Period symptoms and conditions

I am 28 and this is my first time taking BC pills. Loestrin 24 FE has been okay for me. My side effects include slight nausea (which went away after the first few packs), bloating, occasional breast tenderness, and light headed/anxious at times. I also have had some breakthrough bleeding for a few days during the middle of the packs (which is to be expected for the first few months), but am going to try one more pack before switching to something else. Cramps have definitely been much less, and my periods have lasted for a mere 3 days. I take the pill at night before I go to bed, so perhaps that is why the nausea wasn't so bad.

For those people who don't like this pill -remember that not all pills work for everyone. (I tried Yaz once for 2 days and thought I was going to die!) We all have different body chemistry -so give this one a chance. If it doesn't work for you then try something else. My doctor gave me a sample of Femcon to try after my next pack of Loestrin. She thinks that Femcon will stop my breakthrough bleeding...guess I will find out soon...

Good Luck!

I have been on Mircette for over a year and a half. I'm 54, in good health and work out. Never smoked but heart disease runs in my family. I've never had any problem with moods etc. My Dr. put me on the medication to regulate my periods, hot flashes and help me get through menopause. I like the fact my periods are lighter and predictable. Lately I've had pain in my legs, like maybe my deep veins and severe cramps in my thighs and feet. It was just at night now I'm having the pain during the day. I am so afraid of a stroke, heart attack, or blood clots. Does anybody know if this could be a blood clot? My Dr. says that I'm not going to have any problems because it is such a low dose. Any comments from anyone?

I have acne on my neck and back, I have also suffered hair loss. I have experienced lighter periods and cramping but I don't know if that is worth being a acne infested bald women. I have also had unexplained joint pain that I have never associated with mirena, but after reading the side affects of others , this may explain it.

Hi, I take Effexor, and have experienced many of the negative effects described here, however, my personal depression was such before I began that for me it was life-saving. During those periods when I've taken breaks from Effexor, withdrawal wasn't pleasant, nor was it quite as bad as some have experienced (I didn't get the brain-freezes or violent impulses). However, I did find an excellent post in another forum about tapering off, so I am cutting and pasting it here. (fyi, if you take 150s rather than 75s -- I take 150s -- you can use a similar schedule to open the capsules and shake a bit out rather than completely eliminating a dose):

In Response To: Re: New to Effexor (Sharon)

I'have been taking Effexor since one year and a half ( I take 225 mg per day). Before taking it, I was so worrying and panic that I could'nt do anything. It took me about 6 months before seeing a change in my mind. Now, I am very happy and I don't worry about everything anymore. It is a very good medication for me, though it decreases libido. I am reducing Effexor since two months this way : first week : after 7 days, I escape one pill (75 mg); then after 6 days, I escape one other pill and then after 5 days, one other, and so on. I wait about 2 weeks before beginning again for another 75 mg. It is the best way to get off of the med because if I try to stop suddenly, its horrible. Its the only disadvantage of this drug. I hope these comments will help you.

I started this pill in early August. At first I thought it was great. But now I see that I am experiencing a lot of the symptoms mentioned on here. I have cramps every night, I constantly have headaches, my boobs always hurt, I am so bloated that I could pass for being 3-4 months pregnant, and I go from being in a great mood to being a complete bitc in about 2 minutes. I am so moody! I hate it! My boyfriend hates it too, I feel so bad. At first I thought I was pregnant, because I have missed 2 periods and have had all of these side effects, but I now think it is all because of this pill.

I was prescribed 42 pills (20 days) of 10 mg Prednisone which I am to take beginning with 4 pills for four days and steadily decreasing every four days down to four 1/2 pill the last four days. I took my first dose yesterday and was told to drink lots of water. I do not wish to gain weight nor have a moon face. My doctor does not feel this will affect me in that way, but may have water retention (swelling). I am 73, and this regiment of Prednisone was prescribed to decrease inflammation due to a possible siatic nerve problem, which is causing extreme pain in my left leg. The pain is excruciating when I get up in the morning but eases down by mid morning with some pain all day and some nights if I move just the wrong way.Does anyone have a suggestion for the best foods to eat and what to avoid? I read that grapefruit juice may be beneficial.

