Seasonale symptoms and conditions

I have been on yasmin for about 5 years. I loved it to begin with but just recently I have been having horrible side effects that i just realized could be related. I just thought i was a 21 yr old with problems. i am having heart palpitations, hair loss, insomnia, anxiety, vision problems, UTI's, lightheadedness and blackouts, and CHRONIC migraines. I am having about 3 migraines a week! they are disrupting my life. it is weird that i was fine on the meds for so long and they are just now resulting in this. I am stopping the pill as of today and i am going to talk to my doctor about other options. i am thinking about ortho tri cyclin lo. i have to be on a birth control because i have had endometriosis and my doctor said it is less possible to come back if i am on a birth control. she mentioned the shot but i have heard bad stories about that too and i don't think i want to go there.

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!

I started NuvaRing 3 weeks ago yesterday after having the Mirena IUD removed (kept in all 5 years). I removed it yesterday as planned. 1 week ago, I felt a terrible pain in my right side under my ribs. I started having very slight trouble breathing, pain when laughing or coughing, etc. I applied heat and the pain subsided over the weekend and I could breathe easily. On Monday, I decided it best to go to the doctor since I had trouble breathing, I didn't want to assume it was nothing. I went to a doc in the box (bad idea) and I was told that I had a swollen rib cage (the cartilage). I'm certain I was misdiagnosed because the dude didn't even do xrays, even after I explained that I had just started NuvaRing. I wanted them to be aware of everything. The doctor dismissed it.

On Tuesday night, I was in so much pain and my difficulty breathing was worsening that I cried myself to sleep. Wednesday I went to work and was in so much pain that I was in tears and headed to URGENT Care, as my primary care physician could not fit me in. They xrayed, ran a urinalysis, a CBC to check my white blood cells and found nothing except for a bit of what appeared to be constipation, though I have regular bowel movements. My white blood count was slightly elevated, but distributed normally. I was prescribed a laxative and Lortab for the pain, which was excruciating. The doctor told me to come back the next day (today) to retest my white blood count. It went down a tad, as I had taken the Nuvaring out yesterday evening. The doctor seemed puzzled, but gave me my CBC results and urinalysis just in case I developed a fever or an infection of some sort, but told me that she thinks I am having side effects from the NuvaRing. She asked me to not put it back in.

On a side note, I had called my OBGYN on Wednesday before I headed to Urgent Care and explained the situation and they advised me to remove the NuvaRing as well.

I'll have to bite the bullet and pop the daily bc, such as Ortho Lo.

The worst thing for me has been finding birth control that I think works wonderfully only to find a few months later that I feel like a completely different person. It doesn't help that I have migraines all the time and they last for days (up to five) on end. They say you shouldn't take the ring if you have migraines but for some reason no one told me and I just kept getting them thinking it had nothing to do with the ring.

I had been on Seasonale in the past and it made me crazy. It took about six months to get the full effect but I was in a wonderful relationship that I was over the moon about, and then one day I just woke up questioning everything we had. It was ridiculous and completely unwarranted. And it didn't go away, it left me still questioning. So I got off of it, and this was about three years ago. I thought I would return to normal but it did too much damage. I still question my relationship, with or without birth control. It's awful. It's like the pill put all those ideas in my head that I wouldn't otherwise have and now I can't stop thinking about it.
I took Nuvaring thinking that would help me out, but instead I am back to square one. I have been trying to hang in there but I just can't anymore. Not only do I have headaches all the time but I feel so exhausted that it doesn't matter if I were to sleep two hours or fifteen, I would still be too tired to do anything. I feel fatigued and lethargic and don't want to do anything that I enjoy. I seriously don't even have the energy to read, and I absolutely love to read (And it takes almost zero energy). I am questioning my relationship again and I never want to have sex. The worse part is that he wants to have sex everyday and I never want it. I seriously feel that if I never had sex again that would be fine with me, but I feel so badly for my fiance but at the same time I get so annoyed that he won't just leave me alone. I want to be left completely alone. I don't want to be around anyone because everyone gets on my nerves nowadays. I have no patience for anyone and I feel so depressed. I just wonder what else I could be doing with my life, and I feel in a rut and instead of being happy with what I have, I have the Nuvaring, which takes all my problems and magnifies it. I hate hormonal birth control. I wish I could have some luck with any of them but I have tried almost all of them and they have all affected me like this. I just want my sex drive back, I want to stop hating my life and getting annoyed by everyone (Seriously I hear one mouth noise from my fiance and I want to bite his head off) and I just want to be me. I was hoping to wait until Sunday to take it out the ring since that is when I have to anyway but I don't think I can wait. Have people felt back to normal once they took this thing out? I need some hope!

