is there any way i can quit bcp?

HannahB · 09-14-2005, 12:41 PM

lately i've been having horrible problems with my bcp (mircette) which i've been taking for 3 years - most of the time it was fine. but lately i lost a little weight - i'm 5'5 and about 135 pounds, and i think it's making the estrogen act more strongly in me if that makes sense....now, the week before my period, i go completely CRAZY. it is like severe depression or something, but it goes away when my period starts. i would really like to go off bcp for a while, but here are my problems with that:

1. two years ago i tried that while on met (1500mg) and spiro (i think 150mg) and my hair fell out in handfuls, practically. it's still kind of falling out but not like that. also, my periods got really weird, and they were never like that before i started bcp.
2. i'm sexually active, which i wasn't two years ago. i don't take spiro anymore because i'm paranoid about getting pregnant, even though i know it's really unlikely on the pill. anyway, i would need a really effective method of birth control, and they all seem to be hormonal. i don't want to be sterilized (i might want kids someday) and i don't think they give iud's to women who haven't had babies....it wouldn't be a disaster if i got pregnant now, but it certainly wouldn't be ideal. =(

anyway, i thought about going on a different pill, but mircette has about the lowest dosage of estrogen of any of them....if i went on a higher-dose one, probably everything would get worse.

i was wondering, if i went off the bcp's, is there any way i could keep the androgens down with met, diet, and exercise? it didn't work before but i do weigh about 20 pounds less now. also, the first time i went off bcp, i took all 1500mg of met at once (it's not xr), so i may not have been getting the full benefit. and also, is there some non-hormonal method of birth control that would work for me? i don't have to worry about std's - i'm in a stable, monogamous relationship with a guy that i'm probably gonna marry =)

thanks in advance! =)

Rozlynn · 09-14-2005, 01:01 PM

I was a major crazy person on all pills patches and rings...You name It I tried it. No they don't give IUD's to woman that haven't had children (I looked into it).

I'm off all bcp's on met and spiro. My hair hasn't gotten worse and the wieght is dropping. Everybody's body is different though - I guess the only way to control your hormones would be diet exercise and met. Have you tried taking certain vitamins. I have noticed that taking Evening Primrose has REALLY helped with acne and the hair loss/growth.

Sorry not too much help - (((HUGS))) and good luck

HannahB · 09-15-2005, 10:34 AM

hey rozlynn, thanks for the reply.

i was on yasmin for a little while a few years ago, and i went totally berserk! i became obsessive about cleaning....i think my boyfriend wishes i was still on that one =) haha

anyway, i have an endo appointment in october, so i'll talk with him then about it. i guess if he lets me off bcp and things get a lot worse, i can always go right back on. i hope he doesn't suggest antidepressants....i really don't want to have to take another medicine.

what is evening primrose oil? the only non-prescription stuff i take is a vitB supplement and folic acid, which sort of helps slow down the hair growth.

thanks again =)

Rozlynn · 09-15-2005, 11:08 AM

My doc tried puttin me on Antidepressents too but I told him absolutely not. Bad experiance will a few of them - Evening Primrose Oil comes in capsules - Its supposed to help with acne and hair (something I learned on here). I take 3 at a time.

If you tried all bcp's and none of them work not even the low dosage's Don't stay on them for the sake of staying on them -- The mood swings and other affects are just not worth it

toriamae · 09-16-2005, 02:09 PM

When I lost weight (even just 25 lbs) my periods evened out and I don't even take BCP's anymore. I am not sexually active, though so contraception is not an issue...but my cycle has been fine, my hair is fine...everything seems peachy!

HTH,

Tori

guineapig · 09-16-2005, 05:04 PM

I convinced a doctor to give me an IUD when I was unmarried and didn't have children. I had just come off depo and was hysterically adamant about "no hormones ever again!" I just literally went through the yellow pages calling until I found a doc's office who said that the doc WOULD fit a childless, unmarried woman with an IUD. Mind you, I was a "full" adult too though, over 21.

I thought it was a great thing, but it does make your periods heavier and longer. And I got yeast, BV much more often. And if you ever have to have a biopsy, it has to come out--and that's painful. I was on spiro alone with it, and then spiro & met, and my periods were wild for the longest time. Like every 2 weeks for a year. Even tried progestERONE to stave off AF. No help. Yuck. I came back off the met, had a few more months of spiro-only cycles, and for some unknown cause, my cycles kind of straightened out the past two. ?? Anyway, spiro w/o bcp can make periods wild. Just be prepared.

I had gotten pretty heavy, and then lost 40 pounds with the spiro-only. met put back on 10 of those and made my hair shed. Since quitting the met (I just couldn't stay awake and it wasn't making me O either), I lost the 10 again but hair still sheds bad. I don't think weight loss at this point would regulate me--I'm 5-5 and 118 on very good days.

I'm doing condomns, and--soon--the sponge now. If I had it to do over again, I would NOT go on anything hormonal ever until marriage. Too bad for him. Period. I'd use condomns, sponges, foams, diaphragm, whatever and hope for the best.

But the IUD's ok. You just have to get infections treated immediately, and it might take time to find one. pm if you want more info

HannahB · 09-17-2005, 10:35 PM

thanks for the replies girls!

i'll definitely have to talk to my doctor about this....i keep going running every night, thinking that it will help me feel better (mentally), but i guess if the bcp's are causing it and the running just makes me lose more weight, i could just be making it worse =( it was better on the first few days of my period but now i'm going all crazy again....

guineapig - i'm 23. i was thinking that maybe condoms and spermicides, etc. wouldn't be that bad if i used them in combination. i'll ask my doc about the iud, but i have a feeling he'll be opposed to it, and i live in a small town without too many doctors. i really can't take spiro without bcp though, i'd worry too much that i'd get pregnant.

torimae - that's awesome....i keep wondering how my periods would be if i stopped bcp. i have lost about 15 or 20 pounds since the last time i was off them, so maybe they'd be ok this time....

rozlynn - i've actually been taking folic acid for my facial hair, and it does make it grow in more slowly. actually it seems quite a bit better than it was a few years ago, my "mustache" is practically gone (and it showed up when i was 9 years old!) i actually think my bcp's are the lowest-dosage ones. they are so low that i get breakthrough bleeding, i told my gyn and she said it's really common with the low-dose pills. so too bad i guess, i can't go on a lower-dose pill =(

thanks again for replying =)