I love it. I have absolutely no adverse side effectswhatsoever -- in fact, for the first time in about 15 years of being on a contraceptive my moods are completely stable, I don't skip periods and I haven't gained an ounce . It also doesn't seem to inhibit my ability to spell (sorry ladies, but really, the spelling and grammar being used in this forum is shameful).

My periods before I started this pill about 5 months ago were very regular. Even though they lasted 4 or 5 days, they came at the same time every month. Now I get it for two weeks straight even though I'm taking my pill at the same time everyday. And on top of that, my contacts have been bothering me since the second day I started taking Loestrin. Let's just say a 5 day period with clear vision is WAY better than a 14 day blurry one!

I've been on Balziva for a month and a half and I'm drowsy, dizzy, and having 2 periods a month. This stuff is really not working well for me.

Hi all, I'll be finishing up my first week on Loestrin this Sunday. My OBGYN put me on this due to overlong periods and bad cramping. This is my first experience with a BC, so I'm a little bit nervous about it. For the past several days, I have been getting really nauseous. It's not a constant thing, one minute I'm fine and the next I feel like I need to dart in to the bathroom. I'm not too worried about any weight gain because that is something that I could probably use, but the nausea is concerning me a bit. I have to go back to the gyno sometime next week, so I can probably ask about it there, but reading the comments on this page has got me a little bit nervous. Should I try to wait it out and see if things get better, so should I quit while I'm ahead?

Hi im only 17 years old and i am at the end of my first pack of Loestrin24.. I'm taking my last "sugar" pills tonight & tomorrow and starting my new pack sunday. But I havent got my period yet.. Should I be worried? I started as a Sunday & Day 1 starter because I had gotten my period on a Sunday. I can't stop thinking about why I havent got my period yet?.. I've taking all my pills on time and never missed one so I dont know what went wrong?

I started Trinessa earlier last month and it was my first BCP. I've been on my period ever since i started it so I'm not sure if it is because of the pills. I started the placebo(period) pills and now my cramps are HORRIBLE and my period is even worse. Its been 27 days on my period and I'm STILL going strong!

Has anyone else had this problem or suggestions?

I'm in the same boat with quite a few: Uncontrollable mood swings and increased irritability, depression and anger. I don't sleep very well and am exhausted after a few hours of being up. I haven't had any acne problems, but I don't like the surprise periods I've gotten. They said they're not supposed to happen (for sure after the first two or three months) and I've been on it for almost six months and I get random periods that last for two weeks. I've gained almost 20 pounds too. This is the first birth control I've been on, and I'll tell ya, it's not fun!

I am a nurse of 20 years and was placed on Toprol XL for super ventricular tachycardia (SVT) over a year ago. I was place on 25 mg dose after a stress test, ekg, echocaridogram and 24 hour halter monitor. I was not feeling any better and I was having periods of weakness, profuse sweating and being clammy. The cardiologist had me wear a 30 day event monitor and it showed frequent PVCs and runs of SVT. So he increased the dose to 50 mg. I continued to have the weakness, tachycardia, PVCs, extreme weakness, poor concentration and extreme periods of sweating with becoming clammy and some chest pain. Oh and I started having severe left leg pain that I had not had since my back surgery, so I went back to my pain specialist for treatment. I became so depressed, thoughts of life not worth living, poor endurance, not able to sleep in bed due to severe leg pain and increasing bouts of tachycardia, irregular heart rate, weakness, and sweating this is while at rest or working the symptoms remained. I forgot to mention that my blood sugar was increasing during this time to the point of in danger of being a diabetic.