u dammed if u do dammed if u don't. i just picked up may pack yesterday of loestrin 24 waiting on my period to start to begin taken them. but by the looks of this site might not be taken them.im just confused right now.i was on Yasmin years ago caused me depression.then last year levora.28 made my blood pressure high and my heart beat extremely fast.depo made me gain weight and spot and bleed irregularly.im even using condoms with my boyfriend right now to be extremely cautious they SUCK..I just don't know what to do the pull out method isn't full proof.im just lost at this point.

A friend of mine directed me to here. After reading all of the side effects I realized that a lot of what is going on with me is these bc pills. I knew that the cramping and bleeding was from the pills but I didn't realize that my spaciness and inability to focus has been the pills. I have been noticing at work that my employer tells me one thing and i do the opposite and I can't figure out why I am not on top of it like I usually am. My heart feels like it is beating faster and I find that I am anxious and always starving and having to eat a lot, which is not like me. Slight headaches too and slight muscle pain - can these all be from this pill?

I used to take Seasonale but my dr recommended this one because it is the generic brand that is way cheaper. But I never had the side effects from seasonal that I am having now. I just thought these side effects were just me but now I know it is the pill. I am definitely quitting these and get Seasonale again. This is crazy, these side effects!

I feel sorry for women who can't switch because they can't afford the more expensive one and they weigh the side effects against having horrible periods, moodiness...etc.It all depends on which side effects are worse, the pill or their monthly period.

We trust that our best interest is at heart, but it isn't. I can tell you one thing, if a man was the one who got pregnant, the pill would be perfected with very little side effects if any.

I absolutely loved Femcon Fe. My skin cleared up, my boobs grew a whole cup size in a matter of 3 weeks, and now to mention my periods were a LOT less painful! I was on it for several months before I switched to Quasense (generic form of Seasonale) because I was interested in only having my period every three months. Well, I have only been on Quasense for a little over 2 weeks now, and I'm hoping to switch back to Femcon Fe ASAP. Quasense had made my boobs deflate, (from a C to an A) my acne has come back, and I've got a gut. ***? I am extremely disappointed. I've been so depressed with my new body that I won't even let my boyfriend of 3 years see me naked anymore. Not to mention, I've been suffering from yeast infections and awful discharge. I left a message with my gyno on Friday, and hoping to hear back from her Monday on when I can switch back to Femcon!! I want my body and my confidence back!

