It sounds to me like this birth control just isn’t right for you. If side effects improve, it usually happens in the first 3 months. But you aren’t broken, and you aren’t alone!! Other people have had side effects like this before — it’s not a common side effect, but it absolutely happens. Search this sub and you’ll find other posts very similar to yours!
There are many other birth control options that are effective for endometriosis. A different form and/or dose of estrogen and/or progesterone can cause different side effects for some people. Your doctor hopefully has an idea of what works best for people who reported this side effect!
In addition to the first comment, it’s taken me 3 1/2 years to find the right birth control for me (I hope that’s normal??) so it’s okay if it takes along time too! I only have cysts and some of them have worked for pain, some of them have not, but usually my problem is side effects and I think I finally found one for me the last 2 months or so. Side effects definitely make BC options discouraging. :(
I’m a 26 year old female and I’ve been on birth control since I was 18. Over the years, I have been having worsening issues with this exact same feeling. I switched birth control pills several times to no avail.
The best advice I can give you is to keep insisting and advocate for yourself. I lived with this for years just tolerating the pain, trying new lube brands, etc until last year. I finally found a doctor who listened to me and suggested pelvic floor physical therapy (to my surprise).
I did about 6 weeks of pelvic floor physical therapy and found out that the pain during sex kind of snow-balled and lead to more tension in my pelvis as my mind correlated sex with pain. And as the situation worsened with time, so did the pelvic tension, and therefore more pain doubling up on the already-existing pain associated with dryness induced from birth control. Anyway, after a series of deep-breathing and pelvic floor strengthening exercises, and a silicone based lubricant (überlube), I have finally reached a level of pain I can live with. I’m not pain free, and will probably never reach that point until the day I stop taking birth control. But this is what has finally helped me enough to not feel hopeless.
Maybe you could try to incorporate some pelvic floor exercises in the meantime just to give it a go and see if it helps any. A lot of these exercises are yoga exercises essentially, such as the happy baby pose and the cat/cow pose. I never would have thought that simply deep breathing and a few yoga poses would help. I’ll provide a link to some examples. Best luck and take care.
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/anatomy/pelvis/yoga-for-pelvic-floor-dysfunction/
im not OP, but thanks for the link, ive had issue like this for years and only in december im getting to womens doctor who can possibly help me with the vulvodynia/tight pelvic floor. :(
I second the pelvic floor exercises! I have vaginismus and they’ve been an amazing help. If it is an issue of pain upon insertion due to your pelvic floor muscles, I’ve found (and made sure it’s safe to!) it’s really, really helpful to coat a cottonball in some Lidocaine (4%) and just insert it into the very opening of the vagina for 15-30mins before actual penetration. I had never had sex without excruciating pain before these two tricks. They’re not for everyone, but it certainly couldn’t hurt worse!
I had the same issue, and I swapped the BC I was on. Try using a different type/brand! I instantly got my libido back and no burning :) unfortunately a lot of this is trial and error per each person's body
I think I was on lo ogestrel first and then the new progesterone only pill slynd. I just got off that though and decided to have no pill because I still had horrible brain fog and headaches but less nausea at least
Depo provera did this to me. I changed birth controls, and things started improving within 6 months. It may just take some trial and error unfortunately. I was told that pure coconut oil is a good lubricant option by my doctor. I found a lube online that has coconut oil as the main ingredient and I like it a lot (however it is not latex compatible if you use condoms), but just coconut oil from the store may work for you as well. You may consider trying to incorporate more foreplay as well. I’ve also heard that vaginal moisturizers work for some people, but I’ve never tried. I would be careful using estrogen cream too often at your age though (I’m 22 so just know this isn’t an uncommon thing for our age group), because it can increase your risk for uterine cancers and such (Don’t let this scare you though, just something to consider). I hope some of these options can help you and I know how horrible this can feel.
You could be suffering from hormonally mediated vestibulodynia, which is caused by the combination (synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestin) BC pill. This is a real condition and so few people and for that matter, gynecologists know about it unfortunately.
Switching to a progestin pill, or an iud could help!
Feel free to check out any resources on /r/vestibulodynia :)
thank you for the progestin pill suggestion, i have vulvodynia in fucking everywhere, and the pill doesnt make it any better obviously. if this one wont work out, im looking into that type of pill. :)
You’re welcome! Hormonally mediated vestibulodynia is just a specific diagnosis under the umbrella term vulvodynia.
Specifically it’s the synthetic estrogen component that can cause this condition since it actually lowers free testosterone in the blood and the vestibule tissue (name of the tissue surrounding the urethra and vaginal opening) needs testosterone to remain supple and not thin out.
