Iron pills symptoms and conditions

I have been on the Yasmin now for nearly three months. I have no energy, chest pains, shortness of breath, tenderness of my breast, ribs and I feel REALLY TIRED even after having a nights rest. I thought this was perhaps after having a toddler and using my energy up during the day from lifting him and swinging him. I feel slightly anxious about different things in my life, sometimes depressed. I though my headaches and chest pains were stress/work related and so was the fatigue. I am popping vitamin tablets like it is an addiction thinking that if I don't have them I am going to feel WORSE( anxious/depressed). I also could not understand why I was feeling so nauseous and having stabbing pains in my stomach. - thought again this was just stress related - acid build up. I am going to see my Doctor today and get off this tablet!!!! I would rather have the odd pimple on my face than feel like this.

I'm 21 years old and I have had the WORST experiences with Loestrin24 Fe. DO NOT TAKE THIS SATANIC PILL. Seriously. This was the first birth control I was ever put on. My doctor put me on it because she said the low dose of estrogen would help my bad cramps (but I really think she was just trying to promote this new pill...because when I started it it was still pretty new). I started this pill before I turned 21, this past March, and for the first few months the only things I noticed were spotting when I didn't take it at the EXACT time everyday (which I soon set an alarm for and did take it at 9 am daily) and also, my breasts definitely got bigger and I didn't have as many breakouts as I used to. I also experienced being really depressed and upset for no reason or being really angry for no reason. After a few months, I started to get headaches a lot more often, have vivid weird dreams that I would remember the next day, I had trouble going to sleep at night (insomnia)...and I looked these up to see if they were symptoms of this pill...and they are. The worst was when I PASSED OUT the day I started my new pack of pills 2 months in a row! I just went to my doctor and had several tests done and they said that they were not positive, but it is a possibility that the passing out was related to my birth control. I passed out the day after the 4 placebo/iron pills (that I did not take, which could have also been a factor) which was the day I started my new pack...when your estrogen shoots up. I take my pills at 9 am and I passed out around noon in both cases. I switched to another birth control last month, but now I am completely off of birth control because the new pill made me lose my appetite and I just do not want to deal with putting these things into my body. I do NOT recommend this birth control to ANYONE. This pill should not be prescribed, especially after reading about how a large percentage of women have such awful experiences with this pill. I'm so excited to be DONE with Loestrin24 Fe and done with birth control in general. To me, birth control is not worth feeling awful all the time and having weird side effects when I could be living problem-free otherwise. I just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences and I hope that perhaps others will have better experiences with this pill than most of us seem to be having!

I am 21, and I have been on NuvaRing for 4 years. I got on it to regulate my periods. I loved it because I did not have to take a pill everyday, and I would know exactly when I was going to start. After a couple months of being on the NuvaRing I was getting really really tired. I had no desire to do anything but nap. I had become anemic. After I got on iron pills, my energy level increased and I was back to normal. Also, during the first year my immune system went down tremendously. I was sick with more than I have ever been. Still I did not blame the NuvaRing. During the next year I started having bad stomach problems. I could not keep anything in without having to run to the restroom, and I was constantly nauseated. After losing 20 lbs, I decided to go to the Dr. After doing tests, his only response was that I had IBS. After a few months the stomach problems ceased. My appetite has decreased tremendously. My mother brought to my attention that ever since the NuvaRing I was constantly complaining about not feeling well. I was in denial. I loved knowing when I would start my period, and I could not take pills everyday. Life went on. The third year, I almost passed out at school. I have felt like this before, but only when I hadn't eaten. I went to the Dr. and I was found with a heart problem. I had a procedure, but I still feel out of breath occasionally. I have chest pains occasionally, as well. I still get really nauseated, but my immune system has gotten much better. Therefore, I tell my mother that I am better, no need to stop the NuvaRing. In the past year I have noticed that I am an emotional rollercoaster. I drive my friends, family, and boyfriend crazy. This past week it hit me that I could be having side effects from the NuvaRing because I have ALWAYS been very happy. After getting on here and reading everyone's side effects, I am amazed. Everything that I have been through the past 4 years is probably because of the NuvaRing. I am going to try to stop the NuvaRing and see how much better I can feel. I can't wait!

