Birth Control Question

[munchkinette]

So I'm not actually pregnant but I guess this is the best section for girly questions.

I've been on a low dose of Loestrin for close to a year because I had some irregular bleeding. (they couldn't figure it out after an ultrasound- one more mystery problem) For the last few months I've noticed that it hasn't been working as well in the sense that my period isn't at the same time by a longshot. My doctor thought maybe the dose wasn't high enough, but I was afraid to take a higher dose because I"ve had depression problems with bc pills before. (I'm not using it for contraception.)

Could it be that I wasn't absorbing it? It's only been the last 2-3 months that my health has been really weird, which prompted me to get tests. I don't actually know how bc pills are absorbed or processed... I know some drugs work in the liver, kidneys, etc. I know fertility is a problem for celiacs, but has anyone had an accident because they weren't actually absorbing their birth control?

Oh, and by the way- I take the Watson brand Microgestin FE. The bc pills are safe, but the iron pills/placebos have gluten!!! Good thing I can just throw those out anyway.

[minibabe]

I have had problems with ingestion of medication and I am currently on the Patch for BC. I personally love it. I dont have to wake up everyday and remeber to take one more pill. If I have a reacation to something, I dont have to worry about having any "accidents" because I know that the patch is there. It is absorbed though the skin (obsivouly) as opposed to the pill which has to pass though the small intestine at some point (no good).

Hope that i could help

Amanda NY

[penguin]

I haven't had a problem, I take desogen which is a slightly higher dose. The sex drive definitely suffers

I've been on the pill since I was 15, but recently started having wierd periods where I would just spot instead of really bleeding. I don't know if that's related to the celiac or not, I guess we'll see.

I hated the patch, personally. It kept coming off no matter where I put it and it kind of gave me a rash. It also just plain made me nervous. Taking the pill every day is a daily reminder that I am safe!

[Guest cassidy]

I was on the ring. You insert it once a month and it worked very well for me. I too was on bc because of irregular periods. I went off it last month for the first time in 13 years and actually had a regular period. I'm attributing this to my gluten-free diet because I've never been able to go off bc before. Hopefully we will get pregnant soon.

I was on the patch and hated the band-aid sticky residue it left.

I don't know if the ring would be a good option for you since it doesn't go through your digestive tract. It is also low dose so you might not have side effects. I loved the once a month factor as well because you didn't have to remember to take it everyday.

[jenvan]

Absorption of meds can definitely be affected with Celiac. I switched to nuvaring for that reason (and also b/c it is a lower does than ortho-tri c). Oral bc is absorbed via digestive system. The nuvaring is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. I definitely recommend it. Was your irregular bleeding more bleeding or less bleeding/no real periods?

[munchkinette]

Originally irregular bleeding meant a lot of spotting throughout the month and really heavy periods. I went on the pill because I couldn't get a pap test that way, and I needed a normal one for insurance. (I had an irregular test a few years ago.) Since I went on the pill I've had extremely light periods and they were regular. It's only been in the last 3 months that I've gotten it during different weeks (the hormone weeks!) but it's still light.

This is another reason why my anemia is weird (which promted me to look into the wheat factor). I hardly bleed anymore compared to before! I was also taking iron a few months before the test too.

[zip2play]

I can tell you that switching to the gluten free diet messed up my periods. I have been on the pill since 1990 (except when I was pregnant with my 2 children). I just went off last week. I went gluten free on 01/09/06 and I was spotting 2 weeks prior to my period. Any diet change can cause this. I am going to let things level off and see what happens next. If things go ok, I will stay off the pill, if not, I will speak to my DR!

Monica