Ortho tri cyclen symptoms and conditions

OMG! SO glad I decided to research Loestrin24Fe. I am on my 2nd pack now well into the 2nd week. I used to be on Ortho-Tri-Cyclen Lo, but that made me moody, emotional, crampy, bloody and fat. I was switched to Trivora which was 10 times worse. I quit BC pills for a year. Now, I am on Loestrin 24Fe. I have for sure experienced some changes good and bad. I feel my sex drive has gone up! But my eyesight is getting blurry, my breast and nipples are sore most of the time. I'm very constipated all of a sudden. I'm also feeling exhausted and started experiencing headaches. I do get heartburn, but I think that's not related to the pill. I will start paying close attention to the things you ladies pointed out. My husband wants me to stop the pill (due to the eyesight thing) but I want to see if things get better by the 3rd pack. I'll let you know.
-L.

Wow... I had no idea that so many issues I am dealing with could be side effects of the Mirena. I already had an appt planned to have it removed this afternoon because my acne has gotten so bad and I want to go back to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. I didn't really associate the acne with the Mirena because I have always battled acne to some extent, but it is so much worse lately. Just like others have described, it is on my chest, neck. back, scalp... EVERYWHERE! I have invested in expensive ance treatments, but that only helps some, and i can't exactly use it all over my head and body! I never had acne all over like this prior to the Mirena.
I have had the Mirena over 3 years and didn't realize I hate it so much until now! LOL. I definitely have the bloating, unexplained weight gain, depression, etc., as well. I should have googled "mirena side effects" much sooner!

it's been about 2 months since my Mirena REMOVAL and I am just now starting to see a clearing up of my skin on my face and back. My skin was so bad. I had cystic acne on my back and arms and oily skin on my face and back. It's so nice to scratch my back without feeling thousands of bumps lining my neck and back.
*I feel better emotionally too. I am not getting irritated or angry as easily as i was when i had mirena in place.
*No more odor or discharge
*i'm still losing my hair but I think it's starting to slow down
*My knees don't hurt as bad as they used to.
In General I feel better and i'm getting better every week. I am sooo glad that i had it removed and that my life can continue now without such horrible side effects. It seems like it's taking a long time but that's ok as long as i'm making progress. I had it for 20 months so it will probably take a little longer to be cleaned out of my system .
Good Luck ladies.

I started on Ortho Tri Cyclen lo 4 1/2 years ago. About 3 months ago I went in to get my Ortho and was suddenly surprised by the low $7 charge since normally I pay $50(wonderful insurance). I was paying for the generic form(Tri-Sprintec) and for $7 I was all about it! Since taking it the only main side effect is HORRIBLE acne. I am 26 years old and have never experienced acne before.
My general doc told me to finish out the month and switch back to Ortho. He wrote a letter to my insurance company explaining his concerns for my acne and asked them to cover the cost of not only Ortho Tri Cyclen lo but Doxocycline and Defferin. Two medications that he prescribed in hopes to clear my face.
I have experienced larger ta-ta's too. Not that I'll complain about that one though. I've been an A my entire life....

