for those of you that went off BC..
#261607 - 05/04/06 02:19 PM
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Hey Guys.. I posted awhile back about maybe going of BC and I know a lot of you thought I should probably stay on it. Well I decided to.. until....... I went in today to pick up my next round of pills for the next few months and the grand total came to over 100 bucks!! oh lord. Something I cannot afford right now considering I dont' really need the pill at this moment.
I was on Mircette and usually got 6 packs for 12 bucks bc my school sold it... however, they stopped giving clinical packs of mircette to universities. I called my doc to see what I could do and she said that she would put me on another kind (but that would take an adjustment period as well). I then asked her about going off it altogether for now, and she said she disagrees firmly with the other lady I talked to that said taking a break was bad. She said if i'm only skipping a month its not worth it, but any longer and it might be a good idea. So I think i'm going to do that. If anything i'd prefer to stay on the mircette and not do anything, but I cannot afford it at all right now. I mean I guess its not that much money for a few packs, but if I don't need it I might as well go off it. She's still going to call in the prescription of the new kind incase I need it in the next few months.. but until then I think i'll take a break from it.
Anyways.. for those of you that have gone off.. what should I expect? will my period be all wacky for awhile? I'm just a little nervous bc I've been on it for six whole years! I am interested in seeing if going off it improves my IBS at all though.. so there is one plus.
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My body had to readjust when I went off BC but the changes weren't as dramatic as adjusting to being on them. After about 3 months I was completely back to a normal cycle. And my period actually seems to have lightened up since I went of BC. Which is wierd because the BC made it lighter than it used to be. Good luck.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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I stopped twice in college/grad school---once for financial reasons, and once because I didn't "need" it anymore. (I rarely saw my then boyfriend/now husband, and we used alternative methods). Then I went on again when we were engaged and off about 6 months after we married. I never had a problem. The very last time, it took about 3 months to become "normal" again, but normal for me is a little abnormal anyway. I didn't notice any increase in cramps or PMS either.
From everything I've heard (from doctor friends) and read, it seems like if you really don't need it---you shouldn't take it. Stuff like that, while it does have it's total benefits, also has risks, just like anything. Why risk it if you don't need to?
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when I went off BC the last time, my husband and I used condoms from then on out. and we had a pretty healthy sex life, if you know what I mean. In 2.5 years, I never got pregnant. Then, we stopped using them, increased the sex a bit, and voila, pregnant in 2 months! Which tells me to stick with the brand I use because apparently they work very well!
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Hey Ashley,
I went off my BC last June (recent started back up last month) and it took me a couple months of adjustment. My period was WAY wacky and my mood was crazy. The big surprising thing is that my cramps dissapeared for 8-9 months after I got OFF the BC. It was really weird.
Hope this helps!
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- Jennifer
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I did not lose weight once I got off of it, like so many of my other friends have. I was quite peeved! I think I actually gained pounds afterwards too.
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- Jennifer
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oh no!
#261659 - 05/04/06 06:42 PM
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I hope that I don't go all whacky.. especially bc i'll probably go back on it within the next year at some point.
Also.. I don't have the best luck ever.. so i'm quite confident that if anything I'll gain weight from going off the pill. 
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When I stopped using DepoProvera after being on it about a year and a half, it just 2 or 3 months for my period to come back. (It takes longer for some women.) I also stopped being depressed, but I think that was just as much because I made a very positive change in my life at that time.
I did notice my periods are a little different, too. It's heavy for the usual couple of days, almost gone for one or two days, and then very light until the end. It also doesn't last for 9 days anymore, but I think that's more due to age.
So, I guess it wasn't really that wacky after I went off BC. I only used the patch for a couple of weeks, so I can't speak to that.
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as you already know, but I figured I'd post anyway in case others are looking here for info. I was incredibly irregular and had very bad cramps prior to going on the pill, which is why I went on it in the first place at 17. I was on it almost continually through college except for a break for a few months my junior year. At that point the cramps were horrible once again, so I went back on. Now I finally went off again about 4 years since the break, and so far so good.
I went off it because I started having breakthrough bleeding, which the doctor said can come from being on the pill continuously for so long. She said your uterine lining just gets so thin that it can't hold itself together. She said it didn't affect the effectiveness of the pill, but since I'm on it to regulate my period and not to prevent pregnancy, irregular bleeding really was a huge pain in the butt for me. I figured I could be irregular all on my own, no need for artificial hormones. Plus I've officially sworn off premarital sex so really I saw no benefit in staying on it.
I don't think that going off it caused me to lose weight, but I do know that this is the first time I've successfully been able to get about 9 pounds off (I won't say how because it totally clashes with the EFI diet). So, I think while the pill probably didn't make me gain weight, it might have been making it hard for me to lose. Since I've been off, my cycles have been okay. I did have a period exactly 4 weeks after the last pill-regulated period, so that was good. The next one was 5 weeks later. I didn't have horrible cramps with either. I mean I didn't feel as good as I had on the pill, but not as bad as I used to feel in high school and college. Now it's been 2 weeks since my last period, and I definitely just ovulated in the past couple days. (TMI but I can always tell -- I get horrible hiccups for 2 days and increased uh...goopiness?). So, hopefully my next one will come in 2 weeks, and I'll be regular again.
PMS has been a bit of an issue. Thankfully the new bf is understanding but last month I definitely had one of those out of body experiences where you can actually see yourself being a B--ch but can't make it stop. Hopefully that will get better!
