Alesse or Ortho Cylen??? Please help

coffeequeen · 09-29-2005, 02:09 PM

Hello thank you for helping me out here.
Ok, little back ground here, I was on Yasmin for about 6 months and I did really good on it, except I started loosing tons of hair, became overly bloated and starting have a little anxiety on the off week of pills. So my dr decieded to put me on something low and I started LoEstrin 1/20 and I had a period for one month, so she switched me to Ortho Tricylen LO and I have been fine except for one glitch, FATIGUE.....I can barely function as tired as I am all I want to do is sleep sleep sleep sleep

So tomorrow I go to a new Dr who may or may not know how to treat my PCOS but in the mean time I need to get on a new pill and have been reading some PCOS'ERS respond will to ORTHO CYCLEN and some like ALESSE.

I need a monophasic pill as I have ALWAYS had problems in the past with Tripashic pills (triphasil made me sad and looney)

Just some guidance and suggestions would greatly be appreciated!!!!!

coffeequeen · 09-29-2005, 03:07 PM

anyone??

RunnerDuck · 09-29-2005, 07:15 PM

I have taken both... I have taken a lot of BCPs.

I was on OrthoCyclen a LONG time ago... I think it may have been the first pill I was ever on when I was about 16 or 17. I can't recall any negative effects from it. I was only on it a short time, though, because I had zero understanding of my condition at the time... apparently neither did my doc... "PCOS" was never mentioned. Just "Take this and it will regulate youre cycle." So I took it a few months and then went off to see if it had regulated my cycle yet... It didn't. Duh. (LOL)

I took Alesse maybe... hmmmmm... 5 years ago? It was great for me in that body hair lessened, I lost weight, and it had no impact on mood. And for a few months after going off it, I had normal cycles. It was bad in that I had breakthrough bleeding on it (that's why I went off)... Alesse is a low estrogen pill and I seem to do better on higher estrogen pills.

If you are doing well on low estrogen pills, I wouldn't worry about this.

Now I will say Alesse is supposed to be bad for women with PCOS/other androgen disorders. Different pills have different progestin components and the progestin in Alesse is supposed to be one of the ones that has a greater androgen activity. But anything you read about good or bad has to be taken as a guideline only... like I said I did great on Alesse.

One of the stickies here on the BCP forum has a list of BCPs and how to pick according to which problems you are treating or which side effects you are prone to. Take a look at that.

http://www.wdxcyber.com/ncontr13.htm

barneyb · 09-30-2005, 12:11 AM

Been on Alesse for, hmmmm. . . six months roughly. Mircette made me sad, the Nuvaring made me ragingly, uncontrollably, frighteningly depressed. Then came Alesse. I still have some mood swings, but they aren't that extreme. Just a little blue as the month goes along. Also, if I miss a pill, I'm cramping within 12 hours - never had that with other pills. I have not gained any weight, which I did on other pills. Can't speak on the fatigue issue - I'm a teacher, part-time student, and single mom. I'm always tired.

Ideally, I wouldn't take anything, but have to to tame the fibroid beast. Alesse has been the best thing for me. Good luck with whatever you choose.

nicole47 · 09-30-2005, 12:33 AM

I miss Alesse so much. I had no PCOS symptoms while I was on it. But I can't ttc on the pill.

purplerose · 09-30-2005, 02:20 AM

OK, I'll take a shot at this one. I am definitely not a doctor though! I could be way off but here's what I've learned from my experience and the very helpful website that RunnerDuck posted:

Alesse is a low estrogen pill, Ortho Cyclen is a high estrogen pill (relative to other pills of course). Yasmin is in between. I believe that of the two, Alesse has higher progestin potency and androgen activity. Ortho Tri Lo is a 25 mcg estrogen, 0.18/0.215/0.250 mg norgestimate pill ( http://www.obgyn.net/newsheadlines/womens_health-Contraception-20021003-7.asp) . That means it has more estrogen than Alesse but less than Ortho Cyclen. The progestin and androgen of Ortho Tri Lo at its highest dose is the same as Ortho Cyclen, which is less than Alesse. Yasmin's high progestin and low androgen. So...between Alesse and Ortho Cyclen, Alesse has less estrogen, more progestin and more androgen.

Anyway, that was all confusing. I said all that because each pill has a different combination of hormones and it's important to know which ones are causing your side effects. It sounds like you did well on the lower estrogen pills, higher progestin pills overall. (Also LoEstrin is a low estrogen pill with relatively high progestin.) Because of that I would suggest trying Alesse. I am in about the same situation as you--I can't take triphasic or high estrogen pills, so I am on Mircette, which is comparable to Alesse in terms of estrogen but with higher progestin.

I use that site that RunnerDuck posted as a reference, but I do take it with a grain of salt. It says that if you have a problem with depression, Ortho Tri Cyclen (not Lo) is a suggestion, but that's what I was on that made me depressed, and based on some other problems I've realized that high estrogen was what causes my depression. So it really is a matter of figuring out what works for you, but my suggestion based on what you've said is to try Alesse.

coffeequeen · 09-30-2005, 02:09 PM

Thank you everyone!! I am on my last pill of Ortho Tri Lo and I have a Dr appointment monday with a new Dr so I will take this knowledge you all have given me and talk to her...I really wish that I didn't have to take these bcp's...I wish my hubby would just go get SNIPPED!!!! I swear you would think that it would never work again or heaven forbid fall off!!! LOL
Thanks again you all

jilashper · 10-05-2005, 03:20 PM

I'm no BCP expert but I took Alesse for about 2 years and it worked great for me! No side effects and no problems at all. I tried going back on it after my son was born but I started having tons of breakthrough bleeding and was basically having a period every 2 weeks so my dr switched me to Yasmin. I was definitely happy with Alesse for those first 2 years, though.

blondie51482 · 10-28-2005, 06:01 PM

I have not tried either of these,but my friend was just put on Alesse and HATES it. She is depressed and stressed out. Hope this helps!