I am having Mirena removed today at 1:30 pm. I guess i hopped online just now to reassure myself to go through with it and not to wimp out if the doctor suggests (again) that i try to keep it. I got it inserted Dec 15th last year and have bled just about every day it seems since then. It hurt like hell when i got it. I took 3 days off work. I sweat thru a sweater and jeans on my way home from the appointment. I felt like i was going to die curled up at home by myself. Nobody believed me. I have had the worst attitude and mood swings. I am 29 years old, and don't have kids. I have never had acne in my life and have subscribed to ProActive since having Mirena. One time my chest, arms, upper back and shoulders broke out in small red bumps like i was diseased. I was not using any different perfumes or lotions etc. It went away in about a wk but i will bet it had something to do with my Mirena after reading these other posts. Once i was driving and my right foot cramped so bad i had to pull over and relax it to get home. I have not had regular bowel movements since Mirena. I swear to you- its like peristalsis stopped working on me. I always have to have help. Ive been through countless jars of Fleet suppositories and fiber supplements. And i have been on a constant detox type diet full of fiber foods to help move. I recently took my first trip to Europe. I was very worried because i had started to feel hot flashes 2 weeks prior! Hot flashes! Did i tell you im 29? It was a chilly day in October and i wanted to stip down to my undies in the AAA Travel office. I may have had a couple yeast infections in my life (in college) before Mirena. Since Mirena i have had one every couple weeks. Ive had odor out of this world when i never used to. Nothing over the counter ever worked. The doc actually tested me and found nothing abnormal about my swabs. She gave me a handful of the Diflucan pills. (Why give me that if i have nothing abnormal). I read up on vaginal health and flora. I bought the plain yogurt with probiotics etc. I started using tampons dipped in yogurt to calm things down there. Thats the only thing that felt good (but now 100%). My friends started to joke and call me Fruit on the Bottom (like Yoplait- lol). My area down there was sensitive to the touch and in pain at one point. It actually swelled up and looked super crazy one time and went back to the doctor. She again said she found nothing wrong. I asked for removal because that episode actually scared the crap out of me. My underwear even hurt. The blood and discharge burned. It was like my fluids were toxic to me. She didnt seem to believe me! She gave me 2 estrogen patches. Said to use one for the first week, remove and replace with the second one the second week. I did this and the bleeding stopped. I went for a follow up appt and she said ok- the bleeding stopped, you are ok now. The next day- you guessed it! I started bleeding again. I have been a pretty fit chick (even though im curvy/plus sized) and i pay attn to what i eat. At one point i stopped exercising and would eat anything not nailed down! I would be halfway thru a meal and plotting on what to eat next! I consulted a nutritionist and started losing the 23lbs i picked up from my Mirena binge. I have 3 friends who got Mirena and loved it. Its why i got it in the first place- because i was having abnormal periods and wanted to get it regulated. This has been a learning experience for me. I look forward to being myself again. The birth control part of Mirena is that ive been such a damned dragon that no man wants to come within 10 feet of me. LOL! And even if he wanted to I don't know what kinda mood Miss Vagina would be in that day so i don't risk the bad experience. I am going back to Orth Tri Cyclen. I never ever ever had a bad day with it. It wasn't broke so i never should have tried to fix it. I hope some of this stuff helps you. Im definitely going to my appointment to rid my body of this enemy.

Imagine me as King Leonidas on The 300 kicking Mirena into the dark pit of no return. This is Sparta!!!! :) Make your removal appt today. Im changing doctors after this also. Take care of yourself ladies!

D.

I had the Mirena IUD place in January 2009 after having my son in November 2008. It was all fine until about June when I started breaking out so bad, and not being able to lose weight. I was running 4-5 miles a day and not losing any weight. The worst was my skin. I had been clear for so long, then all of a sudden BAM! I had it taken out immediately and have since been taking Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. I am hoping that this will help my skin. Anyone else with this problem?

I had the Mirena for the full five years and loved it once I got through the first couple of months of side effects. I actually lost about 15 pounds and maintained the weight loss the whole time. My sex drive improved over what it was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen and its generic. Now I'm struggling since having the Mirena removed at its expiration. I tried Seasonale for one pack, but it made me loss sex drive and gain weight. Now I'm trying NuvaRing, but having terrible headaches and nausea. I would have another Mirena, but I really expect I will try to have a child in the next year or so, so I don't want to spend the money for a short usage. My sister also uses Mirena and she likes it as well as I did. The best part was light or no periods for the around four years!

OMG i don't like this pill. Im 28 was given this pill cuz i spotted a lot on Ortho-Tri-Cyclen Lo for years. well this pill loestrin24 fe scares the daylights outta me. I just started to take it last month and i haven't gotten my period when i was supposed to! i freaked out took a HPT came out negative. Im still scared and think i am hearing some people have this im a lil ok. I didn't start my new pack cuz im waiting my period to come. I don't know how people can be ok on this pill when u don't get your monthly period. plus i started to break out with ance on my back ugh.i also get stomach pains, frequent urination, spotting, and mood swings. Basically i rather spot on my old pill then deal with this crazy pill

Loestrin 24 Fe has been nothing but a nightmare for me. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo for about a year (originally prescribed for a sudden, random outbreak of HORRIBLE chin acne), and started noticing depression, mood swings, very heavy periods, and severe stomachaches and indigestion problems about nine months into it. I had to switch doctors in order to get off of it...I was seeing a male doctor who thought that my side effects were "in my head" and wanted me to take 5000 blood tests before he'd switch my prescription. My new doctor prescribed Loestrin 24 Fe during my first visit with her.

