# Stopped contraceptives...feeling much better



## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

So I stopped taking the contraceptives 4 days ago. Since then the quatity of farts per day has decreased a lot and I have no D or weird stools anymore. I go once a day with a normal BM. I am still taking the probiotic and 2 herbal pills a day. Think I should give some time for my body to recover after being bombed with hormones.When I read the list the side effects again....I realised I experienced more than half of those listed there so for any of you taking the pill, maybe it's worth going one or two months off it to see what happens?


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## Diana63 (Oct 20, 2009)

Hello TanagI am pleased to hear your symptoms have eased a bit for you,must be quite a relief.I was wondering what probiotic and herbal pills you take?I have tried many things over the years but still looking for something that will help.


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

This probiotic is really good. It doesn't work ALL the time but MOST of the time....and the main thing is I never had D again...as in real D...since taking it. I did have loose stools and stuff but never D. It's called Enterolactis and has Lactobacilus Casei DG 8 mill cells, but you can also get it with 24 mill cells which is so much better. The herbal pills....I posted about them on the IBS-D forum....have all kind of plants in them that are anti-D and that's exactly how the pills are called anti-diarrhea. They're produced by a small local company though. I wrote a post at some point with all the plants they have in them so you can check that out. With the contraceptives....the main thing that's happened since I stopped is that I have less gas. I don't know how long it takes for your body to recover after being bombed with hormones and I am afraid the damage could be permanent


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi Tayna, I'm really glad that things have improved for you. I suffered with daily diarrhea for most of my twenties and tried so many things but then the last thing I tried was stopping the pill. The diarrhea stopped and although it is going to take me mentally a long time to heal - things have been better ever since. It did take about 6 months for periods etc.. to sort themselves out properly and I am still suffering with spots but the change in the diarrhea was apparent after about a week. I still get a few problems around my period but nothing like what I was trying to live with. I was on Yasmin for years. I had never heard that there could be a link between the pill and diarrhea - even when I went to see a bowel specialist etc.. he had never heard of it before! As I said to you before - things have really improved so I 100% blame the pill. Claire


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

It's been a week now that I stopped. I have to say I have almost no gas left....I am SO happy!!!! The stools are still a bit soft sometimes and sometimes they come in bits, but that is just one stool a day so I can handle that. However the constant discomfort and farts running around my tummy are so much less now that they don't bother me anymore. Gosh...they should really tell people more about these pills. My father told me that it will take some time before my body gets back to normal (he's an doc)....so am now hoping that the damage is not permanent and things will get back to normal. If only 1% or less of the female population is in dangeur of getting these symptoms I really think they should be more responsible about it. It's made my life hell and I've lived in terror for months and months....not to mention that this was NOT the only side effect...I counted more than half of the possible side effects in the symptoms I had....crazy!


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

How is it going TanaG? Any improvements with the ibs?Claire


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

Hey yes...I just posted. I am so much better! I don't have morning cramps anymore and every day I have one firm stool and I don't have the urgency anymore, nor do I have to run to the bathroom 5 minutes after waking up! It feels weird you know...to be free of the morning discomfort. Sometimes I just can't believe it....It feels good to be back to normal again. I still have some gas in the evening but no more rumbling and stuff....so I think this will settle in time as well.I feel so much more alive and I feel like doing so many things and am full of energy. Boy that was really stupid with the pills! Who would have thought they could cause SO much trouble!


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

Hey TanaG! Can i ask what contraceptive you was on? ive been on microgynonfor 3 weeks and feel ####, but the docs said i had ibs anyway, im not sure weather just to try a new pill or not am so confused i dnt really wana come off because my period were awful and made me feel bad anyway


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

I was taking Yaz. Before this I took something else....cannot remember the name, that were ever worse. did you have IBS before starting the contraceptives?I used to have bad periods too, so much blood I couldn't make it out of the house...but honestly who cares? Will I prefer to feel shitty all the time or just 4 days a months? Plus, period is bad for most women....so it is natural...we have to live with it. I'd say you should have your hormone levels checked before taking any BC.


