Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Personal Experiences => Topic started by: Chi chi on October 21, 2015, 04:44:48 PM
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So after a lot of uncertainty about wether to try Yaz or Qlaira I decided on Yaz.
As I've found gypsyroselee's pill diary really interesting to follow I thought I'd do the same.
Here goes
Day 1
Took first tablet last night and woke feeling tired and a bit groggy and spaced out but this soon faded and I actually felt quite upbeat and optimistic, got quite a few things done that usually I couldn't be bothered with.
Headache- 0
Energy- 3 or 4
Anxiety- 1
Mood- 4
Aches and pains- 1
These are all scored out of 5, 0 being low and 5 being highest
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Good luck. I hope with time it will be big fat 0s
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Day 2
Woke feeling tired, on edge and a bit anxious. Mood is definitely lower today than yesterday and I haven't really felt like doing much.
Had a few mild tummy aches/ twinges this morning but They didn't last long.
Difficult to know at the moment if the dip is due to Yaz or just a normal down day?
H- 1
E- 2/3
A- 3/4
M- 2/3
A- 1
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Thank you peterspots :)
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Really useful thread x
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This will be so useful to follow. And it will be interesting to compare and contrast :)
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Day 3
Woke up feeling pretty good considering I'd visited the bathroom 3 times during the night ::)
Mood better than yesterday, not quite as good as Monday but not far off :)
H- 0
E- 3
A- 1
M- 3
A- 1/2 bit of lower Backache
All in all fairly good day! Hope it continues :)
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I know it's still very early days but it seems I'm having 1 good day then 1 not so good day. I'm well aware that it could be worse and at least I'm getting some good days, still really frustrating though.
Will see how the rest of the day goes?
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I'd really try not to read too much into your feelings at present. Like you say, it's incredibly early days and it could well be that how you're feeling is actually more to do with your own hormones and any remnants of previous medication in your system than the new pill? It was definitely months before Q really had any positive impact on me - up til then it was a few side effects combined with my own hormones trying to stick their noses in! x
PS For anyone interested in risks of the BCP, this might be interesting. I find it quite reassuring that it's likely we're more at risk of dvt during pregnancy than on the pill.
http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Jul_-_Sep_10_Contraceptives.pdf
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Thanks Briony, yeah really really early days, like you say I'm trying not to question things just yet ;)
I've already found that actually having to write and really think about how I feel has been way harder than I thought ??? Do I actually "feel" anxious, happy, sad etc or am I just thinking that way? If that makes sense??
The pregnancy DVT is very reassuring :)
Still really confused as to whether Yaz and Yasmin are the same or different? ???
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They are the same progesterone (the controversial bit) but different levels of estrogen. Yaz is only 2mg, which is very low for a BCP. The number of blank days is slightly different too. Yasmine is prescribed more often, hence reason Yaz doesn't often feature in reference materials. To confuse matters, I think that Eloine is another name used in the UK for Yaz now? http://www.ukmi.nhs.uk/applications/ndo/record_view_open.asp?newDrugID=5831
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Why do they have to give the same thing so many different names?? ::)
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Day 4
Woke up feeling not particularly rested this morning, was a bit on edge and felt quite flat. Things dudnt really improve much through the day either, nothing major just that nagging background anxiety and doom. I have noticed that my mood can change within the hour though! Today it was mostly low and strangely it's got worse as the evenings gone on, usually lifts towards the evening.
H- 0/1
E- 2/3
A- 2/3
M- 2/3
A- 1
Mainly a down day :-\
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I agree re names. It's due to trade names v generic names, I guess (and possibly legal issues).
Know I have said it already, but try not to worry too much about your mood. Whilst the contraceptive effect works immediately, I reckon it was three months before my body responded emotionally/physically to the increased and constant hormones. If you look back to my earlier Qlaira posts, you'll see I was in a right state at times.