****KENALOG CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT****
Need a list of people that want to join Kenalog class action lawsuit A.S.A.P Please email me with name,state and all side effects. Include if you were treated for the side effects from a Doctor and/or hospitalized.
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Hi everyone im a 22 year old mother of two. In April of 2008 i had mirena inserted and like all of you have had all of the side effects associated with it..... hair loss, anxiety, weight gain, lower back and ab pain, ovary pain, acne, depression, mood swings and so on.. after finding this site and reading many posts i made an appointment to have this thing removed... For me the benefits did not out weight the side effects... so i had it removed 1 week ago... spotting there after and a full blown period that has not gotten any lighter (again, has been a week) .. usually i do expect to be on my period for a week with the second and third day being the ones with the most flow but i have not gotten any lighter and i am menstruating blood clots!!! does anyone know if this is normal??? I mean big clots,,, i have never had this happen before... i did call the doctor office where i had it removed and from what i understood its normal but it just doesn't feel right.... im starting to think i was pregnant and am having a miscarriage except i have no pain... ( first day of last period was July 9, 2009) went in to have mirena removed 8-18-09.... did this happen to anyone else??? oh one more thing,,, i do have a bit of lower back pains... i appreciate any replays thank you

hello ladies, i'd like to start off by thanking you all for your posts, i read before i started my first pack of loestrin 24 fe so i could see what i might be expecting with starting the pill. i went to the gyno for the first time back in june, i went due to other health problems. for my whole sophomore year i was sick, all of the time, i'm 16 years old, and school is a very important part of my life right now, but with being sick all the time, i was absent a lot. i was absent on each period, as well. my doctor knew something was up so he ordered a blood test, the test came back and my hemoglobin was very low, he had me take 2 iron pills a day for a month then sent me back for another blood test, after the second blood test my hemoglobin was back up, but my iron was still very low. he asked me questions about my menstrual cycle and i answered, they've always been very bad, really heavy bleeding and clotting for the 5-8 days i was on it, very bad cramping as well, and i was very tired, and dragged out while i was on my period, always ended up getting sick while i was on it as well, so he came to the conclusion that i was anemic because of my menstrual cycles, so he sent me to the gyno. mind you, this was my first time being there and i was terrified! haha, she gave me a pap & pelvic exam, then an ultra sound on my ovaries and uterus to make sure everything was normal before putting me on the pills, she put me on them because of the iron that they have in them and to slow my periods down. i'm starting my third week on my first pack of the pills tomorrow, and i for the last 2 weeks i've been very very irritable, the smallest things make me very angry at any time. and have had some crazy mood swings, one minute i'm laughing and happy, then the next i'm crying because i dropped something. i get bad headaches, and i always feel like i'm going to vomit. i don't have much of an appetite, and when i do try to eat, or after i eat i feel like i'm going to vomit. i've also had some cramping and a couple days of spotting, i've had some hot flashes as well, and my sex drive has slightly increased. i feel awkward saying that, haha. but, i'm not taking them for sexual reasons, just health reasons. and i hope that the pills end up working out for me and those health issues. & i hope they work out for all of you, too. :)

I have been taking Loestrin 24 for almost a year and a half now. At first the pill seemed like a godsend because it offered me shorter periods and more time in between period. However, I have recently become sexually active with my boyfriend and the pill seems to have turned on me completely. In May, I experienced an alarmingly light period with barely any bleeding and almost non-existent cramps. I attributed it to stress at first, but took a home pregnancy test just to be certain. Thankfully, the test came back negative so I put it out of my mine for awhile.

The following month I yet again experience a period that was barely the equivalent of spotting. Alarmed, I went to see my gyno. She told me that barely to no bleeding is completely normal with Loestrin 24, which is something that she failed to tell me of before I began it.

Tonight is my second night of iron pills in my pack and I have yet to bleed at all. On top of that, this entire month I have been experiencing night sweats, headaches, abnormal weight gain, and extreme irritability towards my loved ones. I can barely even stand to talk to my boyfriend on the phone regardless of the fact that I know I love him very much.

