such a detremental effect on my health and my quality of life.
have you considered non hormonal types of birth control? as mentioned below there is a copper IUD and i think there is also a low dose progesterone IUD that does not get into the blood so may not cause the same side effects as oral contraceptives. i don't much about them as i have decided to stick to non hormonal,plain & simple condoms for now at least i know i will not get any side effects from them!

The only side effect that I've had after three months of being on Yasmin is that my breasts have gotten HUGE.

BTW, I know some of you are on this particular pill for cysts or other doctor recommended reasons, but I just wanted to say that there are a MILLION different brands and types of birth control pills out there and you shouldn't be hesitant to talk to your doctor about switching if your symptoms and side effects are that bad on Yasmin. There are so many types these days that there's practically at least one brand that should work for any woman.

I wanted to post to this website because, unlike most of the women on here, I experienced very few side effects with Nuvaring and actually like it very much. I was on numerous types of birth control pills and experienced SO many different side effects (yeast infections, decreased libido, mood swings, weight gain, migraines, etc.). With Nuvaring, I only really experienced some headaches and that was mainly near my period. I didn't experience any problems with insertion, had no problems with any vaginal irriations, and neither myself nor my boyfriend had any problems during sex. I didn't feel a thing and neither could he. Like with all hormonal contraceptives, everyone's body will react differently. I just wanted to post this, to let people know that Nuvaring does really work well for some people and it is definitely my chosen form of contraception.