My Experience with Continuous Birth Control Pills
January 5, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
This post is part of a series about continuous birth control pills. Please check back for more. And remember to seek advice from your medical professional before changing the way your take your birth control pills.
Before starting birth control pills for the treatment of endometriosis (a topic for later), I had never tried the pill before. I don’t want to be a side-effect freak, but sometimes I am.
I remember thinking I had a blood clot, but it was only a sore vein, phlebitis. After that, I calmed down a bit.
I’ve been taking birth control pills continuously for almost four years now. I can’t remember exactly how long it took for my cycles to stop completely, but it was within a few months.
If I’m good about remembering to take the pill each day (at around the same time), then I rarely have any side effects. A few times I accidentally skipped a day, and that resulted in cramps and spotting. Annoying.
I also have to be extra careful to make sure I fill my prescription on time. I order my pills by mail, so it may take a few days for them to arrive.
But I don’t miss the cramps I used to experience, so taking a pill each day is working for me right now. I may look into other options in the future. Yes, there is a great freedom in not having to worry about periods, but there’s also that pill you have to take each day.
That’s what I think about it. Stay tuned for the poll results soon.
Image via flickr.
I’m on continuous birth control for the same reason, but I’ve only been on it for about 5 months. It seems like I can never get a hold of my doctor when I experience side effects that confuse me. I’ve been trying to find a forum or something to give me more information about actual womens’ experiences with continuous birth control but the only response I get are from women on regular mothly birth control who don’t understand the difference between the two. I’d love for you to e-mail me about what you experienced in the first year, it seems I’m a bit of a side effect freak as well.
Hi Jess. Thanks for stopping by to comment. I emailed you, so check your spam filter if you don’t see it. My emails sometimes get caught in there.
As I mentioned in the email, I’ve also taken Lupron if you’re curious about it. I’ll eventually do some posts on it. A very controversial drug!
Right now I’m on Levora. I’m not very happy with it because it’s made to be a regular birth control treatment which still gives me fluctuating hormones and makes me have menstrual symptoms like cramps that are part of the reason I needed to go on it. I’ll definitely be stopping by more often! Thanks for replying back
Jess, does that have low levels of estrogen? I’m on Loestrin because it doesn’t have much estrogen, which triggers endo.
I don’t know your whole story though. Sometimes surgery is necessary to help with symptoms, esp if you have cysts in the ovaries, extensive endo implants or adhesions.
Hi Peggy, it’s supposed to be a generic brand of Lybrel, so I think it’s a lower estrogen formula, but I think I need to be switched to a different pill because the cramps aren’t getting better, but I’m also not sure if after five months they’re supposed to be getting better. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to see the results I want (my doctor placed me on a gradual regiment of continuous instead of cold turkey).
I’ve never officially been diagnosed via laparoscopy for endo, but my doctor feels that I either have that or PCOS and that endo is fairly more plausible because of my family history. My mother had endo that was quite severe and affected her fertility heavily and after seeing my symptoms during my period and before, she thought birth control would be a good idea. I’m only 20 and I don’t think my endo has gotten as bad as my mother’s was. I do however think that the endo has spread to my colon, which I’ve researched can happen, but whenever I go to the doctor and bring up my problems with that they seem to brush it off. I would go to another doctor but my family is military and it’s not really an option.
I never did receive your e-mail in my spam filter or inbox, could you try to send it here instead: jess.gamerl@gmail.com
I’d really appreciate it.
Jess,
I forwarded the email to your gmail. I had sent it to yahoo before.
I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need a diagnosis! PCOS and endo aren’t treated the same way.
I was 28 before my endo was diagnosed, and that meant that much damage had been done - so much so that it’s not possible for me to have children.
The only true way to diagnose endo is with laparoscopic surgery, but you need to find a surgeon who knows how to actually remove endo implants if they are found.
My first surgery was horrible as the cysts in my ovaries were too big for laparoscopic surgery. I had to have the real deal - a five inch incision in my stomach. So, of course, my goal is to never go through that again.
I’m not trying to scare you, but if you do have endo it’s much better for you to get it diagnosed and treated early. My first surgeon didn’t remove any implants and just wanted me to take Lupron or bcps. The problem with that is that all the implants and scar tissue were still there, causing problems.
I had to have a laparoscopic surgery by a skilled surgeon. Only then did I start to feel better.
I don’t know a lot about PCOS, but I think it can be diagnosed more easily. If I were you, I’d get a different doc.
Oh, and laparoscopic surgery isn’t bad at all. If all goes well, you’d be home in the same day and back at work in about 4 days. But, you need insurance because it’s very expensive otherwise.
