Seasonique

[triedntru]

Has anyone tried Seasonique? It's a birthcontrol pill that is supposed to keep you from having a period for 3 months. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any problems with it. Thanks, TNT

[leslieanne]

Any and all BCP can be used continously for 3 - 6 months at a time. By continously I mean that the non hormone pills in a pack are not taken and you just keep taking the hormone pills for 3 to 6 months.

Truth be told OB/GYN docs doing it for many many years. - in fact I did from the time I was 35 until I was 39 (when I decided to have another child) and again from age 41 - 45 (I'm now 53).

Seasonale (or Seasonique) is the first pill that drug company packaged and got approval from the FDA to sell in this manner. Because you are taking the hormone pill daily for 3 months there is slightly increased risk of break through bleeding - light, spotting bleeding that can occur at any time. This is rarely a symptom of any thing bad. If the break through bleeding is frequent or persistant that's when you need to get rechecked.

All BCP (including Seasonale) decrease your risk of anemia (due to less bleeding), decrease your risk of ovarian cysts (because you are not ovulating), decrease your life time risk of ovarian cancer (again related to not ovulating), decrease your risk of uterine cancer while taking them (this risk is highest for obese women who do not have regular menses when not on BCP), decrease the risk of endometriosis, decrease the frequency of dysmenorrhea (painful periods).

The risk for blood clots in your legs (1% of women), or a delay in the return of your fertility (1% of women) is the same with Seasonale/Seasonique) as it is with all other BCP.

The possible side effects of nausea, weight gain, increase acne, darkening of your skin in certain areas of your body are the same as with all other BCP.

The long and short of it is that the side effects and potential risks as well as the advantages of Seasonale/Seasonique are no different then all other BCP.

Drug companies are constantly coming up with "new" formulations of BCP - which in reality don't offer anything significantly new. When the patents end on meds then other companies can start producing generics at a lower cost and the drug companies come up with something "new" so they can get a new patent and sell the meds at a higher cost. Using a generic BCP in the way described above will give you the same 3 months of coverage and will probably cost less. Something to consider when you have the conversation with OB/Gyn doctor about what BC you want to use.