Side effects after being on the pill a long time?

[FuzzyHeaded]

I've posted in general in case I'm barking up the wrong tree r.e. the cause of my symptoms and someone has any other thoughts about their cause!

I've been on the Pill for about 5 years now. I take Loestrin 20 which is a relatively low dose combined pill (because I reacted badly to other combined pills). Due to the dose my original doctor recommended I take packs back-to-back, so I take three packets before taking a break. I don't have children yet but we may be starting to try in a couple of years or so.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of the pill causing side effects after a long time, rather than in the first few months of taking it? I've been feeling really odd lately. During my last break my emotions were all over the place (much more so than usual). I've been sleeping badly and having awful dreams, and have been waking with achy pain all over my body.

As a lot of these seem to be emotional / psychological problems (which is what other forms of the pill have given me in the past) I wondered if the pill might be to blame. I also have this niggling memory of someone saying you shouldn't stay on the same pill for over a certain number of years but I may be misremembering or it could be an old wives' tale!

Any thoughts / experience, good people of Mumsnet?

I wouldn't be at all surprised it the pill was to blame, I'm afraid. I found that I became less and less tolerant of hormonal contraception over time and I'm not able to use it at all now. Have heard other women say the same.

I was on Microgynon for 25 years with no side effects and have been on HRT for five years with no ill effects.
I think I've been very lucky.

not luck, body chemistry. My minor side effects reduced with time.

forget old wives and other people. If something has changed, go back and see the chap/chapess with the medical degree.

Microgynon for 19 years. No problems.

MrsLettuce

What do you use instead, if you don't mind my asking?

specialsubject

I was just asking around because I've found some doctors to be quite dismissive of contraceptive problems in the past - so I was interested to see if this matched anyone else's experience.

Microgynon 30 made me photosensitive (horrific hives whenever I exposed skin to sunlight) and depressed. I went off it after a year when I connected the two symptoms.

I was on Cilest for about 8 years (with a couple of breaks of a few months inbetween) which was much better, but my IBS symptoms seemed to be getting worse over the years. I had a constant achey, heavy feeling in my stomach all the time and felt so tired with the least bit of exercise.

Went off the Pill completely and the IBS symptoms massively improved - I never have the heavy feeling anymore. My stomach is noticeably less bloated (nothing to do with losing weight - I'm the same weight as before). I have heard the Pill can give you water retention so I wonder if that is what was making me feel so uncomfortable. It was like 8 years of feeling pregnant. I do miss the amazing skin which I had on it but that's about it.

My DM was much more intolerant to hormonal contraception, though, so I consider myself lucky!

I've just remembered that I read something about this in The Times magazine last Saturday. Might have been the Style supplement. Someone was talking about how long-term use of the Pill messes up testosterone levels and they may never get back to normal again. My skin would agree with that.

FuzzyHeaded I've used the copper coil since DC2 was born, he's 6 so I'm on my second one now. Am very happy with it indeed.

Cilest was, coincidentally, the pill I managed on the for the longest too Chilliplantbox, most people seem to hate it from what I've read .

So, anyway, by the time the side effects of the Cilest got to be to much I'd been though seemingly endless different sorts of pill, I was advised to try Yasmin and give up hormonal contraceptives if that didn't suit. Gah. I didn't work well for me at all, which as very annoying indeed

I used cycle charting and condoms between stopping the pill and TTC #1 and between DC too, but those were times when getting pregnant would have been OK, if not ideal. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise, TBH.

The next step for me is sterilisation, I think. Well, I'm probably certain actually but waiting a bit anyway.

MrsLettuce

Thanks for sharing. I think probably the coil or the progesterone-only pill may be my next option if the GP does agree my symptoms could be Pill side effects. Higher-dose combined pills really didn't agree with me and the GP who put me on Loestrin thought it was the oestrogen that was the problem.

I find condoms really uncomfortable (not sure why) so just coming off for a while is sadly not a great option... bring on the male pill, I say!

You're welcome

I was persuaded to try the mini pill between DC and I'm sorry to say it didn't agree with me at all either - in fact I wasn't able to tolerate that for even the standard minimum 3 month try out. It was post-partum though, maybe within even within a week or two of having DC1. That might have made a difference I suppose.

The copper coil has been a blessed relief.

Good luck