marlicorris
I have struggled with bc side effects since I began using bc about 5 years ago. I started with the shot which was a HUGE mistake. It seemed convenient at the time and I had no idea the side effects it could cause. I was horribly depressed, cried all the time, gained a lot of weight, got acne and migraines. I am typically a pretty easy going person, and previous to bc I never had a migraine and my skin was pretty clear. After a horrible three months of being on the shot (2 of which I was on my period) I switched to the patch. It seemed fine at first, but I still had mood swings and was retaining extra weight and having migraines. I went off of it for a brief time and got very sick, almost like food poisoning. When I went back on it I got sick again. So I decided it was time to switch so I started on a pill. I took ortho cyclin. It had been the best out of the three, but I noticed lack of sex drive, which hadn't been a problem in the past. And I still had migraines and retained weight. The acne on my face slowly began to clear up. It took over a year to get to the point where I only had minor breakouts, which I still have. After three years on that I decided a few months before my wedding that I wanted to switch to Yas. So far (Its been 3-4 months) I have lost some weight (5 lbs immediately after switching), acne is about the same maybe a little less, my migraines seem to be less frequent. My libedo is slowly coming back, which is nice since I have been married a month now. My husband and I don't want to have kids for probably 5 years so I feel like I have to stay on bc even though I hate it and all the problems it has caused for me. And I hate to be on it for so long since I know it can cause problems with fertility. I hadn't heard of the Sympto-Thermal method, but am definitely going to check it out because a natural method of bc has to be way better than pumping our bodies with hormones. I strongly recommend any woman who feels as though they may be experiencing side effects to go to their doc immediately. Don't waste time like I did because spending 3 years with weight gain, loss in sex drive and mood swings is definitely not worth it. Some docs (like mine) might encourage you to you wait a couple of months to let your body adjust, but if you have problems within the first month or two of taking a certain type of bc I would switch. It took me a while to realize all the side effects were most likely due to my bc, but educate yourself and learn from women like me who had some bad experiences and then go to the doc!

lmccain
I feel that birth control plays a tremendous part in my sex drive. I'm on the nuvaring and have been on different birth control since I was 16. Only when I remove the nuvaring to begin my cycle is the only time I actually want sex. My poor husband think that it's something with him but not at all. Its the synthetic hormones that make me feel sexual inadequate at times.

nmorera
I had a pill that cut down my sexual appetite. I hated it. So I just make sure he always wears a condom and when he does that he goes ahead and pulls out anyway. On top of that, I don't have sex the week I ovulate. So I'm using three methods instead of one. It's a little tiring but it's better than mood swings, weight gain and a non-existent sex drive.

simsjulie
I have been on and off birth control all through my 20s and at 31, I finally had to kick it to the curb. It made me feel like a zombie, especially sexually. The first few months of being off of it last year resulted in: 1. Feeling mentally and physically alive again 2. I could definitely tell when I was ovulating 3. When I was ovulating, my libido was going CRAZY and ANY MAN who walked by me made my nether regions throb - I was basically a 24-hour sex-crazed girl while ovulating. This balanced out over about 3 months and that doesn't happen anymore, but I will never go back to hormonal birth control. It had many other undesirable effects on my body, mind, and system that I never want to deal with again. And watch out ladies, estrogen dominance, caused frequently by birth control, is the leading cause of breast cancer. You'd be better off taking your temperature every day.

tastey
posercali - This is good to know. Like you, I have been on the pill since high school and on different ones to boot. Every now and again I have the "urge to perform" but most of the time, I don't want anything at all. My poor husband! I think we will practice other methods of birth control so that I can get off the pill and maybe boost our sex life. Thank you so much for your input, posercali!

stiggycaz
I did a little research on this and thought some people might be interested by the results of a study reported on this website. http://www.epigee.org/guide/pill_sex.html

posercali
I have been on many different forms of the pill since I was 15. I have tried Ortho TriCyclen, Ortho TriCyclen Low, Seasonique and Yaz. It didn't matter which one I was on- I had no libido with all. Seasonique was the worst- it made me not only not want sex ever, but made me feel completely depressed and numb mentally. I was like a zombie. In my experience, sometimes your body just doesn't want to do certain things- like take the pill. I tried for so long to ignore my body's signs and take it anyway, but it eventually got to me. I would bleed in the middle of a cycle, feel like I was the most unattractive person ever, had no sex drive at all, got cranky and was tired all the time. I went off it as an experiment for about 6 months and felt like a whole new person- then I went back on for my weding and honeymoon so my husband and I could be "spontaneous" wherever we wanted to be. But I immediately felt all the same symptoms. I've been off the pill for 2 months now and I feel like a new person again. I actually ask for sex at times! Just listen to your body- it'll very bluntly tell you when it doesn't like something. And keep your spouse in the loop too! It made things so much easier for him to know it wasn't him. And it helped me too- because he was so supportive!