Jeanette

(Firstly I am from NZ for those wondering)
I just recently went for a refill of my perscription of Estelle 35ED and as usual the family planning people went over the whole blood clot thing but this doctor (who is not my usual) was very adament that I should go right off all pills or at the very least decrease to a second generation pill. I'm quite confused now and was wondering what other people had to say?

I started on Mercelon and then increased to Marvelon to Diane which was replaced by Estelle, the whole theory being that it was the best for my condition but now they are scared of clot risks, I'm told that I'm not a very high risk especially as I have been on the meds for 5+ yrs. I did try a 3 month period off a few years ago but I did have a few problems like extra periods (I used to have really heavy and frequent cycles - more than 1 a month & for irregular lengths, things like 14 day periods or 1 day then stop for 1 and start again, which is the whole reason why I went on in the first place) but I feel that to go off might be a mistake as I may end up right back where I came from, which really sux, I really dont want to go throught that whole thing again, there is no partner involved so the contraceptive application doesnt apply. My regular doc just goes through the motions of clots, and then if its ok with you and you undeerstand the risks then if i'm not concerned then continue with Estelle. My skin has got better on Estelle but this new doc is all like well thats not a concern.

I feel kinda pressured to make a decision before I come back for a new script in 3 mnths. I was wondering if any of you guys had an opinion or some advice, or experience with something similar

I'd appreciate if anyone had anything to say

Jeanette

sleepydumpling

Hi Jeanette!

I just found this post, sorry!

I was on Estelle too, and also was worried about the risk of clotting. I talked to my doctor about it and she told me that it could be of risk to some women, but as I a) had no history of clotting, b) was active daily and c) was not doing any long term travelling, not to be concerned. She told me if I got sick and needed bed rest for more than a few days or if I planned to fly or do any long term rail/bus travel, then she'd suggest aspirin twice per day.

I have since gone off BCP, simply because I've been on them for so long I don't know what my body can do on it's own. I've been off since Christmas and so far so good.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

Jeanette

good luck let me know how it goes. After some thought if I do have to go off then maybe a spell off them and for a longer period of time might be the way to go and just see what happens, my biggest concern is the whole cycle starting again, it's so disruptive to day to day activities not to mention I got quite unwell from the constant strain on my body

sleepydumpling

I had a period naturally about 5 weeks after I went off them, so it's looking pretty good so far!