Estrostep FE....Know Anything About It?

cramps?
Hi, I'm really glad I found this forum, as it seems to be pretty difficult to find info on Estrostep through most internet search engines.

I'm 18 and just started Estrostep today, Sunday, which is also the first day of my period.

The thing that I'm most concerned about is how Estrostep helps control menstrual cramps. I am pretty sure that I can deal with any other side effects as long as my crippling cramps are gone. I start college in a week, and I can not afford to be bed ridden for two to three days with cramps that are not stalled by any Motrin, Midol, or other over the counter pain meds.


So, my question is how your experience on Estrostep has been concerning cramping?

Estrostep
I have been on Estrostep for over a year now and I have not noticed any side effects. As for the weight gain I lost weight when I started taking it. Hope this helps.

regards to cramping
since I started the Estrostep I really have not had any cramping or pain of any kind, but I also did not experience much pain before I started birth control.

Re: cramps?


For the most part, they went away. Still there, but that's the reason I got on bc in the first place. My cramps. So any type of bc should help. It might take a few months but if you don't see improvement in 3 months, go back to your doctor and see if there is something else he/she can put you on.

Here's my testimony about BCP.

I started on Estrostep FE when I was 18 and went to the gynocologist for the first time. I went on it to control my periods. I was on it for a year, I think, and I was having major depression issues. Nothing that I went to see a doctor about, but it was bad. There were also other issues surrounding that... but anyway. I gained a few pounds while I was on it but overall my periods were SO much better. I had a little cramping, but my flow was minimal. At this point I was not using it for its intended purpose.

I went to my doctor in March for my annual exam (what fun...) and he switched me to Yasmin. This was the worst pill ever. My period symptoms were actually worse... HORRIBLE cramping that was not just in the abdominal area, but also in my lower back. It was so bad I couldn't walk some of the time. My flow was just as heavy, but it wasn't as long.

Before I called to switch back to Estrostep, my boyfriend of three years and I had sex for the first time (this was back in July).

I went back on Estrostep, and have gained a few pounds. I'm only in the second or third month of it, though, so symptoms will probably decrease soon. Something I tried was going straight from one pill pack to the next without a week in between... so far I have not had any breakthrough bleeding... and I'm subconsciously worried. However, I know there is almost no chance that I am pregnant because we have used condoms every single time we've had sex (with the exception of the first time, but he withdrew). I take my pill at the exact same minute every day (if I don't, I spot).

I will wait until the end of this pack and then hopefully have a period (again, I'm just paranoid!!) and then go from there.

But I don't like the weight gain and increased appetite.. but I have noticed a decrease in my natural lubrication since this started, but he usually can fix that.

I'm glad I found this forum! Although I've experience these side effects, there's no way I'm going off of this pill. I absolutely cannot get pregnant right now.. I'm 20 and in college and we will not be getting married for a couple of years yet.

My insurance doesn't pay for it either, and it's gone up to $50, but that's just something I budget in every month.

Thanks for all your thoughts!

CONFUSED on when to start taking Estrostep Fe


HELP! I really can't figure out when to start taking Estrostep Fe. I've never taken birth control in my life... so I have no clue whether you can take this stuff as soon as you get it prescribed to you or what.

can you take estrostep fe on the last day of your period... or the day after the last day of your period? From the instructions on the prescription, It appears to me that you have to take it the first day that your period starts... which for me is really crappy, since my period is ending or will be ending tomorrow. therefore, in that case, I would have to wait until next month when my period starts again to take it... what a bummer!

If someone could give me some advice, It would be greatly appreciated. I have looked online in other places but still not a help.

Didn't your doctor give you any instruction? Or the pharmacist? If you don't know how to take it, its worthless to take. It must be taken properly to be effective.

Are you a Sunday start?
If so....
You take it on the Sunday following your next period. So if you are on your period now, you'd start it tomorrow. Take it even if you are still bleeding.

Do yourself a favor and call your doctor to discuss any questions. It's super important that you know how to take it for it be effective.

Good luck!

Re: CONFUSED on when to start taking Estrostep Fe
Yeah I guess you could say I'm a Sunday start, since my period will be ending most likely today. So yes, according to that I will start taking it tomorrow.

I totally understand why the exact timing of going on this and taking it at the same time consistently is so important-- believe me I don't want babies, I'm still in my twenties but too young to support or want babies.

Thanks Bella Dea for clarifying that issue up, I wish instructions on medicines were point blank without using facy intricate language.

The doctor or my pharmacist didn't give me any instructions. My doctor just gave me some of the basics or knowledge of the effects of this 'drug'.

I also have a minor acne problem on my chin that has never gone away since I was a teenager... even despite recently within the year I've been using ProActiv. (ProActiv just controls my acne, but has not made is vanish... my acne is still uncomfortable.) Has anyone found that if they experienced that type of acne, that by taking EstroStep has helped them reduce their acne or get rid of it completely?

