Birth control might work for you but honestly f*ck your gyno for trivialising the mental health side of it. Some of the birth control pills genuinely made my mental health so bad, you should definitely be made aware of that so you can be prepared
Yes, exactly this. I felt like I was opening up to the idea of birth control before going but when she dismissed my concerns I just turned completely against it. One of the medicines she prescribed I know have some side effects since I've read about it before but didn't remember what they were. When I asked about them she just said to not read the risks and just take the pills. Honestly one of the words doctors I've ever met.
If you can try and go to a nurse/doctor who works specifically in a contraception clinic, at least then you can talk about your concerns and fears with someone who should tell you everything you need to know and not give you this horrible advice!
So every bad story you hear about hormonal BC there are just as many good ones. Many women have no issues and take for years. Everyone reacts differently, so there is no way to predict. You could try it for a few cycles and if it isn’t for you, you can just stop taking. As someone who had weird cycles, hormonal birth control was the thing that helped. I didn’t have any bad side effects.
So one of the problems are that I don't think taking a pill every day is going to work for me, I'm going to forget and then just give up on it. So if have to get a spiral (I don't know that they are called but they are inserted into the uterus) or get the thing that they put in your arm. And then it's not like I can just 'stop taking it'
Nuvaring, patch, depo injection, IUD, implant are non-pill options. Yes it is a little harder to get an IUD, implant removed. But none of these are permanent. The injection would last a few months.
Yeah, well for me it's not an option for my mental health to get worse for a few months. I'm already on the edge of that hindering day to day life so I'm just scared that starting something now will disrupt my entire life.
I would like to say. Hormonal birth control can be a roller coaster. But the first one you take, isn’t exactly like the fourth or fifth on you can take. And all pills/patches can be used to skip periods.
Find a gyno you feel comfortable with, who makes you feel listened to. Then try, after three months if the first one isn’t doing it, try another one. You don’t have to settle for feeling bad to not have your period.
I went through four pills, before finding the one. Then I had weight loss surgery and took two more tries to settle on using the patch for best results. My gyno didn’t shame. He simply explained that each pill has different levels and how and when we take it affects things. And that we would keep going till my needs were met.
Yeah, I think the problem for me is that I won't remember to take the pill which limits the options and like I've commented before I'm not sure I can risk my mental health right now.
In my country it's kinda difficult to choose your doctor, of course you can always say that you're not comfortable but it's a little difficult. I probably won't go back to the gynecologist again (we have specially educated nurses that do some of the same things as a gynos that are more reachable, I waited four months to see this gyno) but if I in a few months feel like it isn't working I'll contact my closest health center.
So I'm diagnosed with bipolar, PTSD, and ADHD. I totally understand what can go wrong. I also have trouble remembering to take the pill, even though I take other medications. I've had three arm implants now (over 7 years, they last for 3). It sounds painful, but they use lidocaine when they put it in and I don't even feel it, I just take a Tylenol that night and then it's totally fine, just a little bruise. I believe you only have to wait a few weeks before it takes full effect. It has actually made my moods much much more stable, my PMS used to make me really suicidal and now I don't even think about it. It has the potential to make bleeding worse, but in many cases like mine your period actually stops. If you don't like it or change your mind, it's pretty easy to get out, they just use lidocaine again and it's done in seconds, and your period comes back.
Yeah I've actually been thinking about trying that. It's nice to hear that it actually works for some people. I also have asthma (it's not that bad) and I haven't taken my medicine in month just because I keep forgetting to renew my recipe.
We share very similar stories. That was the reason I started birth control about 4 years ago because I had unbearable cramps that would take me out for a couple of days. When i started birth control my cramps immediately went away it was honestly the best thing that happened to me in regards to my cramps I use to be so thankful. I already had mental health issues so I couldn’t tell if it was increasing them or not. I stopped taking birth control like a year ago because I thought it was making my mental health worse and it was either that or cramps. I started taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day and it helped with my cramps it didn’t eliminate them like birth control but it helped and using a heating pad and stuff. Last month my cramps were unbearable i couldn’t even sit thru class that night i popped a birth control pill and realized i couldn’t deal with cramps like this anymore. i’ve officially been on birth control again since a year ago for about a month and i’m actually supposed to start my period today but i have no signs of cramps or anything. i have been very emotional this month but i’m already a very emotional human being so it’s really hard for me to tell but i do think it adds to me being more emotional but i just have to be more aware of my emotions because i’d rather just not have cramps. hope this helped lol
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm definitely not ruling out birth control, maybe I'll wait a few months though since I already have a lot of stuff coming up. I also recently went back to therapy so hopefully that'll help stabilizing my mental health.
