never been on birth control. 28 (f). periods are painful. don’t love the idea

[darrin71]

I have an appointment to see my doctor today and have always been against the idea of birth control; no offense to anyone on it but I don’t like the idea of a pill regulating my cycle and the hormones aren’t always good for someone who has a mental illness such as depression like I do. I am at the point that my periods are kind of ruining a good portion of my month each month and often times I am getting them twice a month. if it’s a longer month and I start it the first week I will almost always get it again towards the end of the same month. additionally, I can not use tampons because I will bleed through them and find them painful. my cramps are very heavy and I typically can not get up the first 24 hours of my period. I bleed for 6 full days. I do not want kids and if I ever changed my mind I would adopt. my question is what is a birth control that I can take that does not have a crazy amount of hormones? a light birth control that will give me some lighter periods? I just want to feel like my life isn’t scheduled around when I’m going to get my period next. thanks in advance!

 

[cherrein]

@darrin71 I was in your shoes (bad periods, depression and anxiety, fear of bc) and got on bc and my only regret is not doing it sooner. My life is so much better now. My cycle was CAUSINGso much bad mental health.

 

[jenine]

@darrin71 Hi, OP! I would recommend that you talk through some options with a healthcare professional you trust that ideally knows about your mental health conditions. There might be a really great option for you that you didn’t know about.

Since you are not comfortable with the hormones, I would have suggested that you look into the copper IUD (Paragard), but it sounds like you already have a heavy flow and my understanding is that Paragard can sometimes make you bleed more.

I have tried a number of bc methods: different types of oral contraceptives, Nuva ring, Paragard, and Mirena (hormonal IUD).

I loved the IUD but my uterus did not, so I am currently on a pill that works really well for me. I have also tried a pill that made me super nauseous even with 1 alcoholic beverage.

Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find what works for you, but hopefully you have access to a good doctor that you can trust to work through some options until you find the right fit for you.

“Hormones” aren’t all bad and medicine is there to help people live their lives a little bit more easily. You just have to find the right thing that works for you.

 

[mufudzi]

@darrin71 There are low-dose pills such as lo loestrin fe, as well as progesterone-only options such as the mini pill or a hormonal IUD (the lowest dose hormonal IUD is Skyla)

 

[mmorey26]

@mufudzi I took Lolo too when I first started bc as an “introduction” to bc. Overall a good experience but then switched to Marvelon 28 roughly 8 months later cause I needed a higher dose. Soo much better now though

 

[darrin71]

@mufudzi I’ve heard of Lo Losestrin, what is a progesterone only option? also; thanks for the reply!

 

[mufudzi]

@darrin71 Progesterone-only birth control is birth control that does not contain estrogen! It includes the traditional 3-hour mini pill, desogestrel mini pill, Slynd, hormonal IUDs, depo shot, and implant.

 

[terrylmoran]

@darrin71 I take Lo Loestrin. I had all your symptoms when hormone free and it turned out to be endometriosis. After 2 excision surgeries, I'll now be on the pill the rest of my life. I was terrified of the hormones impacting me. But Lo Loestrin hasn't been a problem for my mental health or overall well being. Sex drive is lower, but boobs are bigger. Mental health is stable (and I have OCD and Anxiety). The estrogen part of Lo Loestrin is the part that helps regulate my Endo and ovarian cysts properly.

Edit: forgot to mention that the Mirena IUD was good to me for quite a while too. Had no periods. But it messed with my hormones and PH and caused other issues. Might be a good option for you to consider.

 

[mikemock]

@darrin71 Slynd; maybe Cerazette, I'm not sure they give you the latter if you are not breastfeeding though. In some countries (not mine), you can even get POP without prescription.

 

[full]

@mikemock I get Slynd from Nurx.

 

[fridayed]

@darrin71 Its hard to say which one wont have side effects for you. Each person reacts differently and some people dont have major side effects to any while some may react differently to different pills. I took a few different brands over the years and i only had side effects to one brand. Blisovi fe 1/20 (generic for loestrin). For some reason i had bad cramps with it when i only got mild cramps on occasion suddenly i would be in so much pain. Also i had constant breast tenderness that happened pretty much daily it would just get worse closer to the placebo week. Also had nausea during the placebo week. But none of the other pills caused it. My doctor was surprised because its supposed to help those symptoms not cause it. When i got off the pill it all stopped i later went on a different pill and didn't have any of that also the pills i had before that didn't cause it either. Nothing wrong with the pill i had because many people take it and it works great for them just for some reason my body had that reaction.

So its going to be hard to say which brand will work for you. The only thing is to talk to you doctor and try what they prescribe and if you have bad side effects after you have been on it a few months you may have to switch but there is a glld chance you won't have side effects.

 

[jenine]

@fridayed Ha. Blisovi/Haley is the one I am on now and it works perfectly for me. It’s so interesting how these different drugs affect each person differently.