Birth control troubles, please halp

[Mindfox]

Hi BG,

Obviously this question is mostly for the women and yes I will be seeing a doctor soon. Just looking for similar experiences.

I tried the birth control patch for the first time a few weeks ago. I put it on Sunday morning and ended up taking it off Wednesday evening when it clicked that all the problems I'd been having were likely because of the patch. Problems such as:

Massive vomiting all throughout Monday
Arm pain where the patch was
Flu-like symptoms
No appetite
Intense headaches
Nausea
General malaise

So I took it off about a week ago and have overall been feeling much better. I'm still getting rank headaches though and every now and again it will become difficult to breathe or my arm will start hurting again. Who here has used the patch (Ortho Evra) and have any of you experienced anything like this?

[Roranora]

A gf used to sport the patch and really liked most of it, but had increased heart rate and blood pressure with it. She usually wore it on the side/front of stomach area. Maybe headaches with it and some nausea. She never was too flu'd out or vomited, but ended up changing from the patch.

Same Ortho Evra

[Ksandra]

I have never done the patch before, but just curious if you have been on the pill previously and experienced similar symptoms? afaik the patch is the same as the pill hormone-wise just taken through the skin instead of oral.

[Amelya]

I haven't use the patch in particular, but I would definitely discontinue use and check your blood pressure.

[MaachaQ]

The only birth control I used was the 3 month Depo shot, and I used it for years with few issues. My period completely stopped and I gained weight (eating the same and doing the same exercise, but my body was making more fat because it thought I was pregnant). I haven't read up on different types in a long time (my husband got snipped), so I'm not sure what the benefits are of using a patch or pill instead of a shot or Nuvaring (which is what my sister uses). Flu-like symptoms aside, it sounds like blood pressure trouble and I would definitely have a doctor check it out.

[Silenka]

I got pills once. I hate vomiting so much that I took them back without even trying them, lol. I guess you could look into the dosages you're getting from the patch. If they offer it in low/high... I know you can get pills in different dosages but I have no idea how that would translate to a patch. But I have heard switching from one dosage type to another can really help with side effects.

I know people who swear by the shot or nuvaring, but I've never known anyone to enjoy being on pills and I don't think I've met a patch user yet.

[Outlaw]

Guy here. I noticed this thread though and it compelled me to make this post.

I would be very cautious. I remember this was all over the news a long time ago cause of problems people were having similar to yours. You don't hear about it anymore because I'm sure the drug companies threw a lot of money at the regulators to make it go away. There were significantly increased health risks.

From wikipedia:

Side effects

In three large clinical trials involving a total of 3,330 women using the Ortho Evra / Evra patch for up to one year, 12% of users discontinued the patch because of adverse events. The most frequent adverse events leading to patch discontinuation were: nausea and/or vomiting (2.4%), application site reaction (1.9%), breast discomfort, engorgement or pain (1.9%), headache (1.1%), and emotional lability (1.0%).[12]

The most frequent adverse events reported while using the Ortho Evra / Evra patch were: breast discomfort, engorgement or pain (22%), headache (21%), application site reaction (17%), nausea (17%), upper respiratory tract infection (10%), menstrual cramps (10%), and abdominal pain (9%).[12]

Thromboembolic risks

All combined hormonal birth control products have a very small increased risk of serious or fatal thromboembolic events. There is ongoing research into the thromboembolic risks of Ortho Evra as compared to combined oral contraceptive pills. A recent study found that users of the contraceptive patch may have a twofold increased risk for non-fatal venous thromboembolic events compared with women who took a norgestimate-containing oral contraceptive with 35 µg of estrogen.[16][17] However, a different study concluded that the risk of nonfatal venous thromboembolism for the contraceptive patch is similar to the risk for oral contraceptives containing 35 µg of ethinyl estradiol and norgestimate.[18] The contradiction in findings between the two studies is not easily resolved, because the confidence intervals for the studies are overlapping.

In studies with oral contraceptives, the risk for cardiovascular disease (such as thromboembolism) is significantly increased in women over the age of 35 years who also smoke tobacco.[19] Hence, Ortho-Evra's package insert states: "Women who use hormonal contraceptives, including ORTHO EVRA, should be strongly advised not to smoke."

According to the manufacturer, the patches introduce a 60% higher level of estrogen into the bloodstream as compared to oral contraceptives; however, the clinical significance of this difference is unknown.

On November 10, 2005 Ortho McNeil, in conjunction with the FDA, revised the label for Ortho Evra, including a new bolded warning about higher exposure to estrogen for women using the weekly patch compared to taking a daily birth control pill containing 35 µg of estrogen, noting that higher levels of estrogen may put some women at increased risk for getting blood clots. The label was again revised in September 2006, and on January 18, 2008, the FDA again updated the label to reflect study results. "The FDA believes that Ortho Evra is a safe and effective method of contraception when used according to the labeling, which recommends that women with concerns or risk factors for serious blood clots talk with their health care provider about using Ortho Evra versus other contraceptive options."[20]

Lawsuits

The Patch has been associated with strokes and thrombosis and the mechanism for hormone absorption and dissipation from the body's tissues is different from "the pill." Several lawsuits have been instigated over these issues.

