pills
Women related health topics -
I’d really like to know more about the different types of birth control pills. (I’m taking ortho-tri-cyclene currently) Megan was telling me yesterday that several of her friends had weight gains due to the type of bcp that they were taking and that when they switched to low estrogen type of pill, they lost weight. Over the last year that I’ve been taking them, I’ve gain 15-20 lbs, without a major difference in my eating habits. I just figured my system was getting old and that I wasn’t able to eat as crappy as I have in the past.... not that I eat *that* badly anyhow....
The Pill: Weight Changes. ThriveOnline
So I’m looking into this - I have an appointment tomorrow at 1:45 (drs. scare me!), and I need to have a list of things to talk to the dr. about.
Other things to ask about:
- Stress which causes sharp pains on my left side of my tummy, large knots in my back, and increased frequent headaches. (along with some depression and some social anxiety, although i may not mention these things)
- The increased number of migraines in the last year - I had only had 2 ever when I went last year, I’ve had probably 6-12 bad ones since then.
- My sore throat that doesn’t go away, could be allergies, but dentist noticed that my tonsils looked large
If anybody has input on any of these things, I’d love to hear - I’m so nervous about this appointment, because I have so many questions and I’m afraid they’ll tell me things I don’t want to hear. I need to brainstorm exactly what I’m going to say so I’m not so nervous!
Comments
Kristine
Posted by: Khara | June 25, 2001 05:07 PM
kristine, i would definitely mention the depression/social anxiety. last year my depression was at an all time high (low?) whatever. i had been on the pill for about 7 years, and i never really tied the 2 together. but, i ended up deciding to take a break from the pill for a few months, just to see how things went - and OH MY GOODNESS! it made such a difference. i loved the pill and how convienent it was and how it made my periods lighter and made everything all nice and scheduled, but girl, I will NEVER go back. I have been feeling so much better.
Posted by: zal | June 25, 2001 05:55 PM
I *totally* agree l...tell your doc about everything, including the depression/anxiety. All of your symptoms could be related somehow. Tell the doc about all of it so that he/she can make a better diagnosis.
Posted by: Erica | June 25, 2001 06:55 PM
Kristine, I - as well as many others it seems - also had major problems with weight while taking bcp. In fact, my doctor (ob/gyn) put me on several different kinds - high estrogen/low estrogen - with the same results - major weight gain. I also experienced problems with stress headaches and slight depression while on the pill.
Posted by: Lee | June 26, 2001 06:19 AM
Ditto on all the other comments, I was on Ortho TriClyclene for a year and was depressed for most of that year. Since then, I’ve had a baby and went on DepoProvera and gained 20 pounds, and recently was on a low dosage pill and got migraines and hit a plateau with weight loss, so tell your doctor all your symptons - they may be a pill out there for you.
Posted by: Mary Alice | June 26, 2001 06:44 AM
I also took this as the first bc that the OB/GYN prescribed. I had every symptom you named and more. I then switched to Mercocet which alleviated all these problems and I NEVER noticed any problems. I’ve been off of it and all others for 2 years now, but I’d say ask your dr. about this one ....
Posted by: Brooke | June 26, 2001 01:11 PM
I’ve used about 3 different kinds of bcp’s and I noticed depressive tendencies with all 3, though some were worse than others.
Posted by: Belle | June 26, 2001 04:07 PM
i have lots of headaches as well....as far as gaining weight, i was told by a gynocologist at planned parenthood that one should use the type of b.c. with the least effective hormones(ortho tri-cyclene) depo-vera (the shot) is most likely to lead to weight gain since the hormones are so high
Posted by: angelina | April 9, 2003 03:43 PM