Loestrin 24 Fe and light periods

I have been on Loestrin 24 for over a year now and I have to say that it is working really well for me. I have extremely light periods (esp. compared to the ones I was having before), predictable periods, and no mood swings. i have had breakthrough bleeding 2 of the months I've been on this pill. The only thing I've noticed is it is extremely hard for me to lose weight. Now, I only need to lose like 10 pounds, but I was running everyday and eating healthy for about 3 months and did not lose a pound of weight. I don't know if it was due to the pill, but in the past it has been fairly easy for me to lose,

Negative Side effects:
1.increased facial hair ( yes I am female)
2.acne
3. no sex drive
For the first month I had no problems.
From the second month to the fifth month I had breast tenderness every day!. On the 6th month of the pill I had no breast tenderness.

Positive effects:
2-3 day light periods ( mine used to b 5-7 days)
No cramps ( I used to have terrible cramps)
No mood swings

I was on Loestrin 24 Fe for a year (after a year of Yasmin) and I just wanted to post this to be helpful to other women considering Loestrin because this medication obviously does not work well with everyone. But, I loved it. I did not have any side effects at all (clear skin, tiny amounts of cramping around PMS time, no mood swings, light periods, very predictable periods, no headaches, no pregnancy, one month of break-through bleeding). I am trying an IUD instead at the moment because I could not always remember to take the pill every day at the same time, but if the IUD does not work, I am going back to Loestrin (however I am going to ask for the generic because it is less expensive!).

First off, the side effects listed are not the norm....the "no periods" or very short periods, are the concept of Loestrin 24. Very short, very light periods. The moodiness are often side effects of the YAZ, the other 24 day pill. This is because the progestin dominance of YAZ. Loestrin 24 is known for the very short, very light periods, less side effects due to the shortened time off the pill. The side effects you read are unfortunate (make sure your pharmacist is not switching to a generic - even though there is no generic equivalent) but for the most part, these side effects are RARE!

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.

I have been taking Loestrin24Fe for about a year and 2 months. Everything was going fine, no adverse side effects, just lighter shorter periods, until about the 8th month...when I skipped my period. I freaked out, however, was not pregnant, and continued to have either normal or real light periods after that. Now, about 14 months into taking the pill, I skipped my period again (2 negative pregnancy tests), and have been feeling anxious, and moody to the point where it's scaring me, I don't know why I have been acting the way I have...depressed...moody...anxious. I'm going to the gyn tomorrow -while I'm there I'm gonna ask if i should stay on it or what is going on? I'm afraid to switch to another pill..they all have their horror stories it seems. but I'm afraid to stay on this also.
does anyone know why a doctor may say its "normal?"
thanks!