The first month of my new pill was great; no mood swings, no depression, no issues...I even dropped five pounds, even though the Ortho hadn't given me a problem with weight gain. I didn't get my period until the second day of the new pill pack though, and it was VERY light. I took a pregnancy test that came out negative, even though my husband and I had used back-up methods the first month of the pills to be safe. One week into the second month of my Loestrin pills, everything went crazy. It's been three weeks and not only is my chin AND my forehead completely broken out, but my hair is falling out in clumps when I wash or brush it, I am completely depressed and unhappy with life, I am exhausted beyond belief, AND I have gained a total of TWELVE POUNDS. I am a very physically fit girl...I eat right, I have always had a very fast metabolism, I have been a size 0/1 for years, I work all day and am on the go all day and all evening...and now I am twelve pounds heavier in three weeks and have jumped to a size 4/5. None of my work clothes fit me anymore, and I feel awful. I have taken seven home pregnancy tests just to be sure and have even gone in to the doctor for a professional test, but everything has come out negative.

I am apparently switching to another pill (or whatever will work) today; I'm waiting for my doctor to call and discuss my options as I type this. Ladies, if your doctor suggests this stuff, please take my advice and DON'T try it. It has been nothing but hell for me over the past several weeks. Save yourself the time, money, aggravation, and lost pounds and stay away from Loestrin.

I am 22 and was on ortho tri cyclen off and on for 5 years. I really had no issues with that, and only started taking yaz because my doctor gave me some free sample packs. I was interested in shorter periods. Now after taking yaz I am desperate to start taking my old pills again. My symptoms include:
weight gain
extreme mood swings (to my husband, I'm sorry)
extreme depression
feelings of worthlessness
extremely strange cravings (I will eat maple syrup right from the bottle or eat half a pizza)
tiredness
headaches
absolutely no sex drive

The good news is that my face is very clear. But personally clear skin is not worth being so mean to everyone in my life. I really do not forsee myself continuing use of yaz.

So far so good. On day 3 of my switch from ortho tri cyclen lo to tri sprintec. You guys are scaring the crap out of me though....

I was wondering if anyone has been having a problem with acne? I had the mirena inserted in May of this year, within two weeks I was having terrible mood swings, I was flying off the handle at the drop of a hat! Crazy! I went to my doctor to have it removed, he talked me into keeping it in a few months see if it changes. My moods are better but my face has become insanely greasy! I wash it twice a day, use face-wipes throughout the day to try to control it, I blot my oil away with the oil absorbing sheets. The problem is I am doing it all the time! I have even resorted to using the tissue paper toilet seat covers to blot my face, they work great in a pinch...but they are becoming part of my daily oil control routine! As an added bonus I now have acne! Never in my life have I had acne, nothing I do helps, I have all the creams and acne treatments, nothing has worked. I am just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem?

I am 27 and I started birth control at age 21. I always had an irregular period with terrible cramping. I also had a very high sex drive.

The first pill I tried was Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and I stopped taking it after 2 months because I felt depressed and I totally lost my sex drive. I always had perfectly clear skin and about a week after I discontinued this pill I broke out on my face and my back. I had a rash on my forehead. I also noticed a few dark hairs on my chin.

The next birth control I tried was the NuvaRing. This also made me depressed and moody.

I have now been on Loestrin 24 Fe for more than 2 years and this is the one that has worked best for me. The first few months I had my period and spotting. The first year on Loestrin I got my period once every 3 months and the period maybe lasted a couple of days and was very light. I must have taken more than 5 pregnancy tests. I asked my doctor about it and he told me that there was nothing to worry about not having periods. The second year my periods got even further apart. I went 5 months without a period then almost a whole month having a period (very light and a lot of cramping).

Besides having my period coming and going as it pleases, I feel great. My sex drive is still alive and I haven't experienced any mood swings. I do still break out on my face, usually around the end of my pack. I have not had a problem with breaking out on my back with this pill. I have gained a little weight, but after I hit 25 my metabolism really slowed down, so I cannot completely blame weight gain on the pills. I believe you have to work twice as hard to maintain a healthy weight when you get older.

With that said, I wish everyone the best on their BC journey!

The experience is not with me, but my daughter, who is a sufferer of PCOS and experienced acne problems She's been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo since January 2007, and received positive results for acne and regulating menstrual cycle, with minimal side effects. Since being switched to generic tri-lo sprintec (July 29), she's experiencing lethargy, some headaches, moodiness, acne, and slight depression, which is very unlike her. What I recommend to everyone on this website is to submit adverse event to the pharmaceutical company, Teva. They should have a website and or a call line for presenting your concerns. I will be doing this because this drug definitely needs to be reported and possibly pulled from the market.