Big hugs xx
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Thanks Briony X would you mind posting a link to it so I can have a read :)
It feels like somethings changing? Progesterone issues maybe? But oddly I've had barely any headaches since starting.
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I've posted over 1000 times, so not quite sure where they will be, but I remember having panics both when I started hrt (last Nov I think?) and Qlaira (early 2015?).
Here's one:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,27048.15.html
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Thank you :)
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Day 5
Woke feeling quite refreshed and felt OK but as the day went on I started to feel down and flat did improve slightly towards the evening.
I'm wondering if the prog is starting to have an effect now?
H- 0/1
E- 2/3
A- 1/2
M- 2/3
A-0
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It's odd how generally mood always seems to improve toward the evening? Even in my blackest days I tended to feel slightly better by supper time.
Chi Chi the first 2-3 weeks I was on Microgynon I was very up and down still. Things really improved on the 2nd pack when I only had 2-3 bad days out of about 28? But by the middle of the third pack my symptoms came back, I think because of a build up of too much progesterone?
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It is odd, I put it down to knowing I didn't have to go anywhere or see anyone, sounds awful doesn't it :-\
When you say your symptoms returned during your third pack, which symptoms were they? Anxiety, low mood etc?
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Me too. Always feel better in the evening on a bad day. Think it is the knowledge that I can soon crawl into bed and not have to 'try' for the next 10 hours. I tend only to share my feelings and symptoms with you guys. IRL I've learned 'brave face' avoids judgement, especially at work!
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Hubby actually said something last night that made me wonder, just off the cuff he remarked why not top up a bit with the Oestrogel? That got me thinking maybe part of it is because I'm having less now? I could be getting this all wrong but if I was on 4 pumps that works out at 3mg but with Yaz I'm only getting 2??
Like I say I could be working that out all wrong knowing me lol ::)
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And me Briony! It's amazing how exhausting it is trying to act normal around people.
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Hubby actually said something last night that made me wonder, just off the cuff he remarked why not top up a bit with the Oestrogel? That got me thinking maybe part of it is because I'm having less now? I could be getting this all wrong but if I was on 4 pumps that works out at 3mg but with Yaz I'm only getting 2??
Like I say I could be working that out all wrong knowing me lol ::)
That makes sense to me. Isn't it what the consultant suggested too? Out of interest, why did they suggest Yaz over Yasmine (ie the 3mg pill) or even Marvelon?
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It was prof studd that prescribed Yaz, I told him I remembered taking ovranette at 16 with no problems, had that for years but he said that's an awful pill??
It was Dr Annie Evans who suggested topping up with Oestrogel but that was with Qlaira
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It was prof studd that prescribed Yaz, I told him I remembered taking ovranette at 16 with no problems, had that for years but he said that's an awful pill??
:( Did he say why Ovranette is awful? That's the one I'm on :o
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Sorry Dorothy he didn't say :-\
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Chi chi my symptoms half way through the 3rd pack were anxiety, very low mood, feeling very fragile and near tears 24/7 and waking up riddled with dread and doom. These are always my symptoms, I have very few physical symptoms aside from stiff, achy ankles and hands.
I have often wondered how it would feel if I took the BCP + wore a 50mg patch? I still have loads left from when I was on HRT.
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Dorothy, Ovranette is another name for Microgynon. It's the first choice to be prescribed as it's the cheapest and one of the safer combined pills. However, it is also the least estrogenic. That's why it would not be as good for anyone already low in estrogen. Despite me having a higher than average risk factor, my GP agreed that an estogenic pill was the better starting point for me.
This explains it better than I can! (See page two) x
http://www.avongpeducation.co.uk/handouts/2012/youngpersons/The%20pill%20ladder.pdf
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Chi chi my symptoms half way through the 3rd pack were anxiety, very low mood, feeling very fragile and near tears 24/7 and waking up riddled with dread and doom. These are always my symptoms, I have very few physical symptoms aside from stiff, achy ankles and hands.
