Seasonale
 

Have you guys heard of this? :D Period 4 times a year, once a season.
I want this so bad.... just not sure if it's here in the UK. Anyone in the UK know? My doctor is gonna be on leave for the next few months as she just had a baby.

I've been taking Cyclessa for many years, it's a good pill. I have endometriosis and periods are really painful... and the thought of having it once a season is a miracle.

Thoughts? Anyone on this?

I'm not on Seasonale but for the past 4 years I've been taking ortho cyclen the same way at my doctor's direction (same problem - fibroids and painful periods) - just keep taking the pills, without the week of placebos. So if you can't get a prescription for Seasonale in the UK, get your gyno to prescribe you a monophasic pill and just take it all the time for 3 months.

Bunny, how did you find out you have endometriosis?

As lurkette said - you can just take a regular BC without the placebos as per the Dr's directions. Usually you'll take 3 or 4 packs of them and then go through the placebos. Some Dr's are even going to completely eliminating the periods altogether. So far they haven't discovered problems with that route but must physicians will hesitate to go that far and will suggest you let your body have a period a few times a year.

I have been on Seasonale for almost 2 years now I think. I was actually the first person that my physician prescribed them to when it came out. I'm in the U.S. so I can't tell you from personal experience that you can get it in the U.K. Based on this particular article I think it would be safe to assume that it would be available to you. In the U.S. it runs around $110-130 for a prescription but it lasts for 3 months whereas the average prescription (when I used to take regular Bc) ran around $30-40. It makes it a little pricier but I find it a bit easier to work with. Also it has a lower dose of estrogen which in my case is the hormone that contributes to my migranes when it drops. The drop isn't so drastic for this type of pill so my migranes aren't quite as likely or as severe.

I'm quite pleased with Seasonale. I had some breakthrough bleeding with it for the first month or so but this is common with going to any new pill and especially one where you skip the usual period for a month or two. It takes time for your body to adjust to the new signals that you are giving it. My body adjusted fairly quickly. I haven't had trouble with weight gain or other side effects with these pills. I give them a thumbs up.

lurkette: Is it safe to do it with regular birth control? Cause I've been doing it... so far nothing bad has happened.

sillygirl: Basically, I got my period when I was 13... then I never got it again. Around 16, I got my period for 2 weeks straight, and I started to get facial hair. I thought I was just a freak. Then when I was 17, I started to get huge pain in my abdomen on the front sides. I had to go to the hospital. I was examined and I had to go for testing. Had a few ultrasounds done before I got the results. My ovaries basically twist around on the stem they hang from. My uterus tries to shed skin when there is none to shed.... painful. My ovaries weren't producing enough estrogen. So I was put on birth control for my hormones, which also eased my pain greatly. Only time I can be in some serious pain is when I get my period. Also, most of my eggs are cysts now... doctors were worried it was a sign of cancer, but after tests, it's not. Also, the chances of me getting pregnant are 15-20%, and there's a 10% chance that the baby will be normal.

I'm at the point where I'm skipping my own period on purpose because I can't take the pain anymore. There's a clinic that gives away BC (have to pay though)... I'm thinking of going there and just taking seasonale without my doctor's orders... or something. I'm not too worried about getting pregnant, seeing how I have to stay on estrogen pills for the rest of my life.... which can also damage the baby if it was normal.


reanna74: I think the reason they can't stop periods is the risk of cancer. Or least thats what my doctor was worried about. I could get ovarian cancer. So I'm assuming that's why 4 periods a year is the minimum.

As for weight gain, I've been on Ortho and then Yasmin before Cyclessa because they had stopped working afterawhile, my body would adjust and I would have problems... Cyclessa was my last pill, if this fails, then I have to have my uterus and ovaries removed. I've only gained 10 pounds the first month of each pill and the next month those 10 pounds were gone. :thumbsup:

But the thought of less of that pain, actually makes me wanna cry happy tears.

It's totally safe to do with regular birth control pills as long as they're monophasic - that is, constant dose. That way you're just getting the same dosage of hormones all the time. If you have a triphasic pill (where the pills change dosage and probably colors each week) you'll be cycling strangely and it'll throw you way outta whack. You can still skip your period with those pills, but it's not recommended except occasionally and it's less effective over several months - more prone to breakthrough bleeding and stuff.

And actually, stopping your period completely decreases the risk of ovarian cancer, so I'm not sure why your doctor would be concerned - basically, if you're not releasing eggs, there's no breakage of the sac around the egg in the ovary, and therefore no regeneration of cells to repair the break, and that regeneration is where much ovarian cancer starts as abnormally regenerated cells. They think that's why many developing countries where women are pregnant most of their lives have lower rates of ovarian cancer- they ovulate less. It's actually "unnatural" for women to have a period every month, evolutionarily speaking. Before the pill, women would likely be pregnant a lot more frequently than we are today, and would therefore have many fewer periods over the course of their lives.

Now, uterine cancer and cervical I'm not so sure about the link, but decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer is one reason to go on the pill and stop your periods.

It's totally safe to do with regular birth control pills as long as they're monophasic - that is, constant dose. That way you're just getting the same dosage of hormones all the time. If you have a triphasic pill (where the pills change dosage and probably colors each week) you'll be cycling strangely and it'll throw you way outta whack. You can still skip your period with those pills, but it's not recommended except occasionally and it's less effective over several months - more prone to breakthrough bleeding and stuff. Seasonale has a formulation similar to or identical to some monophasic pills that are already on the market - it's just prescribed in 90-day packs instead of 28 day packs, and it's the first brand to be officially approved by the FDA for use in stopping periods - doctors have been doing the same thing "off-label" with other pills for years.

And actually, stopping your period completely decreases the risk of ovarian cancer, so I'm not sure why your doctor would be concerned - basically, if you're not releasing eggs, there's no breakage of the sac around the egg in the ovary, and therefore no regeneration of cells to repair the break, and that regeneration is where much ovarian cancer starts as abnormally regenerated cells. They think that's why many developing countries where women are pregnant most of their lives have lower rates of ovarian cancer- they ovulate less. It's actually "unnatural" for women to have a period every month, evolutionarily speaking. Before the pill, women would likely be pregnant a lot more frequently than we are today, and would therefore have many fewer periods over the course of their lives.

Now, uterine cancer and cervical I'm not so sure about the link, but decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer is one reason to go on the pill and stop your periods.

This is exactly what I'd heard. I also checked into this aspect when I began taking them. So far they have not found that a lack of periods alone causes any type of cancer. Check this out.

I've been taking them like that (three months at a time) for YEARS, at the orders of my mom the doc. No problems so far. I'm totally blissful with only have a period 4 (or less) times a year.

The only problem with taking birth control pills non-stop (which probably doesn't pertain to the three-month thing) is that eventually you're body will decide to have a period anyway, and you may start to spot, and it may not go away until you go off the pills & have your period.
I went seven months without a period, taking pills in succession. My doctor said aside from the spotting thing, no other risks are apparent, as, unfortunately, (as with most womens issues) not enough studies have been done.

No thank you. My current pill is already giving me terrible migraine attacks. Having my period only 4 times a year will seriously fuck up my migraine :(