Birth Control Pills

[valliali]

Does anyone speculate this is the CAUSE of your ans dysfunction? Are there any correlations between the affect on estrogen from BCPs and the potential to offset our bodies in such a way that would result in dysautonomia? If BCPs do play a role in the initiation of these issues, would you think that the symptoms would go away years after the pill was ceased?

[iheartcats]

I switched from the pill to Mirena last year. I don't like Mirena much. I've talked to my OB/GYN and it's just not for some women. I think I'll prefer to go back on the pill.

I have never been told the pill could cause dysautonomia. I know the pill works for some and not for others....but for me, having more periods = worse POTS. Less periods = less flare ups.

Did you read something about this? Just curious!

[TypewriterGirl]

I know that both Yaz and Yasmin have a diuretic component, which will aggravate POTS and cause dehydration. I had to switch from Yasmin to Loestrin, but had been on Yasmin for 10 years prior and don't think that it caused my POTS.

[erickamcc0523]

If you think that you may have Ehlers-danlos syndrome, I would recommend NOT being put on BCP. When I was taking them (especially the Seasonique, but the monthly BCP would also cause this), I would constantly have a horrid bruise on my thigh or calf, I suppose from a blood vessel breaking. Once a bruise healed up, another one would form. Not that I need to use BCP for their intended purpose (I'm single, and celibate for the moment), I don't think that I could ever take them again, even if I weren't Catholic... if they caused an increase in the blood vessels bursting in my legs, I'm scared that it might cause other blood vessels to burst. Plus, they make my periods WORSE, especially the PMS (I was tired enough not on them... BCP x'ed that by 20).

[valliali]

Thanks for sharing, girls!

No, no, I did not read about a link between BCP and dys at all. And it seems really unlikely to me that there is much of a correlation, though I have no doubt the pill can cause, or enhance, some discomforts. I only ask because at the time that my symptoms came on - OUT OF THE BLUE - one of the only changes in my life at the time was that I had started ortho tri-cyclen about three months prior. My initial presentation of symptoms consisted of massive facial flushing (no history at all), panic attacks (again, never felt anxiety a day before), and rapid heart rates. All of which can seem hormonal. I stopped taking the pill, and developed a really huge ovarian cyst which ended up worsening all my symptoms. So I've always wondering if the pill couldn't have caused all this.

On the other hand, the only other life change that I had underwent at the time was that I had just returned after living in a rural village in Africa. So, of course, it seems more likely that something got in me there.

I'm curious to hear what others think about the possibility that BCP can cause major offsets in hormones which could result in these chronic problems.

[Broken_Shell]

I don't know about BCPs causing dysautonomia, but the body's response to the high doses of hormones could certainely exacerbate or mimic symptoms. I also had a lot of anxiety and odd symptoms that I never had before when I started Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. I felt like I wanted to climb the walls, and I felt much more like myself when I stopped it. I've tried several hormone variations, and it seems that the high doses of BC just don't agree with my body. On the other hand, hormone fluctations and periods make my dysautonomia worse, so I am still working with the OB/GYN to find a way to either shut off my cycles or make them more tolerable through hormone manipulation.

[icesktr189]

YAZ and Yasmin are know to cause panic disorders in many women. I took YAZ and ended up with daily panic attacks. at that point when i started i did not have POTS. But i also dont believe it caused POTS because i started it at least 2 years prior. But i was still taking it when i had POTS and it worsened my symptoms so i stopped it.

[dakota]

Years ago, birth control pills caused problems for me. I also had facial flushing and overheating and it caused some problems with my heart beats. I have ectopic beats but am not bothered by it. On the pill, the beats were so irregular and so forceful that I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I stopped the pill and it went away. The doctor had sent me to an endocrinologist first and then a cardiologist. Only the cardiologist agreed that it could have been caused by the pill. I am now nearing menopause, and my heart beats have started to be more irregular again. I believe this is hormonally based. A cardiologist put me on a beta blocker, but he thinks it is all due to stress. Funny thing, though, it doesn't happen to me in times of stress but in times of hormonal fluctuations.

