I haven't used the Loestrin. I did use Necon and Ortho for 8-9 years. Towards the end of that time I finally started to really think about what was in those little pills I was taking every day. I didn't realize they were were higher in estrogen. After expressing my concern my gyn suggested Yaz (which has now been taken off the market I believe). Getting to my point, I went online and read so many horrible, horrible things I was scared to change. For a few different reasons I stopped bc all together. Getting to my point, I never had any problems with my pills but I'm sure I could do a search and read bad things. I'm sure most of the people that take the time to post aren't the ones doing ok, iykwim. That might give you some peace of mind.

Hopefully someone here has used it and can be of more help!

While I'm older than you are, I dumped the pills after my 2nd kid and never looked back. While I can't speak as a medical type, I would ask you if at 47 you really need to be on the pill?

I used a "dutch cap" which is like a smaller diaphragm, and was pleased with it. The diaphragm wasn't terrible either, but YMMV.

S-G, why don't you do a search on the two brands you have experience with and see what comes up. Maybe you would get a similar data skew for any such thing. I suspect, like Shee suggests, that people only take the time to post when things go wrong.

Found a website where Loestrin users share their experiences with it. Overwhelmingly, their experiences are bad. I mean, nightmarish. They mention severe depression, anxiety, weight gain, severe cramping, breast soreness, severe headaches, even blood clots.

Don't forget that the majority of women taking BC pills have no problems and will not seek out a website like this to share their experiences. So the stories sound scary, but they are probably not the typical experience.

Remember, people with good experiences aren't likely to post about them as those who have had bad ones...

Okay, lots of slightly graphic TMI here, but there's no way to talk about it otherwise.

I loved Loestrin (although more often I was on the generic version Microgestin). NO side effects at all like I had with the triphasics, and I took it in the back-to-back method to avoid a monthly visit from Aunt Flo - I went for quarterly, I can't seem to make it past four months, but my gyno has patients who can quite happily make it a year on either the back-to-back method with regular pills or one of the quarterly products like Seasonale or Seasonique. (No, they're not real periods, they're just uterine bleeding from withdrawal of the hormones.) Sometimes even the quarterlies would skip, or only last a day, or I'd just spot for a couple of days. Ah, blessed relief. Manipulating cycles this way has been done quietly for more than 25 years, it was only about 10 years ago that it became publicized. Unfortunately, my insurance refused to pay for a packet every 21 days instead of 28, and it all became a big ugly mess. Otherwise I'd probably still be on it.

I'm currently on Seasonale (well, luck of the draw which generic Medco sends me, could be Jolessa or could be Quasense) which is one of the "specially designed" quarterlies along with Seasonique and LoSeasonique (which is the lower-estrogen version of Seasonique). Easier than fighting the insurance company for 16 regular-pill packets a year instead of 12, I have to fight with them enough over everything else. My gyn ran all my hormone levels and overall they were pretty much in the toilet so it wasn't a big deal to switch me to a the higher-dose Seasonale (although the testosterone supplement, that was bizarre... I didn't last long with that one). I had some of the usual side effects for the first round - water retention/bloating, spotting, queasiness (taking it at bedtime with a few crackers, spoonful or two of vanilla yogurt, or something equally bland handled that fine) yada yada, but by the second I was happy as a clam at high tide.

Just to let you know, the side effects you list are risks with ANY, yes ANY hormonal contraceptive, whether it's the Pill or NuvaRing or the Implanon implant or the Depo-Provera quarterly injection (disaster for me). I must have switched pills a dozen times over the last 25 years, different hormone levels and different proportions, etc. before settling on one I liked.

Yes, I have severe depression and anxiety and migraines, but I have them OFF the pill, too. In fact, they're worse off the pill, and we can add in random "flooding" flows (I ended up wearing a maxi-pad every day of the month because I never knew when it was coming), cramps that Vicodin didn't touch, mittelschmertz (ovulation pain) that doubled me over at random (I had irregular cycles from day one, which was frickin' 11!). The hormone fluctuations destabilized my bipolar disorder so I started rapid-cycling - DH never knew if I was going to be tearing people's heads off (my hypomania is the "irritable" type rather than the "euphoric" type) or cowering in the closet bawling. When I had my tubes tied my gyn made me go off the pill and after several months my husband called my gyn and begged him to put me back on the pill. Since I come from Myrtle the Fertile Turtle stock and neither method is 100% guaranteed, I prefer to "double up" anyway.