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

It was thought in august that i had gasterointeritis really really bad, i recovered, but not fully, it seemed that every time i was due my period (a week before) i would become very ill again for some unknowen reason, docs said it was ibs the 1st time this happened! then over 2 months me n mum noticed a pattern i would have a gap of 2 weeks where i was fine then before my period again id become ill....so the docs said to try the pill to see if it will calm dwn, now i started the pill 3 weeks ago, and i just feel really off like i have a constant stomach bug, im off certain foods, and behind my belly button it seems to feel really delicate there all time, only time it eases up is in the evening. im so confused, its irratating me, doc said there isnt much more they can do, i asked for a refferal for more checks they said its JUST ibs n that it will calm, n sent me trotting with new pills


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

It's true they could give you BC to control that crappy time before the period but it is also possible you're not on the right BC.I know women who tried like 5 or 6 brands before finding one they were alright with...


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

Awhhh man..im hopin the next onwe is the right one im fed up lol, it effects everything i miss pizza man but i go near it n feel awful lol!


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

Just another update. I used to have these weird yellowish stools and since I stopped the pill little by little the colour of my stools returned to normal. Except for an episode when I ate a really wrong combination of foods that would have given problems probably to anybody I don't have any problems anymore. It's been almost 3 weeks that I stopped taking them. I don't know what to say...of course you need some kind of long term contraceptive if you don't want to turn into a baby making machine....at least I know I would, I am very fertile...but not at the expense of making your life a living hell. Good luck!


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

im glad your sorted mate =) i see a family planning nurse on the 23rd and hoping i get a better pill, because not only do i have nasty periods, but its what brings on my ibs, and i cannot live with it like that, considering ive had a period every month this year, the doc said taking the pill vback to back will stop them for the rest of the year! so i hope when i change over its a straight swap


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

My advice would be to take a break from BC for at least a month and then go on different ones. You have to give your body a break after having it bombed with hormones. My mum has been on some hormone pills after entering her menopause. They were supposed to ease the symptoms. She's been taking those for about 4 years and in time she started to develope IBS symptoms...she stopped taking them but the symptoms still continued for some time and even if little by little she got better she never completely recovered. Which makes me think that the pills can do damage that will never go away. I can tell you for sure that I myself am not fully recovered and am not sure if I ever will. I am no doctor of course and this is just an opinion...but if you see hormones are no good for you try to be more careful ... and maybe try not to take those pills non-stop but give yourself a break of a month or so every once in a while.


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi TanaGThe one thing I really have noticed is that my stools smell different now. Before when I was on the pill they definitely had a different smell sort of acidic. Now they don't smell acidic anymore. Just thought I'd mention it, as you mentioned the colour has changed with you.I'm really happy that you are finding things are still getting better with you. I'm thinking about what contraception would be best for now but so many forms of birth control are linked with artifical hormones and there is no way I'm going to take anything to mess all that up again. I've never wanted kids so it is something to really think about.


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## shyanna von banana (Jun 4, 2009)

I have been taking aviane and I have felt so much better on it. I stopped taking it for a month and felt like ####. there was a huge difference when I wasnt on the pill I felt like I couldnt sleep and had an aggravated stomach. When I started taking the pill again I felt like i could sleep much better and didn't have the d problemsMaybe some of you women would benefit from a low dose bc then has the same amount of hormones in each pill. so that way your body has a steady amount of hormones instead of ups and downs.nice day to ya all


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

Well...nope...the second pill I tried was like the one you describe....same amount of hormones in each pill. What I think is that it depends ...you might feel better while on them, you might feel worse depending on how the hormone balance in your body works. What I know for sure is that my mum had similar problems while on BC and while on menopause pills....so I might just inherit the issue so to say. See my problem wasn't mainly diarrhea, which I had only a couple of times a day but the impressive amount of farts that were coming out of me each evening and morning, the tummy discomfort and of course all the embarrassment that comes with them. I am currently down to 4-5 farts a day which is ....oh joy! My poor bf got used to hearing them







