BC Pill- someone please help!

[[Ve...]]

I got off the BC pill after about 8 years of use before I ever started my taper, because I didn't want it interfering with my w/d.  The same month I got off the benzos I was diagnosed with a uterine polyp and was put back on the Pill to control the 4 months of constant bleeding I dealt with.  I think the BC Pill is effecting my w/d symptoms in a very negative way, and it seems to be getting worse and worse.  Has anyone else had this experience?

 

I just did some research on here and was shocked to find that many of you stated the BC Pill has a calming effect?  This is the first I've ever heard of this.  Can someone clue me in?  I have always found the pill makes me moodier, more teary-eyed, anxious, and gives me heart palpitations.  My previous research and conversations with other women seem to validate that suspicion.  My post withdrawal had been going so well until I started a new pack of pills a week and a half ago.  This month it seems to have really hit me, and I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a negative reaction to the pill?  Or is this old anxiety coming back!?  Or is this just another wave but one that does'nt feel like the other waves?  I am so confused!

[[pa...]]

Hey Venus,

 

I am NOT on the pill, but I wanted to put your mind at ease when I saw your message.

 

Here's the quick deal. BC pills are hormones, and they are all different.  Even without benzo w/d, the same pill would affect 2 different women in different ways, with some experiencing difficult symptoms and others experiencing a positive change in mood. That's without benzos involved, and that's considering only one pill type. There are 30+ some -odd pill types out there, and it woudl be hard to know how each would affect us in withdrawal, but I can mention this:

 

Progesterone is GABA-ergic. In a normally menstruating woman NOT on the pill, she makes very little progesterone on days 1-14 of her cycle and then after ovulation, progesterone rapidly rises. During this time - those of us in benzo w/d have experienced different symptoms.  I personally have a GREAT relief of symptoms when my own progesterone is high because of the fact that it acts on GABA receptors. However, other women on the forum report that this is their  WORST time, as progestone CAN have a counterintuitive, paradoxical effect!  Right before our period starts, progesterone rapidly falls and THIS is when I get my worst symptoms, whereas other women report a relief during this time and during their periods when progestone is low.  For me and many others, our body's own progesterone is a boon, but to others, it revs symptoms.  It just depends on the person it seems.

 

As fas as the pill, most pills that i know of are low progesterone.  They would equate to low or lower than what a woman produces during days 1-14.  So - I'm not sure if that affects you negatively or not.  I don't know if there is any way to really "know" what is happening because our reactions to hormones are all so variable.

 

There have even been some success stories posted where some women have used natural progesterone cream during withdrawal but later realized that they grew dependent on it just like a benzo (which makes sense if it's acting on GABA).

 

You will hopefully here from other women on here who can mention their experience, but i wanted to shed some light on the topic just so you don't feel crazy.    It is possible that the pill is affecting you, because most of the time, it has some affect on all of us regardless of whether we are in withdrawal.  The decision to use the pill is definitely between you and your doctor. I would say if you started the pill after withdrawal and noticed a worsening of symptoms, it could be related, but it might be hard to say with the way all of our symptoms continually wax and wane.  I know it's hard when you aren't sure what is going on, so whatever you do, maybe try to be consistent with it just so you can allow your body time to find balance with things (whether you stay on it or not). 

 

Hope this helps a little. YOu can learn about progesterone levels during our cycle versus on the pill by reading about "progesterone" on wikipedia.org  It might help you generate some good questions for your doctor.

 

Almost any benign medication can affect us during withdrawal - antiobiotics, Advil, painkilers - so it may be that hormones affect you. But whatever the case, your body will adjust as long as things are consistent.

 

Hope this helps!

:)Parker

 

[[Wi...]]

Is this the same birth control pill that you took before w/d?  If not, can you go back to that one?

 

For me it stops pms, which is why it helps me out, but I was on it prior and continue during w/d.  However, Parker is correct about the hormone stuff as well as medication affecting w/d where it previously was not problematic.  In addition to her suggestion to seach Wikipedia, you can also do a search on this site for Progesterone and birth control.  i know there is a lot of info here because the issues you are talking about are a lot more common than not.

 

Here are a couple to get you started.  They won't all apply but will give you an idea of 1. how common hormone issues are in w/d and 2. perhaps provide not only support but some ideas.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=41461.0

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=47259.0

 

Hope that helps some.

 

WWWI

 

[[da...]]

I got the paragard copper IUD after my son was born. I was very hesitant to go back to normal bc pills. This is hormone free.

 

I know it's not an option for everyone, but despite very heavy periods the first six months it has been great.

 

Just my two cents...

 

[[Ve...]]

Parker, thanks for your very in-depth reply.  I appreciate that!  What you say makes a lot of sense, and I'm going to consider it as I make a decision about how to proceed from here. 

 

WiseWoman, I was on Seasonique, but my current gynocologist doesn't want to put me back on that because he said he has seen that it causes anxiety and depression in women.  I got on the BC pill a year after I had gotten on Benzos.  Originally, it was not Seasonique, but I do not remember which pill it was.  I had a hard time with it, but enough benzos will cure all ills except that brain fog and lack of any and all motivation.  I think this is how I managed to handle the Pill so well then. 

 

Daytoday, I wish an IUD was an option for me, but unfortunately it isn't.  :-( 

 

Can someone just take my uterus, please?  LOL  I'm kidding.  I'm thinking of asking my doc if I can try to go to a pill that ISN'T the strongest one on the market.  I think the main issue here is that this pill is simply too much for me.  They don't really want to put me on a lower dose pill, because they are afraid it will allow the bleeding from this stupid uterine polyp to come back, but I have a feeling that won't happen.  And if it does, I have a good feeling it won't be all that severe (not like before, OMG,) and if it helps my mood, then it will be worth it. 

 

The good news is that things have evened back out- (it always seems to only be that first week or week and a half on the pill each month.)  I feel dandy today!  It's a good thing 'cause I was losing my mind, I swear!  Thanks again, ladies!

[[Wi...]]

Venus,

 

I'm on BC primarily because of severe PMS (again, the same reason I ended up on Ativan).  I was never able to tolerate bc until they put me on Microgestin by Watson (it's a generic, but even other equivilant generics I don't tolerate well.  They tried to switch me to another generic Junel, but even tho they swore it was identical, it was not). Microgestin came out in 2006.  Had it come out earlier I wouldn't have spent 35 years dealing with this let alone become dependant on benzos.

 

I take it continuously so I have no cycle and therefore no PMS.  I go off the pill about 3 times a year because that's what they suggest.  But it has been a really effective and the least negative impact in my experience. I'm just putting it out there and maybe it's worth talking to your doctor about.  Just a thought

 

WWWI