Oops, I just saw that you said you can’t see another doc. I wonder if you could get referred to a specialist though. It just doesn’t seem fair to not get a proper diagnosis.
I really want them to figure out a diagnosis but I’m currently in school and in another state than the hospital my parents go through so I have to go when it matches with my school breaks and going home. It just doesn’t seem like they really want to make progress on my condition and truly figure out what’s going on with me. I feel like they think I’m lying about my sexual history (like there aren’t 20 year olds who have abstained or something, anyway…) and because of that don’t think it’s really important to diagnose right now. To top it off it’s a male doctor, who I feel doesn’t understand when I explain my immense pain during my periods and thinks that I’m just weak or more susceptible to pain than other women. But I can’t exaggerate the three week periods I get. It’s like there’s a disconnect with what I want and my doctor. I’m currently looking for a military hospital that will take my insurance around here so I can get better care, but most military hospitals are the same. I’m trying to find a female doctor to see instead, but it’s a long process as usual with the military.
I know a little about PCOS, just that it makes your ovaries more active than usual due to cysts which causes painful symptoms and longer periods. My Best Friend has it and she went into the doctor only after being on her period for a straight 8 months. Why her mother (who is a nurse) didn’t get her in sooner than that I have no idea, but I’ve never had a period last that long, Thank God.
I’ve never had a pelvic exam and have only just started going to the doctor this August for birth control because my period was interfering with my life so much that I couldn’t function anymore if I was on my period. Even with the gradual regiment they put me on, when I’m on my period I still miss class and don’t feel like eating at all. I’ve made an appointment for the summer (which will be the soonest I’ll be able to get home) to see a doctor it probably won’t be the same one, though, which is a military health care problem in itself. I’ve been asking about people’s doctor experiences on Yahoo! Answers and I think when I go next time I’m going to be more demanding about them finding the problem. The last time I went in August was my first gynecological appointment and I was really afraid and just told them my symptoms and that I wanted continuous birth control. They wrote me the prescription and I haven’t been able to call my doctor since. I always get the nurse who just tells me to keep taking the pills. I also feel like there’s a bias that stopping your periods is unnatural with this hospital. The nurses that do answer always seem put-off and ignorant of continuous birth control and even my doctor was shocked that I wanted to stop my periods. It’s not a problem for me. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but getting there is frustrating.
Jess,
I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience with your healthcare. I hope that you can get some answers and other opinions soon.
Have you considered asking your school’s health center nurse about other healthcare resources that may be available for students in your community? If you can’t get an answer with your doctors, it may be possible to see someone else at a lower cost than you might think.
Pelvic exams don’t always detect endo, but it may be necessary to help you get a diagnosis. Also, endo won’t show up on ultrasound or CT, but if you have cysts, that will.
Best wishes, and keep persisting until you get your answers. It’s your right.
Thanks Peggy, I made an appointment for spring break and I think that’s going to help me get more answers. My mom made me an appointment with a doctor who is used to treating women with endo and I’m going to bring my mom with me so she can be more insistent for me if I freeze up.
Thanks for all your advice and experience sharing! I appreciate it.
Glad I could help in a small way, Jess.
Hope it all goes well for you!
I’m 23 and have been on continuous birth control for 2 years now. I also have undiagnosed endo but it is what my gyno’s have suspected I have since I was 18.
Some not-so-quick background info: I originally suffered from 3 week long, extremely heavy, periods with immense pain but they would only occur randomly every 5 to 6 months. The rest of the time I would have pretty constant pelvic pain, especially my right ovary, that could make walking hard. At the time, I was young and I figured it was normal. Besides, it was what I saw my mom cope with all my life. She never thought to inform me that she had both endo and PCOD (which resulted in a hysterectomy) and didn’t think it could happen to someone so young.
When my mom noticed I was missing a lot of school my senior year of h.s. because of the pain we realized I need to visit the gyno. My gyno was great and suspected endo from the beginning. She wanted to avoid a laparoscopy because I was so young and “didn’t even have the scars of child birth yet”. Instead, I was put on a regular bc which gave me regular periods that I considered “light” but didn’t do too much for the pain. She had me do a couple ultrasounds but, as expected, nothing was seen.
Then my Dr. moved and was replaced by a new-practicing gyno. I assumed wrongly this new one would read through my file and at least see what was going on with my body prior to the visit. When I told her I was still having a lot of pain, she gave me a new Rx for Yaz, which had just come out. I tried if for awhile but the pain just got worse and my already frequent migraines were intensifying and getting out of control. After doing some research, I read that Yaz was the last thing you put an endo or migraine sufferer on. I found myself a new Dr..
