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[CrispyChick]

Love the emoji 

So...... I am on a total mess. I feel very ill. Dizzy, nausea, generally very ill. I have been here for 2 years. I am 43.

I have now worked out that I felt mildly better on the mini pill, cerazette. But it left me feeling very flat and I was getting bad pmt with it.... But no period.

So move forward almost 2 years and i decided to try the combined pill. 7 days in..... Bang, severe symptoms like back at the beginning. Did a full month, then couldn't take it any longer. Stopped it 13 days ago. Each day I feel I am getting worse and worse.

I wake up with my head spinning. I feel vile. Sick and generally awful. I am very tired.

What on earth do I do...... I need it to stop. I do not know what to do.

I should add, over thd last 2 years I have had mri, CT scan, seen ENT, neurologist and gastro. No one can find anything or help me. My reaction to the combined pill would suggest hormonal..... Which has always been my hunch. Just feels like huge waves of something coming over me..... I am getting worse........

 

[CrispyChick]

Thanks for your reply.

The medical profession seem to have given up on me. I even saw a hospital outpatient gp. They said there was nothing they could do for me.

I am now on the waiting list for menopause clinic, but when my gp sought their advice before I tried the combined pill, they told her they didn't think my symptoms were menopausal.

I just feel so lost and alone. Feel so very ill. But weirdly I don't feel like it is anything serious that will harm me..... Perhaps that too is an indication of hormones.

Maybe I will email Dr Currie through this forum.

[Alicess]

Hi Crispychick, I'm sorry you feel this way. The symptoms you describe could very well be caused by hormonal imbalance.  It's possible you have been  on the wrong pill. Which birth control pill did you take? Did you use Cerazette lately or two years back?

[CrispyChick]

Hi. I have been on cerazette the last 18 months, until I swapped to a combined pill 5 weeks ago..... And now on nothing.

Whilst I was not as nauseous on cerazette, I was flat and low and was getting bad pmt for weeks. So it wasn't really suiting. But I guess this is worse. I just can't function. I have had enough 

[Alicess]

Which birth control pill did you use this last time? After Cerazette I mean. It's possible it did not have enough estrogen, the progestin part was to high or you need a different progestin. Nausea, tiredness and dizziness can be symptoms of low estrogen. Different birth control pills contain a different kind of progestin and a higher or lower dosage of estrogen. I was on the wrong birth control pills for about 34 years .But when my GP prescribed a pill with a different progestin and a higher estrogen most of my many symptoms went away.
I find it appalling that so many GP's and specialists are still clueless about potential side-effects of BCP's if it's not the right one for someone.

[yellowflower]

At 43, it may be peri, but I would be looking at other causes as well. I notice you have had multiple tests, but have you been tested for things like anxiety? Anxiety can cause all manner of symptoms, especially if you worry about your health.

[CrispyChick]

Thank you.

Yes, been down the anxiety route as that's what they were telling me at the beginning. Been on meds and back down to low level as they made no difference.

They symptoms are very physical and I actually feel very calm. I just want my life back. I'm not worried it is something sinister as I have had so many tests. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal...... But question why my own body would make me feel sooooo bad for so long?!

[Cadgwith Girl]

Gosh, Crispy Chick!
Sending you BIG ehugs!!!
Sorry I can't advise but I can support. Struggling myself to find a way through all this!
Cadgwith Girl xx

[Hurdity]

Hi Crispy Chick

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough and can't work out why and how to deal with it.

May I ask what your periods were doing in the months/years leading up to your starting Cerazette - if you were having natural periods? Were they coming irregularly, lasting a long time, heavy light etc? This would give an indication of where you are in menopause, and now that a couple of years have elapsed.

The thing about Cerazette is that it does suppress ovulation and oestrogen levels so this can make you feel down or give some menopausal symptoms but the upside is that it prevents the mood swings of peri-menopause or the late reproductive stage (the last stage before peri when periods are still regular but hormones begin to go a bit awry).

Theoretically the COC should continue to suppress ovulation at the higher doses and the mood swings - but sometimes takes a few cycles to bed in (so I've read) but will give you that extra oestrogen that you weren't getting from Cerazette. Like Alicess I am wondering which type you tried? I know the oestrogens in most of them are stronerg and synthetic and some of the progestogens give side effects to some women. There are lots of different types to try including some with newer generation progestogens with fewer side effects and also there are a couple designed for peri-menopause which contain estradiol ( the same oestrogen that we produce in our bodies) so are gentler. These are called QLAIRA and ZOELY.

