Need Some Advice on Birth Control...

I am on the NuvaRing and I have not had any problems with it. I have actually lost weight instead of gaining.

I suffer from migraines, I was on the Depo shot and it made my headaches much worse and I gained almost 30 pounds.

The mini pill - I asked my doctor about this and he said that you absolutely have to take it at the exact same time every day otherwise it isn't effective.

I hope you find something that works for you. Good Luck!

Hi T., I have been on the depo shot for about a year now. My daughter was born August 07 and I started it when she was 6 weeks old. I absolutely love it. I don't have a period or even cramping. I have not experienced any weight gain and I don't have to worry about anything except for every 3 months which my doctor schedules in advance. Good luck finding one that works for you.

Try Natural Progesterone Cream. It's NOT birth control, but it will regulate your periods without any bad side effects. My periods are 3 days long!!!

My daughter had some trouble with irregular periods and she went to a naturopath doctor (alternative medicine) She spent a lot of time with Becky, discussing her diet, stress levels, nursing patterns, everything. She gave her some particular diet advice, and put her on certain vitamins and suppliments and within 6 weeks she had regulated. This doctor has helped several family members and I highly recommend that approach first, before doing any thing that is going to adversly effect your hormonal balance. I can give you more details if you are interested. My email is ____@____.com H.

Birth control is so risky. You are very likely low in progesterone, which is the hormone that causes relaxation and blood flow decrease. If you have pms it will help with that too. I suggest going to a website of dr lee's that will educate you on being estrogen dominate, which you most probably are, and then getting an over the counter progesterone transdermal cream in 2% strength. It very likely will help. Give it three months and use from mid cycle to onset of period. If it helps but does not alleviate your problems, then you may need prescription strength cream of 5-10% which you can get from a doctor that your local compound pharmacy will recommend.
B. S. RN CCM

Hmm. I wonder what your exposure to hormone disrupters is? Plastics, chemical products like household cleaners (bleach), and animal products, in particular.

Unfortunately, these things don't respond to quick fixes like a simple pill. I'm glad you're resisting going on hormone-based birth control. That would just tamp down the symptoms without addressing the cause (and without addressing the other health effects you are currently, or will in the future, suffer from exposure to hormone disrupters). Also, studies show that hormone-based birth control reverses mate choice (besides causing other problems, as you've discovered). I experienced this myself, on my honeymoon! Suddenly I wasn't as thrilled as I had expected to be. Went off the pill and was back in love as ever. I had known about the mate choice reversal effect, but didn't expect that it would happen within only a couple of days. I had only wanted to delay my period while on my honeymoon. Now that I look back on it, I would have preferred the period over experiencing watching my emotional response to my new husband seem to fade away while I was on those pills.

Anyway. It might take a few weeks or months to start to notice the difference, but take immediate action to completely detox your life of chemicals. Don't make coffee using bleached white filters, or drink hot liquids from styrofoam cups. Don't microwave your food in plastic containers. Don't even *store* your food in plastic, and avoid plastic wrap. Use foil or Pyrex or Corningware, instead. Reduce or eliminate the meat, milk, egg, and fish from your diet. Don't use harsh chemical cleaners around your house.

At the same time as you take these steps, do an herbal body cleanse. The Gaia Supreme Cleanse is great, but there are others out there, and in fact your issues are so severe that you might want to enlist the help of a professional, who can ensure that you're taking the most effective steps possible to rid your body from the hormone disrupters and actual hormones (from meat and animal products) that have upset the balance in your system so drastically.

It's not as easy as popping a pill (of any kind). But it will get to the heart of the problem, and fix the other problems that such exposures cause (help prevent cancer, for one thing, and give you some energy back - even when your iron is up, you will notice the difference).

L.

I didn't have any side affects from the birth control pills but I did from everything else.

I've been on Yasmin (now available in generic) and Yaz and both have been great for me. I deal with migraines and weight issues (I had lost all 40 pounds that I gained with my son and then gained some back after being on a certain antidepressant). Both are known to be good for those with migraines and mood issues that are related to your menstrual cycle. Another option is Mircette. It has 2 weeks of the same strength pills then the week before your period you take the pills that have just a little less estrogen in them, so it's like you're tapering off the estrogen dose so you don't just stop getting any of the estrogen part cold turkey every 4 weeks. Nuvaring is also another good option. I would not recommend doing any progestin-only birth control (Depo-provera, Nor-QD, etc), those can worsen migraines. Good luck to you

I recommend an Mirena IUD. It is less expensive than birth control over the 5 years. It only releases hormones in the uterus so there isn't any weight gain, hormonal issues. I love it and there are no periods either! And you don't have to remember to take a pill at the same time each day. The IUD is the number one birth control world wide. It is recommended for women with heavy periods who are not ready for a hysterectomy b/c it stops the bleeding and is a great non-surgical option.

T., Please don't get on birth control. From my past experiences with other girls sounds like you are low of progesterone. There are natural progesterone creams that are bioidentical to your body which means that it is exactly what your body produces. You probably are not ovulating any more and that means you are not producing progesterone. The company that I am affiliated with Arbonne has a natural cream called Prolief. If you want check out my website at www.successfromtheheart.myarbonne.com and also you might get Dr. John Lee's book called "What your doctor may not tell you about Premenopuause". Give me a call if you would like at ###-###-####. Thanks, K.