A lawsuit filed in Federal Court in New Jersey on September 2, 2005 by a Georgia woman who suffered a pulmonary embolism alleges the company promoted the patch despite knowledge of its health risks, for financial gain, while failing to warn of the risks of blood clots and other injuries.

In November 2005, CBS News aired a story about documents that surfaced in a lawsuit involving a young mother who was paralyzed by a stroke and remained a total invalid, which showed the company had received nearly 500 reports of adverse events between April 2002 and December 2004. During the same time frame, only 61 adverse event reports were filed in connection with all type of birth-control pills. [1]

The parents of a 14-year-old girl from Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson because they claim that she died from a blood clot that arose from her use of the Patch.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraceptive_patch

[Kohan]

You know, I have been told various times by my doctors that I should be taking birth control pills (for reasons unrelated to preventing conception), and all you fucking assholes with your fucking facts keep making me not go fucking get my prescription filled.

It's hard to be educated sometimes.

[Outlaw]

I wasn't trying to scare anybody. It's not the pills that have increased risks it's just the patch sinse it releases larger amounts of hormones into the bloodstream. I put that in the post cause the OP sounded like they are having a adverse reaction to the patch and mite want to avoid it. That's all I'm saying.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

I think you may have mistakenly put on a pregnancy patch. That one mimics all the symptoms of being pregnant without actually being so. Common mistake.

[Sol-Blackguy]

....

Holy shit! I remember that! My ex wife wanted to use the patch, but after reading up on everyone getting so sick over it, she did the ring instead. There might have been one of those "If you experienced symptoms from this medication" lawyer ads on tv too.

[Byrthnoth]

I think you may have mistakenly put on a pregnancy patch. That one mimics all the symptoms of being pregnant without actually being so. Common mistake.

err... I'm pretty sure that this is how birth control works. It mimics the hormone release that occurs during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Ovulation stops during pregnancy, so it also stops when pregnancy is faked.

My wife uses the ring, which is essentially no better than anything else in terms of side effects. Female birth control options suck. They either:
1) Work fine with no side effects
2) Work fine with minor side effects
3) Cause blood clots in your lungs and kill you
... and there's pretty much no way to predict which one you're going to get.

[Laugana]

I've been on the pill for 15 years, never had any problems. It's called Microgynon 30. It was a blessing to finally have regular periods after spending my teenage years never knowing when my period would strike next (between 20-40 days) plus all the pain and mess involved. Now there's hardly any blood and just vague cramps.

[Aksannyi]

You know, I have been told various times by my doctors that I should be taking birth control pills (for reasons unrelated to preventing conception), and all you fucking assholes with your fucking facts keep making me not go fucking get my prescription filled.

It's hard to be educated sometimes.

The thing about these statistics and side effects is that a lot of them are very rare, especially things like strokes. It's like 0.01% of the people who use them.

I've been on the pill for three years now and I've never experienced any side effects from it, hell, it didn't even affect my periods (sadface). Experiencing symptoms like that is not normal.

That said, if the patch is making you feel like that then yes, discontinue and try to talk about other options with your doctor. I have never used it - I use the birth control pills that are meant for people who are nusring because they only contain progestin. They require a much stricter use timeline (exact same time every day) so a lot of people don't like to use them for that reason, but talk to your doctor and explore other options.

All of that aside, have you taken a pregnancy test just to ensure that you didn't somehow get pregnant, perhaps before using the patch? Might want to rule that one out.

[Ksandra]

I think you may have mistakenly put on a pregnancy patch. That one mimics all the symptoms of being pregnant without actually being so. Common mistake.

...that is what the birth control patch is...

I go to my six week appointment in a little over a week, and gotta decide my bc method. I know I want the IUD but can't decide between the Para and the minera. Both have shitty side effects.

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

a whole thread of women on BG that are dtf why didn't someone think of this sooner

[Nesssie]

I had the same issues with the patch and more including major mood swings. I switched to a low dose pill (levora .15/30) and it works much better.

[Airenn]

I have the arm-implant and so far so good. I may die of cancer or some fucked up illness, but hey, I'll die someday anyway. Fuck it, as long as no babies, I'm ok

[WrenDraco]

First pill I got put on was the old Cyclen (this would've been 18 years ago, which makes me feel old but I started on them really young because my mom figured if teens are gonna have sex they may as well be safe about it), but the level of straight hormones in them made me so bitchcrazy my mom made me stop taking them. Then I tried Tricyclen, a slightly lower-dose pill with different hormone levels for different weeks, which worked great for a few years until I realized it'd slowly been making me really lethargic and depressed. Now I'm on Alesse, which is such a low-dose pill it's more commonly prescribed for acne control, but it's been working fine for a few years. It actually reduced my 'normal' menstruation side effects, so that's nice.

[Rabidelly]

Even using the same birth control pill for years (5+) I eventually had to change to a different pill as I was becoming very depressed with no real cause. Now I'm fine with Junel. Hope your doc can find a good alternative for you if you're not wanting the pill. The nice thing is that there are a lot of options. I'd go with the shot but I'm deathly afraid of needles D:

Funny thing with birth control, I had no PMS, bloating, etc at all and once I started it all happened :/ Only good thing is I went from 8 day periods to 3-4 (thank God).