[yellow_fleurs]

Anyone have stories on what has worked for them in terms of hormonal birth control? II have exacerbation of mood issues certain times of the month (could be PMDD as well). I tried nuvaring a few years ago and couldn't figure out why I was losing my mind, then realized it was the birth control. My gynecologist recommended a progestin only pill because I have endometriosis so it should be good for that and my moods (at least this specific one), but I am freaked out about trying something oral due to systemic effects in case it makes my moods worse, and kind of wanted to try an IUD which could have fewer systemic effects. Anyways, more info than you needed, but would love to hear your stories. Thanks!

[wildflowerchild25]

I am interested in this as well. I have an appt on Monday to get birth control an have no idea what brand to try. I will be trying a pill due to not having any prescription insurance right now so nuvaring is to expensive for me. I was on one years ago when I was in college that didn’t seem to bother me (but I wasn’t symptomatic with bipolar at that point). Can’t remember The brand though.

I too get pmdd like symptoms. I post about it all the time in the daily check in. Sometimes it’s just extreme irritability, sometimes it’s crushing depression complete with self harm or suicidal thoughts. Then it passes once I get my period and I’m like oooooh that’s why! I’m so tired of it.

I am worried about anything I try exacerbating bipolar symptoms though.

[yellow_fleurs]

Yeah I feel the same way. It makes me anxious to try anything..these hormones complicate things so much! Good luck with the appointment and finding something that works. I know some people try the Paraguard IUD with success since there are no hormones involved (I realize you couldn't until you have insurance that covers it probably), but it would just make my endometriosis symptoms worse and not help it, so can't do that one personally.

[Unrigged64072835]

I had Paragard because of family history of ovarian cancer. It was fine until I developed fibroids and went perimenopausal. I eventually had a hysterectomy.

I haven't had progestin only pills but it wouldn't hurt to try.

[Blueberrybook]

Hormonal birth control did a number on me, especially all the low dose pills. Then, when I went back onto the original higher dose pills, I was worse than ever. After my daughter was born, I got the copper IUD (Paragard) because it doesn't have hormones. Women tend to have heavier periods on it and/or longer ones, but I wasn't much affected either way from my natural state (because on hormones, of course, you have very light periods. But mine were like I remembered the 6 months or so off the pill before I started trying to get pregnant with my daughter (had to go off the psych meds too).

I never had issues with Paragard though I have heard some doctors don't like to give a woman an IUD if she hasn't had a child first. Now, after removal of the Paragard, I have not been able to get pregnant again. I guess I've been off it 7 or 8 years now. But I know other people have had it, gotten it removed, and gotten pregnant again. It could be something genetic for me too. My maternal grandmother was an only child, in a day & age when it was not uncommon for a woman (particularly from a poor family like hers) to have 10 kids or even more. And my paternal grandmother had to have some surgery done before she could get pregnant with my father. My mom and sisters all had kids no trouble. I got pregnant with my daughter the first month we tried, so go figure.

Anyway, you couldn't pay me to touch hormones again.

[Gabyunbound]

I have an IUD -Mirena- and not only did it stop my period, it also helped immensely with PMS symptoms. I highly recommend it!

[yellow_fleurs]

Originally Posted by Gabyunbound

I have an IUD -Mirena- and not only did it stop my period, it also helped immensely with PMS symptoms. I highly recommend it!

I am leaning towards trying the Mirena so this is encouraging!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

This is one bad story so don't be scared off but.....I had a very nasty experience with the Mirena. From the time it was put in I was suicidal and severely, dangerously mixed. It also didn't work quite as planned; I had 2 weeks of bleeding, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks of bleeding so I was still bleeding too much and getting anemic.

We tried everything with meds and IP and nothing worked. So after 9 months we pulled it thinking "can't hurt, might help". I was at a big teaching hospital and my pdoc and gyn had never had anyone with a bad reaction but we were out of ideas. It came out and within days I was improving. Within the next couple months my gyn and my pdoc each found another case of a woman with a mood disorder made much worse by the Mirena and both of them improved immediately when it was removed. After that they've been more cautious with it and women with mood disorders.

I would never say don't try it because it is great for a lot of people but I would say to use caution if your bipolar changes after insertion. The good thing is that if it does cause problems it is easy to remove. And it is such a low dose of hormones it shouldn't matter; I am extremely sensitive to meds and hormonal changes.

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

This is one bad story so don't be scared off but.....I had a very nasty experience with the Mirena. From the time it was put in I was suicidal and severely, dangerously mixed. It also didn't work quite as planned; I had 2 weeks of bleeding, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks of bleeding so I was still bleeding too much and getting anemic.

We tried everything with meds and IP and nothing worked. So after 9 months we pulled it thinking "can't hurt, might help". I was at a big teaching hospital and my pdoc and gyn had never had anyone with a bad reaction but we were out of ideas. It came out and within days I was improving. Within the next couple months my gyn and my pdoc each found another case of a woman with a mood disorder made much worse by the Mirena and both of them improved immediately when it was removed. After that they've been more cautious with it and women with mood disorders.

I would never say don't try it because it is great for a lot of people but I would say to use caution if your bipolar changes after insertion. The good thing is that if it does cause problems it is easy to remove. And it is such a low dose of hormones it shouldn't matter; I am extremely sensitive to meds and hormonal changes.

Beyondtherainbow is right. Mirena could be just fine, but it can also be very bad for mood disorders. I saw this a lot on a parenting board I belonged to for 4 or 5 years after my daughter was born. There were moms on there with no history of postpartum depression or depression in general who got Mirena and then had awful trouble with moods.

And Paragard isn't perfect what with the heavier cycles (not good if you already have a heavy cycle or endometriosis). I don't know if it's the reason I couldn't have a sibling for my daughter or not. On the whole, I think it is not because lots of couples end up with unexplained secondary infertility (meaning they have one child without trouble and then cannot conceive a 2nd time).

For awhile, I used charting my cycles on fertilityfriend (had to pay to get the full benefit). For me, this worked great. I took my temperature and charted and we used condoms on my fertile days and nothing after I ovulated. When we were ready for a baby, I turned it around, and yep, got pregnant the first fertile time in the first cycle I tried. But for other people, this is a horrible method of birth control. My youngest sister tried it and ended up with an "oops" baby. The time I used it, I knew I would be planning pregnancy shortly anyway, so if an "oops" pregnancy resulted, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me. Even if you don't use this as a method of birth control or trying to get pregnant, I highly recommend reading the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". There is a lot I didn't know about fertility and my cycles. I am going to make it required reading for my daughter so that she understands just what exactly is going on with her body at any given time in her cycle. Now that I have been without an IUD 7 or 8 years and haven't gotten pregnant, I don't think it will happen. I suppose anything is possible, but if I come to that bridge, I will cross it then.

[yellow_fleurs]

Thanks, this is good to know about the Mirena experiences. That sounds like a horrible reaction BeyondtheRainbow. Sorry you experienced that. Reminds me of a worse version of how I felt on the Nuvaring wondering what was up then making the connection and quickly starting to feel better. Honestly, I have a feeling none of the hormonal contraceptives are going to be good for me, like if it can mess me up it will, but I guess maybe I should try something and see. I am mostly worried about the endometriosis getting worse if I don't treat it with hormonal birth control, so feel like I am choosing between my physical and mental health. It's a weird position to be in.

[AspiringAuthor]

I do not have hormone-mood issues, so this might not be relevant for you, but I want to add my voice for Mirena.

Also, if you have not had children, there are now smaller IUDs than Mirena that can be inserted in a "virgin" womb.