I decided to stop the Toprol XL after reading some of the side effects that are less common. I was able to sleep in bed for the first time in 6 months, no leg pain. I called my cardiologist and he told me my symptoms were not consistent with Toprol XL side effects or reaction and to double the dose of Toprol XL. I refused and changed cardiologist, one who listened to me.

The result is I stayed off Toprol XL, after 5 weeks it is getting out of my system. No more sweating spells, cold clammy spells, extreme weakness, I feel part of life again and ready to go back into the world not hide from it, my blood sugar is getting back to normal. I am getting my strength and endurance back but have to rest some still, oh and I am losing the 25 pounds that I gained while on Toprol.

I still have irregular heart rate and that is okay but I am on a new medication that really seems to work. Oh, and the spinal implant that I was to have has been cancelled because the leg pain is almost gone and I sleep in a bed not a chair.

I'VE HAD MIRENA FOR THREE YEARS NOW AND HAVING IT REMOVED TODAY. IT WAS GREAT THE FIRST TWO YEARS, NO PERIODS, CRAMPING OR MOOD SWINGS. ALL THOUGH OVER THE LAST YEAR I HAVE DEVELOPED SEVERE CRAMPING, ACNE, MOOD SWINGS, MIGRAINES, INSOMNIA, WEIGHT GAIN, DEPRESSION AND MUSCLE ACHES. WHICH ALL SEEM TO BE GETTING WORSE, I DON'T THINK THE TWO YEARS OF BLISS FOR NOT HAVING A PERIOD ARE WORTH IT. AND UNTIL I FOUND THIS SITE I THOUGHT I WAS JUST LOOSING MY MIND, IT'S NICE TO KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE HAVING TROUBLE WITH IT.

i have been on mirena now for 3 yrs after having my son, since then i've had depression, insomnia, exessive tiredness, mood swings, but worst of all is no libido...(of course i'm not going to get pregnant if i never want to have sex!)

i think the side effects get worse with time....i'm seriously considering taking it out, the only positive thing i got out of it is that i don't get my periods....

I was on Yasmin for 4 months. I HATED IT!!! What is the point of being on birth contraol if you never are able to have sex? I was constantly bleeding after the 1st month. It was as if I had my period for 3 striaght months - every single day. And not just spotting, heavy flow. I was depressed, miserable and in so much pain. I had constant cramps and back pain. I went to the ER 2 times because of this and I was told the 1st time that it was just my body's way of getting used to a different pill. After I was on it for 3 months, I went to the ER a second time because I was in so much pain and bleeding so heavily, that I could not get out of bed. I actually had to wear Depends, pads were not nearly enough! The dr at the ER the 2nd time told me that he has had a ton of cases with girls on Yasmin with the same problem and to stop taking it immediatly. About 3 or 4 days after I stopped taking it, everything was back to normal - Thank God! I was extremely hesitant to try another pill after that, but I decided to give Ortho Tri Cyclin Lo a chance and I love it. No random bleeding, no cramps and my periods are always light. Yasmin should be taken off of the market. I have a bunch of friends who tried it and went through the same problems I did.

This is the second posting of mine about the Nuva Ring. I went off the Nuva Ring last Sunday as you can read in the other posting. I got my period yesterday unexpectedly (which wasn't too much of a shock because my body is going to be "off" for awhile from not having the hormone intake). I just finished my regularly "scheduled" period 1 week and 5 days ago....so now i've had 2 periods in the last 2 weeks. I've had some minor headaches pretty much every day...i dont usually have to take asprin or anything, but they are noticable. I woke up this morning and my period had been so heavy last night that it soked through my underwear (using a tampon) and that hasn't happened since i've been on any form of birth control (about 5 yrs). Anyways, just thought i'd update anyone who was wondering about some symptoms of taking out the ring (mid cycle). Anyone have questions about it.....ask!

