Hormonal Contraception: The Pill [General Discussion]

Rebecca White said:Back in the day, maybe 6 or 7 years ago, I was on Lyndinette and honestly? Loved it. My period went from lasting 8 days down to just 5, it was way lighter, and always perfectly on schedule. Zero side effects for me.
Since then, I’ve had two pregnancies, and now my doctor says I can't touch birth control pills anymore. He said hormonal patches were my only option, so I’ve been using those for about a year and a half now—and man, I am nowhere near as happy as I was on the pill. Not to mention they’re way pricier since you need a private prescription. My cycle is regular, sure, but it’s still incredibly heavy; it only dropped from 8 days to 7. Plus, after a couple of days, the patch starts looking a mess. The edges lift up and catch on my clothes, and by day 7, the borders look absolutely gross. I don't even dare scrub too hard when I shower because it’s peeled off on me twice already. And get this—after a year and a half, I’m still getting a rash under it. At first, the itching was driving me insane, and even though it doesn't itch as much now, my skin looks terrible whenever I peel it off.

Look, I know everyone reacts differently, and maybe someone else might actually prefer the patch over pills, but personally? I wouldn't recommend it. If I had any other choice, I’d ditch it tomorrow in a heartbeat.

Oh boy.... I dealt with long periods back in high school; mine would last seven days straight. Once I finished school and a couple of years passed, things leveled out—my period is perfectly predictable now, lasting maybe four or five days max. BUT, they are incredibly heavy and painful... It's awful! Honestly, I’d choose the pills over anything else just to manage the cramps. When I'm bleeding that heavily, I can barely function, let alone go anywhere.🤦

What should I do if I forgot my pill? I’m on Loestrin, and I missed one day. Since it had been over 12 hours, I just took the next one in the evening like usual. I'm in my third week, so I have two pills left (plus the one I missed, making three total). Should I just take those two and go straight into the break? Or should I take all three—including the missed one—take the break, and then start a new pack? Or do I finish these two (or three) and jump right into a new box without a break at all?

My gynecologist actually gave me a referral to go in for a transfusion just so they could prescribe some birth control for me.

So, what kind of test requires blood work for a transfusion in the first place??? I've got two different referrals here.

And how much is this going to cost me since I don't have supplemental insurance?

Honestly, I have absolutely no clue because I never ever go to the doctor, so this whole thing feels like I'm discovering America for the first time, haha.🤦😁

Did you head over to the American Red Cross center on 123 Main Street to donate blood?
Basically, you just show up—they’ll figure out exactly what’s needed based on your referral.
You can even pull up your digital referral on the official government portal if you need to check it.

I think I’ve got the gist of how this works—though, honestly, I’m not entirely sure how much extra they charge for the supplemental coverage.

quietfox384 said:Did you head over to the American Red Cross center on 123 Main Street to donate blood?
Basically, you just show up—they’ll figure out exactly what’s needed based on your referral.
You can even pull up your digital referral on the official government portal if you need to check it.

I think I’ve got the gist of how this works—though, honestly, I’m not entirely sure how much extra they charge for the supplemental coverage.

👍
I'm originally from St. Louis.
All they told me was to head down to the hospital and that everything would be handled through the transfusion department.

I really hope it doesn't end up being too expensive. ☕

Ah, my mistake—I was actually referring to the hospital in Chicago.



They charge a sort of co-pay rather than the full cost of the service. I haven't the slightest clue what the actual total would come out to—and honestly, who does? But it shouldn't be an astronomical amount—certainly nothing exceeding $33.

quietfox384 said:Ah, my mistake—I was actually referring to the hospital in Chicago.



They charge a sort of co-pay rather than the full cost of the service. I haven't the slightest clue what the actual total would come out to—and honestly, who does? But it shouldn't be an astronomical amount—certainly nothing exceeding $33.

Anyway, it’s all good.

I need two specific tests done: I’m assuming a coagulogram and fibrinogen.
From what I’ve been digging up online, those are the two standard ones linked to contraceptive use.