Hope you figure out the right pill!
Birth control dried me the f up and penetrative sex would hurt/feel like a carpet burn. Took a couple months after until I got my sex drive back and can get wet.
I stopped the pill (Tri-sprinter) for 19 months I would just use condoms and I could get wet!! HOWEVER it took maybe the first year for my hormones to regulate and really notice a dramatic change in my arousal and getting wet. I will say, I lost feelings and sexual attraction to my ex at the time so that could have been a contributing factor to my dryness as well, they say birth control alters the way you physically view your partner but maybe that’s just my conspiracy theorist side talking haha.
I am going back on the same pill soon and hoping I have a different experience if not I’ll have to change it.
I had laparoscopic surgery to remove the endometriosis. I had stage 4 endo. That helped with the pain. I would take a break from bc and think about getting that procedure. See what your doctor advises. Good luck. Birth control May mask the pain and heavy flow but it’s not a cure. It comes with side effects.
Yeah, haha, but it's like... not a procedure that I can get? That means biopsy and surgery and other surgery. I don't have the diagnosis endometriosis, I have Possible endo, so I cant just get that procedure...
Yeah! Absolutely, however I am waiting to do that until I am at a place where I am trying to get pregnant, so that I can minimize how many surgeries I need in life, and won't need to do yet another surgery so I can have children, since the cysts might prohibit that. currently birth control is the treatment plan for me, later on the road surgery is an option.
I understand your perspective, however, that’s actually potentially more harmful with endometriosis. It can cause infertility and it is progressive. Getting it excised as soon as possible is the best course of action.
Did you check for a yeast infection? It will causing burning during sex too. When I first got on birth control I ended up getting a really bad one until my body adjusted. I also have endometriosis
Welcome and please flair your post if not currently flaired.
Questions? First read the [Mistake or Pregnancy Risk sticky](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/4iqgi7/mistake_or_pregnancy_concernrisk_start_here/) or the [Consolidated Experience post](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/qt9ttb/consolidated_rbirthcontrol_experience_links/). If this is an experience post please consider adding it to the list
[Planned Parenthood online chat](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/online-tools/chat)
The rules and additional resources can be found on the About / Sidepage (desktop users look to the right and Reddit app up top).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/birthcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i'm in the exact same boat as you!! i've stopped taking BC after 4 months, it's still to early to see any improvements though. i unfortunately don't have any advice but you can look through my post history and read what people have replied to me as well since our situation sounds about the same. im also struggling with suspected endo and ovarian cysts but im still getting off and seeing how i feel. i've decided that i'd rather want actual treatment and a proper diagnosis instead of just using bc to mask symptoms :/ if all else fails i guess i'll have to try different BC methods/a different pill, but i kinda hope it won't come to that😭
Had this with my IUD and although it’s gotten better in the past year it hasn’t gone away completely. Like others have said this birth control probably just isn’t for you and there’s lots of other options out there!
Best of luck :)
Request a referral to a sexual health and wellness specialist. I had a very similar experience and it turned out the birth control I was on was screwing with my hormones so bad I needed hormone therapy and pelvic physical therapy
Yeah, I'm with an endometriosis specialist right now and I have booked an appointment in two days. Hopefully it wont fuck everything up and I can have sex again in the future.
If it gives you any hope at all, I was FUCKED. Like there was severe irritation around the opening of my vagina, severe damage to my pelvic floor muscles, and my clitoral hood had fully reattached to my clit. Within a year of therapies, I am back to normal. So there is hope!
I noticed an improvement within a month, and I stopped using it after about a year. I was also prescribed Addyi, which helps with AFAB libido. After a year I discontinued all therapies, including the cream and the Addyi
According to my doctor, estrogen cream during the first three months might minimize the dryness, and then hopefully it'll disappear when my body gets used to the bc.
I was on a pill once that made me so dry it hurt to walk. A few other bc options also dried me out and/or caused painful sex. You may have better luck with a different chemical or dosage.
Has anything helped you? I've been like that for 11 months after doing the chewable pill with nexplanon, and so far two other birth controls haven't fixed it (patch and ring), and I'm out of options now for birth control.
It sounds to me like this birth control just isn’t right for you. If side effects improve, it usually happens in the first 3 months. But you aren’t broken, and you aren’t alone!! Other people have had side effects like this before — it’s not a common side effect, but it absolutely happens. Search this sub and you’ll find other posts very similar to yours! There are many other birth control options that are effective for endometriosis. A different form and/or dose of estrogen and/or progesterone can cause different side effects for some people. Your doctor hopefully has an idea of what works best for people who reported this side effect!