Should I stop taking them? Is there any suggestions for better pills?

I had the Mirena inserted back in March (2009) and I had some problems the first 3 weeks of having it in, but everything seems fine now. My periods are regular, not heavy, they don't last a full week anymore, I got off the iron pills I had to take prior to the Mirena because I was bleeding bad, had softball sized clots, it was just awful. Now everything is so much better. Only thing I have is headaches during my periods when before it was severe cramping. I don't mind the headaches so much, one Tylenol and I'm good in 30 minutes. Every woman's body is different, some have bad effects from Mirena, others don't. And believe me, I had a bad time in my life with my body, and since I got used to the Mirena, everything changed for the better. I'm glad I got it.

Hi I am feeling the exact same way now. I'm 20 and I've been on it for about 8 weeks. I'm having horrible hot flashes and anxiety attacks and feeling tingly literally all through out the day. I just constantly feel hot all inside my body. I'm feeling crazy and whacked out in the head and i am terrified. If you are off Loestrin how long did it take for your side affects to wear off and do u feel like ur normal self now. Also yesterday I decided to quit taking the pill all together and now I'm taking estroven extra strength, iron pills, and vitamin b12

I went absolutely insane on this pill after 10 weeks. I'm a pretty confident person and I had NIGHTMARE anxiety attacks and nausea completely out of nowhere. Lost weight, and was just generally shaking all the time. This would lead to crying and feeling completely out of control and like I wanted to jump off my balcony. I went on this pill to relieve horrible cramps associated with my period but I would seriously rather have horrendous cramps two days out of the month than feel like I am losing my mind.

If you are at all sensitive to hormones (and isn't that most of us?) PLEASE do not take this pill.

Hello,
I've been on Loestrin for about a week now and so far I cannot pin down any side effects directly related to the pill. I have, in the past, taken orth tri cyclen lo in which I have experienced several of the side effects described in previous posts. So I have empathy for those going through it!

Just some food for thought for those with awful side effects:

From talking to my doctor and doing my own research I know that the pseudo pills (taken about the time you would start you start your cycle) are iron pills. Now, this is great for me because I have an iron deficiency but for those who don't you can actually overdose on iron causing symptoms such as: vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, irritability, drowsiness, unconsciousness, fever,bleeding, blood-clotting abnormalities. Confusion and sluggishness... And the older you are the more likely you are to over dose on Iron. It might not be the pill causing these symptoms but rather too much iron. You may want to google iron overdose and see what you find.
Birth Control Pills are different with different compound make ups. One that works for some will not work for others. I personally don't know if this one works for me yet but I am hoping so! Don't give up though, there's something for you that will work!

Hope this was helpful!