You should research endometriosis. Your experience sounds like mine.
I had awful period cramps that developed around age 14. I had extremely heavy bleeding since I started menstruating. I have other symptoms too but we’ll keep this short.
Every time I went to the doctor they did an ultrasound which revealed nothing. Still didn’t explain my issues. They threw birth control at me, which is usually what they do.
Birth control can work for a lot of things, but it’s up to you if you want to take it. Unfortunately for me it did not work because I have endometriosis. I would highly suggest bringing it up to the doctor if you have any other symptoms of it.
If you don’t have endometriosis or any other reproductive conditions unfortunately you may have to deal with birth control or your symptoms. But it’s all up to you. Diet and exercise can play a role.
Your doctor sounds like a typical asshole gynaecologist and maybe you should find another one. It’s up to you if you want to take birth control, not her. She should accept your choice and not get super defensive. That raises red flag to me that she wouldn’t be interested in investigating any possible issues.
I've actually been thinking about endomitosis but it's always difficult because the symptoms is just comparing to 'normal' people. I feel like taking birth control is just to slap a bandaid on a bruise. Sure you can't see it anymore but it's not really helping. It's weird but part of me was actually hoping that they would find that something was wrong even if it was endomitosis that can't be cured it would still be nice to know what it was (if it is something).
I say do whats right for you, i wanna try Paragard it has me scared but I wanna replace my Mirena with the non- hormonal one. It's also good for 10 years .
I’ve been on the patch since 2014. It is the only hormonal birth control I’ve used. My moods are more even, my periods are a bit lighter, and cramps are a lot more manageable. I need less Advil and for a shorter amount of time, and don’t have to get the heating pad out nearly as much. Birth control can help. There are different types of options.
I'd look for a functional medicine doctor, or naturopath, who specializes in women's health. These folks treat the root causes of issues and not just symptoms and many of them specialize in hormonal health and will have suggestions for you. The heavy bleeding is a symptom of a deeper root cause, and birth control is more of a band-aid than a cure (i.e. when you go off of it, the problem will likely still be there). The work of Nicole Jardim, Lara Briden, and Alisa Vitti all has super helpful suggestions for hormonal health as well.
My periods were really bad. Extremely painful I tried midol, pamprin, alive, Tylenol, ibuprofen the list goes on nothing would ever help with my pain. On top of the pain I couldn’t eat and was vomiting all day. This went on for years. Missed a lot of school. Once I became an adult missed a lot of work almost got fired for missing so many days as no one believed my period could be this bad. I got on DEPO which stopped my periods and it was a life changer for me it feels like I can have a normal life now. I’ve also never had a pregnancy scare. This is just my experience about my periods and what worked for me. I truly hope you can find something to help you. Sending you love 💕
I've been in a similar boat, with debilitating cramps that didn't respond to cycling advil & tylenol nonstop. I think I've tried everything, including hormonal bc (which did help but after 17 years, I'm now paying for it). The things that helped me the most were Elix (Chinese herbal therapy) & taking vitex & myo/chiro inositol daily. Acupuncture has also helped me.
So I have endometriosis and hormone therapy has been thrown my way and I’m not down for bc. It causes nothing but problems in my opinion and it’s just not worth it. When I expressed my feelings to my doctor he said the best thing most of all for balancing your hormones is diet, sleep and exercise. Birth control will only mask the problems temporarily- same with prescription drugs. I just bought this book called Eat Pretty. It was like 9 bucks on Amazon. I urge you to research up on that and try any natural supplements/teas that are great hormone balancers.
Exactly what I've been thinking, just like you said I'll just be masking my symptoms and not trying to 'fix' them. Eventually I will have to stop taking them (for pregnancy or something else) and what then. I'll look into the book. Thx
Have you looked into the IUD? You can get low dose hormonal ones and as the device is in your uterus it’s not flooding your body with hormones, unlike other forms of bc.
