First month of taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. A few questions have come up...?

Question:

I'm just getting to my period pills after my first month of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and I have a few questions...

Can we be sure that it will be affective now? When can we stop using condoms in addition to the pills (neither one of us like the condoms)?

Is there any hormone content in the period pills?

Is there decreasing hormone content in the week of pills before the period pills? I usually get a fairly bad case of PMS (I get very tired, very hungry and I'm hell on wheels!), does PMS have time to hit during the period pills or will I get to forego it while on the pills? (I'm sort of concerned that what has been spread out over a week in the past will hit like a hurricaine in one or two days.)

The first question (affectiveness) I did ask the doctor. I'm just wanting to see what other people have been told and have experienced. The other questions I don't see as being really important enough to have to deal with the doctor to answer them.

Many thanks!

Answers:
I took this for 2 years. I will tell you what I know.

It should be effective now. Depending on who you ask, it is effective after the first week; it is safest to wait a month. However, I would NOT recommend stopping using condoms. Ortho is only 99% effective when used correctly (meaning taken at the exact same time every single day, without being mixed with other medications). The effectiveness also goes down signficantly if you are over or under weight.

There is no hormone content in the pills you take during your period. These are "reminder pills."

As I understood it, the hormone actually INCREASED every week. My PMS actually was worse on the pills than it was before I started. I could be wrong on how the hormones were proportioned, but I can tell you that PMS will not go away because of these.

Also, I think the pill stopped working for me at all after 2 years. My cramps came back, and my cycle was irregular. Keep a close eye on this. They will say that the pill will never stop being effective, but I don't believe this to be true. I am on a new type now, but it has only been a month so I can't make any other recommendations with confidence.

it's not enough!

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First month of taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. A few questions have come up...?

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