Ladies... Birth Control Question...?

emalinemartin

I have a somewhat personal question for all ladies on here... what do you know about birth control? Less than 2 years ago I was convinced to go on it and was on it for quite a few months. I forget what kind though. I had quite miserable side effects after starting. It could have been worse but they stopped after a while. But I noticed that I would have slight heart / chest pains. And once in a while they would would feel rather sharp and painful. I stopped the BC after a few of those. It's been, around a year now? but I still get them occasionally. Today I have pain in the back of my chest and it won't go away. It's like a very tight uncomfortable feeling.
I haven't talked to a doctor but I am very soon. And before you tell me off about it, yes, I am very aware this was STUPID to not have checked out right away... But any idea what it is or have you went through any of the same?

ThePlight

I gained weight from it. Two different ones. Doctor tried to get me yet on a third, I told her to forget it. I'm not doing it again.
If it happens, it happens. I'm old enough.
ETA: (Forgot to answer you, oops! Sorry)
I don't know, it sounds like you need to speak to your doctor and change it First time hearing of that, but then again others might know? Did not experience this myself, other than the weight gain that they were meant to "help with".

TheGymGypsy

I take Levora which is the cheapest most generic birth control pill. I haven't had any side effects other then an occasional outbreak if I miss a pill (only happens occasionally, I'm human). I've been taking it for 3 years and have been pretty pleased with it.

Artaxia

I took Ortho lo, yaz, jouvette or something and also loestrin fe 24. I went completely crazy on all of them. I also gained a lot of weight on them. loestrin alone gave me 50 pounds in about a months worth of time. It came on so fast, i didn't know if I was coming or going. I refuse to take birth control now.

Funny thing is...I lost all of my weight..only to gain it back and more during pregnancy

love2lift_85

Yikes, that sounds scary! Def talk to your doctor about it.

There are many, many forms of contraception that do not involve hormones, so you have plenty of options even without pills/shots/patch/vag ring/etc.

This is what I use: tcoyf.com (it explains everything, I used it for 5 years before choosing to conceive my daughter)

Or, if you don't have any bad reactions to spermicides, a diaphragm might be a good option for you, too.

If you're monogamous and don't have to worry about STD possibilities (always be safe!) sheep skin condoms are a more comfortable option to the latex condoms, in my opinion. :-)

I hope the doc can figure something out for you, and the chest pains go away soon!

albertine58

I'm in med school, and you absolutely need to talk to a doctor about those chest pains. Soon! please!

I've been on Yaz for 8 years and I love it. I have no side effects & no problems with it at all. There's the right pill out there for pretty much everyone, and if you have problems with one, just talk to your doctor right away and try another! There's no reason to endure bad side effects- and don't give up and swear off BC forever, unless you've truly exhausted every option with your doctor.

Trial and error is important - when I first went on BC at age 16, my doctor put me on Ortho TriCyclen Lo and I gained 7 lb in a month. As soon as I told my doctor, she said "welp, let's try a different one!" switched me to Yaz immediately, and it's been perfect since. So just keep trying & you'll find the right one!

smaihlee

I do encourage you to talk to your doctor. They can very quickly rule out heart problems with simple tests. It could be as simple as something like indigestion, which I have found can be very scary and feels like heart pressure if it's severe enough. I hope that whatever it is, is not a big deal and can be remedied easily

I took BC for 22 years and only stopped twice. Both times resulted in almost immediate pregnancy (lol). I started back after my son was born and never stopped until 2 years ago.

Leading up to my stopping, I stopped having a period, which my OBGYN said was completely normal. As a 40-year old who had no desire for another child, this was very disconcerting to me as I had spent so many years relying on that (ahem) feedback every month.

At that point, I was in one of those "why am I so fat" modes where I questioned everything but the excessive food and lack of exercise. I mean, I knew I didn't eat right and should have been exercising, but I just didn't think that I should be THAT overweight. Displeased with the doc's answer, I sought the advice of a reproductive endocrinologist because I convinced myself I had PCOS. Based on what, I have no idea, because I had pretty much none of the symptoms except my period stopped. The doc stopped short at laughing me out of his office but did the bloodwork anyway and then sent me on my way after everything came back normal.