I am a 44 yr old female. I have been on Zocor for 2 yrs. I have never had high cholesterol. I have a family history of heart disease and after my 44 yr old brother had a heart attack and the transplant, my doctor put me on Zocor as a precaution. I have had problems over the 2 yrs and have been to the doctor many times only to be dismissed as Oh, I need to lose weight, I need to get out of the house more, I need to exercise, It must be my depression....and on and on. I have never had a kidney or liver test in 2 years. I never knew I needed on and my doctor never tested me. I have over 30 symptoms/side effects of Zocor. I only looked into the side effects after my mother-in-law had muscle break down, an intestinal blockage and a ruptured bowel and almost died a few weeks ago. I couldn't believe what I found on this site. I immediately stopped the Zocor. I started to feel better right away but it was short lived. i felt great for 1 week and then it all crept back in on me for a week and then this last week I am back in bed with dibilitating fatigue and muscle weakness. I will now list my symptoms/side effects.
Shortness of breath; heart palpitations; droopy eye lid (left eye); eye lid twitch (right eye); optical migraines; numbness & tingling of my arms (from the elbows down) and my hands; My hands "fall asleep"; Itching all over; severe muscle weakness ( I have dropped things); muscle pain; joint pain (even the little ones in my toes); leg cramps; critically anemic (on 3 iron pills per day); ruptured ankle tendon (left ankle, currently being treated with a brace trying to avoid surgery); hot flashes/flushing; cold hands and feet; dizziness;, loss of balance; headaches; blurred vision; mental fog; confusion; loss of memory; loss of concentration; extreme and debilitating fatigue; insomnia; trouble staying asleep (wake every hour); huge weight gain; swelling of calves, ankles and feet; dark colored urine; gas; upset stomach; diarrhea; stomach pain; depression; anxiety; hair loss; bruises; mouth ulcers; back pain; tingling on top of head; heaviness in my thighs; EXHAUSTION! I feel like I am 100 yrs old. I have had nights that I thought I was dying and had panic attacks that I would not survive the night. I have 3 young children to take care of. I can not even put conditioner on my hair or shave my legs in the shower because I have to get out so quickly due to exhaustion. I have to lean on one elbow at the sink to brush my teeth. When I get out of the shower I can barely breath, I am wheezing, my heart is pounding and I feel like I will collapse so I have to get out and rush to my bed. I home school my 3 children and most days we do school in my bed. Everything is an effort. I can never plan anything because most days I am incapacitated. I may have a good day and can actually go out to dinner or Walmart once or twice a month and then I can't wait to get back home and get in bed because I am so worn out. I don't see how this drug can actually remain on the market. I am so angry and upset that my doctor never told me this could happen. When I asked about side effects I was told "oh no there aren't any really". My doctor never ran tests on me. I just can't believe this. I go tomorrow for blood work and I go to the doctor on Mon to discuss the results and all of my problems. I am so afraid that I have permanent damage to my muscles and possibly my heart. I went tot he doc months ago with shortness of breath and swelling and she did an EKG and said my heart was fine and I was not having congestive heart failure. I fear I was and still am! It is not normal to be out of breath just brushing your teeth and combing your hair. I hope we all get the answers we are looking for and that we all recover from this horrible drug. God bless you all!

I can relate to many of these experiences. Started out in my 20's with very irregular cycles, went to my first gyn after a miscarriage - the emergency room dr referred me to a dr that was at a fertility clinic. I had no idea why until I was actual a little more "awake" I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. I went through at least 6 or 7 different birth control pills, depo provera shot, nuvaring, then back on another birth control pill. finally we started doing the continuous suppression as I was bleeding at least a little bit every single day... for 2 years. I would still have my full blown period every 4 weeks or so, which also included a monster migraine on day one of the menstruation. Not only was my life being altered but I was starting to get anemic. Finally after a month of the continuous suppression my bleeding stopped. As did the menstrual migraines. I continued this way for 4 years. Didn't have a single period or migraine, life was wonderful.. or so it seemed. I have been over weight for most of my adult life. Finally decided to do something about it. I joined the gym with a friend and started losing weight. I dropped 55 pounds until... the dreaded bleeding, pain and hormones got out of control. I started bleeding every single day again. Finally made an appointment with my dr. She stated that when you lose weight it releases estrogen out of your fat cells. Gee, I thought losing weight was supposed to make you feel better!! I went on with it for a while thinking it would stop eventually and it just HAD to get better. In fact, things got worse. I started having horrible abdominal pain, eventually it got to be daily. To the point where I could not stretch or even hyper extend my right leg backwards. My abdomen felt like something had a rubber band tied to it from the inside. My dr said that she suspected endometriosis. However, due to my anemia... we had to wait. So back on the iron pills and wait wait wait. Finally, October 15th I went in for my lap. Sure enough, stage 4 endo, huge cysts on both ovaries. My endo had gone all over the place and attached itself to anything it could. Including folding my bladder in half! Good grief. I thought that I was just getting the weak bladder from getting older (I am 35 by the way). For the next couple of weeks after my surgery I felt pretty good. Finally pain free (still a little bleeding but not much). But, the end of December rolls around and here it is, back with all its fury. The pain is again horrible, my migraines are back, my energy is dwindling. The good life was short lived. My doctor suggested a series of Lupron shots. One shot a month for 6 months. My first shot in January (took me a little bit of time to decide if I wanted to do it) finally bit the bullet and got the shot. First few days, fine, no problem, no relief either but no life altering experience. Then one morning I woke up and realized I was not in pain. It was a strange feeling actually. But the time I got the second shot, no more bleeding, no more pain... However, the hot flashes, night sweats and the emotions came on. Holy cow. Drama drama drama. I could find any reason on the planet to argue, with anyone. Thank god I have a very understanding family and an even more wonderful partner. I think he has the patience of a saint. I still don't know how he puts up with me. If I am not trying to find some reason to pick a fight then I am crying like a baby... for hours and hours. These hormones are so out of control. I honestly don't know what is worse, the pain or feeling like the world is going to end in the next 2 minutes if I don't get this spill picked up.. I literally cried for 2 hours Saturday because my cat knocked a stupid bottle of car wax off a shelf in the back room. Good lord, I had the most horrible feelings coming over me and just could not stop crying. I bought a new bed 2 weeks ago and let me tell you. If I am not on one of my 13 hour sleep fests then I am laying in it crying and feeling sorry for myself. Or the even better part of indegestion or my favorite part.. gas. I honestly don't know if I can go on like this. I made an appointment to see my doctorr this Friday to determine what she thinks will happen if I don't complete the other 3 shots. just give me back the pain if you have to!