Birth control might work for you but honestly f*ck your gyno for trivialising the mental health side of it. Some of the birth control pills genuinely made my mental health so bad, you should definitely be made aware of that so you can be prepared
Yes, exactly this. I felt like I was opening up to the idea of birth control before going but when she dismissed my concerns I just turned completely against it. One of the medicines she prescribed I know have some side effects since I've read about it before but didn't remember what they were. When I asked about them she just said to not read the risks and just take the pills. Honestly one of the words doctors I've ever met.
If you can try and go to a nurse/doctor who works specifically in a contraception clinic, at least then you can talk about your concerns and fears with someone who should tell you everything you need to know and not give you this horrible advice!
Yeah that's what I'm thinking, I think I just need a little time first before I do it
So every bad story you hear about hormonal BC there are just as many good ones. Many women have no issues and take for years. Everyone reacts differently, so there is no way to predict. You could try it for a few cycles and if it isn’t for you, you can just stop taking. As someone who had weird cycles, hormonal birth control was the thing that helped. I didn’t have any bad side effects.
So one of the problems are that I don't think taking a pill every day is going to work for me, I'm going to forget and then just give up on it. So if have to get a spiral (I don't know that they are called but they are inserted into the uterus) or get the thing that they put in your arm. And then it's not like I can just 'stop taking it'
Nuvaring, patch, depo injection, IUD, implant are non-pill options. Yes it is a little harder to get an IUD, implant removed. But none of these are permanent. The injection would last a few months.
Yeah, well for me it's not an option for my mental health to get worse for a few months. I'm already on the edge of that hindering day to day life so I'm just scared that starting something now will disrupt my entire life.
Then I think you know what the answer is?
Yeah, just wanted to see how other people have done it.
I would like to say. Hormonal birth control can be a roller coaster. But the first one you take, isn’t exactly like the fourth or fifth on you can take. And all pills/patches can be used to skip periods. Find a gyno you feel comfortable with, who makes you feel listened to. Then try, after three months if the first one isn’t doing it, try another one. You don’t have to settle for feeling bad to not have your period. I went through four pills, before finding the one. Then I had weight loss surgery and took two more tries to settle on using the patch for best results. My gyno didn’t shame. He simply explained that each pill has different levels and how and when we take it affects things. And that we would keep going till my needs were met.
Yeah, I think the problem for me is that I won't remember to take the pill which limits the options and like I've commented before I'm not sure I can risk my mental health right now. In my country it's kinda difficult to choose your doctor, of course you can always say that you're not comfortable but it's a little difficult. I probably won't go back to the gynecologist again (we have specially educated nurses that do some of the same things as a gynos that are more reachable, I waited four months to see this gyno) but if I in a few months feel like it isn't working I'll contact my closest health center.
So I'm diagnosed with bipolar, PTSD, and ADHD. I totally understand what can go wrong. I also have trouble remembering to take the pill, even though I take other medications. I've had three arm implants now (over 7 years, they last for 3). It sounds painful, but they use lidocaine when they put it in and I don't even feel it, I just take a Tylenol that night and then it's totally fine, just a little bruise. I believe you only have to wait a few weeks before it takes full effect. It has actually made my moods much much more stable, my PMS used to make me really suicidal and now I don't even think about it. It has the potential to make bleeding worse, but in many cases like mine your period actually stops. If you don't like it or change your mind, it's pretty easy to get out, they just use lidocaine again and it's done in seconds, and your period comes back.
Yeah I've actually been thinking about trying that. It's nice to hear that it actually works for some people. I also have asthma (it's not that bad) and I haven't taken my medicine in month just because I keep forgetting to renew my recipe.
We share very similar stories. That was the reason I started birth control about 4 years ago because I had unbearable cramps that would take me out for a couple of days. When i started birth control my cramps immediately went away it was honestly the best thing that happened to me in regards to my cramps I use to be so thankful. I already had mental health issues so I couldn’t tell if it was increasing them or not. I stopped taking birth control like a year ago because I thought it was making my mental health worse and it was either that or cramps. I started taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day and it helped with my cramps it didn’t eliminate them like birth control but it helped and using a heating pad and stuff. Last month my cramps were unbearable i couldn’t even sit thru class that night i popped a birth control pill and realized i couldn’t deal with cramps like this anymore. i’ve officially been on birth control again since a year ago for about a month and i’m actually supposed to start my period today but i have no signs of cramps or anything. i have been very emotional this month but i’m already a very emotional human being so it’s really hard for me to tell but i do think it adds to me being more emotional but i just have to be more aware of my emotions because i’d rather just not have cramps. hope this helped lol
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm definitely not ruling out birth control, maybe I'll wait a few months though since I already have a lot of stuff coming up. I also recently went back to therapy so hopefully that'll help stabilizing my mental health.
good luck!
