Pills and things....

Autumn:

you are fulfilling a much needed role here on Cathe's forum, dispensing wisdom to desperate ladies left, right and centre!!!! I think we should set you up with your own website, or at least a permanent feature on Cathe's site! There's something about talking to another friendly and knowledgable woman....we just can't get that with the PCP, there's always that awareness in the mind that we have 20 minutes and then, time's up!!! Sometimes we forget a question or two or feel unable to push them for more or different info, options.....

We need you!! Thanks from all of us for taking the time to help us. I'm glad I started this thread.

Clare
 
Autumn,

Thank you so much for your advice! It is greatly appreciated. I agree with Clare that it is so great to talk to a knowledgeable woman who is so willing to help even when she's not "on duty"! You are great!
I haven't noticed an increase in fat tissue anywhere except for my stomach. It seems to be just getting bigger each day! No matter how much I work out and what I eat it just continues to "swell" more! Would you say that is fluid retention? And I can tell you now no matter what the reason for the weight gain I CANNOT lose weight easily. It is such a struggle for me! I have been on the pill for 11 years now except for one year out of that when I was pregnant. During those years I have been on about 6 or 7 different brands. Does that cause problems? I have had headaches for all of those years too. In your opinion, do you think that is why? I have always just told myself that headaches is a part of life for me but I have really started to wonder these past few months if it could be the bc pills. Sorry to be so long. As you can see I am a little upset about this whole ordeal and I have even discussed with my husband alternative forms of birth control that he can be responsible for so that I can stop taking these pills for awhile and see if these problems I'm experiencing go away. I also need to mention that I have acne right on my chin and my upper lip that NEVER goes away! I'm sure that's another side effect!
Thanks so much for your listening ear and your helpful and wonderful advice. Trust me, it is greatly appreciated! It's also good to know that I'm not the only one that is experiencing problems with this!
Norma
:-(
 
Autumn...I agree with Clare and Norma. It is so great of you to take your time to help. I know it is appreciated deeply....:)...thanls...Carole
 
Norma,

You are so very welcome and thank you for the compliments!

Does it seem the fat tissue is actually increasing? I know it is difficult to tell sometimes. Is this the only place you notice getting bigger? Is the scale going up too?

Switching pills is often necessary and should not cause problems... the oly problem is when you are switched to a pill that results in an excess or deficiency in some hormone for you... I am assuming you were switched for a reason... although I have women tell me their PCP switched their pills without any complaints. I have also been on 7 brands of pills and Depo, I remember the frustration.

Some women who are prone to headaches find that the headaches increase in frequency and/or intensity with hormonal contraception. Based on what you have said, it sounds like your headaches are worse since you have started the Loestrin. I would discuss this and the weight gain and the acne with your doctor. Ask your doctor about your options and his/her recommendations. Is there any pill you did well on? If so, mention it to you doctor.

Stopping the pill may be the only way to determine if the weight gain, acne, and headaches are worse when you take pills. An option may be to stop the pills, then re-evaluate things after a few months and get a fresh start with the pills or whatever contraception you choose.

If you have more questions or I didn't answer something, please feel free to ask. We are here for you!

Autumn
 
Ladies,

Thank you so much for your kind words! I don't mind anwering your questions at all. As a consumer of health care, I know that there is a failure in the system regarding health education. And I know that sometimes we are rushed through our office visits. Anyway, client (patient) education is one of my favorite responsibilities, so ask away.

Besides, I find so much helpful information here on the forums it is the least I can do in return.

Oh, Clare, I sent you an email with a bunch of information in it... I hope you don't mind and I hope you received it.

Thanks again ladies! Take care!

Autumn
 
Autumn:

of course I do not mind, thank you for following up with me and thinking about this beyond the call of duty! Seriously, you are a treasure, and I am grateful for the answers you have given me. It helps me to make educated decisions regarding my health.

I am still working my way through the info..but if I have more questions, well, you may be hearing from me!

Clare
 
Clare,

Oh, I am glad you received it.

I know it is a lot of info... so take your time and I'll answer any questions you may have.

I should have warned you to get a beverage and snack before you started reading that email. :)

Autumn
 
Autumn,
Thanks once again for your wonderful encouraging words of wisdom. It's so nice to have someone who has medical knowledge to discuss this with because it has really been on my mind these past couple of months. Yes, it does seem as if the fat tissue in my stomach is increasing. It just feels really bloated. That's the only way I can explain how it feels.
In your opinion, do you think I should go to my doctor and have my hormone level checked? Would that show if my progesterone level is low? When I was pregnant my progesterone level was low and I had to take progesterone pills until I was twelve weeks along. Could that mean anything? Today I will start my second month of the Loestrin pills. I am taking the generic brand, do you think the name brand would be better? I know I am asking a whole lot of questions and I apologize for putting you on the spot. IF you are not comfortable answering any of my questions please say so. I thought I would give it one more month to see how it goes. I do want you to know that you have helped me out tremendously and I feel a whole lot better about trying to decide what to do.

