The Pill -Does It Keep You Balanced?

I agree that all woman are not the same, and there are different pills to choose from that work or don't for each woman. I was on the pill for 18 years, no bad side effects, went off of it, got pregnant and had my daughter, was off the pill for 5 years, got a divorce, went back on the pill and I am still on them at age 51 now to keep peri-menopausal symptoms "leveled off".

I've not had pad PMS either with or without the pill, luckily. The only time I had trouble was when I tried taking a "lower dose" pill. I got acne and other symptoms. I went back to my usual dosage and everything was fine again.

I would recommend trying the pill. You will know within two months if it's helping or not.

I haven't taken bc pills for about 10 years now, but I remember when I was taking it, it made me crazy, lol! I was all over the place emotionally. I was taking yasmin

Yes indeed, I have been taking the pill for the past six months, this being the first in my life that I gave it a try. It has been wonderfully balancing.

Without birth control my menstrual cycle took me through a roller coaster. I would feel crazy for a week and a half before my menses began, would bleed *heavily* for four days and lightly for two or three, and would feel drained for the week following. All in all, it was a lot of time to spend feeling less than functional. Using birth control I seem to not go through the intense high and low hormonal swing.

We may be TTC in the next year, and I am not looking forward to the hormone ride that accompanies my birth control-less body. Hope you find the right thing for your body :-)

No-it makes me CRAZY! I

It can make you crazier. I was not "balanced" on it. Got fat, bad headaches, and bad acne too. I may be in the minority, but for me, life got better when I stopped the pill and started using NFP (natural family planning). Been using this method for over 10 years and no surprises yet.

I had the Essure procedure done so I don't need BC, but I take the pill (Yaz) to keep me sane. My periods are 1 day long, minimal PMS, minimal cramping etc... I cannot function without it. Without the pill I have horrid PMS for 2 weeks. Then another week of my period. I really only feel normal 1 week out of the month. Plus, I have long, heavy, painful periods.

Nope... causes me to be insane. No longer take it!

It depends on the person and the pill.

I had HORRIBLE PMS, cramps that brought me to my knees and EXTREMELY irregular periods before I went on the pill.

I then went on the pill ... I lot 40 lbs, my hormones leveled out, the PMS became reasonable, the cramps became a nuisance rather than debilitating, my periods were as regular as clockwork, and it was just a HUGE relief not to have to worry about getting pregnant.

I stopped taking the pill when I started getting migraines every month with my period (I have a history of them anyway and THAT wasn't a good thing) ... I had my youngest child and then got my tubes tied. I haven't tried the pill again but now that I'm in peri-menopause I've thought about it for sure. Level hormones are AWESOME.

You won't know how the pill affects you until you try the pill. If it helps keep taking it ... if it doesn't it's no biggie to stop. And it may take a couple of tries with different combo's and strengths to get one that works well with your body.

BTW I was on the ortho novum 1/35 and had zero side effects until after I turned 30.

I have used the LoSeasonique and found that it's helped a lot. I still have PMS, but it's lessened. I'm not a fan of hormones, but I am a fan of feeling better. I don't use it for contraceptive purposes, but because I had debilitating cramps. These have been so much better in the last two years I've used it.

I am very balanced hormonally, to begin with. For ME, it messed my hormones up royally! I had to get off them. I got my hormones checked after, and I was out of whack hormonally, for the first time in my life. I think for the majority of people, the biggest side effect is no babies. I don't actually think most people are balanced out much. I know for me, it took my balanced body, and really screwed it up. I really don't think my hormones naturally fluctuate much. I don't get any PMS, and I have simple, easy periods. I think the synthetic, added hormones, threw the balance off...since I didn't fluctuate much.

The only thing you can do, is try.

Yes, the BCP totally keeps my hormones level.

Without the BCP I have horrible PMS and heavy periods.
With the BCP I literally have no PMS, with just one headache the day my period starts, and my periods are super light and short.
Sometimes, I skip the period week and start on the next pack of pills so I only have a period every couple of months. It saves on tampons and pads and bloody accidents.

