14th January 2006
Hi, I just thought that I would throw my experience into the conversation. :)
First of all, a diaphram is a roundish piece of "rubber?" that you go to your GYN and they fit for your vagina. You fold it in half and insert it into yourself...say before sex. It opens up and blocks the pathway that the sperm is supposed to travel. It can be very effective but I have always been told that it is best used with spermicide, just incase it isn't situated properly.
Ok, back to the pill. My boyfriend (now husband) and I started having sex before I started the pill. Three months later, I went in to start one. The kind they gave me was a very cheap brand. It made me bleed for a month solid and I was very miserable. I started taking a pack of my mom's pills the following month when bleeding didn't stop. Her's made me stop, so I went back to my GYN and asked to be switched to her brand. My doctor was very hesitant but did so. I started on Lo-Ovral instantly.
Boy was it a mistake. I have always been a very nice, mellow person and almost overnight, I began getting really jealous, self concious and just plain out mad. Mark was my first boyfriend so I just thought I was acting as all couples do. But during the next five years, I became a rage-a-holic, always angry and sometimes violent. I also gained some weight. In my fifth year of using Lo-Ovral, I started developing Melasma (brown splotchy spots) on my feet, due to too much estrogen in my system. So my doctor switched me immediately after seeing it's effects.
My next brand was Ortho Tricyclen Lo. I could tell a difference of mood change within a few days. All of a sudden I went from always being mad at my "husband" to suddenly not caring about him or what he did at all. I became depressed, overly stressed out, suffered from anxiety for the first time ever and became really paranoid to the point where I didn't want to leave the house. I thought that I was going to have to commit myself into an institution. I also gained nearly 40 pounds in a year after starting this pill.
This past November, I went in for my annual exam and she told me that I still had too much estrogen in my system. I am overweight and have high blood pressure, so she says I am at a greater risk of heart attack/stroke. So she put me on a mini pill, which has no estrogen at all. So far, I love the pill. I instantly became my old self after taking it. I have had no bad side effects, and I seem to be able to control my weight easier. The only downfall is I had breakthrough bleeding for four days a week after my period, and then went 45 days without anything. Then when my period did come, it was very mellow.
Different pills affect everyone differently. It all depends on how your body is and your hormone levels. I have talked to alot of women who decide not to do pills though or who have went off of them because they suffered everything - plus more - of what I did. But there are women out there who don't have a problem with artificial hormones and swear by the pill.
I hope this helps some and good luck.
First of all, a diaphram is a roundish piece of "rubber?" that you go to your GYN and they fit for your vagina. You fold it in half and insert it into yourself...say before sex. It opens up and blocks the pathway that the sperm is supposed to travel. It can be very effective but I have always been told that it is best used with spermicide, just incase it isn't situated properly.
Ok, back to the pill. My boyfriend (now husband) and I started having sex before I started the pill. Three months later, I went in to start one. The kind they gave me was a very cheap brand. It made me bleed for a month solid and I was very miserable. I started taking a pack of my mom's pills the following month when bleeding didn't stop. Her's made me stop, so I went back to my GYN and asked to be switched to her brand. My doctor was very hesitant but did so. I started on Lo-Ovral instantly.
Boy was it a mistake. I have always been a very nice, mellow person and almost overnight, I began getting really jealous, self concious and just plain out mad. Mark was my first boyfriend so I just thought I was acting as all couples do. But during the next five years, I became a rage-a-holic, always angry and sometimes violent. I also gained some weight. In my fifth year of using Lo-Ovral, I started developing Melasma (brown splotchy spots) on my feet, due to too much estrogen in my system. So my doctor switched me immediately after seeing it's effects.
My next brand was Ortho Tricyclen Lo. I could tell a difference of mood change within a few days. All of a sudden I went from always being mad at my "husband" to suddenly not caring about him or what he did at all. I became depressed, overly stressed out, suffered from anxiety for the first time ever and became really paranoid to the point where I didn't want to leave the house. I thought that I was going to have to commit myself into an institution. I also gained nearly 40 pounds in a year after starting this pill.
This past November, I went in for my annual exam and she told me that I still had too much estrogen in my system. I am overweight and have high blood pressure, so she says I am at a greater risk of heart attack/stroke. So she put me on a mini pill, which has no estrogen at all. So far, I love the pill. I instantly became my old self after taking it. I have had no bad side effects, and I seem to be able to control my weight easier. The only downfall is I had breakthrough bleeding for four days a week after my period, and then went 45 days without anything. Then when my period did come, it was very mellow.
Different pills affect everyone differently. It all depends on how your body is and your hormone levels. I have talked to alot of women who decide not to do pills though or who have went off of them because they suffered everything - plus more - of what I did. But there are women out there who don't have a problem with artificial hormones and swear by the pill.
I hope this helps some and good luck.