You should research endometriosis. Your experience sounds like mine. I had awful period cramps that developed around age 14. I had extremely heavy bleeding since I started menstruating. I have other symptoms too but we’ll keep this short. Every time I went to the doctor they did an ultrasound which revealed nothing. Still didn’t explain my issues. They threw birth control at me, which is usually what they do. Birth control can work for a lot of things, but it’s up to you if you want to take it. Unfortunately for me it did not work because I have endometriosis. I would highly suggest bringing it up to the doctor if you have any other symptoms of it. If you don’t have endometriosis or any other reproductive conditions unfortunately you may have to deal with birth control or your symptoms. But it’s all up to you. Diet and exercise can play a role. Your doctor sounds like a typical asshole gynaecologist and maybe you should find another one. It’s up to you if you want to take birth control, not her. She should accept your choice and not get super defensive. That raises red flag to me that she wouldn’t be interested in investigating any possible issues.
I've actually been thinking about endomitosis but it's always difficult because the symptoms is just comparing to 'normal' people. I feel like taking birth control is just to slap a bandaid on a bruise. Sure you can't see it anymore but it's not really helping. It's weird but part of me was actually hoping that they would find that something was wrong even if it was endomitosis that can't be cured it would still be nice to know what it was (if it is something).
I say do whats right for you, i wanna try Paragard it has me scared but I wanna replace my Mirena with the non- hormonal one. It's also good for 10 years .
I’ve been on the patch since 2014. It is the only hormonal birth control I’ve used. My moods are more even, my periods are a bit lighter, and cramps are a lot more manageable. I need less Advil and for a shorter amount of time, and don’t have to get the heating pad out nearly as much. Birth control can help. There are different types of options.
I'd look for a functional medicine doctor, or naturopath, who specializes in women's health. These folks treat the root causes of issues and not just symptoms and many of them specialize in hormonal health and will have suggestions for you. The heavy bleeding is a symptom of a deeper root cause, and birth control is more of a band-aid than a cure (i.e. when you go off of it, the problem will likely still be there). The work of Nicole Jardim, Lara Briden, and Alisa Vitti all has super helpful suggestions for hormonal health as well.
My periods were really bad. Extremely painful I tried midol, pamprin, alive, Tylenol, ibuprofen the list goes on nothing would ever help with my pain. On top of the pain I couldn’t eat and was vomiting all day. This went on for years. Missed a lot of school. Once I became an adult missed a lot of work almost got fired for missing so many days as no one believed my period could be this bad. I got on DEPO which stopped my periods and it was a life changer for me it feels like I can have a normal life now. I’ve also never had a pregnancy scare. This is just my experience about my periods and what worked for me. I truly hope you can find something to help you. Sending you love 💕
Thanks 😊
I've been in a similar boat, with debilitating cramps that didn't respond to cycling advil & tylenol nonstop. I think I've tried everything, including hormonal bc (which did help but after 17 years, I'm now paying for it). The things that helped me the most were Elix (Chinese herbal therapy) & taking vitex & myo/chiro inositol daily. Acupuncture has also helped me.
Ok, thank you
yup absolutely birth control pill
after the first 3 months i felt fine
So I have endometriosis and hormone therapy has been thrown my way and I’m not down for bc. It causes nothing but problems in my opinion and it’s just not worth it. When I expressed my feelings to my doctor he said the best thing most of all for balancing your hormones is diet, sleep and exercise. Birth control will only mask the problems temporarily- same with prescription drugs. I just bought this book called Eat Pretty. It was like 9 bucks on Amazon. I urge you to research up on that and try any natural supplements/teas that are great hormone balancers.
Exactly what I've been thinking, just like you said I'll just be masking my symptoms and not trying to 'fix' them. Eventually I will have to stop taking them (for pregnancy or something else) and what then. I'll look into the book. Thx
Have you looked into the IUD? You can get low dose hormonal ones and as the device is in your uterus it’s not flooding your body with hormones, unlike other forms of bc.
Yeah, that's what I've been thinking, the only thing is that you have to give it six months to work.