Another Question About the Pill....

It might throw you off your old schedule, but it seems you aren't having a real schedule anyway! I am older, 56, but when they wanted to help me with the severe cramping and regulate me they used Ortho and it worked just fine.
You may talk to your physician about it.

Hi C.,
I'm a trained fertility instructor, and a book that has helped me a lot is Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition by Marilyn M. Shannon. In her book, she quotes Dr. Ellen Grant, who strongly recommends zinc, magnesium, essential fatty acids (like flax oil), vit. E & B (b/c the Pill & other synthetic drugs deplete the body of folic acid, vit. B2, B6, B12, & vit. C) for those recovering from Pill use. Vit A and flax oil are helpful in eliminating the heavy bleeding that sometimes occurs when the Pill is discontinued. It will take about 3-4 month (or even up to 6 months) to return to your "classic" cycle.
Often women believe that the Pill is the only way to regulate your cycle, but honestly, it's the worst thing that you can do for your body and your cycle. In this book, she explains ways that you can regulate your cycle by using nutrition, diet, and vitamins. As far as going off the Pill, I always recommend talking w/ your doctor or pharmasist before stopping any meds.
I hope this helps. There is so much more to say, so if you would like to talk more, you can email me at ____@____.com...Good luck.

While you probably won't have any intolerable side effects from stopping mid-pack, I want to encourage you to keep going with it. My daughter is on Yaz and her first month was very difficult - not with bleeding, but with beastly mood swings and migraines. She toughed it out and now absolutely loves the pill. Because of cost, we tried a different one that was to be similar and she hated it, so she's going back to the Yaz next month. Yes, some people cannot tolerate certain pills, but many times, they just need to give it a bit more time.

You may want to ask your doctor to switch your pill. I was on YAZ for awhile until I started to have my period when I shouldn't have been--and then it lasted nonstop (light--but still...) for 3 months! My doctor switched me to a similar pill, Yasmin, and I haven't had a problem since. She told me to expect longer periods than on Yaz, but I have found that I really only still have a couple of days of period. If you decide to go cold turkey and stop all together, I've done that before too--my periods just became a less predictable. Good luck!

I have never taken yaz but I was on ortho novum 777 for a while and it took about 2 months and I was regular. Ask your doc to try a different pill. They may also just need to adjust the dosage of the yaz to make it more effective and to get you regulated. Talk to your doc and see what he/she says not the nurse.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.

Hi C.,

I don't know anything about the type of birth control that you are currently taking, but almost 2 years ago I stopped taking mine in the middle too, and one morning I woke up, got in the shower, and almost passed out. I felt horrible that day and was very light headed. When I stopped taking the pills I had a light period, even though that wasn't during my regular cycle, but it caused to lose too much blood. I would be very careful!

you should probably ask your doctor... playing around with hormones is the last thing i'd do!! they can help you wean off it safely.

i highly recommend getting a progesterone cream, you just rub it on your skin days 14-28 and it really helps regulate your cycle and also can help with mood swings and depression. some doctors can prescribe it, you can also buy an over the counter version at most health food stores, (it's lower dosage than prescription... but still helps a lot) it's been the best thing for me by far!

you'll get your period since the lack of hormone, so really not a big deal to stop the pills. just stop them and call your dr to let them know you want something different. i've been through that a billion times!! and i worked for an ob-gyn. your hormones will be off wack but not horribly since yaz is a low dose pill. are you using this as a contraceptive? if so, please use back up!!! i wish ya lots of luck and if you have any other questions..... send them my way.

Nothing will happen if you stop taking the pill. Your cycle and period will adjust to where you were before. You might begin your period a bit earlier or later. I wouldn't go by your period to tell whether you are pregnant for the next month since you are deciding to stop taking the pill.

I have problems with taking birth control, and I tried several different products before I found one that didn't upset my system.

I am taking "Yasmin". That's different than "Yaz". I have had a lower drive than not being on the pill. I haven't had problems with yeast infections, urinary tract infections or skin tenderness like other products. Yasmin is supposed to have lower doses of the hormones. Perhaps talk to your doctor and see if there are products with lower hormones that you can take to regulate you. I heard from my OB that there are products that are used to regulate the cycle and do not necessarily prevent pregnancy.

