STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

New Side Effects When You've Been on the Pill for Awhile?

jacL · Coach

Hmm, that is weird. Hopefully there are some other STers who can give you better advice, but I say go see your doctor!

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Well, my boobs grew about one band size and 1 1/2 cup sizes when I was 24 - I don't know if it was delayed adolescence or what - that's also when my leg hair started growing in darker (it was blond before, I was soooo lucky - miss it!) I didn't really gain weight, so I always thought it was hormonal. I dont' know how old you are...

shopgirl82 · Chanel

i had the same thing happen as you and Dizzy. when i was 23 (i'm 24 now) my boobs grew a whole size and i've had more breast tenderness when it's TOM. i'm on Yasmin btw.

Elle · Hermes

It's totally possible for new side effects to emerge, even after you've been on the pill for awhile. What was once compatible with your body may not be now, due to your own body chemistry changes or whathaveyou.

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

Yeah it's really strange. I'm 24 and since I've been on this particular pill (Ovcon) for awhile, I didn't really expect any new side effects to pop up. I always expect a bit of breast tenderness/growth around that time of the month, but now it appears to be happening whenever it feels like. For now, I'm just trying to enjoy my new rack :)

Drew · Gucci

I don't think it's weird at all. I was on birth control for five years before I got melasma on my face. I went off it after that and never went back. Unfortunately, the melasma is here to stay.

If your interested in an alternative, I've been doing Natural Family Planning since then (a year and a half now) and it works fine. Lots of girls on here are very distrusting of it, but I know (and so do millions of other women) that it does work if you do it properly.

blink · Coach

Drew wrote:

I don't think it's weird at all. I was on birth control for five years before I got melasma on my face. I went off it after that and never went back. Unfortunately, the melasma is here to stay. If your interested in an alternative, I've been doing Natural Family Planning since then (a year and a half now) and it works fine. Lots of girls on here are very distrusting of it, but I know (and so do millions of other women) that it does work if you do it properly.

I got Melasma too, though it started before the pill at about age 23 when I didn't know it was related to hormones. Then when I did start the pill, it got worse! Now it's stuck on me, but I won't be going back on the pill.

Also, I don't know how old you are, but all those other symptoms you mentioned began for me around age 23-25, so while the pill is a likely culprit, combined with general physical maturity, I am sure the pill does exaggerate the physical effects as it did for me. My body was just never the same even though I only took the pill for 6 months. Now I have had a baby, so of course, everything else about my body is different due to hormones.

PrincessPink · BCBG

First - what is melasma?

Second - I have been on the pill for 17 years with relatively little side effects until the last six months. I developed extreme PMS. It was AWFUL! Since I didn't want to go off the pill, my dr. prescribed some sort of drug that counteracts the PMS and it rocks. Not that i want to be taking tons of drugs, but I do love this one. Sanity for all four weeks of the month! Can't beat that.

On a serious note - and don't hate me for saying this, but since those side effects have only cropped up in the last 2 months - you are sure you are not preggers, right? I have a beautiful 13 y.o. niece who was a Pill baby. You might want to check just to be on the safe side. I hope i haven't freaked you out!!

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

PrincessPink wrote:

First - what is melasma?

Second - I have been on the pill for 17 years with relatively little side effects until the last six months. I developed extreme PMS. It was AWFUL! Since I didn't want to go off the pill, my dr. prescribed some sort of drug that counteracts the PMS and it rocks. Not that i want to be taking tons of drugs, but I do love this one. Sanity for all four weeks of the month! Can't beat that.

On a serious note - and don't hate me for saying this, but since those side effects have only cropped up in the last 2 months - you are sure you are not preggers, right? I have a beautiful 13 y.o. niece who was a Pill baby. You might want to check just to be on the safe side. I hope i haven't freaked you out!!

I feel decently sure I'm not pregnant. I mean, I know the possibility is always there (which is mildly terrifying). But I got my period right when I was supposed to during my last pill pack. And I don't really have any other symptoms besides the breast tenderness. Should I be concerned?

Elle · Hermes

lovelygirl wrote:

I feel decently sure I'm not pregnant. I mean, I know the possibility is always there (which is mildly terrifying). But I got my period right when I was supposed to during my last pill pack. And I don't really have any other symptoms besides the breast tenderness. Should I be concerned?

I wouldn't be worried. If you're good about remembering to take your pill you should be fine anyways, and if your last period was normal then you're not pregnant from that cycle, and it's not yet time for your next period so even if you were pregnant from this cycle you wouldn't be symptomatic yet. Plus, the pill has come a looooong way in the last 13 years!

Even women who aren't on BC pills experience fluctuations in hormones that make symptoms come and go. Perfectly normal to have something one month and not the next. As long as it isn't really really painful in a 'something's wrong' kind of way, then IMO it's nothing to be afraid of.

blubirde · Chanel

lovelygirl wrote:

I feel decently sure I'm not pregnant. I mean, I know the possibility is always there (which is mildly terrifying). But I got my period right when I was supposed to during my last pill pack. And I don't really have any other symptoms besides the breast tenderness. Should I be concerned?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Pills are different now than they were even 10 years ago. My mom claims I was a pill baby, too but 1) I don't believe she was taking the pill like she should have been, at least according to my dad and 2) bcps had a much different dosage of hormones back then.

If it makes you feel better, I sometimes go through months where my PMS symptoms are stronger than other months. It's usually cyclic for me. Every 4 months or so, my periods would be awful and my boobs would hurt and all that jazz. Then everything would be fine. (Now I'm on seasonale so it's a whole different ballgame.)

blink · Coach

PrincessPink wrote:

First - what is melasma?

Melasma is basically some dark spotty pigmentation on the skin, usually the face. It has also been called the "mask of pregnancy" because it often occurs during pregnancy (see, the hormones...) and it usually shows up on the forehead and cheeks. But I think the majority of women first see Melasma after going on the pill.

There's no cure and no specific known cause, only that it's related to hormone changes, some patients theorize that it has to do with the liver or the kidneys and with low cortisol levels. Sun exposure isn't the cause, it just exaggerates it. Skin lighteners only fade it, microdermabrasion and other harsh treatments can make it worse and some women have it all the way up until menopause! It sucks, the only good thing is that we women can wear make-up to cover it up.