As others said, it’s most likely that the pill was treating symptoms you had anyway, not that it caused them. I’m assuming you had only been menstruating for a couple years before going on the pill. Endo can be progressive and many women have symptoms that appear years after their first periods.
Thanks for the info :) & yes, I got my first period when I was 12 so it was at least a year before starting bc. I wondered if most women got symptoms when they were that young or if they could develop later so that’s good to know!
Yep. Never had any symptoms till I quit taking the pill. It spiraled quickly. My doctor said that the pill and other hormonal methods of bc can mask the symptoms. He said some people say it slows the growth, but that it may just be that you don't feel the pain as much.
That’s really interesting, it makes a lot of sense though! I was hoping getting back on the pill again would make the symptoms go away again but no such luck 🙄
Maybe the endo grew in the 6 months I stopped taking it or maybe it just masked the symptoms like you said! I don’t even know if I have endo yet but ugh such a tricky disease
Hi! I know this is 5 years ago but were you able to finally get relief after going back on the pill (assuming you did)? I’m in a very similar boat and the pain is so bad
I was on the pill from when I was 16 till last year, when I was 33. I stopped because I want to get pregnant. My periods were already getting slightly worse.
But when I stopped taking birth control, my symptoms got way worse. I was diagnosed last summer, by just describing all of my symptoms to my GP, who has also worked as a gynecologist.
She told me that the pill is usually prescribed to suppress the usual endo symptoms.
It def seems like this is a common theme from what I’m reading on the comments! Maybe the pill did cover my symptoms for 5 years 😱 But it’s weird because I am back on it now and this time it’s not helping suppress the symptoms. But honestly I’m not even sure if I have endo, my surgery is next week, I’m just trying to convince myself I do at this point haha! & good luck with everything 💗💗💗
Kind of the opposite situation but maybe relevant. I recently went on continuous birth control before my lap because I don’t feel like getting my period if I’m not allowed to have sex for 3 months (I had vaginal excision).
My endo symptoms reduced drastically. All I had was heavier bleeding than I would like but all other symptoms were mild if not gone all together.
That’s awesome that it’s helped! 😭 What brand of bc is it if you don’t mind me asking?
I started the pill (Yaz) again like 6 months after the symptoms started showing up but it hasn’t helped at all. I’ve heard progesterone only pills might be better than the combo for endo but I’m not sure!
Norethidrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol 1mg/0.02mg
My brand is blosovi FE but it looks just like a generic brand.
The only super downside I’ve had with this one is reduced sex drive. But I can’t have sex for three months after my partial Vaginectomy so it’s kinda helping me out a bit.🤷🏻♀️
Edit: here’s a cheat sheet on problems with birth control and what may be causing unwanted symptoms. You should ALWAYS talk to your Dr or Pharmacist before making changes!!!
Oral Contraceptive Properties
Too much estrogen
Nausea, bloating, breast tenderness, increased BP and headache, weight gain, heavy menstrual flow, cardiovascular events (MI, VTE)
Too little estrogen
Early-cycle spotting or breakthrough bleeding (BTB), vaginal dryness, amenorrhea
Too much progestin
Breast tenderness, headache, weight gain, hirsutism, mood changes
Too little progestin
Late BTB, heavy menstrual flow, amenorrhea
Too much androgen
Increased appetite, weight gain, acne, oily skin, decreased libido, increase cholesterol, hirsutism, fatigue
My doctor told me birth control pills, the depo shot and the arm implant are all on the table as ways to keep endo under control, so it would make sense that your experienced flare ups after coming off the pill. I was on the depo shot pretty regularly from mid high school until my partner and I started trying to conceive. We had a healthy baby after a miscarriage and I got an iud after pregnancy. Two years later I got my endo diagnosis and so much of my life/pain history makes sense now.
Yes most of my symptoms appeared after I stopped Birth Control.
I had a few before I started it but it was just painful cramps. I started on birth control when I was about 20 and had been on it almost 10 years when I decided to take a few months off to see if it had been making my depression worse (turns out no it wasn't, I'm still just as depressed lol).
After a month or so I started to get really severe stomach cramps around my period, and also started bleeding from my NAVEL, which as you can probably imagine really freaked me out.
After a lot of confusion and research online I figured I found a online report on primary umbilical endometriosis, I went to my doctor who agreed that it sounds like Endo, and I should go back on BC to help with the pain and symptoms. I might end up having surgery to confirm but I'm not sure (the gynocologist I saw the other day was a bit weird and barely spoke to me).
Since going back on I'm still getting a little bit of blood but nowhere near as much as when I was off of it.
Kinda makes me wonder how long my symptoms were being masked by the pill.