Mari you're the only other person I've heard use that term (mittelschmertz) except the doctor who diagnosed me as I was writhing in the ER years ago. My grandmother probably could have pulled it from her Yiddish if she'd still been alive. Most of the time it was not a big deal, but that one time - holy cow - right up there with a severe gall bladder attack in terms of pain.

sorry for the detour - as you were ;-)

I agree that most people post to "support" type boards with horror stories. People with great experiences - not so much.

My experience with Loestrin wasn't a happy one. Wildly irritable, crying jags, irrational thoughts and behaviours, moderate depression, incredible levels of anxiety, nausea and motion sickness (flying was a real treat) - I was generally just a physical and emotional wreck for the three months I was on it. However, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Loestrin. I just think that it didn't work out well with my body specifically.

However, I am happy to report that Yaz (yes, it's still in production) has been a life-saver for me. Yaz, for me, represents an improvment not just over Loestrin but also over my baseline. I'm less anxious, have fewer mood swings, and am generally more emotionally healthy. I also don't have debilitating cramping, severe and prolonged periods, or moderate acne anymore. I have been prone to leg and foot cramps (not clots, just muscle cramps) which were eliminated by increasing my calcium intake and adding a good multi-vitamin. My migrains have actually become less frequent because my hormones are more closely controlled. Yaz probably has more side effect hysteria and horror stories floating around the internet than any other oral contraceptive. However, those same side effects are possibilities with any and all hormonal birth control methods. And for me, Yaz has been fabulous where Loestrin wasn't. Everyone's body is different.

Bottom line: talk to your doctor, get a second or third opinion if you feel it's needed, do real research on the possible side effects of anything you take, try it out and monitor how it effects you to see whether it's right for you.

Sheesharee, Amy & Terriks, if I'm hearing ya'll correctly, you aren't feeling too alarmed by the reviews since mostly people w/negative experiences tend to post. Yes, I can see that could be true. Thanks for pointing that out. I need some reality testing here.

Amy, I went to the same site, "Askapatient.com" as you suggested, & checked out Necon's reviews. Well, I should be a pretty miserable woman w/myriad troubles according to the Necon reviews! That dovetails with what y'all are saying about prevalence of negative postings and really raises a question mark.

Ideefixe, yesterday my doc said I could stay on a low dose pill until I'm 50 or 51. Then she'd like me to stop & test me to see if I'm in menopause. I just don't want to get pregnant at this stage of my life! I need really effective BC & the pill is 99.9% effective. That's why I'm willing to deal with some drawbacks.

Johnmari, thanks for all the info. It's interesting to hear about what's out there. It's music to my ears that you loved Loestrin. Maybe I should give it a try for 3 months? Doc gave me 3 months worth of samples. She did say if I tried it for 3 months & didn't like it, she'd switch me back. I think she wants me to give it whirl though, & really wants me on a low dose pill.

This just isn't a real great time with my sister recovering from breast & lung cancer surgery to be all irritable, testy and depressed! I need to keep my wits about me in the months ahead so I can be supportive of & helpful to her. Anyway, that's factoring into my resistance to trying something new. Also, my dh never has a lot of tolerance for irritability & moodiness. He has his plate full at work and needs ME to deal with his irritability and moodiness. That's just the way it works around here!

Dlm... come back! Tell me what you think!

Yikes, Housewitch! I missed your post while I was researching & typing. Ughh. Yes, that's the thing, everyone is different. You, I, can't really know how a drug that's playing around w/ our hormones is going to affect us until we try it out. Eeek!

Is it really that important to go low dose? I think I'd rather take the risk of getting a disease than feel miserable 24/7!

Idefix writes "While I'm older than you are, I dumped the pills after my 2nd kid and never looked back. While I can't speak as a medical type, I would ask you if at 47 you really need to be on the pill?"