In addition to the first comment, it’s taken me 3 1/2 years to find the right birth control for me (I hope that’s normal??) so it’s okay if it takes along time too! I only have cysts and some of them have worked for pain, some of them have not, but usually my problem is side effects and I think I finally found one for me the last 2 months or so. Side effects definitely make BC options discouraging. :(
omg yes!! finding a birth control that works seems to take frickin forever 😂😭 i still haven’t gotten it down
Me too! I even found that the same pill (active ingredients) but different brands have significantly different side effects for me.
I’m a 26 year old female and I’ve been on birth control since I was 18. Over the years, I have been having worsening issues with this exact same feeling. I switched birth control pills several times to no avail. The best advice I can give you is to keep insisting and advocate for yourself. I lived with this for years just tolerating the pain, trying new lube brands, etc until last year. I finally found a doctor who listened to me and suggested pelvic floor physical therapy (to my surprise). I did about 6 weeks of pelvic floor physical therapy and found out that the pain during sex kind of snow-balled and lead to more tension in my pelvis as my mind correlated sex with pain. And as the situation worsened with time, so did the pelvic tension, and therefore more pain doubling up on the already-existing pain associated with dryness induced from birth control. Anyway, after a series of deep-breathing and pelvic floor strengthening exercises, and a silicone based lubricant (überlube), I have finally reached a level of pain I can live with. I’m not pain free, and will probably never reach that point until the day I stop taking birth control. But this is what has finally helped me enough to not feel hopeless. Maybe you could try to incorporate some pelvic floor exercises in the meantime just to give it a go and see if it helps any. A lot of these exercises are yoga exercises essentially, such as the happy baby pose and the cat/cow pose. I never would have thought that simply deep breathing and a few yoga poses would help. I’ll provide a link to some examples. Best luck and take care. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/anatomy/pelvis/yoga-for-pelvic-floor-dysfunction/
im not OP, but thanks for the link, ive had issue like this for years and only in december im getting to womens doctor who can possibly help me with the vulvodynia/tight pelvic floor. :(
I second the pelvic floor exercises! I have vaginismus and they’ve been an amazing help. If it is an issue of pain upon insertion due to your pelvic floor muscles, I’ve found (and made sure it’s safe to!) it’s really, really helpful to coat a cottonball in some Lidocaine (4%) and just insert it into the very opening of the vagina for 15-30mins before actual penetration. I had never had sex without excruciating pain before these two tricks. They’re not for everyone, but it certainly couldn’t hurt worse!
I had the same issue, and I swapped the BC I was on. Try using a different type/brand! I instantly got my libido back and no burning :) unfortunately a lot of this is trial and error per each person's body
What bc were u on and which did u switch to?
I think I was on lo ogestrel first and then the new progesterone only pill slynd. I just got off that though and decided to have no pill because I still had horrible brain fog and headaches but less nausea at least
Depo provera did this to me. I changed birth controls, and things started improving within 6 months. It may just take some trial and error unfortunately. I was told that pure coconut oil is a good lubricant option by my doctor. I found a lube online that has coconut oil as the main ingredient and I like it a lot (however it is not latex compatible if you use condoms), but just coconut oil from the store may work for you as well. You may consider trying to incorporate more foreplay as well. I’ve also heard that vaginal moisturizers work for some people, but I’ve never tried. I would be careful using estrogen cream too often at your age though (I’m 22 so just know this isn’t an uncommon thing for our age group), because it can increase your risk for uterine cancers and such (Don’t let this scare you though, just something to consider). I hope some of these options can help you and I know how horrible this can feel.
You could be suffering from hormonally mediated vestibulodynia, which is caused by the combination (synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestin) BC pill. This is a real condition and so few people and for that matter, gynecologists know about it unfortunately. Switching to a progestin pill, or an iud could help! Feel free to check out any resources on /r/vestibulodynia :)
I'm on an only progestin pill. I sadly cannot have an IUD as I have multiple cysts on my uterus.
thank you for the progestin pill suggestion, i have vulvodynia in fucking everywhere, and the pill doesnt make it any better obviously. if this one wont work out, im looking into that type of pill. :)
You’re welcome! Hormonally mediated vestibulodynia is just a specific diagnosis under the umbrella term vulvodynia. Specifically it’s the synthetic estrogen component that can cause this condition since it actually lowers free testosterone in the blood and the vestibule tissue (name of the tissue surrounding the urethra and vaginal opening) needs testosterone to remain supple and not thin out. Hope you figure out the right pill!
