His and Her Health

Is anyone taking the birth control patch and having long and heavy periods as well as skin irritations? I just switched to the patch from the pill (after using it for 3 years) in December. I wanted try it because I heard many good things about it. The first 3 weeks were fine because it was convenient, and I didn't have to worry about taking a pill everyday. I did, however, notice skin irritations (small bumps that have still not gone away) when I changed my weekly patch. On the 4th week, when you don't wear a patch, I got my period for 7 days straight and it was very heavy. While I was on the pill, my periods only lasted for about 3-4 days and it was light. I spoke with my Gynecologist yesterday, and he's going to put me on a new birth control pill where you only get your period 4 times a year, which I’m absolutely thrilled about (my husband is as well). I asked my Doctor if I was the only one with these issues while on the patch, and he said that he's only had one other client that had a bad reaction to it. Other than that, every client of his, using the patch has not experienced any problems. Again, I just wanted to know if any one else was/is having the same problems with the patch, especially since it works so well for others. Any comments, advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.<P>------------------<BR>Police Wife

I dont have the answers about the patch but i am wondering if your gyn will be switching you to Seasonal the bcp that you only get your peroid 4 times a year. If so I would be interested in your expierence with it. A friend of mine works for a Rx company and is currenly working with seasonal and says it is wonderful.

Yes, Curious Fate, that's exactly what my Gynecologist is switching me to. I too have heard great things about it, and just the idea of 4 periods a year is fabulous! I'll let you know how it works out.<BR>

Just so you know, you don't need a special perscription to only have your period 4 times a year. You simply take your birth control pills continuously, going straight into another pack instead of taking the placebos or waiting 7 days, stopping them 4 times a year to allow yourself to menstrate. Then you start them again. THis really should only be done with a doctor's supervision, but you don't need to be on the "special" pill to do it. If you have good luck with your current pill, it's often better not to change it since different pills can have different effects on different people.<P>I've been using this method for years, and it's wonderful.

I used to use the patch, and I had all kinds of issues with it, mine came loose all the time, and it fell of twice, so I was afraid to use it anymore. it bothered my skin also. Dona1 is right, I used to skip my period every other month by continueing on with my pill pack for the next month, my gyno used to give me the sample pakcs to equal out my prescription.

Wow, I never knew about continuously taking the active pills to regulate your period, Dona1 and Princess. Thanks for that information. I just think that I'll be safer taking this new brand because it's already planned out for me every 3 months, and I don't want to take any chances of getting pregnant. Princess, the patch fell off of me as well. Since it has to be changed each week (I do it on Sundays), I didn’t want to place it in the same spot, so I moved it around the appropriate parts of the body every Sunday. It stuck well to both of my arms, but when I switched it to my abdomen and backside, it rubbed off against my underwear and pants and left a sticky mess on my clothes and me. Luckily, I had backup patches, so I put them back on my arms. Also, with all of the scrubbing and rubbing of baby oil, there's still a slight outline of the patch on my right arm and backside, and I really don’t like that because I’m very particular about cleanliness. I know a lot of women prefer this method of birth control, but it's just not the right one for me.