Despite being 47, so long as you have not completely finished menopause, you are still able and many people do become pregnant at 47.

Personally, I was on the pill for at least 12 or so years after DD was born. DH had vasectomy at that time and I've not looked back.

I would talk to the dr. as I've seen different studies both pro-con with regard to the birth control pill and breast cancer.

Have to agree with the other posters with regard to negative feedback posted. When one is having a good experience, they are not as likely to sign on and leave good feedback. Most times it is a woman who has had a terrible experience with a pill that she will take the time to post her negative side effects. While I was on the pill I had no side effects, bad or good. Well, good being that I never became pregnant. LOL Also, I had virtually no PMS symptoms and very, very light periods. Some months no period at all which totally freaked me out and had me buying the HPT and peeing on a stick once a month holding my breath and bargaining with God.

I hope you can work with your doctor on this. It sucks trying to find another gyn that you are comfortable with, but you need to feel good on a daily basis and if I was putting something in my body that was making me miserable, I would seriously think again about doing so.

DD did one round of the Depo-Provera shots, but wasn't satisfied with that method. She is now on a generic- Tri-Sprintic which has worked well as she wanted the weight gain side effect that the Depo was supposed to provide but didn't in her case. Also, her doc assured her that the Depo would cause her to have no period or very light. This definitely wasn't the case. She really never knew when her period was going to come on and it was as heavy as if she hadn't been on the Depo.

Best of luck finding a birth control method that works for you. None of my business, but I'll go there anyway, any chance your DH would take over on the birth control front at this point. If you aren't considering having children, what would be the harm in his having a vasectomy. Believe me, it took me nearly 7 years of "talking" to DH about taking over and having the "snip". He was afraid things wouldn't work the same but was reassured by our many friends and family members who have had that procedure with no side effects. He finally did so and it made things so much better IYKWIM. LOL He had a bit of discomfort on the day of the procedure, was treated like a king for a few days but for the most part it was really a breeze of a procedure for him as opposed to the general anesthesia required to have a tubal ligation.

Work, thanks for your reply. I appreciate all of your insights. I don't mind telling you...the answer is "no" from dh about a V. He doesn't care that my BIL did it years ago! Not sure what the problem is. Maybe he wants to father a child w/a younger woman when I kick the bucket? Maybe he wants to father a child with a younger woman now, for all I know, lol! No, I think this is up to me. Congrats to you though!

Hrmmmm... this may not be the best time for you to switch pills. In fact, IMNSHO it's a BAD time to be changing ANYTHING unless the situation is truly dire. If I were you, I'd call the doctor back, explain your family circumstances, ask for three or six months' script for your previous pill, and then when life settles down some you can switch over.

FWIW, vasectomies are not 100% either - I know two "vasectomy babies". Yoicks. If you're relying entirely on your DH's vasectomy for birth control, he should have a sperm check done every year. We're a weird family, DH has had a vasectomy as well as me having a tubal, but he's always had that shuddery feeling not being certain he's shooting blanks, so I humored him. Then the urologist bollixed it! He clipped the same vas deferens twice - it IS a bit crowded with the tiny incisions they're using and the bits are slippery in there, I guess those tiny tubes kept escaping *chuckle* - instead of getting them both so DH had to go back and have it done again. A lot of urologists are using titanium clips now rather than the old cut-and-burn method. I've read since that about 1% of vasectomies have to be redone. Poor DH was miserable for about 3 days both times (they were done on Friday mornings so he would have the weekend to recover) and was tender for several more. I spent a lot of time running back and forth to the freezer for ice packs. Had to get permission from his boss to wear sweatpants to work for about a week and it was about 3 weeks before he could wear jeans without discomfort (and he doesn't wear boxers so "the boys" don't dangle). He still gets twinges/pulling sensations sometimes, especially when he's running. It's been something like 5 years. Still considers it worth it though.

I had a tubal because I damn well wanted one, and the laparoscopy served double duty to check for endometriosis (yes, mild, and guess what the first line treatment is? birth control pills! LOL).

