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LADIES: Birth Control reactions? Weird cycles/symptoms?

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Posted 6/22/2015 6:07 PM (GMT -5)
Just wondering if anyone else can relate to anything below? Hope it's not TMI for some:

I didn't know I had Lyme in my 20's. My PCP put me on birth control since I already had 1 kid and didn't want anymore in the near future. I was also complaining of very painful periods that were too frequent (23-25 day cycle) and the suddent onset of adult acne. I'd never ever had acne, not even as a teen.

Each type of oral BC she prescribed caused me to have symptoms I never had prior: mood swings, PMS, weight gain. So she put me on The Patch(remember that?!) and I had insane heart palpitations. She immediately took me off the patch & switched me to other oral BC pills but all types and hormone dosages caused heart palpitations and the PMS symptoms I listed above to appear, even though I'd never had PMS, weight gain, or mood swings in the past. Eventually took me off of everything and said I was likely to be one of those women who would have a stroke or heart attack from BC. This was also when she became willing to schedule me for my first EKG. (Of course, it came back normal.). From there, my only option was the copper IUD, which I didn't want to try.

about 2.5 years ago--right when the Lyme was flaring bad and I mistakenly thought I was having early MS symptoms--I developed an allergy to latex. So there went my last comfortable option for BC.

Then I learned it's Lyme and you can't take BC anyway while on all the abx because the antibiotics cancel out the pills. What to do??

As I've said in other posts, once I started on the abx, my cycle changed to a normal 28-day cycle within one month. This whole "Lyme-and-your-cycle" stuff is really baffling and intriguing to me.... anyone else?
Posted 6/23/2015 12:31 PM (GMT -5)
I was placed on oral birth control in my late 30s, and I think it contributed to the breast cancer I had later. I don't remember the side effects.

Can you use a diaphragm or condoms? Diaphragms seem very effective when used with cream, and I never had trouble with condoms (also best with a cream).

Margaret
Posted 6/24/2015 10:20 PM (GMT -5)
I'm following this thread! It's one of those things they don't tell you about with Lyme.
Posted 6/25/2015 2:11 PM (GMT -5)
Birth control pills made me bleed constantly. I've always had horrible periods. I had the mirena iud for about 18 months and it was ok. My body finally rejected it though so I had to get it taken out. It made me spot all the time but I didn't go through actual periods which was really nice.

I'm not on any kind of birth control right now. I don't feel good enough to have sex anyway! But I'd like to figure something out that would help make my periods more normal. Some years I've only had 2 or 3 periods. Others I've had a period every 2 weeks. My hormones are just a mess!

If you find anything that works well please let me know!

I've heard the copper iud makes periods way more painful and heavy. I really wish the mirena would've worked out for me :(
Posted 6/25/2015 2:33 PM (GMT -5)
I had a tubaligation 9 years BEFORE my diagnosis(i couldn't take BC pills); I was however peri-menopause FOR YEARS-then menopause last summer of June 2014 after 10 months of absent menses-at which time I began treatment for Lyme, virals, and HIGH heavy metals(which totally messes w/the hormones)- anyhow after about 4-6 months treatment, my periods came back for 4 months, but now officially menopause!!!!

To sum it up; YES this dang illness most def. Screws up the hormones!!!
Posted 6/25/2015 4:23 PM (GMT -5)
My periods were always regular when I had them, LOL, at least until right before menopause.

I've heard terrible things about IUDs; please don't use one. One of my closest friends was hospitalized bc of an IUD infection. They are very irritating, and they tend to inflame the tissue.

I think birth control periods can normalize periods, but I wouldn't recommend those either, bc as I said, they can be a contributing factor to cancer.

We are more vulnerable to infections as well as to cancer.

Hey, I have a stupid joke. Not only am I in menopause, I'm in MEN o PAUSE.

Margaret
Posted 6/25/2015 9:36 PM (GMT -5)
HA Margaret!! Love the humor. :-)

Just curious, are you comfortable sharing any more detail about how you think the birth control contributed to your breast cancer? Was it the increased hormones? I find it so interesting that you had normal periods before menopause--we really are all so different when dealing with this nasty little bugger called Lyme.

Thank you to the rest of you for your responses as well. To answer your question, Margaret, no condoms for me due to the latex allergy. I guess I could try some of the other types but I've left that to my dear to research. ;-). IHL, if I find anything that works better/differently I will definitely share. I'm so sick of short periods or periods that are too painful. For now the only thing that seemed to normalize them was the antibiotics. So bizarre!

And Sweetpea, I'm sorry that you had to go through that! So many women on here have posted about difficult pregnancies, miscarriages, infertility--I'm convinced it's all rooted in Lyme...

I hope more voices chime in here so we can get a better picture of this aspect of Lyme's impact on the female body...
Posted 6/26/2015 12:02 PM (GMT -5)
My Dr. thinks I've had lyme for a long time. Since I was little. It just never got a full hold on me until now. But as I started menstruation at the age of fourteen, it was heavy painful and made it so I couldn't walk for days! I only get my period every so often, maybe once or twice a year, but each period is punishment. There is an odd year where I'll get my period a few more times than normal. They told me it was PCOS but never told me that it was affected by my diet or what could have caused it.

Since I've started seeing my new Dr. and treating lyme, she was pretty freaked out by my extremely high estrogen levels and my lack of progesterone. Apparently my Adrenal fatigue caused my adrenals to steal the pregnenolone(precursor to progesterone among other things) and turn it into cortisol so my body wouldn't be without. So she put me on a pregnenolone supplement and I started having weekly periods! I've dialed back the dose and it seems to be slowing down a bit.

I wonder if you should ask your doctor about pregnenolone or if you should ask them about saw palmento, something to help your liver get rid of the excess hormones in your body. Maybe you have a surplus of progesterone? Have you had your hormone levels checked at all?
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