Thanks a bunch! :)
Norma
 
Unfortunately, hormone levels would not provide much information. The ovary produces estrogen and progesterone (endogenous hormones) in the naturally cycling female. When you take the pill, the ovary is suppressed; therefore, endogenous estrogen and progesterone levels are altered. Pills also alter other lab levels including FSH and LH.

What you are about to read is woman to woman… it is not the nurse talking. ;-)
About your low progesterone levels during pregnancy... you sound like you may be progesterone deficient during your natural cycles, which is associated with PMS. Of course, I don’t know this for certain just thinking out loud. Do you have PMS when you are on pills? Off pills? Maybe the bloating and weight gain you experience on pills are PMS symptoms, which are a possible side effect of pills for some women. If you are a PMS sufferer, you may find the information in “Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition” by Marilyn Shannon helpful. She has a chapter on the PMS diet and supplement recommendations. Your local library may have a copy of the book. I learned about it from the Couple to Couple League (teaches Natural Family Planning). Anyway, I suffered with PMS for years. I used the vitamin supplements mentioned in this book and my PMS was nonexisitent (I am pregnant no so no PMS). The supplements for PMS are some of those recommended for FBC (fibrocystic breasts changes), and it made a significant difference for me. I had dime-sized cysts in my breasts that enlarged to half-dollar sized as I approached my period. This was eliminated with the vitamin… I swear… it was amazing. As I said, just thinking out loud. I also find Dr. Schwarzbein’s books helpful for nutrition and hormone balance. Keep in mind, these books are going to encourage stopping synthetic hormones and that is just not an option for all of us. The books still offer information that may improve or resolve complaints such as acne, weight gain, etc.

Sara in her post above provides an example of the generic not exactly the same as the name brand, so this could apply to you. This is something else you may want to discuss with your doctor if this pill just doesn’t work for you. Hopefully, if this pill does not work, your doctor will be able to look at your pill history (the brands used and side effects that resulted in a change) and choose something that works for you. I’ll give you as much info as I can to assist you. :)

Autumn
 
Clare,

The LD BC pill I am on is Mircette. I was started on Alesse, but breakouts got bad so doctor switched me and skin got a bit better. I think I may have a couple pounds of water weight stored on due to these, but not much of a bother.

I can tell you that a few months ago my Gyn suggested I up my dosage a bit do to a particular problem I was having. It was normal dose BC pill, and boy did I retain the water. I felt very, very bloated. Went off that real quick.
 
Autumn,
Thanks again for your insightful information. I have a few more questions if you don't mind. Do you feel (in your opinion) that I need to be taking a pill with more progestin that the Loestrin I'm currently taking? I do have symptoms of PMS even when on the pill. It usually is about every other month that I have really bad cramps and heavier bleeding and every month I have lots of bloating and fluid retention for as long as 2 weeks (the week before and the week of my period). Just this last period (while taking the Loestrin) my cramps were horrible. I had low back pain and cramps for about 3 or 4 days, it hadn't been that bad in a long time. Before I began taking the pill my cramps were really bad every month. My bleeding was really heavy too. But it seems like my bloating is worse since taking the pill. I could be wrong though because that's been 11 years ago!
Does taking the pill make it harder to lose weight because no matter what I do the weight doesn't budge. Do you think if I had her lower my dosage of pill that would help? She increased my dosage a couple of years ago due to ovarian cysts. Could that be my problem? I know there are so many different answers and there's no way that you can know what to tell me because you haven't treated me. I hope you don't feel I'm expecting you to figure out what's wrong with me and give me answers. It just helps to talk to someone about what you think is wrong to see if they might have the same opinion.
In an earlier post you had mentioned something about the androgenic activity of a pill. Could you explain what that means?

Thanks again for all your help!

Norma
 
Norma,

The activity of OCs (oral contraceptives) in the body is a combination of the estrogen and progestin that gives a particular pill its estrogenic activity, progestational activity, and androgenic activity (from the progestin component). The activity of the hormone is the potency, which may be more or less than the actual amount of hormone. For example, a pill may contain 35 mcg of estrogen but the potency of the estrogen in the body may be 43. So, the mcg of a given hormone are only part of the picture. Anyway, excess or deficiency in the estrogenic, progestational, and/or androgenic potency results in the various side effects experienced with OC use. Androgens are male sex hormones. If a pill leads to androgen excess you may experience acne, oily skin, weight gain, hirsutism to name a few. Too little androgen may cause a decrease in libido.

I am going to email you about the rest of your questions. This post is getting too long. :) Let me know you get it.

Autumn
 
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