Don't forget about the Nuva Ring also. It has hormones like the pill, but you don't have to take it everyday. I love it! So, I say try what you want and talk to your doc. Mine said that some people get PMS on the pill, and for some it makes it go away. I am one of the people who get it on the pill, but not on the Ring. good luck on your adventure!

One thing I had noticed when I was on the pill, is that different pills have different effects. So, you can experiment and if one isn't working right for you, you can switch to something else. I was on one for awhile just for acne and it helped a ton for my face... but I did have mood swings still. I haven't been on the pill for years and felt better (in general) off of them, but that is me. I also get intense pms, and I am hoping once I get more sleep that will help (10mo old still not sleeping through the night). Maybe one of the mini-pills could help you... but I don't know if those are good for PMS or not.
Good luck!!!

One interesting book on the subject of pre-menopause and the possible side effects of different birth control pills is What Your Doctor Won't Tell you About Pre-Menopause. One option is natural pregesterone cream for balancing hormones -- but that won't help you to prevent pregnancy. There are always other options for that. Hope you find what works for you.

I think it depends on the person. Some women benefit from them and some don't. Really the only way to find out is to try in all honestly.
I can not take anything with artificial hormones. The person I become is far from pleasant and I don't function. The week of "dummy pills" I crash so hard that I can not function. When we tried one where you skip the dummy pills to skip periods I bled almost constantly for several months before we decided it wasn't going to work, I was also having the change in moods I have on the regular ones.
With my periods come migraines, horrible mood swings, not to mention a number of physical ailments.
This is not "in my head" as Jo W seems to have implied.
These are all actual bodily reactions to the flucuations in hormones.
My periods aren't predictable so I am not "working myself up" because I know it's about to start. It is the physical issues that give me a clue that I'm going to start soon.
As I said, you will not know unless you try.

Great question! I was going to ask my doctor about this. I have horrible pms, and my period is very heavy and long. This all didn't start until after I had kids, I was on the pill for 15 years before I starteed trying to get pregnant. I don't need it for birth control because my husband is fixed, but I am 42, and I'm worried that is not a good age to be on the pill.

I had a psych professor who said PM anything is nothing more than a man made syndrome. I tend to believe it because of everything related to the cycles. I have never had any issues, once in a blue moon I would be bitchy before my period. It had nothing to do with hormone fluctuation, it had to do with I had too much going on that week and dealing with the running to the bathroom made me crabby.

Whether I am on the pill or not changes nothing.

Then you will find some who say the pill makes them worse, others say it makes them better, others say it doesn't do a thing for PMS. So if everyone has hormone fluctuation and pills change that level, shouldn't we all react the same way unless something else is driving our moods?

Anyway just food for thought but pills change nothing for me beyond not getting pregnant.

JB, the thought behind it is hormonal differences are not actually driven by cycles. How many times has a guy asked PMSing? Think about it, every time you are crabby men claim it as hormones, I say that is BS. Especially when you look at the moody men I work with.

Well like the others say you have to try it and see because every woman is different. As far as keeping the crazies away, probably not, can it improve some of your PMS symtoms, possibly, I think you really need to know your body (not saying you don't) and that way when you are on it you are aware of the difference and know if it is something you can do. I'm like one of the other posters I have the essure placed but have to take BC pills to keep the cysts that form on my ovaries at bay each month, the pain from them is beyond anything I can decribe and I get terrible mirgaines with them too. When I take the pill correctly it alleviates those symtoms, but girl I still get PMS and real bitchie as they say regardless if i feel stressed around that time or whatever, it all depends on the month some months I'm fine okie dokie and others I'm crying, wanting to fight, wanting to sleep through the next few days or whatever so those things have more to do with just the pills, its your lifestyle, what you eat, and other factors that also effect your period each month. good luck!

I was on the ortho tri cyclen for almost ten years and then i had my son. After that I had an iud placed and had it in for almost 3 years. I had no problems with the iud (other than my husband complaning about it during sex) I recently tried to go back to the ortho tri cyclen cause i didn't have any problems with it before and OH BOY! I had to stop taking them because I felt like i was going crazy literally. the littlest things would set me off and I would feel like freaking out. It also gave me bad acne :( I would be very careful of which kind you choose and make sure you are happy with how it makes your mind and body feel! Most important! Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you!