Don't want to lose my sex drive again! BCP
 

OK, I was on the pill for over 12 years. Eventually I got tired of the hassel and made other arrangements. After that I re-discovered some things:
A) Cycles hurt like hell
B) Cycles are messy and long
C) I actually have a very strong sex drive!

I was absolutely shocked to realize that things could have been *so* different all this time (regarding sex drive). Un-friggin-believeable.

However, I've experienced a tremendous lot of pain and near-complete life interruption for every cycle since I stopped the pill (I've never even considered staying home sick from work for a cycle before. now it's everything I can do to go in, and I'm not terribly useful). I've tried herbal suppliments, Evening Primrose oil (2000mg/day), anything else I can think of, with no real results.

So I'm thinking of going back on a different pill, preferably one where I could skip cycles. I'm traveling on a once-in-a-lifetime trip this year, and I'm very unhappy with the thought that this stupid thing could interfere.

However, I DO NOT want to lose my sex drive again! I'm actually quite afraid of losing it. I just got it, it's hardly even been used. :P

My dr. has given me a rx for Seasonale (which is darn expensive, by the way!). I was on Nordette before. I believe they are both tri-phasic.

Does a pill being tri-phasic or not affect the drive?

If I was on one tri-phasic pill, would another one have the same effect?

I fear I'm just going to be reduced to experimenting on myself. :|

Any input from the wise women of TFP would be most appreciated.

Wish I could help you out on this one. Seems like your periods are considerably more difficult to manage than mine have ever been.

Have you ever considered the pain to be caused by endometriosis? The best thing I could say would be to talk to your doctor, and maybe even call another one or a planned parenthood to get more input. There's really no way (as far as I know) to know ahead of time how exactly a pill will affect you.

Seasonale is a monophasic pill (it has to be to prevent breakthrough bleeding). Therefore the level of hormone should be constant. When you were on Nordette, did you find that your sex drive would peak at certain times of the month, according to your change in pills?

If the level of hormone concerns you, look into the Nuva-Ring. The ring contains the lowest level of hormone of any birth control on the market. I find it effective for 1) being able to skip my period, 2) regulating my cycle otherwise, and 3) keeping my period light.

As for the expense, going to a Planned Parenthood or your county health department, and that should drastically reduce cost.

Thanks all and esp. onesnowy owl, I will look into that.