Girly problems (warning tmi)

[Laurelin]

Sorry but I figure there's a lot of girls to ask here.

Anyways I have PCOS and am usually on Yasmin to regulate it. I got off it a while unintentionally and my period stopped. I got back on it a few months ago. First month was fine and everything was normal. Then I went a month with no period again. Then halfway through the month while still on the pill (right before vacation actually) I started bleeding. It's been way over a week now and I am still bleeding very heavily. What is this about? Should I go in to talk to the gyno?

 

[Locke]

Yeah, I think it would be a good time to see a doctor.

 

[sparks19]

better safe than sorry. go see the doc

 

[Beanie]

Yup, I agree... especially because you're dealing with PCOS, and especially because it's heavy bleeding, I'd go talk to the doc. If it was just spotting or light bleeding I wouldn't be that worried but heavy bleeding for over a week is worth a phone call at least.

 

[Miakoda]

Talk to your doc.

But I did something like that when I switched from regular Ortho to a low-dose version back when I was in college. I quit having periods again, went back on Provera to get one, started on the new pill......and had bleeding for 49 days straight. It was A-W-F-U-L (cause then I was anemic and dealt with all kinds of other issues). Every now and then (like once or twice a year), I'd have a situation like that where I would bleed for at least 3-5 weeks.

And I had enough. I quit the pills. I quit the Provera. And I quit having my periods again. I went 3 years without one and the year before I got married (when I got engaged), I went back to the GYN to have some more testing done and get back on schedule as I knew fertility problems were going to be likely.

But it's frustrating. I have to see an endocrinologist on the 6th to try and figure out my new round of issues. Bleh.

 

[noludoru]

Call the GYN - it could be normal (BS affects everyone differently) and it could be a major problem. I wouldn't say it's an emergency as long as you're not dizzy or ill or in pain, though.

 

[Laurelin]

That's another thing- I've been having cramps every day since starting this month with the pill. I've been taking Yasmin for over 2 years now though and have been fine before this. There is a new generic that they're carrying now as opposed to the one I used before but shouldn't it be identical?

 

[noludoru]

It should be, but may not be. Look up your generic and the one you took before - there could be a difference in formulation. The generic formulations are usually the same ingredients and sometimes different amounts of them. It could also be a quality control issue.

Another thing is that you've been in Hawaii all week (ish) and the jet lag has got to suck. But if you've been cramping all month, I think it's an issue with the BC.

Could you be pregnant? I might be crazy, but there's a small possibility it could be a very early miscarriage. I would think a miscarriage would be worse than just cramping and bleeding, though. It's pretty unlikely.

 

[noludoru]

YASMIN® provides an oral contraceptive regimen consisting of 21 active film coated tablets each containing 3 mg of drospirenone and 0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol and 7 inert film coated tablets. The inactive ingredients are lactose monohydrate NF, corn starch NF, modified starch NF, povidone 25000 USP, magnesium stearate NF, hydroxylpropylmethyl cellulose USP, macrogol 6000 NF, talc USP, titanium dioxide USP, ferric oxide pigment, yellow NF. The inert film coated tablets contain lactose monohydrate NF, corn starch NF, povidone 25000 USP, magnesium stearate NF, hydroxylpropylmethyl cellulose USP, talc USP, titanium dioxide USP.

Beyaz
* 24 pink tablets each containing 3 mg drospirenone, 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol as betadex clathrate, and 0.451 mg levomefolate calcium
* 4 light orange tablets each containing 0.451 mg levomefolate calcium

YAZ® provides an oral contraceptive regimen consisting of 24 active film coated tablets each containing 3 mg of drospirenone and 0.02 mg of ethinyl estradiol stabilized by betadex as a clathrate (molecular inclusion complex) and 4 inert film coated tablets. Other ingredients are lactose monohydrate NF, corn starch NF, magnesium stearate NF, hypromellose USP, talc USP, titanium dioxide USP, ferric oxide pigment, red NF. The inert film coated tablets contain lactose monohydrate NF, corn starch NF, povidone 25000 USP, magnesium stearate NF, hypromellose USP, talc USP, titanium dioxide USP.