I understand the frustrations of many of you who have posted. I have been on the Nuvaring for the past 2 years. It's the only medication I am on, and I think it's really starting to affect me adversely. Before the ring, I used Seasonale for 3 years, and before that a different low dose pill. It's great not having a period every month, or with NuvaRing less of a period, but I think the synthetic drugs are starting to cause problems with my emotions, or lack thereof, and weight, etc. I have no sex drive anymore, I gained about 20 lbs within 2 months of being on the ring, and haven't been able to lose any weight since, even with 2 medical diet programs. Now I'm starting to get scared of what the plastic ring is leeching into my body constantly. If the drugs are absorbing into my skin, what else is? It is still much better than Seasonale, which took 6 months of constant heavy bleeding till my body adjusted to it, but I'm 33 now, have 2 friends who had to be hospitalized because of blood clots from birth control in the past 3 years, (1 smoked, 1 never smoked) and I want to take care of myself more naturally. The only reason I am on birth control is because of ovarian cysts. I have been on/off birth control since I was 23 because of cysts, but I couldn't ever stand the side effects so I would go off them again after a year, then get cysts and start again. This time, I'm trying a proper diet, supplements, and avoiding xenoestrogens, such as those in plastic bottles and frozen food trays, etc. To me, after years of side effects, I'm ready to try to do something healthy for myself. I have a nutritionist/chiropractor friend to help me find the best way for me.
I have been off the ring for only 2 days now, but strangely feel less hungry, and I think I lost about 3 lbs. of water weight! It's crazy.
These system-altering drugs just cannot be good for you long term. My sister talked me into stopping as well, as she had terrible side effects from birth control for years. She would get migraines every month, out-of-control mood swings (I mean it- she was nuts!) and missed many days of work. She's a teacher and can't let these things happen. She's slim, but even she said she couldn't budge an inch off of her body even when going to the gym 4 or 5 days a week working out and doing dance classes when she was on the pill. Soon after she stopped the pill, she lost 10 lbs and no longer has crazy mood swings and migraines.
Stopping the pill/ring may not be an alternative for everyone, but for me it's not worth the possible lifelong effects just to prevent cysts that I could possibly get while using the NuvaRing anyway. I only had spotting if I forgot to put the ring in for a day or even just half a day if I took it out. As soon as I would remember, I'd put it back in. Then it would be weeks on end of constant spotting. I feel like my side effects were different in some ways. Instead of mood swings, I have no mood. Everything is kind of, well, blah. Even sex is very blah. I feel bad for my boyfriend, but I told him it's really not his fault! I love him and he's a great lover, but wow did I turn lousy! I heard that the reduced sex drive can be irreversible for some people as well. I don't think I'm that far gone yet!
I'm just happy that I'm already feeling better. I even felt happy going to work today just knowing that I'm doing something better for myself. I don't want to feel this way anymore, and I want to try a healthier way to help prevent cysts, without unnaturally altering my whole body.

I was thinking about switching from Seasonique, which I loved, to Jolessa due to the giant cost difference. Has anyone made this switch? Also, has anyone had spotting who has been on a birth control that lasted 91 days like Seasonique or Seasonale, after making the switch to Jolessa?

I've been on Seasonique for over a year and it has worked very well and I only get my period four times a year, without spotting, but it is too expensive for me to keep paying for out of pocket.

I have endometriosis and chronic migraines (not related to the pill). I am taking a preventative migraine medication daily now, so we figured we would try again to help my pain from the edo with the pill. At this point, all of my doctors have suggested taking lupron, which will put me into temporary menopause, instead of the pill. I am just not ready for that option. Because I have tried so many different pills, Femcon FE is one of my last options before taking the lupron. I was concerned after reading many of the posts on this site, but figured I would give it a try and see. I started it on Sunday April 25th and so far this is what I have experienced:
Increased onset of migraine pain- (but the pharmacy didn't have my migraine medication and I had to wait two days until they ordered it, so that could be the cause of that)
Slight breakout- (but I started a new foundation, so that could be the cause of that)
Increased moodiness
I have not had any cravings like I did on Seasonale (all I could think about was chocolate)
I don't know if I have had any weight gain yet, my scale is out of batteries and I haven't had a chance to replace them! But my cloths do not feel tighter, so that is a good sign!!
I will continue to post periodically while taking Femcon FE. Hopefully it works for me and I will have nothing but great things to say! I am going to stay positive and will away the negative side effects!!!

I'm so glad to read about everyone's experiences. I've been on ortho tri-cyclen lo for about 3 or 4 years, after trying Seasonale (which was awful.) I thought I was just prone to being depressed and nauseous all the time, but now I realize that these symptoms are likely related to my birth control. While on Ortho Lo, I would get nauseous several times a day, I've gained about 10 pounds, my hair is thinner, and my sex drive is frequently nonexistent (which really stinks since I'm newly married.) I am now switching to Kariva, the generic Mircette, which has a lower dose of hormone, and I'm hoping that helps alleviate some of my problems. Best of luck to you ladies!