With in the first few days of taking this pill I had many of the same side effects listed here. My boobs were sore, I was very bloated, I had stomach cramps, headaches, mood swings, I sleep alot and felt depressed. But after about a week and a half things started to get better. However I'm now into my 3rd week and missed a pill on tuesday. I hadn't even realized I missed it till wednesday. But instead of taking them both I just took wednesdays and have now started to bleed. So I guess I'm wondering if anyone can tell me, do I need to continue taking the rest of the pack? Do I just stop taking them and take this as my period, then start a new pack on sunday? I don't take birth control usually. I'm actually taking it to just start my periods because I normally don't have them and i'm trying to get pergnant. This is to hopefully give me a regular period and ovulation for a few months. Which will hopefully lead to fertility. However with missing a pill. I'm afraid this period might be to early and throwing everthing off.

I have been on this pill for almost 3 months. I switched from Ortho tricyclen Lo. Now that I am on Femcon Fe, I haven't had any periods or spotting the entire time. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? Is it just from switching pills?

I WONDER... i have REALLY bad cramps and nausea and I'm light headed during my periods. My doctor perscribed Loestrin24 for me to take and i have it now. From reading the posted side effects im debating whether or not i should take the Pills. What do u think?

I can agree with the many women who have spoken out against Yasmin. I have been taking it for about 6 years, so when I first started there was no negative media about it. I can say from experience that this pill's worst side effect are the head aches. I have never had migraines till this medicine.

I got on Yasmin for acne and to lessen my periods, but my face was never really clear even while on a face medicine and luckily my periods were lighter. However, now that I have been off Yasmin for a week and a half my face has totally cleared up, I have lost 4 pounds and my head aches are still continuing while my body adjusts to not contantly ingesting hormones.

I thought Yasmin was so great while I was first on it, but since I've been in college I would reccomend trying something else( but not Loestrin because I didn't have a period at all on that)!! So, do tons of research before choosing a pill because doctors are just saying what the pharmaceudical sales reps tell them...the pills are generall new and the side effects are not known.

I have been on Femcon FE for 1 month and will have had 3 periods by the end of this month. I also just had a baby almost 3 months ago, so that might be part of it. I have always been regular so this is new for me. I also had cramps that occurred every morning for a few hours, which I usually just had cramps on day 1. I have found that the flow also increases greatly and my periods have been much longer. I have had tiny bumps pop up all over my legs and arms on this as well. I am most likely going to get off of this pill. Hasnt been pleasant!

I have been on the NR about a month and a half now. Have headaches, my breasts are definitely bigger (swollen and very tender), I have nausea from time to time, vaginal discharge, and I can definitely tell that I'm feeling more depressed. I'm SO glad that I found this website. I had no clue what's been going on with my body. I was on depo the past 3 years and my doctor recommended that I get off it for a while to let my bone density get back up to where it should be. I had no problems and no periods with depo and I want to be back on it so bad!! I'm going to wait it out until the end of the 3rd month, and if I'm still feeling this way, I think I may look into getting an IUD. But hopefully I can maybe just get back on the depo. Patch doesnt stay on for me, and the pill makes me have bad nausea too.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP..OK I AM CURRENTLY ON MY FOURTH PACK.. AND FIRST THREE CYCLES I HAD FIVE DAY CYCLES AND USUALLY WITH AMAZING CRAMPS.. BUT I DEALT WITH IT CAUSE FIVE A DAY PERIODS IS ALOT BETTER THAN BEFORE AND THEY HAVE BEEN LIGHTER THAN BEFORE. .BUT THIS CYCLE I AM ON MY 6TH DAY AND STILL ON IT. ITS BEEN LIKE FOR TWO DAYS BUT IM STILL ON IT.. ANYONE ELSE GOING THROUGH THIS? IM REALLY WORRIED IT COULD GET WORSE BECAUSE OF PAST EXPERIENCES.. OR DO I JUST NEED TO WAIT IT OUT?