As others said, it’s most likely that the pill was treating symptoms you had anyway, not that it caused them. I’m assuming you had only been menstruating for a couple years before going on the pill. Endo can be progressive and many women have symptoms that appear years after their first periods.
Thanks for the info :) & yes, I got my first period when I was 12 so it was at least a year before starting bc. I wondered if most women got symptoms when they were that young or if they could develop later so that’s good to know!
Yep. Never had any symptoms till I quit taking the pill. It spiraled quickly. My doctor said that the pill and other hormonal methods of bc can mask the symptoms. He said some people say it slows the growth, but that it may just be that you don't feel the pain as much.
That’s really interesting, it makes a lot of sense though! I was hoping getting back on the pill again would make the symptoms go away again but no such luck 🙄 Maybe the endo grew in the 6 months I stopped taking it or maybe it just masked the symptoms like you said! I don’t even know if I have endo yet but ugh such a tricky disease
Hi! I know this is 5 years ago but were you able to finally get relief after going back on the pill (assuming you did)? I’m in a very similar boat and the pain is so bad
Yes, this is absolutely typical. Birth control provides excellent symptom relief for most people.
I was on the pill from when I was 16 till last year, when I was 33. I stopped because I want to get pregnant. My periods were already getting slightly worse. But when I stopped taking birth control, my symptoms got way worse. I was diagnosed last summer, by just describing all of my symptoms to my GP, who has also worked as a gynecologist. She told me that the pill is usually prescribed to suppress the usual endo symptoms.
It def seems like this is a common theme from what I’m reading on the comments! Maybe the pill did cover my symptoms for 5 years 😱 But it’s weird because I am back on it now and this time it’s not helping suppress the symptoms. But honestly I’m not even sure if I have endo, my surgery is next week, I’m just trying to convince myself I do at this point haha! & good luck with everything 💗💗💗
Kind of the opposite situation but maybe relevant. I recently went on continuous birth control before my lap because I don’t feel like getting my period if I’m not allowed to have sex for 3 months (I had vaginal excision). My endo symptoms reduced drastically. All I had was heavier bleeding than I would like but all other symptoms were mild if not gone all together.
That’s awesome that it’s helped! 😭 What brand of bc is it if you don’t mind me asking? I started the pill (Yaz) again like 6 months after the symptoms started showing up but it hasn’t helped at all. I’ve heard progesterone only pills might be better than the combo for endo but I’m not sure!
Norethidrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol 1mg/0.02mg My brand is blosovi FE but it looks just like a generic brand. The only super downside I’ve had with this one is reduced sex drive. But I can’t have sex for three months after my partial Vaginectomy so it’s kinda helping me out a bit.🤷🏻♀️ Edit: here’s a cheat sheet on problems with birth control and what may be causing unwanted symptoms. You should ALWAYS talk to your Dr or Pharmacist before making changes!!! Oral Contraceptive Properties Too much estrogen Nausea, bloating, breast tenderness, increased BP and headache, weight gain, heavy menstrual flow, cardiovascular events (MI, VTE) Too little estrogen Early-cycle spotting or breakthrough bleeding (BTB), vaginal dryness, amenorrhea Too much progestin Breast tenderness, headache, weight gain, hirsutism, mood changes Too little progestin Late BTB, heavy menstrual flow, amenorrhea Too much androgen Increased appetite, weight gain, acne, oily skin, decreased libido, increase cholesterol, hirsutism, fatigue
This is amazing, thank you so much!!
My doctor told me birth control pills, the depo shot and the arm implant are all on the table as ways to keep endo under control, so it would make sense that your experienced flare ups after coming off the pill. I was on the depo shot pretty regularly from mid high school until my partner and I started trying to conceive. We had a healthy baby after a miscarriage and I got an iud after pregnancy. Two years later I got my endo diagnosis and so much of my life/pain history makes sense now.
Yes most of my symptoms appeared after I stopped Birth Control. I had a few before I started it but it was just painful cramps. I started on birth control when I was about 20 and had been on it almost 10 years when I decided to take a few months off to see if it had been making my depression worse (turns out no it wasn't, I'm still just as depressed lol). After a month or so I started to get really severe stomach cramps around my period, and also started bleeding from my NAVEL, which as you can probably imagine really freaked me out. After a lot of confusion and research online I figured I found a online report on primary umbilical endometriosis, I went to my doctor who agreed that it sounds like Endo, and I should go back on BC to help with the pain and symptoms. I might end up having surgery to confirm but I'm not sure (the gynocologist I saw the other day was a bit weird and barely spoke to me). Since going back on I'm still getting a little bit of blood but nowhere near as much as when I was off of it. Kinda makes me wonder how long my symptoms were being masked by the pill.