When I had blood work done recently, I paid about $17.
I figure that was because those results were a bit more comprehensive (iron, zinc, TSH, immunoglobulin, that sort of thing).

Greetings,
Does anyone here have actual experience with Seasonale? My gynecologist suggested them because my current birth control isn't sitting well with me—the side effects have become far too intense to ignore. To be honest, even he wasn't entirely certain if they were still being distributed locally here in the States. I’ve been on Yaz for quite a long time, but over this past year, the migraines and abdominal pain at the start of my cycle have become unbearable. I think it's time to try a different approach.

What are the rules for picking up birth control on a refillable prescription? I'm wondering how often—or rather, how much earlier—I can actually go grab a new pack? Basically, I have a long trip coming up, so I really need to pick up my next box quite a bit ahead of schedule.

That recipe is good for a full year—you can grab it for 12 months if you want to...
I actually ended up getting two three-month boxes just like that, within half a year.

After five years on Adexe—which started out perfectly but left my skin looking absolutely wild toward the end—I decided to make the switch over to Belaire.

I’ve only just cracked open the third pack, but the emotional rollercoaster is already hitting me hard. Honestly, I’ve been weeping like a toddler over the smallest things. Just today, a clerk at the grocery store was incredibly rude to me, and I found myself sitting in my car, completely breaking down because of that 🙏
. I assume this is likely just another side effect of the pills. However, I’m also feeling significantly more anxious lately, and I can't quite tell if that's part of the same chemical shift or something else entirely.
My PMS symptoms tend to wash over me for about a week and a half, which feels like an eternity.
Part of me desperately wants to just stop taking birth control altogether, but I am genuinely terrified of what will happen to my complexion if I quit.

For those of you who have been through this, how many months of usage does it typically take for these side effects to level out?
I’m worried they might never settle down, especially since with Adexe, I dealt with constant nausea during those first few days for five straight years.
Now, I’m facing that same fear—that these current side effects are just my new permanent reality.
They aren't the worst thing in the world, and I know some women have it much harder, and generally speaking, I actually like being on the pill; it's just this sudden moodiness that isn't really my style. I’d honestly much rather deal with nausea than this.☕

Chris Campbell80 said:After five years on Adexe—which started out perfectly but left my skin looking absolutely wild toward the end—I decided to make the switch over to Belaire.

I’ve only just cracked open the third pack, but the emotional rollercoaster is already hitting me hard. Honestly, I’ve been weeping like a toddler over the smallest things. Just today, a clerk at the grocery store was incredibly rude to me, and I found myself sitting in my car, completely breaking down because of that 🙏
. I assume this is likely just another side effect of the pills. However, I’m also feeling significantly more anxious lately, and I can't quite tell if that's part of the same chemical shift or something else entirely.
My PMS symptoms tend to wash over me for about a week and a half, which feels like an eternity.
Part of me desperately wants to just stop taking birth control altogether, but I am genuinely terrified of what will happen to my complexion if I quit.

For those of you who have been through this, how many months of usage does it typically take for these side effects to level out?
I’m worried they might never settle down, especially since with Adexe, I dealt with constant nausea during those first few days for five straight years.
Now, I’m facing that same fear—that these current side effects are just my new permanent reality.
They aren't the worst thing in the world, and I know some women have it much harder, and generally speaking, I actually like being on the pill; it's just this sudden moodiness that isn't really my style. I’d honestly much rather deal with nausea than this.☕

Sorry for the late reply, but I was on Loestrin and experienced the exact same thing. 😁 I was more emotional than I ever thought possible; honestly, even the most mundane, everyday nonsense would drive me to tears. For me, it lasted about three to four months before things finally seemed to stabilize. Aside from that, and perhaps a tiny bit of cellulite, I didn't deal with any other side effects.

