I get a lot of stress and anxiety each month from my periods and it has gotten so bad I have missed them sometimes through dreading it.
I was told to maybe go to the Doctor and ask if I could take some hormone blockers that would just stop my periods while I took them but they would'nt cause any problems to my fertility.
Problem is, how painful would it be once I stopped taking them? I heard a girl took them and when she stopped she got terrible period pains afterwards.
Would it be worth taking them or would it just be more problems than it's worth?
Almost if you had any information to share about them that would be great, thanks. :)
Medically, there are a variety of ways to get your periods to stop. The problem is that with most treatments, the effects are temporary and wear off when the course is finished. Generally, doctors only prescribe them for debilitating pain or dangerously heavy bleeding, not because psychological problems aren't "severe" enough as much as because they're just less common. I suspect this girl you heard about found that after discontinuing the hormone-blockers, her old symptoms returned. They may have even seemed worse after the long vacation while she was treated.
As for you, there are some questions you should ask yourself about what you're looking for here. Do you intend to take testosterone (in the near or distant future)? Do you intend to get a hysterectomy (in the near or distant future)? Can you talk to your doctor about either of these things? Would you consider hormonal contraceptives to stop your periods? What if the hormones in them were strictly from the more androgenic end of the spectrum (i.e. they are known to cause many of the effects of testosterone in bio-females)?
Ilan Reshon, you've peaked my curiosity. I've been on ethinyl estradiol for a long, LONG time, and I'm looking for a different hormonal contraceptive. What sort of hormonal contraceptives are more androgenic/produce testosterone-like effects in females?
I first found out about the differences between the synthetic progestins in various hormonal birth control brands here: http://www.wdxcyber.com/ncontr13.htm (http://www.wdxcyber.com/ncontr13.htm). If you search for reviews of the pill brands with high androgenic properties and lower doses of estrogen, there are increasing numbers of complaints about excess hair growth and acne (hey, not everything about testosterone is good). Unfortunately, the site is a bit out of date now and doesn't include some popular brands that didn't exist a few years ago.
All combined hormonal birth control contains the same form of synthetic estrogen, however, and that's ethinyl estradiol. So, within combined hormonal birth control, you could switch to a higher androgenic progestin, but you can't get away from ethinyl estradiol. There are, however, options without estrogen of any form, and whether it works for you depends on what medical reasons are behind your doctor putting you on whatever you're using now. If it helps, the non-combined hormonal options available in the US are the Mirena hormonal IUD (levonogestrel), the Implanon implant (etonogestrel), the Depo Provera shot (medroxyprogesterone), and the mini-pill/progestin-only pill/POP (varies). Uhhh, I could go on and on about this, so let me know if you have any questions. XD
I'm not living in the US, so some might not be available for me. D:
It's amazing you know so much. :) I don't want to take anything which will stop my periods altogether. I might take testosterone or have a hysterectomy in the future, though it would'nt be anytime soon unfortunately for either. And yes, I would concider hormonal contraception stuff.
I would'nt mind even if it hurt after, even though it would'nt be pleasent, if it had them stopped for a bit. I don't like the idea of having the side effects of testosterone while I am staying as a woman... Seems a bit like a lesser version of hormone therapy. But I just really need my periods paused by something, because it's making every time of the month a living hell. The thought had'nt even occured to me that I could have some way to stop them. Now I just have to find a way to do it.
:/
If you don't want periods, I'd try the "Implanon". It's stopped my periods and there's no pain anymore, and if I ever decide to have kids I can just go in and get it removed and I can get pregnant within days of removing it.
Argent, if you just want to stop periods (temporarily, as in it only works while you are on the treatment) without the increased chance of androgenic effects, I agree with LukasGabriel that Implanon may be your best bet, but you should also look into Mirena and Depo Provera because they stop periods in the same way hormonally, and you may find one of those easier for you to get or more effective for your body chemistry. Also, if you're not in the US, you very well may have even more options, although the brand names on that website probably don't apply. The other big option that may be easy for you to get a hold of is taking combined hormonal birth control (with both estrogen and progestin) continuously. The POP/mini-pill isn't as reliable for preventing bleeding, so I wouldn't recommend that.