Reading your comments has really put my mind at easy. I'm 23 and on day 4 of my third pack. My first month I got a regular period, but I didn't get a period during my second month on the pill (which means that I am a little over a week late right now). In the past I have been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo, and my period has always been on time. And in the 10 years that I've been having a period, it occasionally been early, but never late, and I have never once missed a period.

I've spend the last couple days terrified that I was pregnant (even though I have consistently been taking my pill at the same time every day), but this forum makes me feel a lot better. I think that I will still go out and take a home pregnancy test to be on the safe side, but hopefully my missed period is just my body's reaction to Loestrin.

I will give my body a couple more months to adjust to the pill, but if irregular, late or missed periods continue I am definitely going to switch birth control pills. It is not worth the anxiety of thinking I might be pregnant.

On the bright side, I haven't experienced any of the other side effects that you guys are mentioning. This pill has helped with my cramps, and I haven't experienced any change at all in my moodiness, energy level, acne, or weight.

I've been on Loestrin for four months now. Previously, I had a hormonal IUD, which was in for 2 months and I had it taken out because I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE side effects. Cystic acne, had my period the whole time it was in, it stabbed my boyfriend when we had sex, made me incredibly depressed, I sobbed myself to sleep every night, and then the icing on the cake was when it started to slip out, but then got embedded in my cervix halfway through and caused me intense pain that wasn't helped at all by any pain medication, over the counter or under the table ;)

So then I switched to NuvaRing. I had that for two months. First it gave me a yeast infection. It also caused intercourse to be very painful, my boyfriend could feel it when we had sex, and I could feel it at all times. It also made me INSANE. I didn't trust anyone, was a total paranoid freak, and at one point I locked myself in the bathroom screaming and crying because I thought my boyfriend was trying to kill me. I was pretty close to actually hallucinating. I would describe my side effects with NuvaRing as similar to paranoid schizophrenia.

Then I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which gave me a migraine every single day which once again was incurable by any drug. So I was only on that for a few days.

Since then I've been on Loestrin. I am not completely happy with it, but I've stuck it out because compared to side effects of other hormonal birth control, they've been relatively mild. If I miss a single pill, I'll get my period, but true to form, they only last three or four days at the most. Before I started birth control, I hardly ever got cramps, but on Loestrin I get pretty bad ones. The worst thing is my skin. When I wasn't on birth control, I had beautiful skin. Maybe the week before my period I'd get one pimple that cleared up quickly with spot treatment, but now I have between 10 and 20 big, red, angry pimples on my face at all times. I've spent literally hundreds of dollars on Proactive, Neutrogena SkinID, Mario Badescu, UV acne "zappers," and many many other face washes, lotions, masks, scrubs, etc, but NOTHING helps. The weird part is that for the first 2 months I was on Loestrin my skin was fine. It wasn't until the past month and this month that it's been a problem.

I'm going to wait it out for at least another 2 months to see if my body gets used to it and my skin calms down, but if these flare ups last longer than that I'm going to have to try something else. I don't want to unnecessarily switch pills because I've had such horrible results in the past that I'd kind of rather stick to the devil I know.

I would also estimate that once or twice a month, I get a killer migraine. I assume it's related to the Loestrin because I used to get them only once or twice a year. The only thing that helps with them is going to sleep, usually with the help of a couple Tylenol PM or 5 or 6 Benadryl or Dramamine. To give you an idea, the first month on Loestrin when I got a migraine, I took 2 Excedrin Migraine, 2 Excedrin Tension Headache, 2 aspirin, 4 Motrin, 2 Tylenol, 1 Aleve, AND 1 Percocet over the course of 6 hours, and it did not help ONE BIT. I hope that this will also improve over time.

I got two sample packs of Loestrin from my OBGYN, so I thought I would give it a try. I have used Ortho Tri Cyclen for years, so I thought I would try something different.

I started the pills on a Wed., after my last period. After finishing my first pack I started my period like a normally would. It was really light and lasted well into the first week of active pills of my second pack.

After finishing the samples (two months) I have quit taking in and am awaiting a visit from "Aunt Flo." Nearly a week later I feel crampy, nauseated and have a headache but nothing has happened. I don't think I will be using the BC any longer. Waiting and feeling horrible is certainly not worth the "shortened" periods.

Not even 2 months ago, I went to pick up prescription for Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo, and the co pay was raised by $30. So I decided to try to generic brand, Tri-Sprintec. Within a week of being on it, I felt like I have gained weight, mainly in my chest area and feeling extremely bloated. I thought that I would give it two months, but now I can zip up my dresses over my chest, and I'm already a 36D! The rest of my body has not put weight on....just my chest within a month! I'm going back to Ortho-Lo at end of the month, I do not recommend this generic brand, and I feel that its worth it to spend an extra $30 a month to feel right!