I took a break for a year and a half, and the only real change I noticed was that my cycle shortened slightly, going from 27 days down to about 24 or 25. I'm planning to start back up again in a few days, though I'm certainly not looking forward to the emotional rollercoaster.🕺

Hey, quick question about emergency contraception—specifically EllaOne. I took it at the end of July, had two periods on schedule, but now things are getting weird; my second-to-last one came a week early, and this latest one is already four days late. Has anyone else dealt with their cycle being this messed up for so long after taking it?

Hey,

I recently requested some birth control from my OBGYN. We went through all the tests and had that standard quick chat about family medical history. Everything moved at such a breakneck pace that there wasn't any room left for actual questions, so that whole "ask your doctor" advice is pretty much useless here... 😅

She prescribed Logest. I’m feeling a bit lost because the instructions aren't making sense, and when I looked online, I found two different ways to do this. Should I start on the very first day of my period, and then if the pack says to start on Monday, do I actually wait until Monday even if it's currently Wednesday?

It really threw me off because I saw somewhere else that you just start on whatever day you actually get the pills... like, if it's Wednesday, you just start on Wednesday... 🤔

I realize this probably seems like a simple question, but since it's my first time dealing with this, I'm genuinely unsure. My doctor didn't really walk me through it, and every time I tried to ask something, she just brushed me off to move things along...

Jason Green3 said:Hey,

I recently requested some birth control from my OBGYN. We went through all the tests and had that standard quick chat about family medical history. Everything moved at such a breakneck pace that there wasn't any room left for actual questions, so that whole "ask your doctor" advice is pretty much useless here... 😅

She prescribed Logest. I’m feeling a bit lost because the instructions aren't making sense, and when I looked online, I found two different ways to do this. Should I start on the very first day of my period, and then if the pack says to start on Monday, do I actually wait until Monday even if it's currently Wednesday?

It really threw me off because I saw somewhere else that you just start on whatever day you actually get the pills... like, if it's Wednesday, you just start on Wednesday... 🤔

I realize this probably seems like a simple question, but since it's my first time dealing with this, I'm genuinely unsure. My doctor didn't really walk me through it, and every time I tried to ask something, she just brushed me off to move things along...

You start on Day 1 of your period. If that happens to be today, for example, you would take the pill specifically marked for Saturday.

Hey,
Is it actually normal for a doctor to just tell you to stop taking your birth control and then order a bunch of blood work—like a CBC, liver enzymes, an APTV, a pelvic exam, and fibrinogen levels?
I mean, shouldn't they be checking hormone levels too? You’re literally putting hormones into your system; if we mess up the dosage or throw things out of balance, we could end up doing way more damage than the pills were ever meant to fix.

nimblepuma6 said:Hey,
Is it actually normal for a doctor to just tell you to stop taking your birth control and then order a bunch of blood work—like a CBC, liver enzymes, an APTV, a pelvic exam, and fibrinogen levels?
I mean, shouldn't they be checking hormone levels too? You’re literally putting hormones into your system; if we mess up the dosage or throw things out of balance, we could end up doing way more damage than the pills were ever meant to fix.

Yeah, it's totally normal. It's standard procedure for a gynecologist to order those specific tests.

nimblepuma6 said:Hey,
Is it actually normal for a doctor to just tell you to stop taking your birth control and then order a bunch of blood work—like a CBC, liver enzymes, an APTV, a pelvic exam, and fibrinogen levels?
I mean, shouldn't they be checking hormone levels too? You’re literally putting hormones into your system; if we mess up the dosage or throw things out of balance, we could end up doing way more damage than the pills were ever meant to fix.

Those pills are designed to keep hormones at a specific level, but they still impact things like your liver and how your blood clots. For instance, if your platelet count is high, the risk of clotting caused by the medication might make the therapy a bad idea altogether.

Hey ladies, I’m looking for some insight regarding these Adexa pills… My gynecologist just prescribed them to me, so...

Hello,

I’ve been taking Lindynette and I really want to stop... I was wondering if I actually need to finish the entire pack, or if it's okay to just quit whenever I feel ready... Does anyone here have any experience with this kind of thing?