Hello T.,
I hear ya, been there, done that and even though my doc put me on the pill, whenever the meds wore off, I would start bleeding again. My mom and step-father own a chiropractic business and therefore have access to MANY homeopathic vitamins. When I was going through this, my mother sent me some OVEX, you can probably find it at your local health food store or maybe even check into your chiropratic office and get some. It helps regulate your body naturally. Yes, you have to take it like 2-3 times a day but it IS NATURAL
therefore no side effects. Best of Luck.
Good Luck with your daughter starting school this year. My 3 yr. old is going into head start, so I hear ya there tooo.

I have been on YAZ for 2 years (though my tubes have already been tied) I got on it to help with PMS symptoms, and horrible mood swings due to PMS and it has completely changed my life...and I don't even HAVE periods anymore due to the YAZ. The best parts are that it regulates or completely stops the bleeding, And it clears up ALL acne for the most part (a bonus) but it is also a anti-depressant for me, has completely leveled out my "mood swings" and I feel sain again :) also I love the fact that I never have the PMS bloating anymore :)
give it a try I have not had any negative side effects or any weight gain to talk about. But you have to be on it for 3 or 4 months to see the full benefits...it was probably 7 or 8 months after I started taking it that my periods COMPLETELY stopped. But when I was bleeding on the yaz, the bleeding was SO light a thin maxi pad was enough. No cramps either!

If you're not planning to have any more children, ask your doctor about an endometrial oblation. It's an outpatient procedure where they basically cauterize the lining of the uterus. Many women have no period at all afterward, some have very light spotting.
I was having a heavy period (and when I say heavy, I mean using tampons two at a time, and still soaking through my clothes every hour), and I was having it every two weeks. On top of that, I was cramping so hard that I literally could not stand up straigt, and PMS that drove my family insane.
After the procedure, no more periods, no cramping, no PMS.

Hi T.,

I agree with the other lady about YAZ. I have been on it for almost a year now. I really like it. I changed from the depo prevera shot to YAZ because the shot was causing me to gain weight. I have lost 15lbs and held a steady weight now for 8 mos and that is with out dieting or a regular exercise routine. I noticed with the shot I was alot moodier & cried more than I do now. My acne is also much much better with YAZ.

Hey Trisha,

From very personal experience with what feels like about a hundred and one birth controls i have grown a liking to my mini pill which is pregesteron only.....I have a problem with taking normal BC because If i get too much estrogen i tend to get blood clots(that runs in my family). I have been on this pill for about 8 months now and I havent gained a pound....in fact i had a relativley easy time losing the 70 pounds i gained with my son( it took me about 4 months). So if you are going to get on a BC than my suggestion would be the mini pill, or POP(Progesteron only Pill) The only thing I dont really like about the pill is that you have to take the pill at the same exact hour every single day or you have a much higher risk of getting preggo than with the other pills. I hope i helped you out! good luck!

i have the mirena iud i havent had any problems. havent had a period and i did have migrains,but not anymore. and i dont have to remember the pill. the first month i was suppose to start i had really bad cramps for about 20 min. then that was it second month they were better. i didnt like the idea of somthing being in me but my doc took me off the pill because of blood issues and so far i like it im good for 4 years than if i want my tubes tide we well but i have 4 years to consider it. i might want more i dont know good luck...

Hi T.!
I would just like to share with you the birth controls I used before I had my tubes tied. I was on Yasmine(not the Yaz)which is new- I am not sure of the exact spelling. However, I never had any headaches or weight gain with it. I had also used the Ortho Tri-Cyclene until it was not regulating my periods anymore. But the great thing was I never had any side effects with either one!
Good Luck!!
~C. Stork~
www.forourkidz.fourpointmoms.com

check into Yaz. It is a great birth control. I have used 4 different kinds with different side effects with each. I've been on Yaz about 5 months and have not had any problems. I have a very short period (sometimes one day, sometimes just spotting for a couple of days). I have also noticed I do not have PMS at all. My husband has noticed that part too. You can look it up on the internet or ask your doctor. The internet sight has a lot of good info.

C.

I'm with Liev on this one. Birth control is synthetic hormone and is more trouble than it is worth in the long run. Even those who have great results with using it in their younger years will have problems, they just will show up during menopause & it wont be pretty. If you can get saliva hormone testing that would be a great start to see if you need any kind of hormone replacement. Chances are you are estrogen dominant and need to supplement with natural progesterone (not to be confused with progestin) and or adjust your diet and exercise routine. Nutrition plays an important role in hormone balance. A huge point Liev also brought up is environmental factors. Plastics, pesticides etc. all have what are called xenoestrogens which contributes to estrogen dominance. I wont go too much more into it since Leiv sent a pretty lengthy message already :o)

Hi T..

Have you asked your doctor about the hormone patch? Or maybe a different dosage or brand of pills? Hope this helps! Good luck!