For a long time, I have experienced problems with Anemia for over two years because of a disorder with Endometrosis that caused bleeding every single day. While on birth control I was spotting everyday and then when I got off birth control my periods lasted 16 days. Thats when I knew something was wrong with me not the birth control. After numerous test, everything came back normal and I did not know what to do with myself. The doctor's did not help and I switched to a specialist. A doctor that saw me as a person not someone to bill on. She finally determined that I had endometrosis and I had surgery performed in December and was put on meds that caused weight gain before the surgery. I had to be put back on birth control on 1/31/2009 for it not to grow back as quickly. So we choose NuvaRing and I bleed everyday, maintained my weight while trying to loose it, got nausea, dizzy spells, and very lethargic so I assumed I was anemic and took my Iron pills and B complex pills and still I was feeling sick...sick!!! Now I am the type of person who looses weight faster than I put it on and after a few weeks of working my ass off at the gym and eating a very strict diet, I never lost an ounce. However, right before I started the NuvaRing I lost 5 pounds in two weeks. So after giving Nuvaring a try and talking to my doctor we determined that it was making me really really sick.

Hi.. I'm 18 years old and I have experienced strange side effects that myself and my mother believe is from the Gardasil shot. I had the first shot over the summer, and for weeks after noticed that I was experiencing a rapid hair loss. Knowing that I was anemic I kind of just brushed off the thought and just tried not to pay attention. My doctor put me on iron pills to boost my iron levels, and i also began eating healthier. So, slowly the hair loss became not a noticeable. Then in the fall I got my second shot. And, weeks after my hair loss began again.. except worse this time. I found myself crying myself to sleep and spending hours on end looking up information on the internet. Finally it hit me that it must have something to do with the Gardasil shot. My mom took me to get blood work for anemia.. and it had improved.. so that couldn't be the cause of the hair loss. Well, now its late winter and i have not gone back for the third shot.. and actually things have gotten better. My hair loss is not as much and though my hair has thinned out quite an amount, its not the most of my worries anymore. I just wanted to put it out there that if things got better for me, then hopefully they can for everyone else as well. I'm looking to find better dieting to help improve everything, but the doctors deny it being from the Gardasil at all. I don't believe them.

