To start the pill or not...

[Savannah]

I know it is a very personal decision but I need a big kick up the bum today

It is the first day of my period, and I am dreading the next few days as recently I have had slightly heavier periods with clots, only small but still enough to worry me.

I went to see my GP last month on day 3 and he was lovely, he said it was nothing to worry about and that I should try transaemic acid. I took it away but as my period then got lighter I thought I would just see how I got on next month.

He didn't seem concerned at all. I mentioned cervical cancer and he shook his head as I have no mid cycle bleeding, bleeding after sex etc... HE said I am always on the ball with my smears. I am due next month and he said as long as I go this year he is happy. He said I don't require any further tests, just sometimes periods change and get heavier. I have had 3 children so it is to be expected.

I went to see him last week regarding a skin infection I had and we discussed my periods again, andI told him I had forgotten to mention just how painful I find ovulation, so it feels like every 2 weeks I am in pain and I dread it. It is an ongoing saga. It really gets me down.

My GP said about going back onto the pill. I took it for 4 months in 2010. I'd had a D&C and was suffering with heavy periods which then developed into a phobia. I since have battled this phobia of bleeding and haemorrage. It is horrible, but I had almost got over it when my last 2 periods decided to contain some clots and be a bit heavier. My GP reassured me clots are nothing at all to worry about but still I have dreaded this period.

He says the pill will lighten my periods and help make my periods regular, as they have been coming a few days earlier than I have ever had before which is annoying, and to stop the ovulation pains I have. My problem is I worry I will just bodge my cycle up even more, I have a worry of taking the pill because of DVT, stroke etc.....

My GP said I don't smoke and am slim, so I have no reason to worry about side effects, but that is me, I do worry I am only 32 so he is happy for me to try it. He said Loestrin 20 is a low dose pill so there is a very minimal risk.

Can anyone give me a positive story about being on the pill or ust kick me up the bum I know I have posted about this before.

[nicola1980]

Hi i was supposed to start the mini pill months ago and ive still not plucked up the courage too, prob cause i googled it (yes i know tut tut) and people said it made them suffer anxiety so i was like no way!! xx

[sickandtired]

im on the mini pill cerazette and it has stopped my horrible periods completely!
i dont believe it causes anxiety.....i had panic attacks years ago before the pill
what happens in your daily life causes anxiety......what has happened years ago can cause anxiety......the pill does give people some side effects,but not everyone......why not try it for a few months? i dont even get period pain either...it is heaven

[Savannah]

I guess with it bring the combined pill in concerned about dvt etc.... I keep thinking what if.... I've 3 children and if I became ill because of taking it I'd feel I was rather selfish just to have lighter periods.

Yes I think too much

[sickandtired]

you would be monitored ....blood pressure checks etc
if you are a non smoker and slim then the danger of dvt is very small.
im actually on tablets for high blood pressure but im still allowed to take the mini pill as its progesterone only.Im not allowed the combined pill and was taken off it 10 years ago because of high bp.Im a bit overweight at 12 and a half stone,but im not worried.....my aneamia was making me very ill......these periods needed to stop!!! i was too weak to look after my 3 kids!
why not talk it over with the doctor again

[Savannah]

I'm exhausted and my ferritin (iron stores) are low so I'm on iron medication.

I dread my periods:/

[sickandtired]

I was on iron on and off for 17 years.....the next step was hysterectomy....I,d had enough!
dont suffer....try the mini pill

[Savannah]

I asked about the mini pill but my GP said that wasn't any good for me as it doesn't stop ovulation ( I have painful ovulation) and it can cause irregular bleeding so he said the combined pill is much better.

[sickandtired]

in some women it does prevent ovulation.....it has with me.
The Mini-Pill
This type of contraceptive pill contains only progestin and therefore has been dubbed "the mini-pill". While this pill may prevent ovulation, more often than not ovulation still occurs in women on the progestin-only pill. If the mini-pill does prevent ovulation, a woman is likely to stop having her period altogether.
if you dont suffer with high BP then try the combined pill.....I was on it for years

[mashedbanana]

My periods were not that bad, the usual cramps etc but I learned to deal with them. I was on the pill for a few years, and then my other half started noticing that my PMT was making me dip back into depression - I'd come off citalopram a few months earlier. I was getting horrible depression, really physical, feeling like lead.

I wondered about PMT as the pill had stopped ovulation, then did some googling and came up with many links between depression, anxiety and my particular pill, Microgynon 30. So I stopped it and the horrid depression stopped.

I still suffer but not in the same way. I don't know if the pill made my periods easier but I'd rather not have the depths I had before.

So if you go on the pill, and remember most are hormonal pills, take careful note of your moods and decide whether it's affecting them.

Good luck, it's horrible to be ruled by periods and also by depression!