The new doc has been pretty great, specifically about listening to my symptoms. However, she, too, has the “too young for surgery” opinion. She made me do another ultrasound, with no results besides a tilted uterus, and put me on Loestrin to help with the migraines and the pain. I am to take it continuously unless I get “red blood”, not spotting, and then I was to let my body bleed and get back on the pill. This worked for the first year or so and I would have a period every 3 - 4 months and they were, from what I have learned, actually normal flows. Even the pain was being managed for awhile…
At my next yearly exam I complained of the increasing pain I was experiencing, specifically abdominal and pelvic, and the pain I was having w/ sex. She noticed my cervix was especially tender and thought it was either endo or an std. She wouldn’t believe me that I had had the same partner for over 2 years and that both of us had remained faithful. She made me do tests for both gonorrhea and chlamydia (which was very painful) and came back negative. She suggested I talk to a doctor about the abdominal pain so it can be ruled out as non-pelvic related. All doctors have been able to conclude is I have IBS, go figure.
Since then, my periods have pretty much stopped and I only spot with brown “old blood” occasionally. The cramping associated with the latter often times is accompanied by cramps in my colon and passing what appears to me as menses (sorry, I know its gross and like Jess, I also fear my endo’s spread to my colon). I still have the pelvic pain and am learning to cope w/ IBS.
For those interested in continuous birth control, or at least the way Loestrin acts as one, it has been the first bc I’ve been on that has caused significant weight gain. I’ve become increasingly depressed over time and have become extremely tired and unmotivated (not like me at all!). I don’t know if this is caused because gaining weight sucks or if it is a side effect. I rarely have a migraine due to hormones now, which is great, and acne is not really a problem, but my libido is dead.
I haven’t noticed anything that continuous bc causes that is different from normal bc. But I am one of those who worry about what not getting a period is doing to your body. In general, I’m worried about the effect that putting these pills in your body day after day can have. I have kind of a “heavy” sensation in my pelvic region of needing to be “cleared out” by a period that no longer happens. Maybe that’s a mental thing of mine or an effect of my endo, who knows.
I am now engaged to be married and my fiance and I both worry about the effect of being on bc for so long can have on fertility (there have been multiple family members who had problems conceiving due to years and years of bc, in addition, endo made it hard for my mom to conceive for years). I plan on talking to my gyno soon about going off of my pills altogether. I worry, though, that the full effects of endo will outweigh the side effects I can’t stand now. I am curious if anyone that had such erratic periods due to endo prior to going on a bcp (specifically continuous) had regular healthy periods after stopping the pill. I’m afraid that if I do go off the pill and I go back to very irregular periods, the pregnancy scares would wreak havoc since kids are not in our plans for at least a couple of years.
I also wonder what it takes to get a gyno to do something more about my endo and stop giving me the “you’re to young you don’t even have kids yet” line. The depo shot is totally out of the question due to my migraines and I was always told that laparoscopy would be the following option. I also fear that she’ll keep me on bc forever for the endo even though I feel like I need a break. I usually subscribe to the “you know your body best” school of thought, but I have known many women who have lost their fertility from endo.
Of course I’m asking a lot, but I want to be pain free and fertile, haha! I appreciate the articles you do and wish there was more out there on this topic. Thanks!
Emily,
Whether bcps cause weight gain has been the topic of LOTS of debate, but I can tell you that bcps may cause symptoms of depression. Your doc can evaluate your hormones levels to help you decide whether or not to stay on the pill.
Endo can also cause symptoms similar to IBS, but it’s not! I had endo in an area called the cul de sac that was causing symptoms similar to IBS. And they improved after surgery. Here’s one article you might find useful:
http://www.endo-resolved.com/intestinal_endometriosis.html
An ultrasound won’t show endo, but it would show if you have cysts in you ovaries. I had my surgeries when I was 23 and severe endo was found. The first one was a laparotomy - not fun, but necessary because of the size of my ovarian cysts.
But laparoscopic surgery isn’t so bad at all, and it might help you a lot if you do have endo. (I had two of these - long story.) However, please make sure if you have this surgery that your doctor will actually remove the endo implants. Some obgyns just aren’t trained to do it and they simply make a diagnosis and drain cysts, restore normal anatomy by cutting away scar tissue, etc. However, the disease is still there.
It’s worth changing docs if you can find a skilled surgeon who has treated endo via the lap procedure. I changed docs after my first surgeon did what I described above and then just wanted me to take Lupron (a very serious drug).
Hope you get better soon.