))) ... we use to make this funny face like eh...I haven't heard anything! lol


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

Dear Claire...True my stools also smell different...they smell like normal ###### ....hahaha...now...before they had this weird smell and some of them were almost white...it was SO scary!!!! I am quite upset myself ... I do not want any kids for the moment and in a long term relationship, while using condoms, accidents might happen







....I have asked around about that nuvaring...my gyno (who's also my mum...lol) told me that it might be better as it releases the hormones locally so it does not mess up your liver and gallbladder .... BUT ... there have been reported infections and stuff and you still do not get rid of the side effects of feeding your body with hormones....I thought ...maybe...I could try something like 2 months on and 2 months off ... lol ...


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

im not so sure...iwas worse off them...=(


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

PeaLea...you really need to have your doctor for some blood tests that would get your hormone levels checked!!!! I have a thyroid problem and I get that checked every year ... believe me, it's a good thing to do! You find out answers to a lot of health problems you might have had during your life.Can I ask you what you mean by worse? Was it your period or your IBS?I'll tell you something: I always had the worst periods ever...the quantity of blood coming out of me was incredible! I went through really embarrassing moments...at work and everywhere else (imagine sitting there, knowing you just changed your tampon and suddenly blood starting to come out of you as if somebody had stabbed you....going over the tampon in a matter of seconds and then on your clothes, the chair and everything else OR...being in the car in a trafic jam with somebody else next to you and also same thing happening ... i know I friend of mine really freaked out when he saw this - yes it was a MAN to add something to the embarrassement- and starting to pull out plastic bags trying to put them around you so you wouldn't turn the whole car into a blood bath tub and so on....). However, in my opinion, I'd rather stay indoors a few days a month then having IBS related issues.


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

wow not nice! i had my thyroid tested and blood tests too! all A ok...so its a mystery, well my ibs seems to kick off when i have a period! since i started the pill things SEEM to be settling atm, just taking time, its bizzare, my doctor said my ibs could be hormone related everyone is different apparently as i dnt seem to have a trigger food!


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

I guess for a lot of woman GI problems are hormone related. However they still do not fully understand how hormones work...so...you might have just perfect tests but still something going all wrong with your hormones. There are people with the Hashimoto disease who have perfect hormone tests for their thyroid...and still the thing is not working right!...Think all woman have GI problems during their periods...i know most of my friends have D while on their period.


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## PeaLea (Sep 16, 2009)

yeh my mum can sometimes get D when she is on...i awlays have had it since i was a teen told my mum n she said it was normal! so yeh not alot i can do for the mo but ride it out, i was fine last wednesday-today....today i have a little bloating n pains behind my belly button again n feelthe need to do a BM having already done my usual! n i got gas! but mum readan article that toomuch brown bread or oats ect can agrivate ibs...nowi was doing well offmy poridge before bed, i happened to have some wheatabix last night...now itsnt it funny how i feel off today?! and yes ive evenbeen tested for coeliac as my brother has it...and im all clear! and i can eat mostfoodsn not get an upset, unless its is highlt concerntrated wheat oaty or bran! maybe ihave indeed found my trigger...who knows!


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

Guess the only way to find out is to stay away from those for some time.Am having my period now and being off BC means that I am disabled for a few days







... I can't even move around the house and my colon acted up too...which is so annoying as I've been so well for 3 weeks and my bleeding is back again too so I doubt I will make it out of the house today, I will have to change myself every 10 minutes. However...even with all the period I didn't have such bad BM's as I used to have before ...I can handle the unsual (horrible) pain related to the period though....I've had it all my life so I am used to it. Being bloated isn't fun. I myself was never really bloated, maybe once or twice...for some reason I do not retain gas but it goes right through me and out...if you get my drift ... lol but it did happen a couple of times and I know it's worse that D itself


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