I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for almost 8 months now. After a 2 yr battle with a generic version of seasonale (which just stopped working and i bled for 2 months and then had NO bleeding on the third, no period either!) I completely went off bc for 3 months and experienced withdrawal symptoms that were horrible. So my doctor put me on Loestrin and the first month was great. I had a period that last 1 hr, and the pharmacist said "count it as a blessing." After that I had nausea, headaches (have one right now), bloating, no appetite, then all of a sudden a huge appetite!, yeast infections (which I don't get normally), discharge (a lot), abdominal pains, and its very hard to see out of my contacts so I opt for my glasses... Its also expensive. I am thinking about switching, again, until I find the right one for my body. This pill makes me think I'm pregnant. Moodiness, sore breast, nausea...and I know for a fact I'm not! I haven't had acne problems but I owe that all to drinking a lot of water, keeping hydrated. I can't get off of bc because those issues are worse than both bc I've had! Anyone know of a great pill they've experienced?

I have to say that with my previous experiences with a VARIETY of birth controls, OTC-LO is the best i have been on so far! The first birth control i was put on was Seasonale. Which sent me into days of bleeding and depression. I quickly changed to Femcom only to have extremely painful periods and headaches. After about 4 months of that i was put on Yaz. Which i must say was the WORST ever. Yaz gave me terrible mood swings,bouts of depression, fatigue and again painful periods. After 4 months of that i decided to try Ortho Tri Cylen (the regular not lo)..This started to give me dull aching pains in my arms and joints and the mood swings were terrible. I cried all the time. Ortho Tri Cylen Lo was my last hope for all birth control. Granted because of my mood swings while and a few days before i am on my period i was prescribed Zoloft. OTC Lo has not given me any side effects so far. In the beginning i had a lot of cramps but nothing like i had before. My periods are better and my sex life is unbelievable unlike the others which take your sex drive away, OTC-Lo dosent! If anything it has made me want sex more! My boyfriend is very pleased as am i! I recommend this birth control to any female who is having alot of issues with other birth controls. I am glad i tried it!!! Thanks for reading!

I have to say first of al, Quasense is the generic for seasonal, not seasonique, the are different. Seasonique is over $250 where seasonale is only around $160. They generic Quasense is around $115. How people figure that is any more expensive than your old pills is beyond me. haven't they always cost around $30-$40 a month?? Yes, as someone on the pill for 10 years, they have always cost that much and unless you're used to getting them for free from a clinic you shouldn't be surprised.
That being said, I started with seasonale then they actually switched it to quasense on me and I didn't even know i was getting a different prescription. I'm sure it's because it just came out, I started this in 2005. I am in absolute heaven. In the beginning I had some spotting and It'll happen every now and then, but it doesn't affect anything for me, it is very slight. When I do have my period i seriously go through about 6 tampons for the whole period. I don't wear one at night because it would always be dry in the morning, and I don't have to put one in until after I get around to showering. It lasts about 2.5 days. This pill is a life saver for me. My fiance says he would be happy to get a vasectomy, but then I would have to start having periods every month again if i went off the pill. NO THANKS!
I cant believe I used to live my life having 3 months of bleeding every year! Now I bleed for maybe 12 days a year. I have had absolutely no weight gain, no mood swings, no discomfort during my period other than a slight cramps. Everybody is going to react differently to the pill, that is why there are so many of them of them to choose from. I say at least try this pill. Talk about liberation!!!!!

I was on seasonique for 6 months and never experienced anything out of the ordinary, not once. I switched to seasonale because it had a generic, quasense. It is much cheaper. I have had no problems with quasense whatsoever. I love it! No weight gain, spotting, nothing!! It is awesome... for me that is. It works wonderfully.