[firewatcher]

I could never tolerate the tri-phasic pills, I had to switch to a monophasic (one dose of estrogen/progesterone) all month long. Progesterone creates big problems for me. I don't think BCPs caused your POTS, but they may have made you more susceptible to it. The long flight from Africa could have been your tipping point, flying is not good for POTS. A couple questions:

Did you have the ovarian cyst before the pills?

Do you still have it?

Do you have PCOS?

Have you been checked for all the little nasties that you can play host to? You really could have picked up either a virus or parasite and it is not yet diagnosed.

[delphicdragon]

Probably TMI

I don't know what to say regarding this. I was LOVING my NuvaRing and couldn't say enough about it. Then I noticed that I was getting really tired and sore all the time and my period was incredibly painful. I couldn't remember if it used to be that painful, but I had to skip a day of work due to cramps (which was very not like me). So I stopped it. I was absolutely shocked how much better I felt. My constant headaches, which I had attributed to a pituitary tumor, were GONE within a week. My energy went up, though I am still sleeping a lot. I'm bleeding less during my period with much less cramps. Now I've only been off it for 2 months, but I feel much more normal. I actually worked 10 hours today and can function. I'm tired, but not exhausted.

I had ZERO luck on Ortho TriCyclen Lo, bled the entire month. Seasonique caused severe intestinal distress. I think I'm off it for now. I was supposed to take it for ovarian cysts - but now that I think of it both times I had an ovarian cyst "discovered" was right around the time I ovulated.

Sara

[janiedelite]

Both my mom (who does not have POTS) and I can't tolerate oral BCP with any progesterone. We have intractible nausea and vomitting. I did use the Nuvaring for about a year without much problem. I still had increased nausea, but it was tolerable in comparison to any oral BCP. Also, I was able to quit the Nuvaring without any problems. I would like to resume some type of birth control that would cease my periods since, like CatLady, I have worse POTS at that time of the month as well as bad headaches.

[valliali]

It seems that most of us have issues with hormones, which would include BCPs, but perhaps no one else speculates that the pill could be the actual cause to EVERYTHING. I have read a great deal that pills like Yaz can cause severe panic issues, but I haven't read much about that correlation with Ortho Tri Cyclen. In fact, I could never find anything on the internet that resembled the issues that I had. I went to a gyno, who was really open minded about my health issues, and she thought there was no way in a million my problems could be from the pill. She said if I did have problems from it, then two years after stopping it, I would be better by now.

I just can't help but wonder because one day, I was healthy as ever, never had a single health problem ever, not even an ounce of anxiety and then the next day, I am a hot, flushing, panic-ridden, heart-thumping mess. So the progression wasn't literally overnight like that, but it did seem to come out of the blue. I was not sick beforehand - for at least six months I hadn't even had as much as a cold. So as for what triggered all this, like I mentioned, the only changes in my life were the pill and Africa.

I returned from Africa healthy as an ox, and it was about a month later that I started developing weird symptoms. I don't think the plane ride triggered it at all. I either caught something in Africa, or it's from the pill. I never had an ovarian cyst prior. However, I should say that I quit the pill suddenly, like in the middle of the cycle. My gyno said that the egg probably got "stuck." The cyst was HUGE - the doctors in the ER (it ruptured and I was very, very sick from that) said it was the largest they had seen. I have not had anything like that since, but I do seem to get ovarian cysts during my period now. Only small amounts of pain. My periods are much more abnormal now too, but I don't know if that's a result of an inherent hormonal problem or a result of whatever mess is going on in me.

I don't technically even have POTS, but have been diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction. So I have zero answers. The only other speculation has been lyme's, as I was living in a very tick endemic area upon return from Africa and spending time outside in the woods. I am still on the fence about lyme's though. But I did develop arthritis with these wicked little lumps on my fingers.

I have been tested for parasites and all that, but I recently had a doctor suggest I go back to the country where I lived in Africa to get tested for specific things that we can't test for here. There's no way under the sun I am able to do that, but I have been considering ways that I might be able to get into touch with doctors who might be more experienced in West African diseases.

Sorry, this is so long and totally went off the BCP topic. I just feel like I am looking for any kind of possible answer as to why this happened, and the pill is one of the only things in my life that could have triggered this at the time it did. It just seems so unlikely.

Thanks for all the insights!