I have often wondered how it would feel if I took the BCP + wore a 50mg patch? I still have loads left from when I was on HRT.
It'll be interesting to see how you respond to the new pill, as it's at the other end of the 'scale' to Microgynon. These are the side effects listed for a progesterone dominant pill:
acne
• hirsutism
• vaginal dryness
• sustained weight gain
• low mood
• low libido especially if associated with low mood
• breast tenderness.
I struggle with side effects as the (high) estrogen and progesterone ones often over lap. However, what is evident is that low mood seems to be more indicative of high progesterone than it is high estrogen.
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That's interesting. I didn't have any breast tenderness on Microgynon, or any vaginal dryness either. Had quite a few spots during the first 1.5 packs but that cleared up. Did have constant brown spotting too, every day from the end of the 1st pack right through to when I stopped taking it toward the end of the 3rd pack.
In that time I also had 2 break through bleeds. The first was during the 2nd pack, only lasted 2 days and was quite light. But the 2nd one started halfway through the 3rd pack, lasted 6 days and was quite heavy, with fresh red flow and cramps.
Plus the whole time I had very low libido. When I had that 10 day break between Microgynon and Gederal I noticed my libido came back quite strongly within 5-6 days.
I think I am a person who needs quite a high level of oestrogen, more than your average woman. In the year before my peri menopause started, I noticed that when I ovulated I felt incredibly chilled and happy, to the point of feeling almost drugged with it.
And once peri started, the only time I got any reprieve from my symptoms was mid month when I ovulated. Then there were the really bad months when I don't think I ovulated at all. That was brutal.
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Dorothy, Ovranette is another name for Microgynon. It's the first choice to be prescribed as it's the cheapest and one of the safer combined pills. However, it is also the least estrogenic. That's why it would not be as good for anyone already low in estrogen. Despite me having a higher than average risk factor, my GP agreed that an estogenic pill was the better starting point for me.
This explains it better than I can! (See page two) x
http://www.avongpeducation.co.uk/handouts/2012/youngpersons/The%20pill%20ladder.pdf
Thanks Briony, that is really helpful - I had a lot of the estrogen excess symptoms before going on the pill, so if I've understood the document correctly it sounds like Ovranette was a good choice for me.
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Dorothy, that would make sense. It would be the perfect choice if you wanted less estrogenic effects. It highlights how different our bodies are - one size certainly does not fit all. I wonder, as you get nearer menopause, if you'll need a different formula? Or whether your body will always prefer a more progesterone dominant pill?
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Day 6
Woke feeling a bit on edge but this soon went. Was still quite up and down in terms of mood, it really is odd how within the space of an hour my mood can be so different ??? Anyway things improved again by evening. Not much else to report really.
H- 0
E- 3
A- 1
M-3
A-0/1
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Know just what you mean - it amazes me how my moods can change within hours - I can go from energetic to lethargic, or angry to sobbing, within hours! Has to be hormones as before I was boringly consistent!
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;D Briony I'm sure you weren't :)
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I guess DP would say I could 'have my moments' ;D x
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Day 7
Well another down day today and a bit more anxious than the last few days too :(
If I'm honest I'm wondering if this was all such a good idea :-\ I know it's still very early days but still doesn't make it any easier, just hoping and praying for some good/better days.
I still find myself doubting if it's all hormone related, God I hate these kinds of days :-\
On a good note I've hardly had any headaches.
H-0
E-3
A-3/4
M-2
A-0/1
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It's so early yet, it really is. During my first month on Microgynon I was very up and down, a real mixed bag of mood swings and anxiety. Just like you I doubted it was going to help me.
But Briony was incredibly supportive and helped me through because she was several months ahead of me on Qlaira. As I went into the 2nd pack things changed very much for the better. I had a very positive run of nearly 3 weeks of 'good' days.
I know it's so wearying when all you want is some peace of mind, but do try and stick with it for at least a few more weeks.