I'm glad that i have found this site as well. I want to say though i only have had mirena for three days now. So far the only problem I had was some cramping. It was not rally painful to have inserted just more cramping than I expected it does seems to be subsiding already. Umm so I guess im just holding out to see how it goes. I just wanted to post to remind everyone that women react differently to birth control. I personally am 21 and I was put on birth control by my father when I was 12 I hadn't even really started to have periods yet but I will tell you I have used many different forms of Birth control some have agreed with me and some have not. First I think I tried the shot depo it made me bleed for too long so i stopped using it. Then I had lunelle i was fine but even though I was not sexually active I had to stop taking it because apparently they found out there wasn't enough medicine in it to keep people from getting pregnant. Next there was a time where I got seriously sick ( from an antibiotic I had Stevens Johonson Syndrome at 14 yrs old) I was hospitalized for three months at this time I didn't have periods and was on no birth control for about a 1 1/2 yrs- 2 yrs. during this time when my periods returned my periods were horrible i couldn't handle them so I went back on birth control I figured because I never established my own cycle without birth control that it would be hard for me to do so. I also treid the patch which was Awful i had really bad breast symptoms they were always very sore and tender and i started to form lumps in my breasts so I stopped using the patch and then the breast symptoms went away. So i went to different pill forms the best one that worked for me was Seaonale it was wonderful and great! I had no problems on my period and no side effects unfortunately my health insurance decided to stop paying for Seasonale. So i was put on another pill that was similar to Seasonale make up and although it was a once a month i was taken it for 3 months and then having a period somewhere along the line here there was a switch in my script to where I was getting a generic version and since then I started to have symptoms. I was having more PMs symptoms during my period, my sex drive went out the window, I gained almost 40 -50 pounds, and I experienced really bad vaginal dryness. Well due to these annoying symptoms and the fact that i had been recently diagnosed with High blood pressure i talked with my doctor about different birth control options and i was told I was better off using a non estrogen birth control so my last few options that I had not already tried was the IUD or the Nuva ring. So for now I have choose mirena and Im hoping that I have made the right choice after reading horror stories on the internet Im happy to say Im not going to get it removed unless it starts to cause problems for me. i posted this because like others i wanted to stress that every women reacts differently to each birth control so if you have negative side effects on one then that just wasn't the one for you I don't think this means that women should not try mirena or other forms of birth control so just know you have to find the right one for your body. So heres to praying and hoping that mirena works out for me.

I'd be thrilled to skip a period. Heck, that's why my doctor prescribed Seasonale. The pharmacist, however, gave me Quasense instead. Let's see. It's 2am on Christmas Eve. I have basically been bleeding since HALLOWEEN. This is beyond ridiculous, and I really can't see myself "hanging in there" and waiting for it to stop. If I'm not all-out cramping, then it's just annoying, brown spotting. On top of that, my face has been breaking out since like, the second week of starting it. The insane thing is, I'm on Wellbutrin at the moment-- that pill is noted to decrease appetite and increase sex drive. I'm pretty sure Quasense is canceling THAT out entirely; I'm always hungry, and if I never had sex again I'd probably be thrilled. Worst. Birth Control. Ever.

Wow, some really interesting stories about NuvaRing on here. I had never head about it until 3 weeks ago when getting my annual, I brought up using Seasonale birth control and my doctor told me about the Ring, so he gave me a sample and sent me on my way. It was really convenient - except when I started having sex, I would take it out and put it back in afterwards. Not sure if that was smart or not. I took it out Friday of last week, and Monday started spotting brown blood - thought this was normal. Tuesday morning around 9:30 am I had severe cramps, headache and could barely walk when the cramps came. I got lightheaded and short of breath. Finally, when I went to the bathroom I had wiped and noticed pure blood (Im sure most can tell the difference between period blood and bleeding from an infection of some sort), when I looked down I saw a large mass of some sort. I freaked out because a friend had had a miscarriage and this looked exactly like it. I called the doctor who advised me to collect it and come in asap. I did have sex that weekend I was off it so I freaked out.

When I went in I was advised it was a side effect of the Ring. It was called a decidua cast, basically a linin of your uterus that is formed when pregnant, a lot of times this is shed due to an ectopic pregnancy. Ever sense then I have had the worst period EVER! Constant bleeding, I have to change my pad every 1-2 hours instead of 3-4 (I am afraid to use a tampon right now after this). The blood clots are just horrible.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND NUVARING!

I've been taking Quasense for only about 2 weeks, but so far it hasn't been good. I was sick to my stomach the whole first week and had no appetite. Also, when my normal period ended when I began taking the pill, it was like the last day of my period every day since then. I've got brown spotting every single day. I took this pill so I could feel comfortable having sex, but that side effect makes me feel more uncomfortable than ever! Are there other pills which work better than this? I specifically asked my doctor for Seasonale, and didn't notice until I got home that it wasn't what she prescribed for me.