I was mad and a little depressed and wanted desperately to pin my fatness on something. Plus I was still very uncomfortable with the idea of not having a period. So I stopped taking the pill. I can't say that I was having any "smoking gun" symptoms while on the pill, but I definitely noticed changes when I stopped taking it. First change was a dramatic reduction of night sweats. Second change was that I found I didn't have to get up during the night to pee quite as often. It used to be that I'd get up 2-3 times a night, every night. I don't know why this would be, though a friend rationalized that my uterus was less swollen off the pill, therefore not pressing on my bladder as much. I liked that answer so I ran with it. I can't say for sure, but I think my moods improved once I stopped taking the pill. Like artaxia alluded to her own experience below, I felt kinda "crazy" on the pill but couldn't really pin it down until I stopped taking it. Just much more in control of my moods now.

spade117

RU 486 in their coffee the next day. No side effects.

Cre8veLifeR

I don't take BC pills because they made me depressed - ALL of them! I got an IUD and LOVED it. It was more expensive but it was he way to go for me.

Now I don't have to worry about it because when I started getting baby fever a year ago, hubster went and got snipped lol. Best solution ever.

teresamwhite

Are you a smoker? My SIL had similar issues, after taking her pill for 20-something years, when she started smoking again. Once she quit, it took about another 8 months for the chest pains to stop. She had to see her doctor every month to get it all checked.

Personally, I was horrible about remembering to take my pill, and made the switch to Mirena a little less than five years ago.

hannahpistolas

Definitely talk to your doctor about it.

The pills made me a little psycho.

Now I have this implant in my arm that's good for 3 years, and it doesn't bother me so much.

_HeartsOnFire_

Chest pain was the magic word at my doctors office. The minute you said that you got to talk to a nurse. DO SO ASAP.

ldrosophila

Talk to your doctor and tell him or her your concerns.

What has worked for me as great birth control is getting pregnant. It's been almost 7 months and I havent had a period yet, and all the unprotected sex we want.

It's been great.

FitNurseLex

I use the NuvaRing and it's the ONLY type of birth control that causes me zero side effects. It doesn't seem to hinder the weight loss, & it allows me to control my periods. I've been taking it on and off for about 4yrs now. It's an all around win for me.

As far as what you should do...if you are experiencing pain, you DEFINITELY need to consult your physician...especially chest pains. We are all different and medications affect us differently. Birth control can be beneficial for most, but it also has a potential to be harmful. PLEASE get your issue checked out.

kimosabe1

I did awesome with the pull out method for 5 straight years!

suziepoo1984

I was on BC first year of marriage and did not have any side effects actually, i liked it. It kept my periods in control and on time.

IronCakes

Pull out or up the butt. Both work great.

drinkdeathhatred

I can tell you to never get the arm implant. I was on Implanon for roughly 10 months. Around six months in I started having multiple issues: fatigue, bleeding every other week, constant lightheadedness, loss of sex drive, severe mood swings, among many others. I switched dr's after my current one tried to write it off as depression and the new doctor explained my hormones were severely screwed up and they think the cause was the implant. They removed it and have given me six weeks to see if I can adjust on my own though there are other cases of people needing hormone replacement therapy from being screwed up by the implant. During removal, which was difficult as it had been placed incorrectly, I asked how many people had it removed and was told at least 50% of patients have it removed within the first year due to similar problems and a wider range of issues. I've also seen studies where they found out the implants can cause depression, anxiety, and lead to suicide. Don't get the implant, anyone, ever!

If you're still having major issues with your current BC method, definitely contact the doctor before you end up with long term effects.

xxcatyxx555

The pain you're having sounds like anxiety not a side effect from birth control. Even if it was from your birth control once it left your system the symptoms would have stopped

Collier78

Paraguard here, the no hormone step sister of Mirena. I can't do hormones, makes me more wonky than normal. It stays in for 10 years and other than a little more cramping than with the pill, it works for me.

And DEFINITELY get those chest pains checked out...please please please...heart disease kills women too!