There Has To Be Another Option

mlh · 02-04-2005, 02:00 PM

I was on Yasmin for a year and while I knew that it was causing horrible mood swings and I would become terribly depressed 2 days before my period I continued on because I was uncomfortable taking another pill and facing other side effects.

I got off of Yasmin for 7 months and I've never felt better. All along Yasmin was causing low-grade depression and I just felt generally crappy. Unfortunately I didn't get a period for those 7 months I was off of the pill.

My doctor recently put my on Ovcon-35 and I'm on my 2nd week of pills. Now I know this is a bit early but I've broken out more and I have developed an enormous appetite. I'm not overweight but I'm not thin either and I would prefer to avoid any weight gain. I'm trying to counteract this by going ot the gym and excercising and eating better.

I also have a slight facial hair problem. Its not as bad as some, and I've been lucky enough to be able to treat it with a laser. The problem is laser treatment is not as effective on people under the age of 23 or so (I'm 20) and the more balanced my hormones are the better it will go for me. My problem however has significantly improved but I've noticed these past 2 weeks that it seems I've all of a sudden developed more dark hairs and they seem to be growing more quickly.

I've also had extreme fatigue this past week and mood swings. I'm at a loss as to what to do. My blood work came back normal and my doctor couldn't feel any cysts in my ovaries.

I don't mind not having a period. In fact I think its rather pleasant as having a period I've always found to be a huge hassle. I've had 2 doctors however tell me that going without a period is a bad idea because it would probably lead to cancer or something like that later in life.
That seems a bit extreme to me but at this point I feel like I'd rather deal with cancer at 50 then putting up with mood swings and depression and what-not from bcps.

I know I've only tried 2 pills and this is still the 2nd week, but I dont want to do this yo-yo thing to my body where I continue to experiment with pills that may or may not work. I also dont want my symptoms (mild hair problem and acne problem) to be aggravated or become worse through taking bcps.

I'm so frustrated by this whole thing. I'm considering going to another doctor for yet a 3rd opinion but it almost seems like why bother. All the stuff I've read seems to ultimately be the treatment for PCOS is bcps and a couple of other drugs for some of the side effects. There has to be a better option.

So how bad is it really to just not have a period?

Chrissy · 02-07-2005, 04:43 PM

It is bad and could lead to other problems than cancer down the road. If you want to preserve your fertility it is wise to seek treatment in your 20's. There are so many bc pills out there. I did poorly on the 2 you mentioned but have done better on others. Try a switch and see how it goes. Make sure and tell your doctor what symptoms you experience and they can help you pick a pill with those in mind. Stick to a low androgenic pill that has 25-35 mcg. of estrogen. Best of luck to you! Check out the post it at the top of the bc pill forum called selecting a bc pill. It is full of information about how to choose a pill.

guineapig · 02-10-2005, 10:39 PM

Have you considered either the mini-pill (progestin only which is designed to stop ovulation/estrogen bombardment) OR progesterone cream OR prometrium (progesterone pill)? The chemical in bcp that protects against overgrowth of the uterus (which may be happening if you never get AF) is progestin. I do NOT recommend depo though, it is evil and IMO permanent!

I did awful on bcp, depressed from mild to suicidal on ALL of them; she comes every 2 weeks so our problems are a little different. Have you tried metformin? I am trying that now...no change yet, but it's very early, AF still dragging on this cycle.

Before my full-fledged PCOS, I was on OrthoTriCyclen which is supposedly a "low androgen" pill. Yeah ok. Maybe for non-cysters. My weight spiralled out of control and I had cystic acne for the first time in life. So I'd be wary of those estrogen-blasting, low-progestin pills.