When my son stopped breastfeeding my doctor put me on YAZ. I started having horrible back pains and we were concerned that it was my kidneys. It ended up that I went off YAZ and felt much better after a month.

I switched to a new medication after a week into the month and everything was fine. You may need to wait until your next period to start the new pill, but it is worth it.

Good Luck!

C.,

Women stop taking the pill all the time before ending the month/cycle. You will probably have a period again and be irregular. Of course, you'd have to use another form of birth control until you could start a different pill in a month. If you are planning on switching soon, then you will probably not stop but just jump in on the day number you would normally be on. You'd have to ask the dr. but I certainly wouldn't continue for another 3 weeks if I was miserable.

I don't know about stopping pills in the middle of a pack and I don't know anything about Yaz, but I do know that I was on a pill called Ortho tricyclene and I loved it. I did not have ANY side effects and as far as being regular I could tell you the exact day I would start. There is also another version called Ortho tricyclene lo which should do the same thing with a lower dose of hormones. There is also a generic so it doesn't have to cost too much. I price checked this between pharmacies and found Kroger to be the cheapest. Keep in touch with your doctor for their advice but also be forward with what you want. Good Luck.

I'm no nurse, but I'd say just go off it. Especially if you're not using it for birth control. Also, it won't help you regulate, but NFP can make your periods at least more predictable. You would get about two weeks warning when it was coming... If you can find an Ovulation Method instructor in your area, I'd recommend it... Alternately, I just found an awesome site that can help: mymonthlycycles.com. Check it out! :)

I had some problems several years ago and the doc (at the time) just kept throwing pills at me to regulate me. I was on different birth controls, hormones, etc. Anyway, I got sick of it. I went off of everything! My body did regulate itself to a point. It did take a while but I think that's to be expected. Years later I went to the doc (different doc) and he said that going off of everything the way I did was the best thing I could have done for myself. I do want to caution you: I went through these troubles and 9 yrs later tried to conceive. It was quite difficult even though I had not been on any birth control or used any other means to prevent pregnancy for those 9 years. I had to go through surgery and such. Anyway, if having another child later is an option that you want open to you, make sure you know all the effects of the birth control. I would ask the pharmacist about any negative effects of stopping the pill now. I didn't but I was just fed up when I stopped them. Good luck to you, Shannon G.

I'm on YAZ and the first month I was on the pill I had my period every single day! It was ridiculous. But I stuck with it and by month three I was completely regular. It's been a year and since then I have only started early once, and I really believe that was due to stress. I think you need that adjustment period on YAZ because it is such a low dose of hormones. Good luck. It eventually worked for me. Hopefully it does for you.

Same thing happened to me with the YAZ.... so I just up and stopped taking it. My period finally ended (after the 3 months they tell you it takes to regulate its self) and my drive came back all on its own. I rather use other protection than to go through that. So...as I said... I just up and stopped taking it.

good luck!

check out a great resource ccli.org

Yaz is NOT GOOD..Talk to your dr and GET OFF IT.

Hi C-
I would stop taking it. As far as I know from experience you should not have any side effects after stopping except for a longer period or an unpredictable one the next month. I took YAZ and gained like 8 lbs. They say "the pill" does not increase the risk of wieght gain but I have never had such luck. I have been on so many different kinds of pills because I am so sensitive to the hormone changes. I have never felt good on any of them. My most common side effect is feeling tired and run down-during the first two weeks particularly. I currently take Mircette which is a lower does of estrogen. I don't get as tired. I did have some spotting my first month but it went away. The key is to take the pill at the same time. Sometimes if I miss a day I will spot.

As far as YAZ, my Dr. told me that YAZ has a higher does of progesteron and potassium which helps with PMS but could make you more tired if your body is sensitive to a highter dose of progesteron. Sometimes you need less or more depending on your body. I need a lower does of both estrogen and progesteron.

Good luck!

T