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Thanks GRL, I do plan to continue, I've got to or I'll never know?
I was reading back on your original diary and you seemed to do well at the very beginning, this kind of knocked me as I've only had 1 or 2 days of feeling ok :-\
Wondering if I'm reacting to the prog already or maybe because I'm not having as much estrogen?? Feels a bit to soon to be messing about with adding in Oestrogel at the moment? But on the other hand is it? So frustrating :-\
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It's just dawned on me again! I posted a while ago asking if anyone had tried the Charles Linden Programme, Id been feeling particularly anxious/down at the time. Exactly 3 weeks later I posted again asking if it was a coincidence/pms that I was feeling anxious and down again. Well it's nearly 3 weeks again and here I am feeling anxious and down again ??? There's got to be a link? Maybe it is pms and the Yaz hasn't wiped out all my own hormones yet??
Hopefully in another 3 weeks time the Yaz will have done so and I won't get this dip?
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Hi Chi
When I very first started on Microgynon I had just come out of a run of 5-6 'bad' days, so I was likely to have been feeling fine again for a while regardless of whether I had started taking the BCP or not.
And yes, I think timing is playing an important role here for you. Seems like this is happening to you, cyclically, on a roughly 3 week cycle.
This is roughly how I am too. 2 - 2.5 good weeks, followed by a couple of iffy days, followed by a real dip of 4-5 days, then back to the 'good' days.
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Day 8
Didn't sleep very well due to hubby snoring! Felt a bit up and down all day really, not quite as bad but still noticeable. Seemed to be more down for the first half of the day then improved by evening.
Wondering if the 3 week mood dips are PMT??
H-0/1
E-2/3
A-2
M-2/3
A-0/1
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As my peri started I noticed my cycle suddenly shortened to 24/25 days rather than 28. So it makes sense to me that my 'bad days' seem to arrive every 2.5-3 weeks.
Maybe the same for you?
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I've never suffered with pmt but I've always been on the pill so I suppose that would have hidden it?
Day 9
Woke feeling a bit anxious, shaky and jittery, this continued most of the day, generally just feel miserable and not being able to enjoy things. I've been trying to get on with doing things I usually enjoy but half way through I just feel like what's the point? My libido has also gone Awol!
Hope this lifts soon :-\
H-0/1
E-2/3
A-3
M-2
A-0/1
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Probably means you just don't get PMT Chi chi as I always used to get it on my pill break, as did my friends.
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I never used to suffer at all, until now :-\ since coming off birth control pills/pop my periods have been much worse, heavier and longer ::) makes me think/wonder if the pill has been masking everything? Both my daughters suffer with their monthly's
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I was prescribed The Pill at age 16 at my request due to heavy , painful periods. I took it for 11 years. Bleeds were lighter ……. on a 32 day cycle.
PMT didn't begin for me until after I was sterilised :-\ ……..
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Day 10
Hope this doesn't carry on much longer, it's getting really quite hard :-\
Woke up again feeling crap! On edge, anxious, jittery, nervous, head all over the place and my thoughts skitting from one thing to the next, mainly analysing how I feel :-\ it feels like it's just consuming me at the moment and the constant tummy churning dread.
Trying to get on with things but not really wanting to. I really really don't know how some of you cope with all this and work :o I admire you!
H-1
E-1/2
A-3/4
M1/2
A-0/1
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If it's any consolation, I am feeling similarly - nausea, light headed, anxious/jittery. Am also constipated and my boobs are buzzing (seriously). I am trying to see it as a positive sign that at least this pill - day 4 - is doing something, but I was rather hoping it would do something else!!!
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I don't seem to have any physical effects yet, headaches have been much better though so that's a plus I suppose. Just wish this persistent low mood would bugger off! I feel like I've turned into a monster, can't bear anyone near me, even hubby :-\ everything and everyone is just irritating me :-\
I'm temped to try a bit of Oestrogel to see if it helps?
