For the Women: Seasonale?

[opus03]

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I am just wondering if you or anyone you know has tried this yet? I think it would be wonderful but have heard that some women have worse side effects than with the normal pill. Any experiences???

 

[kelenaf]

I worked on a Seasonale study and I tried it for 3 months - it's pretty sweet. Some women experience spotting/bleeding (esp. if they don't take their pill every day at the same time), but basically, you get your period once every 13 weeks or 3 months.

The argument for extended regimen oral contraceptives it is something like this: women even a hundred years ago were getting far fewer periods in their lifetime than women are today. Our ancestors started their periods later in life, had FAR more children and breast fed longer. As a result, they ovulated less. Today we are starting our periods at younger and younger ages, having fewer children/pregnancies, and are only breast feeding for a few months (versus years!). The result is that we ovulate many times more than our bodies were designed for. Using an extended-regimen oral contraceptive reduces the number of periods per year from ~13 to 4.

Note: not all women are the same, some have more periods, some have fewer, cycles are definitely not always 28 days, and everyone adjusts to oral contraceptives differently...

 

[DrMom]

I used seasonale for endometriosis tx. I had no problems with it (other than spotting early on) and will likely go back to it after I finish my post-sx lupron tx.

My Gyn said that the whole 28 day cycle for ocps was basically made up to be convenient. He said there's no reason why a woman needs to have a period that frequently.

 

[SarahGM]

My biggest reservation about not having a monthly period would be having that nagging voice in the back of my mind... did I somehow get pregnant? Or is this just normal Seasonale working?

 

[sfbear]

I've tried it - the only things that I noticed were more water retention and when you do have your period, the cramps are worse. Still, I prefer it.

 

[jeonsied]

I've tried it - the only things that I noticed were more water retention and when you do have your period, the cramps are worse. Still, I prefer it.

I haven't tried it but I did a project on it in college. Other than what was mentioned before about the spotting it has shown to be exactly the same as the regular pills. However, because there is still some doubt about the effects of estrogen and these hormones on the body (heart attacks, certain types of cancers) and the effect of taking these hormones from very early ages (some research results indicated that in young women (meaning teens or early 20s) who take regular contraceptive pills were at higher risk of certain breasts cancers) from taking the regular pills some people think that the higher yearly dosage of estrogen and progesterone could have a long-term negative effect but this has not been proven and one could assume that the regular pill would also have a negative effect. The other problem with seasonale as another SDNer just mentioned is that you have to wait three months to find out if your are pregnant and if by any chance you became pregnant in the first days of that cycle then the baby will have been exposed to higher concentrations of the hormones than it would normally be. However, as it was mentioned before this pill seems to simulate more closely what the women's body was years ago. Using the regular pill could be considered abnormal because the women's body if left alone would menstruate much less so if you already take that or use some other form of contraception you might as well use Seasonale if you wish to have more liberty or even just skip the "green pills" from your regular pills it would have the same effect and some physicians do do that and even advice their patients to do so as well.

 

[prmd4555]

I did a literature review for this topic and for women who are not smokers, no history of stroke, the risk is quite minimal. Several very large scale long term epidemiological studies have shown that the risk of breast cancer for oral contraceptive users between ages 35-64 (the group most at risk for breast cancer) is negligible. There is a very very slight (relative risk of 1.1) risk that has shown up in some studies for women under the age of 35, however, because the risk is so low for this age group at baseline this isn't worrisome. Furthermore, many of these studies have included women who have used oral contraceptives for over 30 years, allowing to track any hidden or long term effects. The doses of estrogen and progesterone have decreased many times fold since oral contraceptives were first released.

On the plus side oral contraceptives have shown a significant reduction of ovarian cancer risk. The risk decreases with duration of oral contraceptive use. This supports what another indvidual in the post said about how our bodies weren't designed to ovulate every month. This is a continual wound forming and would repairing process.

 

[SarahXXOO]

I just started taking Sasonale a couple months ago, and I do like it...except that there was some spotting for the first month or so (which sucked), but that's getting better...I'd recommend it, and I do know that (for the reasons listed in previous posts) it is probably a great idea for women who have family hx of endometriosis.

 

[opus03]

Thanks for the replies! I am going to start taking it next month and was just a little worried. I do have a family hx of endometriosis but fortunately, no stroke or breast cancer. I really believe the benefits will outweigh the risks in this case!

About the pregnancy issue-does anyone know if/what the risks are to the baby exposed to high estrogen levels? I remember an ob/gyn saying that with normal pills, if you are pregnant and finished your 21 pills first then there would be no problems. Not sure about this though?
Thanks again!