Okay, thank you. I will look more into Implanon, Mirena and Depo Provera... And possibley the combined hormonal birth control. :)
Is there anything else you could tell me about this stuff before I try to find out more?
Side effects, how it works preventing the period etc. Anything would be great.
Implanon doesn't use estrogen so lots of people generally have no or very few periods while on it. It can make you a bit hungry for awhile, but not for too long. It takes about two minutes to get. They numb up an area on the inside of your arm and then make a small incision and place the tube in and put a bandage over the top. You can remove the top bandage pretty soon and the bottom bandage the next day. Scar tissue can build up, but it's not painful. For a couple of days after the Implanon being placed the area might be sore, I know it was sore as hell for me but it's because I think they accidentally got a nerve.
I really like the Implanon because I can't feel it and it lasts three years and can be removed at any time I want. It also doesn't have estrogen in it so it's pretty neat. It can cause acne, but it cleared up my acne and it helped my skin improve, too.
Here's the main site: http://www.implanon-usa.com/Consumer/index.asp?C=51568404300157523148 (http://www.implanon-usa.com/Consumer/index.asp?C=51568404300157523148)
I would not recommend Googling for the side-effects of any of these. Get your information from a reliable source like Planned Parenthood, because searching for side-effects of any medication, you'll get people blaming all their problems on it when it's unreasonable, people making complaints due to their own misuse of it, and general horror stories that are extremely unlikely to happen to you no matter who you are. Incidentally, Planned Parenthood's website is great for information about these methods, both method of action and side-effects from a statistical perspective, in addition to what to expect at an appointment, etc.: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control-4211.htm (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control-4211.htm).
Out of curiousity, what is the tube thing put into your arm?
And with the Planned Parenthood site, I assime it just has contraception types?
So at the moment, it looks like the pregnancy stuff might be the best option. :)
Also, if I did decide to start Testosterone, would I get any side effects from taking this kind of stuff?
The tube is Implanon. It's a plastic rod infused with hormones, which it releases into the body at a steady rate.
Planned Parenthood's website provides information on contraceptive methods, and the ones mentioned in this thread are the ones you can use to not have periods. They discuss the side-effects and mechanism of action for each method. Of course there are other non-contraceptive ways to get rid of periods, but they're harder to get a hold of (like hormone-blockers), and some are permanent (like hysterectomy), which you said you didn't want. If you went on testosterone, you'd probably stop having periods from that alone, so you wouldn't need anything else unless you were at risk for pregnancy.
What Ilan said.
The tube is flexible and you can't feel it once it's inside after the bruising's gone down. I often forget I have the Implanon.
I am worried about the idea of the scarring though, epecielly when taking it in and out. :/
How much scarring is there?
The pill or other contraception would only lessen my periods not pause them, for me I don't think it even an option. So in my head, its between an implant or hormone blockers with undesired side effects I would have to live with.
Argent, none of these methods, even Implanon, is guaranteed to make your periods disappear. They all increase the likelihood of this happening, but none are 100%. At the 1 year mark (on a 3 year device), 1/3 of Implanon users stop having periods. At the 1 year mark (on a 5 year device), 1/5 of Mirena users stop having periods. At the 1 year mark with Depo Provera, 55% of users stop having periods, and by the 2 year mark it's 68%.
Which stands the best chance then, the implanon or the hormone blockers?
(68% is'nt too bad odds, I just would like to see the comparison if possible?)
I think the chance that a doctor would prescribe you hormone blockers is quite low. To my knowledge, they are primarily used on cancer patients and those suffering from severe problems with the reproductive system, and they are associated with very high rates of side-effects like migraine, depression, insomnia, and nausea. Testosterone is actually much less risky and easier to obtain, but you can only get that if you come out to your doctor. If you're going by statistics, your best bet is probably the shot.
The scarring is minimal and you can't see it and not everyone scars. I second Ilan on the rest, but I've never had the shot because I don't want to have to take something that often.