The Yasmin seems to have more estrogen in a slightly different formulation than the other two and doesn't have a calcium supplement, if I read correctly, but that's all the info I could really find. . . They're all 28-day drugs, but the Yaz has a 7-day breakthrough bleeding period and the others seem to have only 4.

Edit: There's another oral contraceptive called Angeliq that contains the same ingredients with a totally different formulation. Not sure if it's also a Bayer product like Yaz and Yasmin. It's also a 28-day pill.

ANGELIQ TABLETS provide a hormone regimen consisting of film coated tablets each containing 0.5 mg of drospirenone and 1 mg of ethinyl estradiol.

 

[Laurelin]

I used Yasmin a few months then switched to Ocella. Last time I went in to get a new pack of Ocella and the pharmacy had switched to something called 'Zarah' for their generic. Really this is the first month I've used Zarah instead of Ocella or Yasmin. I am really wondering if that is the problem? I have been cramping so so bad since taking it and bleeding for over a wekk while still on the pill. Right now I'm bleeding through pads and tampons easily. (tmi I'm sorry)

Pregnancy isn't a possibility right now, thankfully. I'm really wondering if it has to do with the switch to Zarah.

 

[noludoru]

Zarah is brand new and I was looking for it on rxlist and they don't even have a listing for it yet.

I've never heard of Ocella, though. Is it the same as Yasmin or similar?

Edit: That's not TMI, that's definitely something you need to talk with your doctor about. Are we talking about medium sized pads or the big diaper-like ones here? Because if you're bleeding through those consistently I'd say a trip to the urgent care clinic is a good idea. You shouldn't be losing that much blood. I used to, and it made me really sick.

 

[Laurelin]

Ocella is the main generic for Yasmin, I believe. At least that's what the pharmacy told me. Maybe I should just switch back to brand names.

 

[Laurelin]

Just the medium sized pads, but still I haven't done that since before I was on the birth control in the first place. I've never had cramping this bad either. I cramped awfully the entire trip.

 

[Zoom]

I'd wager the new BC has something to do with it, which would say to me a doctor's visit was in order anyway, never mind the crazy bleeding.

Also, your symptoms sound very similar to the ones my mother had when she had an issue with her uterine lining/ovarian cyst.

 

[noludoru]

Okay, I did a ton more googling and Ocella and Zarah are the exact same as Yasmin for the main ingredients. It looks like Zarah has different inactive ingredients, though, and it also looks like a lot of women hate them and say they don't work like Yasmin does even though they are supposed to be the same. That may or may not be true.

If it's medium-sized pads, that's still not good, but not worth panicking about, either. I'd talk to your doctor and see if you can switch back to the brand name since it works for you and ask for a 12 or 24-month prescription so they don't switch things on you again. ETA: What Zoom said. Those symptoms out of the blue don't necessarily scream that it's the generic, and since you have PCOS it might be a good idea to be extra careful and get a check-up.

 

[Laurelin]

It was very weird. I have a prescription for Yasmin for 6 months but then they just told me they quit carrying the same generic I've been using.

PCOS definitely complicates things. The thing is before this I've had problems with not bleeding at all and that's it. I've never had a problem with constant period/cramping before.

 

[noludoru]

Can you go to a different pharmacy, or are you getting it directly from the doctors' office? My old doctors used to be able to send prescriptions to whatever pharmacy I needed to get it from, and some didn't carry what I needed.

 

[Laurelin]

I will have to go to a different pharmacy since I moved states recently.

I've been going to Walgreens and they told me Walgreens started carrying a different generic. I'm not sure why.

 

[Zoom]

Generics do odd things sometimes; I used to be on Ortho Tri and it was great. Was on Trinessa for a while and it was fine. Went off it for awhile, went back on, wanted to kill everyone and myself. Switched to Sprintec, which is a generic monophasic pill (haven't tried the name brand) and it's fabu. I didn't even know I had started my period this month because of NO. CRAMPS. AT. ALL. Then I went to get dressed and was like "Oh..."

 

[Beanie]

Yeah, it could be as simple as it being the generic. Sometimes generics are WAY different even though they're theoretically supposed to be formulated the same. If the brand name worked for you, see if your doc will call in a refill and specify no generics. But sometimes birth control stops working with your body too...