Lo Loestrin Fe

[gothdad]

Hey, first time posting and first time actively seeking advice about birth control.

Three months ago, before I started Lo Loestrin Fe, a birth control pill, I had a normal period. I always thought I was on the lucky end - I'd get minor cramps but my period would only last 5 days and I'd be good to go. But my mother, paranoid I'd get pregnant due to having a boyfriend, put me on Lo Loestrin Fe.

First month, period came, lasted 5 days. Whatever. I got spotting afterward, which was annoying but I knew it was normal. Two weeks after the first period, I got another period? And this one was painful. I thought I was dying, my cramps were awful, I had intense back pain and migraines. I actually thought I was pregnant (You can laugh, it's okay) It ended after 5 days and I was fine after that.

Second month, my boyfriend and I became more sexually active. Before lo loestrin fe, we had only had sex a few times and we ALWAYS used a condom. Now that I was on birth control, we decided to "treat ourselves" and have sex without one. I got two periods like the previous month (first one being fine and the second one being painful) and it was all fine.

Now it's the third month and I am almost done with the packet. I am currently on my last white pill, about to begin the placebo pills and this is usually the time I get the second period. It has not come yet and that has me worried. I had the first period, the alright one, and I was good. But right now, I have all the usual pain I get with the second period but no period. My back hurts, I'm cramping and I have a migraine. Last week, I had unprotected sex again with my boyfriend so I'm worried it could be pregnancy? I always make him pull out when we have unprotected sex but I'm still worried.

I know that seems like a leap but I am a natural born worrier and this pill has increased my already severe paranoia and anxiety. I'm thinking it may be from when a couple days ago (three days after having sex) I ate a lot of cheesecake and threw up, causing me to vomit out my bcp. Since I threw it up, I had to take another one and taking two did make me feel mildly nauseous. Today, though, I am especially sore, particularly in the shoulder and lower back. HOWEVER, I did have condom sex with my boyfriend this morning and he did tie me up (sorry for the tmi) so I might be sore from that.

I promise, I responsibly take my pill. I've been late taking it once and it was only two hours late and that happened during the first month. I'm freaking out and this thread probably doesn't make much sense but I really need advice from professionals.

[Eddie C]

Hello there, Gothdad. Welcome to Scarleteen.

Per your pregnancy worries, you can start here: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/bodie ... _companion

Is not that uncommon to have irregular periods when you are new to birth control. Hormonal contraceptive methods can be messy at the beginning sometimes. If you are having too much bleeding, or migraines (specially if you didn't have them before) is always good to check in with your healthcare provider who prescribed the pills. As someone who suffers from severe migraines, I know how hard those can be so if you are having a lot of them it would be sound to touch base with your doctor about this.

It sounds to me that having sex without condoms, instead of making you feel good is making you more anxious. Keep in mind that condoms are actually the only way to protect yourself from STI's so, if you'd feel better bringing them back to the equation, maybe that would make you feel safer. Have you talked to your boyfriend and explained how not using condoms is making you feel?

[gothdad]

Oh I definitely plan on checking with my gyno about this, I see her on Thursday. It kinda bums me out that my periods are worse now that I'm on the pill, ya feel?

This is going to sound mildly shameful and you've probably heard this excuse hundreds of times but, it feels better without condoms. I know it's a dumb excuse. Both my boyfriend and I have been checked and we're both clean but we vow to get a check every few months or if something's up. We still use condoms more often anyway, lol.

My back still really hurts. It's mostly my tailbone, lower back area now, but also my shoulder and neck (Rationally, that could be attributed to the heavy textbooks I carry in my backpack but obviously I'm still a lil freaked.) Should that be cause for concern? I've been reading a lot about ectopic pregnancies (I am a stress-researcher) and that's got me mildly freaked.

I'm an anxious gal with a lot of questions and concerns, I really hope I'm not bothering you thank you so much for answering by the way

[Sam W]

Hi gothdad,

Glad to hear you're getting into see someone about the period issues! I think what Edith was getting at is that, while you may enjoy not using condoms for certain reasons, not using them is causing you stress. So you might want to weigh whether or not it's worth that stress. Too, some condoms are very thin and feel as though there's nothing there. You can check out our "I can't believe that's on" pack if you're interested in trying out some of those varieties: Scarleteen's One-Stop Safer Sex Shop

If you're finding that researching these topics is making you anxious, a sound move is to give yourself a 24 hour break where you don't look for or read about pregnancy of any kind. That can help break the anxiety cycle. Since you mention you have anxiety frequently, have you been seeing someone like a counselor about that anxiety?

[Heather]

Also, just check in with a healthcare provider about the various pain you're having. It likely has nada to do with any of this (though stress plays a pretty huge part in any kind of pain, so the stress from all of this can certainly be involved), but it's always smart to get ongoing pain checked out.