hey...ok so this is my STORY!....
MY FIRST BC PILL WAS ORTHO TRYCYLEN LO. IT WAS GOOd but i started to notice that i was feeling like a rollercoaster.. so i decided to go to my gyno...she changed me to YAZ(HORRIBLE PILL) IT MESSED UP MY HEAR VALVE..I WAS TO ANXIOUS AND GOING CRAZY NOW I HAVE A MITRAL VALVE PROLAPSE..WHICH IS COMMON BUT I HAVE ALL THE BAD SYMPTOMS ....I ENDED UP GOING TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BECAUSE IT WAS TO EXPENSIVE( NO INSURANCE) THE CARDIOLOGIST GOT ME OF OF YAZ AND SEND ME TO A GYNOO... WELL THEY ENDED UP PUTTING ME THE IUD (COPPER)..HAD TO GET DILATED AND IN TO SURGERY (I WAS TO SCARED) THE FIRST MONTH I WENT CRAZY STARTED VOMITING IT WAS HORRIBLE THE SECOND MONTH I BLED FOR THE WHOLE MONTH.....GOT TIRED OF IT AND WENT TO A GYNO N GOT IT OF IT WASN'T TOLERATING MY BODY....GOT ON LOESTRIN 24 ON MY THIRD WEEK OF IT I MISSED A PILL TOOK IT IN THE MORNING HOURS PASSED AND STARTED BLEEDING TOOK THE SECOND PILL RIGHT AFTER THAT...I STARTED BLEEDING WITH FOR PILLS LEFT..NOW II DIDN'T TAKE THE IRON PILLS AND STARTED THE NEW PACK THINKING IT WOULD STOP IT...BUT NO! TODAY IS MY SEVEN DAY BLEEDING WITH HEAVY CLOTS.. HEAVY BLEEDING... AND LOTS OF CRAMPZZZ ...I NEED HELP ....I THINK IM JUST GOING STOP ..TAKING BC! I BEEN THROUGH HELL THE PAST MONTHS!

Hey everyone. I have been on orthocyclen for about 2 years now from a clinic. I finally got health insurance *yay* and I went to a gyno. He was going to prescribe me the same pills but since i still was having my period pretty bad for seven days straight and had headaches etc, he prescribed me on Loestrin 24 FE. I was happy to find out that it had iron pills instead of placebos bc i have low iron. I start it this Sunday. i am a little nervous after reading everyone comments but i have to keep in mind that everyone is different. Once I start taking it, ill update everyone :]]

Bella

I just posted a few days ago but need to update. I just started the 4th pack. I Had normal period(slightly longer than when I'm off birth control. on the brown pills third pack and no break through bleed or spotting. But my breast are extremely tender which didn't end with the end of my period. I'm extremely fatigued but have sleepless restless nights. i've developed rashes in the creases of my breast. Not fun. My sex drive has gone down and so has any feeling during sex. My poor husband doesn't understand. I'm moody. I have no appetite but am slowly gaining weight. Crappy pill. I just keep sticking it out because although my husband and I would someday like to have kids, today is not the day as we are both still students. I'll give it till the end of the month and then maybe I'll switch to a new pill.

Has anyone had extreme heavy bleeding/clots after having the Mirena removed? This is day 3. The last time I had such heavy bleeding I had just had my son. When do you start to worry about the bleeding?

Get the heck off this pill when you can! Do NOT let anyone, your doctor or anyone else, tell you to take it. 3 weeks were horrible enough coming off of Yaz which was bad as well. Here is the list of awful and unbearable side effects that they you get from this chewable pill that has iron pills as the last week:
Headache, fatigue, moodiness, depression, anxiety, feeling jumpy and scared easily, nausea, constipation, night sweats, facial and body acne, stomach pains, anger, irritability, oversensitivity, etc. I am a happy and laughable girl and have been brought down by this pill. I feel like I can't breathe and have a constant lump in my throat! I have cried at the drop of a hat and my finance has said that I am different. This is supposed to be best time of my life planning my wedding and I am miserable! HORRIBLE PILL- this should be taken off the market ASAP!

I am on my first pack of Loestrin 24 Fe. I was doing okay except for constant breakthrough bleeding. This past weekend I was at a rehearsal dinner and wedding where I did a fair amount of drinking. On Monday I started feeling weird. By Monday night I was so weak and tired feeling that I couldn't lift my head. I've been laying on the couch for 24 hours and I still feel like the life has drained out of me. I"ve also had a stuffed nose and post-nasal drip since I started the pill. I went to the doctor this morning and they decided I needed iron pills to counteract the bleeding and an antihistamine and singlulair for the nasal symptoms. I'm now totally afraid of this pill!

