Ladies... Birth Control Question...?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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!

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.

That's a very mature attitude to have about the possibility of bringing a completely helpless human being into the world.

That's a very mature attitude, to butt into someone else's business where you have absolutely no say

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.

That's a very mature attitude to have about the possibility of bringing a completely helpless human being into the world.

That's a very mature attitude, to butt into someone else's business where you have absolutely no say

Yeah... posting your medical drama in a public chat room is totally not anyone's business to comment on. How dare you Casey!

Oh, totally. Mhm, specially when I totally asked

The pull out method? ... It's worked for me sometimes !

i have been on the pill off & on for over 15 years, many different brands & generics. the only one i had a problem with was YAZ. It made my heart race & skip beats and i felt like i was going to pass out. i noticed this after only a few days of taking it. It seemed to get worse with each passing day so I stopped taking it. I called my dr's office so they could phone in a new prescription & switch me back to the one i had been on before. At the time they said what every dr office will tell you when you experience a side effect that is not listed for the drug, that it was all in my head. but once i got back on a different pill i felt fine.

you can't get pregnant from anal

It's true.