Hormone Crazy
About a month after my stillbirth I started taking Norethindrone, a progestin-only contraceptive. It has a higher failure rate than the combination contraceptives, but it’s the only one that is available to me since I’ve had clotting problems. I mainly started taking it for the hope that it would lessen my bleeding and even things out a bit. It did, oh yes, it did.
It flattened my personality, my mood, my sexual interest, my ability to lose weight, and I was bleeding 1/4 oz/day for four months. When I had initially gone to my OBGYN to see if my bleeding was caused by the pills, she encouraged me to stay on them. I know that spotting can last for three months, so by the fourth month, I was SO done. Within one day of stopping the pills, my bleeding stopped. Within a week, my interest in sex AND ability to enjoy it went back to normal levels. I also started losing weight for the first time in months (I’ve been doing Weight Watchers, with NO PROGRESS until now!) Also, I started experiencing mood fluctuations. This is good and bad, but at least, better than feeling “meh” all the time.
I think that hormone contraception (also, for PMS and other stuff) is right out for me. I had every single side-effect that I could with this pill. I’m glad that I’m off of it. I just wish I had some better options for both contraception and keeping my periods regular/comfortable. Maybe the latter won’t be so much of an issue. To me, it just seems that messing with my hormones is bad business.