I have been taking Lo24 for almost a year and at the beginning I did have light spotting and I gained a few pounds. However, after a few months the spotting stopped. I don't have any side effects from this pill as far as sex drive and moodiness. The only problem I have with it is that I haven't had my period for quite a few months now. I don't miss my pills and I am sure I'm not pregnant. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE not having a period, I'm just afraid that not bleeding any at all for months is going to cause internal problems later or something. It just doesn't seem natural. Anyone with similar problem?

I am almost through my first pack of Loestrin 24 Fe and so far not a fan of it. I have tried many pills in the past and they had all made me gain weight. After not being on a pill for a year (and not having a period), my new OBGYN put me on this one to try because she said it didn't have the weight gain affect I had experienced on the other ones. On my second week of this pill, my breasts were very tender, I had cramping and started to spot daily. I also noticed that I am having trouble with my contacts and eyes and I am getting sun spots on my face. I am not sure if those last two are related to the pill or not. Has anyone else had any of these symptoms? Since I started spotting it has increasingly gotten heavier to where I have to wear a tampon daily and I am supposed to get my actual period on Wed/Thurs. of this week. So right now I feel like I have been on my period for a week and a half already. Is anyone else experiencing this? Please email me and let me know ******

I have been on Loestrin for almost a month now and so far I like it. I was on the depo shot since 2005 and I had gained 25 pounds, so I felt it was time for a change. The only upside to the Depo was that I never got a period, but I felt that I'd rather lose weight and deal with the bleeding. I just started the brown iron pills yesterday and woke up with spotting this morning; so far so good, my body has seemed to adjust fine. I have noticed that I have been in a much better mood and the bloating I had experienced almost every day with the Depo is completely gone. I would defiantly recommend this pill to others, but I would suggest taking the pill at the same time every day, give or take a few minutes, and to take it in the morning with plenty of water. To me, taking this pill early in the day gives your body time to react and adjust comfortably.

I had an experience with Loestrin 24 Fe that caused me to have to stop taking it. I'm 43, in good health, non-smoker, no weight issues, no blood pressure issues. My longtime OB/GYN said that there were 2 types of BC pills for women "of my age", Yaz and Loestrin 24 Fe. He mentioned that more women have reported to him that they had sex drive issues with Yaz but that more were reporting skin (acne) issues with the Loestrin....figuring it was counter to the point if I had low sex drive issues, I opted for the Loestrin. Started on it in March of last year...spotted pretty much every day for 6 weeks...then moderate spotting with light "periods". At about month 3, I started having moderate headaches. At month 5, I was in a movie theater seeing a movie with my boyfriend and all of a sudden, I felt what was like a wave of heat start at my toes and radiated up to my head....and then I felt paralyzed....couldn't move and felt like the room was spinning. An hour later when the movie was over, I was having trouble walking straight and remained shaky and dizzy. The next day, I had a migraine for only the 2nd time in my life, the first one having been 4 years earlier. Went to my regular doctor the next week and she gave me some migraine meds and told me that my blood pressure was up and my blood sugar was off the charts. She advised me that if I stopped taking the pill, it could make my symptoms worse. At this point, I was at my 4 days with the brown iron pills. To test the theory, once my 4 days were done, I took the first white pill of a new pack. Within 30 minutes, it felt like someone had hit me in the back of the head with a 2 x 4! That was all I needed to know. Later that week, I went in to give blood for a cholesterol test and to do a glucose tolerance test (never had any issues with this in my life to this point). The glucose tolerance test results were normal but my cholesterol was 239. That was July. Called my OB/GYN and he said no more pill...we could try the Mirena IUD once I had my next cycle. Went to see him in Sept to have it installed but ended up having it removed the first week of Feb of this year because I was dizzy, bloated, had acne, had severe headaches again, was extremely fatigued and my sex drive was in the toilet. The day it was removed, my stomach flattened back out and my fogginess lifted. Sex drive is back, skin is clear...feel like a real person again...AND my cholesterol was down to 196 without any real changes. My research tells me that the estrogen has an effect on your blood lipids so for me it impacted my cholesterol. The progestins in both the Loestrin and in the Mirena are what gave me the headaches.....I just can't take that drug. Good luck to all of you....I just don't think most of us "of a certain age" can take hormonal birth control.