I had switched from Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo to Trinessa, and Trinessa was making my OCD and anxiety go through the roof. I was thinking that Yaz would be the best choice for me. I decided to talk to my doctor, and she gave me a month trial to see if I liked it or not. I messed up my pills a little bit, so I was late starting. I took my last placebo pill and finally started. It's been a lot of very light bleeding, and brownish discharge. This is my main annoyance with the pill. My periods are normally mildly heaving and last about five to six days. This period has been very light, almost non existent, and I am currently on day two. I have also experienced some mood swings, fatigue, and anxiety.
I will be switching back to Ortho this week.

How is everyone having such bad effects if it just came out 2 weeks ago? i always take ortho lo and they just handed me this new pill....im really concerned...

wow! I have been on NuvaRing since it was introduced in 2001. Previous to that I had only taken the pill (Ortho Tri Cyclen). I have been continually on birth control since 1998 at the age of 14 for acne/cancer prevention and eventually birth control. Because of that I don't really know if I have any side effects like loss of libido or mood swings since it's been 12 years! I am totally disturbed by all that I have read here but I have to say that the Nuvaring has been a completely positive experience for me. It is expensive and getting worse but for my husband and I it is worth the peace of mind of not having to worry about remembering a pill. I also like that it is better for the environment than a pill since it's not introducing hormones into our water supplies!
I'm so sorry to hear of the horrible side effects but it does work for some, our bodies are all very different.

I'm grateful to have found this site. My doctor put me on the ring because I was having such intense premenstrual headaches on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. The depression has been almost crippling since being on the ring. The first month was fine. The second month was bad. The third was so horrible I thought I was going to leave my husband because I felt so hopeless and alone. I took my ring out on Sunday. I don't think I'll be putting a new one in next Sunday. Doesn't seem worth it. The depression isn't even premenstrual anymore; I have it during my period too. Oh, and the periods are SO heavy. The first three days, I'm changing my tampon every couple of hours and have to wear back-up panty liners. And, I got a migraine this month right before my period.

Question to the others: Does anyone have neck pain? I had it on Mother's Day so bad and couldn't figure out what I'd done to injure it. Looking back at my calendar, I was premenstrual then. Now, I have the exact same neck pain, and I'm menstruating. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the ring.

I tried Nuvaring for about 2 months and it was horrible!! The thing would never stay in while my fiance' and I were having sex! He would take "it" out and the Nuvaring would be sitting right on "it"! HA awkward right? YEAH. And after a while of this happening, he would just start taking it out before we had sex, and I would put it back in afterwords. Which basically defeated the whole purpose of this birth control really. So i ended up just taking it out before the 3rd month, then missed a month of my period completely. And by the next month I began to have uncontrollable bleeding. And after a few weeks of this, I ended up in the hospital and they concluded I had a miscarriage :( and I believe it was all because of this Nuvaring. It may sound convenient, and easy. But it will hurt you in the long run. try, Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo!!!

I have been on BC since I was 18 and I am now 26. I first started out with Ortho Tri-Cyclen and I loved it! When I was 21 my doctor switched me over to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo because it was a lower dosage of hormones. I found I had no side effects to switching to the Lo and I had no issues at all with BC. About 8 months ago my doctor put me on Loestrin24 because my blood pressure was slightly high. After being on Loestrin 24, I told my doctor I really didn't care for it because it made me irritable, bloated and my periods were non existent. I was crying over nothing and I started fighting with my boyfriend for no reason. I felt horrible. My doctor wanted me to stay on it in hopes that things would get better. Well they didn't, I have finally come to the point where I want off. I called my doctor to put me back on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. I would much rather deal with an elevated blood pressure and fix it in other ways than have the irritability I have been dealing with.

I am very pleased with Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and would recommend it to anyone. I know some people will not like it, but I love it!

I have been on Loestrin24 for about 8 months now. I can't stand it! My doctor put me on it due to having an elevated blood pressure. It hasn't really helped my blood pressure that much, plus the side effects are driving me nuts! My mood is horrible and at times I can start crying over the dumbest things. I constantly feel bloated and I have not had my period in almost 2 months. I had a light period before with my old birth control and now my period is non existent. I also missed a pill for one day and I was spotting for the next week. I much prefer Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, I am going back to that pill.