Depo, the patch or IUD?
#35547 - 01/06/04 03:24 PM
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Cate712
Reged: 07/18/03
Posts: 42
Loc: Missouri
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I've been researching the boards for birth control options and now am really confused!! I've been taking Ortho-tricycline since November and recently tried the piggyback. Unfortunately I had not read the post about trying the piggybacking for two months and not the three months. Man am I a mess now! Wow! Spotting, bleeding, cramping for over four weeks.....and a major IBS attack. So, my ob/gyn nurse is sending some info on the depo shot and on a "new" hormonal IUD called Mirena. BTW she has IBS too so she understands my situation. I'm not very excited about the weight gain with the depo shot but am concerned about the IUD and IBS. Has anyone heard anything about Mirena IUD? My goal is to stop my periods since my IBS gets worse with the monthlies. I know there is no guarantee that my period will stop but it has to be better than my pill. Seems my IBS was better when I was pregnant and then while I was nursing my baby but then I don't want to do that forever! 
I love reading the posts since I get so much from them. I wish I could get to know you all better but just don't seem to have the time right now with my little ones. Thanks to Ruchie, Bevrs, Heather, HanSolo and everyone else!!  The recipes, quick meals and just knowing that I'm not alone with the pain and frustration has helped me tremendously.
Cate
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Cate, I don't know anything about this, but I'll be interested in reading the responses you get! I've also had some trouble with the pill, and get so much worse during my time of the month. It would be so nice to find something that works better! Good luck to you!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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. . . menopause. Works every time. 
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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I do the piggyback with orthotrycycline and it works great. In the beginning(about 2 years ago) I could skip one period and be fine so I decided to skip 2 and WHAM, breakthrough bleeding. I've gradually increased the amount of periods I can skip, now I can go 6 months without a period and no breakthrough bleeding. I do notice some months I still get a little pms, boobs sore, a little grouchy and the munchies but its not as bad as before. I have 2 girlfriends who have done the same thing. I think if you keep at it your body will probably adjust. Good luck!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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I skipped a week of inert pills before my wedding so I didn't have my period while on my honeymoon. Yikes - talk about an entire month of PMS! (Admittedly, the wedding stress might have had something to do with that...)
I found out later that you should only do the inert-pill-skipping thing if you are on a monophasic pill. If you are on a multiphasic one (the hormone levels change from week to week), then its not so good. You may want to ask about using a monophasic pill and trying the same method...and remembering that it may take 3-4 months for everything to get regulated properly.
Oh, and there's Seasonale, which gives you 3 months straight without any inert pills.
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I have never heard of Mirena. I know some people who love Depo and then others that hated it. My one friend never gets her period and then another tried it and had bleeding every other week and cramping. I never tried it because I figured I wouldn't want to live with three months of whatever my body decided to do with it.
Are you sure you don't want to just have another?  I have a friend who is pregnant with her thrid in three years. Not planned but she doesn't get her monthly to give her a heads up on the possibility of pregnancy. She found out with the last two right around her babies 1st birthday. Boy does she have her hands full.
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All scary stuff to me. I took the pill for period pains when I was younger (it didn't work anyway - still had the agony) and stopped taking it when half the hair on the top of my head mysteriously disappeared and little thread veins started appearing in my thighs! AAARRRHH! Shortly after that, my little pill was taken off the market for danger of thrombosis. Fortunately those little veins disappeared quickly and never returned, but sadly, neither did my hair.
My GP advised me NEVER to take the pill, HRT or any hormone treatment EVER again, unless I wanted to risk losing the rest of my hair (lucky to have had thick hair to begin with or I'd have been quite baldy!) Can't prove it was the pill, because the hair loss did coincide with mega-stress, weight gain and IBS getting a hold on me, so who knows what the answer is? (not me!)
Anyhoo, if I were you, I'd persuade my other half to get the snip - MUCH better! lol 
Shellsbells
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I'm currently on depo-provera and have been since august. I started on the pill but i still had really bad cramps and my IBS-D always got worse right before and during my period so i took the risk of depo. I've felt a lot better on it since I don't get my period anymore except for near the time for when i'm due for another shot i'll have one for about a week to 2 weeks. I'd rather that tho then getting one every month and hopefully i'll eventually not even get that anymore. I did gain weight...the down side...but i'm determined to start working out in february regularly so i think i'll be able to work off the extra pounds. it wasn't a lot, only gained about 5-10 pounds, still at a fine weight. I guess it's just a risk you have to take and for me i think it was worth it.
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I have the best/greatest OBGYN on earth... she is awesome... anywho, after I ran a marathon in 2002, I stopped getting my period (WONDERFUL)... but on the flip side, a woman needs have her period at least four times a year to decrease her risk of ovarian cancer, infertility, and other such HORRIBLE things. Please keep this in mind as you make your decision to skip. I actually have to take the pill to have a period-- And while it's not something I WANT, the fact that I am 19 and have a great risk of not being able to have children brings tears to my eyes... So, that being said... CHOOSE WISELY!
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"If the sun isn't shining on your path... maybe you're not on the right one" --Me
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From my experience DONT USE DEPO! me and almost any other girl I know who has been on it has nasty side effects. Including me. I highly advise against depo!
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