Anyway I hope that helped. I think you should go off it, but that's just me. I don't love the idea of artificial hormones anyway.
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Amanda
#261773 - 05/05/06 07:52 AM
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I know when I started the pill and probably to this day, it has made my appetite out of control. So maybe there is something that the pill does to increase our appetites and make us gain weight. Hmmm...
I am surprised that you BF doesn't mind that you don't want premarital sex. If he's cool with that then he's def a keeper.
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I started the pill when I was 15 and stopped it when I was 32!! I thought for sure I'd have an awful time when I stopped it but you know what, it was no big deal! I got my period 28 days later, it was a normal period for me, not any heavier and not any more cramps than usual! I didn't notice any changes in my IBS one way or the other! But, not taking it saves me $35 a month!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Yeah it's not even an issue, he's totally on the same page. I agree, I think he's a keeper!
Re the appetite thing, I actually do feel less hungry or at least less compelled to snack than I did on the pill. Maybe there is something to that. Come to think of it, my IBS does seem somewhat better, but I went off the pill about the same time I met R, so it could just be all those happy love endorphins acting like an anti-depressant. Who knows?
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Yes he is!!!! YAY for you!!! 
I remeber visitng Tommy here when we were just dating and I had only been on the pill for a couple of weeks and he commented on how much food I was eating. Then he said a comment about how I was so small that I was lucky I could eat like that. Well......within 2 months I had gained 10 lbs and I blame it on the pill!
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well ... I had horrible pain, cramping, and lots of bleeding. But I also got diagnosed with endometriosis approx four months after stopping the pill, so I'm not exactly typical.
If you didn't have problems before you went on the pill, you probably won't have problems now. Menstruation is also a lot worse in your teens, so even if you did have problems back then, it's likely you won't have them now, or they may be greatly reduced.
If you're only stopping the pill because of money, have you thought about going to Planned Parenthood or a women's clinic? When I was a dirt-poor student I went to PP -- I picked Ortho Tri-Cyclen (kinda at random because it was the most visually appealing of the pill packages the doctor was holding up), and it cost me $5 for a pack.
I don't know what Mircette is like, but I've switched BC types and the only one that threw me for a loop was the Depo Provera shot. Going from the pill to the patch, to the patch to the pill, or from one type of pill to a different formula didn't cause any noticeable difference.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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Me too
#261847 - 05/05/06 12:23 PM
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I have also decided against premarital sex too. That's awesome that he is on the same page with you about that. I think that it is an uncommon thing these days, and even more uncommon to find people who aren't put off a little by it.
Anyhow I just thought that was great. Good for you all! 
I meant to comment on your update post about him too and tell you how happy I was that things are going so well. He definitely does seem like a keeper!!
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thanks guys.. i'm gonna try going off it for awhile and see how it goes. My periods weren't that strange anyways before so I'm hoping they'll go back to how their were originally.
I think its time for a break for me too bc I've had some breakthru bleeding for the past few months (last month I had my period for about 14 days bc 10 of them were just breakthrough).
It doesn't sound like the experiences are too bad.. I hope my boobs don't shrink though! Although they didn't really get bigger from the pill either
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I started a post before too about BC and IBS... and since then I've gone off BC. I'm crossing my fingers that everything is going to be ok, since i've been off for about 3 weeks... meaning this is maybe my weekend to have the 1st period!! I promised myself I'd do it for at least 3 months though, just in case the first were bad and then it got a bit better.
Hmm, maybe this is why i've been grumpy for the last few days. I don't remember what pms is like anymore, its been so long!
Good luck, and let me know if it helps with your IBS at all too.
-becca
ps - i love boston!! Lucky you to be there! I graduated from school there and moved to minnesota about a year ago... What a change!
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At least I've learned a lot about my
body...
IBS-A and still figuring things out
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I was on the pill for year before I went off and we got pg with our oldest. I stopped the day af came and I was pg that month. I went back on the pill after my 2nd was born and it was horrible for me. I ended up with ppd and I started having IBS symptoms. I ended up going off it after 5 months. I had headaches with it too and the dr. felt that alone was reason to go off it. My IBS did get a little better. It took about 5 months for af to regulate but I haven't been on it since and I won't ever again.
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was on for about 2 years to "regulate me" and to help prevent development of cysts after I had a small one.
was moody and had constant breakthrough bleeding on pill. i hated it and just stopped. since i'm married i just use condoms (some folks want more security than this) but i'm okay with that and my body is happier.
good luck with your decision; i think everyone's bodies are different when it comes to hormones so i'm not sure what to tell you but i'm not a fan of the pill.
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In my case, it took a while for my hormones to start doing the job on their own again, so I had some major, MAJOR mood issues, include a couple of anxiety-like attacks, which I had never had in my life. There were a couple of times where I seriously felt like I was crawling out of my skin, and I haven't been able to attribute it to anything other than stopping the pill.
Good luck!
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Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
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Went to MIT (undergrad only) and graduated last June... so I guess its really cambridge and not Boston Where are you? I still have so many friends there so I miss it so much!
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At least I've learned a lot about my
body...
IBS-A and still figuring things out
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Sorry, Just saw this! Yeah, it's easier said than done, but I think it saves a lot of trouble and heartache. You're right that it is hard to find guys who are on the same page, but as Casey had said about telling guys about IBS, it's a great @$$hole filter!
Anyway great to hear from you. Congrats on your graduation!
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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