DLM - *chuckle* not many people know the term - it's German. Means "middle pain" I think. I had it SO often it just about drove me out of my mind, doc said "oh yeah, that's probably mittelschmertz" like it was the common cold. Middle-WHAT? Most women will get a little twinge when they ovulate, barely enough to notice (or write it off as gas), but for some of us it's whoooo-doggie, shoot me now please.

I do think the gall bladder was worse though. I had frequent attacks for YEARS before anyone thought of the GB. ER and regular doctors would say muscle spasms, constipation (!), even rib problems, but never gallstones. Always got the attacks at night, remember the hours of pacing - couldn't sit down, couldn't lie down, - and could never correlate it to anything. I'd get it if I had junk food for supper, or a super-healthy supper, if I'd exercised that day or not. Someone finally did an ultrasound after several years of me repeatedly ending up in the ER screaming my head off and found that my gallbladder was the size of a baseball (it's normally the size of a walnut) and cram-full of nasty stuff, thisclose to peritonitis. I had the BEST surgeon though. Normally it's a quickie surgery, in and out in an hour and a half, but he took FOUR hours to make sure he could stick with the lap' instead of just filleting me like the assisting surgeon wanted to do. (He knew it would take me a year to come back from that - as it was it took three months for me to completely recover from from the lap'.)

I was on Loestrin for years (maybe 15 to 20?). No side effects at all (yes, I take FULL responsibility for the weight gain, sadly). I was so sick of having to take a BCP for so many decades that I asked DH to have a V after kids were born. He did, but lo-and-behold, my periods got so rediculously heavy in my 40s that I asked to be put back on the pill. Then, 5 yrs after that, I had to have a hysterectomy.....Oh, the injustice of it all, LOL.

I used the pill until I was in my 50s-went through menopause at 56. No worries so far. I am another who had really heavy periods (couldn't-leave-the-house heavy-ugh) in my 40s. Male doc said, "well you are getting to that age." I also asked to be put on the pill again-no way was I spending the next ten years (turned out to be even more)missing a day every month.

"Dlm... come back! Tell me what you think!"

About what? Birth control pills? Oh, honey have you got the wrong broad! I spent a LOT of years on and off but mostly on the pill (Ortho Novum if I remember correctly) but that was ages ago. When I was in my early 40's I had a large dermoid cyst that required the removal of one ovary so I told my doctor to do a tubal on the other at that time.

Birth control has not been on my radar for a long time but what I think is this; first and foremost, have a doctor that you trust and that doesn't just know your entire history but also hears your current state of mind to determine what is in your best interest. Secondly, even if you have total faith in your doctor, if your gut is telling you this is not a good choice for you and you're going to be anxious about that prescription, then don't take it. Period. If your head is not in the right place for this, then make another choice - nothing has to be forever and you can use other birth control for a short time or for as long as you choose.

Johnmari, thanks for saying more & adding the caveat. I appreciate your thoughts.

Dee-dee, yes, the injustice of it all! This isn't easy territory to navigate often times is it? Glad to hear you liked Loestrin. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Cyn, that's interesting. On the pill well into your 50's. I like the sound of that, especially since you've had no problems. The little experiment my doc proposed when I turn 50 or so makes me nervous. I really don't want to become pregnant at 50! IFKWIM!

Dlm, thanks for returning! I knew you'd have something wonderful to offer. You are exactly the right broad to talk to me about this, as you are very intuitive and sensitive and wise. Your second paragraph provides excellent food for thought. I want to spend some time with that. Thanks again!

O.K. watch your language, middle-aged broad! IYKWIM is what I meant to say, Cyn. Hope I didn't just type out the acronym for something outrageous!

Garden Web monitor, don't zap me, I didn't mean to be inappropriate...don't delete my post please! Yikes!

I'm 50yo. Am taking necon, yes it's a generic ortho. My Nurse practictioner wants me to go into menopause and take me off the pill. I'm gonna ask for a diaphram @ my next appointment. I started taking Tri-Sprintec 28-day tab*, becasue it had a lower dose of estrogen, was cheaper, but the flow went from spotting to heavy. I'd say use a diaphram if your worried about side effects.