 

[kelenaf]

I'm pretty sure the estrogen dose is 30 mcg - is that high? I think it's comparable to regular 28-cycle pills on the market now...

 

[Sweet Tea]

My biggest reservation about not having a monthly period would be having that nagging voice in the back of my mind... did I somehow get pregnant? Or is this just normal Seasonale working?

ditto this.

it took me a few tries to find a ocp that would help control my endometriosis symptoms with minimal side effects, and i'm really happy with my current pill. i'm reluctant to switch away from something that i know works for me, but several of my friends have been very happy with it.

 

[Bermiedoc]

does anyone know about the effects of seasonale on your libido? the pill i am taking now decreases sexual interest and needless to say my husband isns't to happy about this 🙂 . so i would like to change.

 

[CaMD]

bump!

 

[sunflower79]

I'm pretty sure the estrogen dose is 30 mcg - is that high? I think it's comparable to regular 28-cycle pills on the market now...

really? that was a major concern I had with this drug, that the doses would be higher and the long term side effects more severe. How long was that long-term trial?

Still, it sounds too good to be true... how much does this thing cost?

 

[sfbear]

does anyone know about the effects of seasonale on your libido? the pill i am taking now decreases sexual interest and needless to say my husband isns't to happy about this 🙂 . so i would like to change.

I had this problem with one of the pills I was taking (didn't make my husband to happy either). I changed pills and switched to one with a different dosage, and this really helped. I also now take the pill constantly for three months, not technically seasonale but same effect, and so didn't have to change from a pill I was comfortable with. I would say just try a few different ones (the type with the same dosage in each pill, not a cyclic one) until you find one you're comfortable with, and then you can decide if you want to take it for longer than three weeks or not.

 

[kelenaf]

I have worked on Seasonale studies ranging from 1 to 3 years (mostly on a 1.5 year study currently coming to its end). Women in these studies who have stayed on the pill that long a study tend to continue taking Seasonale when they complete.

Also, I'm pretty sure 30 mcg of estrogen is the gold standard right now for brith control pills - but there is a continual push to go lower because of the health benefits. However, a common draw back of lower mcg's (such as a 20 mcg dose) is an increase in breakthrough bleeding/spotting.

Of course, if you are concerned with estrogen levels, there's always the Nuva Ring which is not an oral contraceptive and delivers 15 mcg of estrogen per day... or the Depo shot... and others...

 

[koma]

My Gyn said that the whole 28 day cycle for ocps was basically made up to be convenient. He said there's no reason why a woman needs to have a period that frequently.

Would there be a market for birth control pill with which women have no periods at all, or would that be a bit disturbing? Is there a biological necessity to have a period (like to clear your pipes or something) (if you're not interested in kids)?

 

[Elysium]

I've been cycling through my monophasic COC (Mircette) for about 3 years now and I won't ever go back to having a monthly period. I just skip the green pills for 3 months and then have a period. I've never have breakthrough bleeding, cramps, or any other ill effects from this process. According to my OB/Gyn Seasonale is basically the same thing as other low dose monophasic COCs, but just packaged in a more convenient way. She said it was also more expensive than regular COCs and to just stay on Mircette. From what I've read the side effect profile is quite good and women seem to be very happy with it. Good luck!

 

[gwyn779]

Would there be a market for birth control pill with which women have no periods at all, or would that be a bit disturbing? Is there a biological necessity to have a period (like to clear your pipes or something) (if you're not interested in kids)?

Actually, Depo-Provera does this for > 1/2 the women who take it. And since part of the way it works is to prevent the large endometrial proliferation, there's no need to "clean the pipes" or whatever. Personally, I haven't had a regular period since I started taking it and while I had irregular spotting for a while, it was always very light and I haven't even had that since a little over a year being on it. I was mildly concerned about the no-period-how-will-i-know-if-i'm-pregnant thing, because I REALLY don't want to get pregnant now. So I just used backup for the first 6 weeks or so until I was sure that I was missing my period from the shot and not pregnancy. I was so bad at remembering to take OCPs every day that I was more paranoid when I was still on them.

I also used my regular OCPs for a while kind of like Seasonale, but I think the longest I went then was 2 months straight. I was also on triphasic pills, which are much more likely to cause breakthrough bleeding, which is why I didn't try longer, but it did work. Seasonale is really just like your average monophasic OCP in terms of hormones, the difference really is just packaging. Oh, and for those with decreased libido on OCPs, switching to one with a higher estrogen: progesterone ratio could help.