My experience with EstroStep
I went on EstroStep in June 2005 and stayed on it until December 2005.
I had nothing but problems. It was supposed to help regulate my periods, and it did.....I would have bleeding during the 21 active pill days, and none during the brown pill days. I could set my watch by it.
I gained twenty pounds from June to December, and even though I've been off the pill for nine months now the weight is still packing on. I used to be a dainty 120 and now I'm over 160 -- I'm afraid to step on the scale. My mood swings became unbearable. I've always been moody, but I found myself screaming at my fiance (the one person in life with whom I'm always able to be reasonable) for no reason, and it was like I had a split personality. I would hear myself screaming at him, and in my head I would know that I was being irrational and cruel, but I would be powerless to stop. By August I was crying uncontrollably, even over little things. We couldn't go out to eat or to movies on normal dates because if my order came back wrong or if a theater was too crowded I'd burst into tears. Soon after I began dealing with severe depression. My body ached, my period came when it wasn't supposed to, I wasn't interested in intimacy, and I always ended up angry at my fiance, all of which only contributed to the already problematic depression.
My doctor told me when I started the pill to give myself three months to adjust. When I went for a checkup in September and I told her about the problems, she just told me to give it another three months. I was scheduled for a February '06 appointment. By November my fiance told me that if I didn't quit the pill, he was gonna find them and flush them. I finished my December pill pack and didn't get another refill.
My then-fiance, now-husband grew up in a household with four women--his mom, a sister close to his age, and two much younger sisters. He's lived through four pregnancies (three of his mother's, one of his sis') under the same roof as these women. He has dealt with "irrational and hormonal" women for years, and is usually very understanding. He told me, though, that while I was on the pill he almost called it quits with me, because I was so much worse than what he thought he could deal with.
My moods are FINALLY returning to normal, and my periods are back to their semi-normal routine that I had before the pill. I'm still dealing with a lot of problems, though, like the weight gain.
I understand that everyone has a different reaction to the pill. I know my reaction was probably far more severe than the norm. However, I would not wish this pill on my worst male enemy. I know what I put my husband through and I feel for any man that has to deal with anything like that.
I refuse to go back on EstroStep, and will have to give serious consideration before going on any other form of birth control. I'd rather take my chances with pregnancy than turn into a monster again.

P.S. As for the supposed acne control....mine actually got worse while on the pill. But that hardly comes as a shock, considering...

Somehow I doubt that all these things are caused by Estrostep. The pill doesn't stay in your system so effects 9 months later doesn't sound right.

Have you explored other medical reasons for mood swings, weight gain and depression?

Weight gain on the pill
Yeah I can see that if you are a person who doesnt exercise anyway gaining weight from the side effects of the pill possibly making you more emotional. i.e. emotional eating... stress eating... not doing things to keep yourself in check (like exercise, time to relax, eating healthy)

but if you are already an active, healthy and happy person... does that qualify you for a struggle against weight gain?

somehow I don't think the pill makes you gain weight... i think its a result from factors that you initiate by your own habits even off of the pill

what do you think?

How long do i have to be on the pill before my boyfriend can release himself inside me?? (We are eventaully going to get married, but just not quite yet!)

I have been on Estrostep for the past 3 weeks. I have been having 3 week long periods for about the last 4 months and I would have one week off and start again. It's having a HUGE strain on my relationship with my fiance and not to mention my body feels bad. Since being on the Estrostep, my bleeding has gotten very heavy and I have cramps everyday....not to mention it has been 3 weeks of bleeding. I called the physician and left messages for the nurse 3 times and all they can tell me is to just keep taking the pills. I got on this medicine to regulate my periods, not make them worse. To me, being on this medicine is worse than not taking anything at all. I am RN and the doctor and nurse at the office still will not listen to my concerns. I know it takes time for your body to adjust, but I also know that it can't be healthy for me to be bleeding as much as I am and my body is physically exhausted. Would it be wrong to ditch this doctor and this med and go see another physician? Has anyone else had this experience?

I'm not a nurse or doctor, but I have never had that experience. Then agian, birth control affects every woman differently. I would say, get a second opinion. It never hurts.

Weight Gain with Estrostep FE
I'm not exactly sure how long I've been on Estrostep FE because I have switched pills a few times but I wanna say I've been on it for at least 5 years.

I went to the gyno yesterday and mentioned my weight gain.

I was told from

2003-2004 I gained 12lbs
2004-2005 I gained 14lbs
2005-2006 I gained 10lbs

My gyno isn't sure if its the pill or not so he took me off of it for 3 months to see if I lose weight.

Has anyone else gained alot of weight after being on the pill for a few years??

I just started Estrostep FE a month ago. I was a little leery to switch pills because I was on Mircette for a year and was perfectly fine with it but somehow my doctor convinced me to switch to Estrostep. In the middle of the pack I started feeling extremely nauseated causing me to become paranoid that I was pregnant!! Anyway, it is getting better. I got my period the other day and it was soooo light I was beginning to think something was wrong! But I guess I shouldn't be complaining. I haven't really experienced any weight gain but I am on a very strict diet and exercise plan...and haven't been losing weight as i'd like but some people have told me I look a little thinner. So all in all, I think it's a good pill for me I'm gonna keep it up for another few months and see how it goes.

Estrostep..1st time taking b/c pill
i want to start taking estrostep because i don't want to get my period when i go on vacation in dec...

is it too late to start taking the pill?
and does your period come the day right after u take the last pill?

It's not too late, but keep in mind it takes a few months to get all the initial side effects cleared out of your system.

And no, my period hardly ever came the day after I stopped the active pills. It always takes a couple days, and even then my period isn't very heavy.

The pill does in fact make some women gain weight. It is a drug. It is an artificial means of regulating your natural cycle, so there are side effects. Weight gain, due to the hormones is not uncommon. Increased hunger due to the hormones is also not uncommon and can exacerbate the weight gain because you are pigging out on top of it.

It isn't all in your head.

If you are unhappy about the way you feel on it, get off it. Yes, give it a few months but if in three to four months, you don't feel any better, get off the pill and try another one. Or try the patch. Or the ring.

You have so many options I don't know why women think they have to suffer.

estrostep
i too have been taking estrostep. my doctor has left town, and i have been searching for another doctor to discuss these problems with. i am experiencing hair loss and weight gain. can anyone tell me if the hair loss is from the estrostep? i have taken other birth control pills and have never had this as a side effect.