I never thought I'd do it, but I'm getting to the point where I'm considering hormonal birth control because this is getting hard to cope with.  This time was painful -- luckily it's only ever painful for the first day -- but still I had to go home from college early because I couldn't just blank it out like I usually do, and between the physical and emotional pain I was going to start crying.  I think I felt wholly male for all of about two seconds that day.  I almost couldn't get anything to sort myself out either, I don't carry them in my bag, I had no change to use the machines in the toilets, and it was only by a fluke that my lie about having to buy baking goods for my mother worked so I could go to a shop and buy something.  I've never felt more embarrassed walking through the shop holding them in my life, the last time I got caught out like that I realised while I was on the bus so I got off early and went to the shop at 7:45am, before any one else was around.

I absolutely hate the idea of adding more female hormones, but there's not really any other option other than to just suck it up.  Hormone blockers are possible, but I'd probably need to go through a GIC to get those, and I can't get to one of those because I can't face going back to CAMHS.  They might be reluctant to prescribe blockers anyway because my nan has osteoporosis.  Birth control would be something that I might be able to get, I can always play up the pain etc, but I don't want to do it if it's going to completely mess things up.  I pass pretty well at the minute, but I don't want to loose that, my lucky with that and it seems stupid to mess around with something which is apparent 24/7 just for something that's around every so often (I'm probably not even regular, but I don't keep track.  It feels like it's been more than a month though.)

So, if anyone else has used hormonal birth control, did it work and how feminising was it?  Do you regret in the long term?

And -- it's a long shot -- if any of you got depressed leading up to that time/during did that make that feeling constant?  That's another of my big fears for trying something like this, becoming permanently in that mood and letting those thoughts take over again.

I'm currently on Implanon.  Before that I went about a year without birth control and before that I was on the pills for a couple years.  It wasn't all that feminizing for me, but I've always looked completely female with an hour glass figure.  I don't regret it because it makes sure I don't have as many periods, which were horribly painful for me to the point of it makes me vomit.  Birth control hasn't made me depressed and I'm far more depressed without it, but I'm also in a lot more physical pain without it.  My depression stems from something totally different.

I went on depo provera right after I had my first period and I was on it for many years, I was forced to come off it by my doctor because it was apparently making my bones brittle.

I didn't realise what it was doing at the time because I went on it very young and didn't know any different ... but after I went off it I lost like 5 stone in weight without even trying, and my cup size went considerably down obviously with all the weight loss ... I had massively struggled with my weight all that time and didn't even realise it was the depo.

I went back on it again after I had my child and my weight and boobs started sky rocketing back up and my emotions were out of control.

Some people swear by it and have no issues but my body doesn't like it at all 

I wouldn't take birth control pills anymore, but their effects are really varied, the only way to find out if they are okay for someone is to just try them. I got more weight and started to hate my body more since the weight obviously gathered in wrong, feminine places. My feelings didn't go wild but the whole time (1 year) I felt a bit like a zombie, just walking around and maybe having a moderate depression. Obviously they weren't for me and I quit when I understood the pills were the problem I was having.

I have been on depo provera for a year and half ... it's what my trans doc prescribes to all her ftm .,.. b/c it is not a hormone

I don't know about birth control making you feel feminized, since I'm a female.  I can tell you that ALL forms of birth control pills, shots, patch etc. Contain some hormones. Depo provera does contain a synthetic form of progesterone.  Birth control isn't completely effective in stopping menstruation tho even if you skip the pills that allow you to have your monthly cycle.  In some people it will stop it, in others it just lightens it significantly.  There are verying levels in hormones depending in the pill.  For example ortho tri cyclen lo had very low side effects for me when I was on it after I had my son.  But from personal experience I can tell you that all birth control will effect your hormonal balance in some way: mood, weight, etc.  Good luck

I've used birth control for years (medical reasons).  I've used BC with estrogen and BC without estrogen.  I think how feminizing it is depends a lot on your body and what kind of BC you use, but my experience is that BC with estrogen is extremely feminizing.  I've been off that stuff for a year and still haven't got rid of the side effects totally.  My boobs grew like two cup sizes and I had a lot of other side effects related to the fact that my system really doesn't like estrogen.

I've been on non-estrogen BC since then (Noriday brand), and it's working much better for me.  Basically I'd say don't risk BC with estrogen.  It's not worth it.  But there are progestogen only options that are worth trying.

So pretty much it's not worth it unless you can get on Depo Provera or some other progesterone based product.  I've just been looking on the NHS website about it, and it says that they may not give it to you if you have a history of depression or increased risk of osteroporosis.  The risk of getting depression, or pre-menstrual depression symptoms is mentioned quite a lot on the NHS website which makes it a no for me -- I have no support available for me because the only shrink who will agree to see me enjoys making me feel worse -- and I can get really reall bad.

Thanks for the advice though!