I've been having problems ever since I started Yasmin, and now, stumbling upon this site, I'm SO glad I'm getting off it!

I'm only on the second week of my third pack, and I've felt horrible the last few days. I get anxiety attacks once in awhile - and have since before I started Yaz. But the last few days, it's been worse. Constant is the best word I can think of. Also, I feel weird "down there" (not to sound childish, but I don't know if this bulletin is censored. never been on here before). Down there, I feel rubbed raw, irritated, itchy, etc. And it only started recently, after I got my period for the second pack of Yaz. My period is always late, and this time, it's irregular (i get it one day, then not the next, then again the third day, etc)

Also, my mood has altered. Aside from the increase in my anxiety attacks, I've gotten really tired, mopey, and depressed. Even my mom has noticed. She says I'm a totally different person, and not fun to be around. I suffer from migraines, but when I was on my last pill (Seasonale), I got very few. On the Yaz, I have one almost every day! it's awful.

I called my doctor and he called in a prescription for my Seasonale, which I can pick up tomorrow and I'm starting IMMEDIATELY. From reading this board, I can see this pill is dangerous and I'm so glad I came across here because now I see it's not just me. It's the pill!

Ive been on the nuvaring for about four months and for three of those months everything was fine. my doctor told me that i could leave it in for 3 weeks and have a period for a week or three weeks and change to a new ring. well being that most women hate periods, i decided not to have one four four months. But now i am having this weird brown discharge(no smell) and i have had reoccurring yeast infections (white discharge, itching, burning). this skin around my vagina was raw for a week or so. gross i know. can anybody tell me whats up with this. i have been overly emotional because i thought something was wrong with me. is it?

I have now finished my fourth month on Loestrin 24Fe. Still no period. Prior to being on it, I was on Seasonale--now, sure it's great not getting your period for 3 months, but that is another side effect page! Since switching to LoE24, for the first 2 months I had CRAZY mood swings and 6 out of the 8 signs of peri-menopause (I'm only 37). I did find out that Seasonale has a higher dosage of hormones and LoE 24 has less.

When I first switched, I LOVED the Loestrin--it made me feel so much more alive and like me again from the Seasonale. After two weeks, I started the "yogurt-like" discharge that went on for two months--no, not a yeast infection or anything, just weird hormonal stuff according to my doctor. After the two months, the discharge and the major mood swings went away all of a sudden, I was just fine one day and those symptoms have gone. Still, no period...it's been four months and 6 pregnancy tests. Now, I'm still a little moody but I'm not sure if it is pill related or frustration at not knowing what is wrong.

A girlfriend of mine loved this pill, so I guess everyone is different.

ok I posted a few months ago about my experience with this pill. Well Im now back to say it is starting not to work. My period started about 8 days ago and has not stopped but get this I am not taking the brown pills so I should not be getting a period @ all. Go figure. Also my breast which were large before I started this pill is HUGER now I take pictures from the neck up cuz I l look like Im swollen. I am now taking two pills a day to stop the bleeding so we will see but when this pack is gone im off these for good. I have had horrible cramps as if i was not on the pill. I can say the bleeding was considerably light considering I cannot leave out side my house when Im on my period usually. But the reason for me starting the pill was to not have periods at all!!!

My Dr. prescribed Seasonale (which I had been on for 5+ years), but the pharmacy gave me generic Jolessa. I thought, "How different can it be?" It started out with chronic headaches in the afternoon. After being on Jolessa for about a year, I had two "attacks" where my eyes went blurry and my arm and face went numb. The doctors checked me for blood clots and a stroke. All of my tests came back ok. When I went to the emergency room the second time, the ER doctor told me to get off of the Jolessa immediately! This was about three months ago, and I haven't had any problems since! I am 26, very healthy, don't smoke or drink...I'm sure it was the Jolessa.

I started the pills on 6/1/08 first 2 weeks was fine them after the third week is been horrible, spotting everyday non stop I can;t take anymore the cramps are killing me. Is anyone experience anything like this and when is this going to stop i hated . Any advice thinking to come off the pills. No headache, nausea, stomach pains, depression just cramps