Question for the ladies.......

I started back on Ortho Tri Cyclen a week ago after not having been on b/c pills for a couple of years. We have been using another method and I thought this would be a lot easier. I feel like I am going nuts. My head hurts, I am ultra moody and just don't feel myself. I don't remember feeling like this when I took them before. Did anyone else ever have this experience with the pill and will it even out?

i'd say give it a couple of cycle's worth of time.

it's a big change for a body to go through & just takes awhile to sort itself out.

Same thing happened to me years ago.  Not sure why it happens.  I tried to wait it out, but couldn't do it. Ended up switching, still bad.  I'm just not a pill person anymore I guess.

Me.  I got the worst PMS EVER on the pill, plus the migraines.  I tried to wait it out but it got worse and worse.  When I went back to the GP I told him that I was feeling a little tense.   He switched them immediately, the mood swings and migraines went away but I completely lost any interest in sex and gained weight.  So I gave up entirely on the pill.

i dunno about the waiting a couple months part....i would say wait a month...max.  there might be too much hormone in that particular brand of pill. i personally take a pill that has the lowest dosage possible...or at least that's what they told me....and they work great for me (i'm on the lowest dosage because my blood pressure is a tad bit on the high side and taking birth control increases it somewhat as well). 

Dr.'s also get perks for using certain brands of BC so they tend to prescribe certain ones over others....and i know that ortho tricyclen is popular with the younger crowd because of the skin clearing benefit for those that tend to have acne breakouts.  but....it just might not be right for you. 

that's my two cents 

Hi, I had the same issue recently.  I went off the pill in 2002 after being on it for 14 years.  I didnt have any side effects from taking the pill, they came when I went off it, HORRIBLE cramps/bleeding.  I just finished my first month, trying a new low dose pill, which my dr. said, I could get easily when I move to the UK.  She gave me 3 free samples.  So far so good.

Maybe call and ask to try a lower dose.  It obviously reacts differently with everyone, Im going back on it because it seems to make me feel better.  Hope it gets better for you!

I got migraines with Ortho Tri Cyclen    No fun at all!!!! They were like clock work while I was on the pill.. recently went to the patch and love it!

i think the three month things is crap.  my own un-medical opinion.  i would say if the side-effects are bearable/liveable give it 3 months.  perhaps things will get better?

there are so many formulations out there of bcp.  go back to your doctor and get another one.  if you're living in the US- also know that there are generics for many bcps- much cheaper and just as effective. 

I had serious issues with Ortho Tri Cyclen too - mostly horrific mood swings to the point that I could barely function some days. It could be the tri-phasil aspect - you might do better on a constant dose. I switched a million times before I found a pill that I liked - I ended up on a low estrogen, constant dose one and was completely fine.

I'm on Depo Provera now and love it. I have a bit of moodiness the week I get the injection, but then it seems to even out and I'm completely fine for three months!

i had break through bleeding on Tri Cyclen.  so bad i had to see the doctor and gets drugs to stop it.

Ortho tri cyclene  and ortho novum were bad for me... I wound up on a Triphasic pill...

Give the pill a few cycles, but don't listen to any Dr tell you it's all in your head or anything like that either.. many pills can impact women differently.

I'm on a mono-phasic pill and have been for several years because tri-phasic gives me really bad moodswings too. Orthotricyclen really messed with my hormones when I was on it.

Well, the bad headaches have passed and I'm still moody, but does not seem as bad. I'm going to give it a month to see if it evens out. If not, I'm going back to my doctor, who is wonderful, to see what she says.

I had serious issues with Ortho Tri Cyclen too - mostly horrific mood swings to the point that I could barely function some days. It could be the tri-phasil aspect - you might do better on a constant dose. I switched a million times before I found a pill that I liked - I ended up on a low estrogen, constant dose one and was completely fine.

I'm on Depo Provera now and love it. I have a bit of moodiness the week I get the injection, but then it seems to even out and I'm completely fine for three months!

Did you gain weight with the Depo? I had thought about going on that, I mean a shot every three months would be great. But I have heard you gain a lot of weight on it.

I was on ortho tricyclene for over a year, after having problems with the depo shot and other birth control pills. I thought otc was brilliant - the duration of my periods went from 5 days to maybe 2, I didn't have as many mood problems either, once my body was able to adjust to it.

However, I did start to have gastrointenstinal cramping that the dr. shrugged off as a side effect. That cramping lead to bleeding from an orrifice that just shouldn't bleed, and I ended up in the hospital ER with an ischemic colitis, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. It turned out the "tricyclene" has a property that can exhaserbate any pre-existing gastrointestinal disorders within a small amount of people (I'm told it's 1 in 1000 have this type of reaction while on ortho tricyclene). It was a fluke that this happened to me, but I wish I had been a bit more persistant with my dr beforehand.

I am very happy to read that you have found a wonderful doctor, and it's great that you are bringing up these concerns. I would most definitely talk with them and be as detailed as possible.

Best wishes

Rachel

Did you gain weight with the Depo? I had thought about going on that, I mean a shot every three months would be great. But I have heard you gain a lot of weight on it.

Touch wood, I haven't gained even an ounce. And I'm an obsessive weigher so I'm positive!

My only minor issue is some spotting, but I think that's because I had my first injection on the last day of my period - I'd suggest doing it on the first day if at all possible to keep things regulated.... After my first period after going on it I continued to spot a little bit pretty much all month (though it wasn't particularly bad), it's been getting gradually better each month so I'm hoping evenutally my period will just cease entirely.... For me it's been well worth a box of panty liners to not have to think about it more than once every three months!