I do hope you manage to find a way through this....and if we can help do continue to post and ask questions and we can try!

Hurdity x

[CrispyChick]

Thanks ladies. This is a great support.

OK, so before cerazette 18 months ago.... When all this was at its worst my periods were regular but very very light. Lots of pms symptoms.

I have recently tried a low dose coc 20/150. The progesterone was the same as in cerazette, but at higher dose. The estrogen was low dose. I felt dreadful. I had breast pain etc so I know the estrogen was much higher than normal.

Now off them all I am at my worst. I have been getting vertigo in the night and headache today on top of the dizzy, foggy nausea.

[Alicess]

CrispyChick, I could well be the progestin part of your pill is too high and the estrogen part too low. You could try a BCP with more estrogen as it counteracts the progestin as they have the same dose of progesterone. Or try a different progestin like Gestodene or Levonorgestrel.

If you are prone to acne or hirsutism; Drospirenon (in Yaz and Yasmin) is anti-androgenic but if you don't have problems in that regard I wouldn't choose Drosperinon as it has more risk for blood clots and is potassium-sparing, meaning your potassium could end up to high. Besides, we do need testosterone too.

As Hurdity mentioned your own estrogen could be even lower because you've taken Cerazette. The estradiol in Zoely and Qliara is far less potent then ethinylestradiol and  I would personally try a different BCP first. I know many women prefer the 'natural' estradiol but for some, like me, it's just not potent enough.

It does take time before you can tell for sure if it's the right pill for you. You can feel worse before it gets better. Give it at least 6 weeks.
I don't know if breast pain is always a symptom of higher estrogen, in my case it was progesterone that gave me breast pain. Maybe fluid retention.

Can't sleep so rambling on. Excuse my English, a bit fuzzy.

[Sammiejane]

hi alicess

what do you take ?

[Alicess]

Hi Sammiejane, I am not a good reference as neither birth control nor HRT made my hairloss less. I've lost and I'm still losing my hair on my hairline and temples. And I've lost about 50 % of the remaining hair on my scalp.

As I still have a cycle despite birth control pills I can tell when my hairloss is worse. And it's when estrogen is low. No hairloss around ovulation (approximately when estrogen is at its peak) and on the day when my period should start.

Don't take my experience as guidance as it is rare. The estrogen in both BCP or HRT doesn't seem to work anymore in my case as it's not even controlling hot flashes or night sweats.

Again, we all respond differently. I think you just have to try something else if your current HRT isn't working. Unfortunately nobody can give you reassurance whether you hairloss will get better or worse.

Alicess X

[CrispyChick]

Alicess - thank you, I had not spotted your earlier reply.

I'm still so confused, and Ill. So being on cerazette took down the dizziness and nausea, but I still got dizzy at times. Being on nothing I am horrific. Doesn't cerazette keep estrogen low to prevent ovulation?

So the Coc i tried was gederal 20/150. So only 20 mg estrogen, compared to the normal 30. My symptoms ramped up. But surely the 20mg estrogen would be more than cerazette was letting me have?

I could try a 30mg pill dose I guess. But I'm scared!!! Also, I was taken off a 30/150 about 4 years ago as it gave me severe withdrawl headaches. Interestingly when I withdrew from the 20/150 I didn't experience that.

I notice my mood was fine on the 20/150 trial. I was struggling with cerazette for the low mood and pmt. I just can't win.

I'm at such a loss. I feel so ill. I can't believe my body can do this to me. I have two little boys and feel like I am missing out on their life 

[Alicess]

Hi CrispyChick, I understand you feel desperate but I do believe there is hope for you, I really do.

I'm sorry, I don't have much time at the moment so I can't get in to much detail.

Hormonal processes are complicated and sometimes difficult to figure out. And we all respond differently. Both pills you took, Cerazette and Gederal, have the same progestin; Desogestrel. It's possible you don't do well on that particular progestin. So you could try the combination pills with the progestins I've mentioned above. There are more progestins, each with different properties.

Cerazette has a lower amount of Desogestrel then Gederal so it is possible that's why you are having more side-effects on a higher progestin dose. And it really does take time, especially if you've been on a progestin- only pill. To put it simply; your estrogen receptors need to be activated again.

Both low and higher estrogen surpress ovulation, don't worry. With a higher estrogen you will have less fluctuations. Fluctuations in estrogen will give more symptoms. As does low estrogen.

If you've had withdrawal headaches you could try to skip your pill-free week for a while to let things settle.

I hope I have given you some reassurance. I truly believe you will feel better.

Alicess  🌷