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My partner came home late last night after a week working away. First thing I did was apologise in advance for anything I might say or do in the near future (I am getting that PMS feeling ...)! x
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Pms that's exactly how it feels, although I e never really experienced it, just read about it. How did he take it? I bet you're glad to have him home though :D
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Really struggling today :-\ actually debating wether to come off or carry on but not sure how long I can carry on like this?
I'm waiting to have a chat with prof Studd (as he was the one who prescribed)
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I had to email him in the end as we kept missing each other, I explained that I felt my mood had really plummeted and that I felt very anxious, on edge and could hardly bear to be around anyone and that it was horrible and scary to feel like this. I asked if its normal or to be expected to feel like this until things settled?
He replied and just said to stop the Yaz and to call him in 3 weeks to see how I was feeling? I asked if I should start the gels again and he said yes.
Hubby's worried I've panicked into stopping and that maybe it's just a short term problem for a longer term benefit? :-\
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I know it's easy to say looking from the outside, but I really think you need to give it a fair trial. Otherwise, I think you will always be asking 'what if'? In all honesty, I nearly stopped both hrt and Q within the first month, and only continued after a few strong words from forum members. I'd be fibbing if I said I hadn't considered stopping Marvelon in the last 24 hours - I twice have considered it and I'm only on day 5! - but I think I need to try and ride it out a bit longer, even if it's only to confirm in a month or so that this really isn't for me. Guess we both still need to work out what are the short term, inevitable side effects and what's a sign of long term intolerance, if that makes sense?
It's rare for hormonal medication to work quickly. They seem to take several months - rather than weeks - to have an impact. In the same way, if you had a severe vitamin deficiency, taking a supplement would take a while to have an effect. Ditto ADs where you often have to feel worse to feel better?
I wouldn't add extra estrogen as that might even make you more on edge (I think that's my issue at present). Let your body get used to what is already a leap from what you were previously taking. I'm trying to see what's happening to me at present as a sign that at least it is doing something. I guess we need to try and ride the side effects storm before we can begin to assess if it's going to be any help?
Have you thought about possibly taking something like Diazepam in the short term?
Really wish I could wave a magic wand for you (for all three of us, in fact!) but since I've no supernatural powers, I'll send you a hug instead :hug:
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Hope this doesn't carry on much longer, it's getting really quite hard :-\
Woke up again feeling crap! On edge, anxious, jittery, nervous, head all over the place and my thoughts skitting from one thing to the next, mainly analysing how I feel
This does sound like your body getting used to more estrogen. I'd not consider 'topping up' with Estrogel for the moment. Could make things worse?
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Thanks Briony X
I didn't take my Yaz last night, just so unsure now as to what to do :-\ at the start it looked promising as the down days were every other day but then it went to every day, it was getting unbearable :-\ I can't risk sinking that low and how long do I carry on in the hope it'll improve? :-\
Anyway this morning I've gone back to the gels while I figure out what to do next??
I have noticed this last week that I've felt very hot, even hubby commented it was strange as he was freezing and I wasn't? It's always been the other way round. My legs /feet have been really irritating me too, restless legs and feet feeling like they're on fire!
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I feel for you. It must have been a difficult decision. Have you thought about giving it a longer trial, but taking an AD temporarily? That would at least give Yaz time to get into your system properly and suppress ovulation.
Interesting to see the response youve had on your other thread from Alice. Maybe she can help with how long side effects might last?
Alternatively, you have the Qlaira-with-gel-if-necessary option? The only thing I'd say with Q is you wont feel the benefit immediately. Days 8-10 of pack one were when I got side effects most, but it was much longer before I felt really well.
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Thing is I already take an AD at maximum dosage as well as a mood stabiliser albeit a low dose, have tried quite a few AD's in the past, none of which really helped which is what led me to hormones and prof Studd.
I hadn't seen Alice's reply, good job you mentioned it :)
I've still got 3 months supply of Qlaira sitting here but just don't know :-\