TheProf

Hello,

I thought I would post an update to our situation.

We first, based upon discussions on this site and in real life, decided to go back to her gynocologist to discuss other birth control pill brands.

So we went today. And we're never going back to that doctor. I'm not going to go into the blatant rudeness of the office staff - they're not trained for good bedside manners. I'm not going to go into how they were complaining about our timing, contradicting the check-in procedure they earlier told us to go through, or venting at us that we're going to cause them to miss lunch - I'll just let all that go.

However, in regards to the gynocologist, I can easily say I've never met a more rude doctor in my life. And I've met many.

So my wife, as I mentioned before, is already in a fragile emotional state because of this whole sex issue. So she had asked me to do most of the talking. We had discussed and I had already planned what I was going to say: lack of libido, decreased vaginal wetness, emotions up and down, etc.

Once the doctor enters the room, the doctor asks why we are there. And the doctor is directly talking to my wife. Now I understand that as a gyno, the majority of the discussion is about women. But the doctor barely acknowledged my handskake and introduction. My wife tells the doctor we are there to discuss the side effects of the prescription the gynocologist had written. The doctors asks why we didn't go to the family doctor to do so (IE: why are you wasting my time). We inform the doctor that our family doctor is not well and the office is closed. The gyno. begrudgingly starts to talk with us.

I start talking and say that the pill is causing my wife mood swings which are noticable on her period vs. off her period. As I'm getting the sentence out of my mouth, the gyno interrupts me to tell me that they would like to hear it from my wife, not me.

Now, my wife is a sweetheart and not at all a rude person, so this sort of talk made her uncomfortable and she was shy with what she was saying to the doctor. But she said to the gyno. that the pill was causing mood swings. Before she could even GET to the low sex drive the pill is causing, the doctor interrupts her to say "that's a side effect of all pills. So the pill is no good for you. Let's talk about other forms of birth control. Condom. Spermicide. IUD, etc." Just like that. End of discussion.

So I wasn't going to take that and started asking questions about how can they all do that - aren't there different doses? Different brands? To which the answer is that the doctor does not have time to get into all that with us! But that there are no differences in the brands and the different doses would have no effect. So we'd better think of other methods.

My wife says she's not comfortable on other methods, and would rather take the side effects of the pill than go off it. (Kids are just not an option for us at this time). So is there anything else that would work? Answer. NO (in a "we've already said that tone"). I tried bringing up other delivery methods such as the patch or the embedded hormone ring, to which the doctor again tries to argue that there would be zero difference.

My wife says she would like a repeat of the current prescription since there seems to be no other option. The doctor says that can't be done now because that requires a physical examination, pap smear, etc and there is no time for that now! So the gyno. refused to give us a repeat.

Sensing we're not giving up, the doctor suggests that, against better judgement, they are going to give us a test pack of another brand which they claims is an "older" drug and not as 'new' as the one my wife is on. (brand details after this little story). The doctor leaves the room, and my wife bursts into tears. She had such high hopes that there would be a solution to this problem and the huge negative effects it's having on us and our marriage, and this rude doctor won't even discuss it. I calmed her down and told her we'll go somewhere else.

Doctor returns with another brand explaining that it's a 28-day cycle, etc. The doctor interestingly removes the enclosed insert and pockets it EVEN THOUGH I read on the side of the box it says "The enclosed insert must be dispensed to patient." We take it and leave.

So much for that. My wife is on the second-last package on the current prescription. We're not sure what to do now. She doesn't want to start a new brand just like that because she a) doesn't want to feel "like a science experiment and b) doesn't want to go through the emotional upheavals of changing brands, if there are any. She couldn't ask that doctor because she just wanted to get out of the office.

/end rant

In terms of details, my wife is on Cyclen 28 by (DIN 01992872) which contains 0.25 mg norgestimate and 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol. The new pack given to her by the doctor is Alesse by Wyeth (DIN 02236975) which contains 0.1 mg levonorgestrel and 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol. So there IS a difference in terms of the hormonal composition and the concentrations. I don't understand how the gyno. can say there would be no difference. And the gynocologist also said that you would notice a difference between the two in less than 1 month (I'm ignoring the fact the doctor is being self-contradicting), even though when my wife went on the pill originally, she was told that the symptoms would stabilize after 3 months!

Does anyone have any experiences with Alesse, or with switching pill brands? My wife's stressed out because she has to decide what to do, and quickly.

Thanks