Quote from: Alex000000 on December 02, 2012, 03:36:28 PM
So pretty much it's not worth it unless you can get on Depo Provera or some other progesterone based product.  I've just been looking on the NHS website about it, and it says that they may not give it to you if you have a history of depression or increased risk of osteroporosis.  The risk of getting depression, or pre-menstrual depression symptoms is mentioned quite a lot on the NHS website which makes it a no for me -- I have no support available for me because the only shrink who will agree to see me enjoys making me feel worse -- and I can get really reall bad.

Thanks for the advice though!

I wouldn't say that.  For me, it was very much worth it.  I'm not a cranky b*tch and I don't feel like I'm going to die every month.  My anxiety around that time of the month has definitely lessened quite a bit. 

However, if it's worrisome, I'd check with a professional first.

QuoteI've just been looking on the NHS website about it, and it says that they may not give it to you if you have a history of depression or increased risk of osteroporosis.

That's odd.  My doctor told me it was a good choice because it has far fewer side effects than estrogen+progestogen pills.  He said he recommends it for that reason.  I have a history of depression too, but this didn't concern the doc and I can't say it's been a problem at all.

I just looked on Web MD for Depo Provera and besides sketchy side effects (depression was listed as one) it says it takes a year of use to discontinue periods (and that seemed to imply that it "might" do that, it might not). IUD's seem to have the same info - that it might stop periods within a year. There's also something called a Endometrial Ablation. That sounds kinda creepy to me and when I search on it I came across a number of message boards of women complaining that their doctor's all said there were very little risks but they ended up with terrible side effects (up to and including constant bleeding afterwards for months).

Seems all form of hormonal birth control pill comes with the potential side effect of blood clots as well. I've personally known 2 women who had blood clots directly related to their birth control pills and both where otherwise healthy, didn't smoke, etc.

When looking for any kind of natural stuff to help stop the horror I came across this ...

Angelica root: It is known "female ginseng" as it is used to treat many female menstrual troubles. The root is also used by many to stop menstruation. It is an age-old Chinese herbal remedy for treating problems related to the female reproductive system. Angelica root helps keep female hormones well-balanced while helping stop the menstrual flow.

Raspberry tea: This Chinese herb stops menstruation by constricting the body tissues. It also helps reduce abdominal cramps due to menstruation. To prepare a light decoction, simmer a handful of dried or fresh raspberry leaves in 2 cups of water. Let it simmer for a few minutes till the liquid cools. Sip the raspberry tea two to three times in a day.

Chinese herbs have been around for thousands of years and there very well may be something to the above. Or at the very least help to minimize it so it's barely there with none of the pain, etc.

I took the Pill about 20 years ago. It wasn't feminising and it made my periods very light, pain-free and manageable. It also smoothed out the old emotional rollercoaster.

You need to see your GP - and you need to tell them exactly how badly Shark Week is affecting you. Stress that you don't want anything that would cause any feminisation. I'd imagine that anything with oestrogen would most likely be a bad idea, but I'm not a doctor. Your doctor will need to consider your entire health picture before prescribing anything.

I'm sure you're only considering using it in the short term, all things considered. I cannot stress strongly enough that taking the Pill can cause some very serious side effects. Not only did I start getting the very common blood clotting/breathing issues... but the damn thing killed my mother: breast cancer, age 48, three children, youngest aged 11. Granted, she was on an oestrogen-heavy Pill; I was on a progesterone-only version.

The Pill is not to be taken lightly.

I've been taking birth control until I can start T, and been taking the pills for somewhere around 8 months now.
The only change I've noticed is that I'm a little bit more emotional, but I haven't experienced anything bad other than that- if anything, my chest is actually smaller.
As much as I hate knowing I'm putting more female hormones into my body, the way my pills affects the darn shark week makes it so worth it- went from 6-7 heavy days to 2-3 light days, which is so much more manageable. Plus, it made it more predictable for me, which helped me brace myself. I hated how many times it'd creep up on me before- I had trouble dealing with that and I'd get depressed. Being able to brace myself has eased that quite a bite.
So far, I haven't regretted the pill at all.

It just seems all so risky, and there's no actual guarantee that they will do what I want them to do, and there's so much variation between peoples' opinions that I'm just going too put up with things how they are.  My dysphoria the last few days has been through the roof, and I don't think it's because of that time of the month -- although that doesn't help because I'm too scared of my packer getting ruined to wear it at the moment.  I don't want to do anything risky to try and prevent it and make things worse.

I prefer not knowing when they're going to happen because then I can only stress about it while it's happening, I can't stress when I'm coming up to that point.  And it'll feel much worse thinking that they've stopped and then finding that they haven't.  Constantly taking pills or whatever is going to be a huge reminder that something's wrong inside me, whereas 90% of the time I can forget all about that part of me.

Thanks for all the responses though guys!