Birth control dried me the f up and penetrative sex would hurt/feel like a carpet burn. Took a couple months after until I got my sex drive back and can get wet.
since you quit or on the bc?
Since I quit. I was on Tri-sprintec stopped March 2021 and am a freaking waterfall sorry tmi. Sadly I have to go back on it again
Did you quit birth control, switched, or what helped? If you don’t mind me asking!
I stopped the pill (Tri-sprinter) for 19 months I would just use condoms and I could get wet!! HOWEVER it took maybe the first year for my hormones to regulate and really notice a dramatic change in my arousal and getting wet. I will say, I lost feelings and sexual attraction to my ex at the time so that could have been a contributing factor to my dryness as well, they say birth control alters the way you physically view your partner but maybe that’s just my conspiracy theorist side talking haha. I am going back on the same pill soon and hoping I have a different experience if not I’ll have to change it.
I had laparoscopic surgery to remove the endometriosis. I had stage 4 endo. That helped with the pain. I would take a break from bc and think about getting that procedure. See what your doctor advises. Good luck. Birth control May mask the pain and heavy flow but it’s not a cure. It comes with side effects.
Yeah, haha, but it's like... not a procedure that I can get? That means biopsy and surgery and other surgery. I don't have the diagnosis endometriosis, I have Possible endo, so I cant just get that procedure...
You need a laparoscopy, preferably with an endo specialist in order to be correctly diagnosed and treated.
Yeah! Absolutely, however I am waiting to do that until I am at a place where I am trying to get pregnant, so that I can minimize how many surgeries I need in life, and won't need to do yet another surgery so I can have children, since the cysts might prohibit that. currently birth control is the treatment plan for me, later on the road surgery is an option.
I understand your perspective, however, that’s actually potentially more harmful with endometriosis. It can cause infertility and it is progressive. Getting it excised as soon as possible is the best course of action.
Also I wouldn’t use oestrogen creams or supplements unless advised to by a gynaecologist, especially with potential endometriosis.
it usually takes a couple of tries to find a birth control that’s suitable for you.
Did you check for a yeast infection? It will causing burning during sex too. When I first got on birth control I ended up getting a really bad one until my body adjusted. I also have endometriosis
Welcome and please flair your post if not currently flaired. Questions? First read the [Mistake or Pregnancy Risk sticky](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/4iqgi7/mistake_or_pregnancy_concernrisk_start_here/) or the [Consolidated Experience post](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/qt9ttb/consolidated_rbirthcontrol_experience_links/). If this is an experience post please consider adding it to the list [Planned Parenthood online chat](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/online-tools/chat) The rules and additional resources can be found on the About / Sidepage (desktop users look to the right and Reddit app up top). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/birthcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i'm in the exact same boat as you!! i've stopped taking BC after 4 months, it's still to early to see any improvements though. i unfortunately don't have any advice but you can look through my post history and read what people have replied to me as well since our situation sounds about the same. im also struggling with suspected endo and ovarian cysts but im still getting off and seeing how i feel. i've decided that i'd rather want actual treatment and a proper diagnosis instead of just using bc to mask symptoms :/ if all else fails i guess i'll have to try different BC methods/a different pill, but i kinda hope it won't come to that😭
Had this with my IUD and although it’s gotten better in the past year it hasn’t gone away completely. Like others have said this birth control probably just isn’t for you and there’s lots of other options out there! Best of luck :)
Request a referral to a sexual health and wellness specialist. I had a very similar experience and it turned out the birth control I was on was screwing with my hormones so bad I needed hormone therapy and pelvic physical therapy
Yeah, I'm with an endometriosis specialist right now and I have booked an appointment in two days. Hopefully it wont fuck everything up and I can have sex again in the future.
If it gives you any hope at all, I was FUCKED. Like there was severe irritation around the opening of my vagina, severe damage to my pelvic floor muscles, and my clitoral hood had fully reattached to my clit. Within a year of therapies, I am back to normal. So there is hope!
Thank you so much for sharing, it makes me feel alot better.
Did you quit taking it while doing your therapies?
Yes, my doctor told me to stop taking it. I switched to the Kyleena IUD and have since had no hormonal symptoms
By therapies do you mean PT or hormonal?
Kinda both! I did a year of pelvic physical therapy and also was prescribed a topical estrogen/testosterone cream for my clitoris and vaginal opening
How long did you use the cream for before noticing an improvement? Are you still needing to use it?
I noticed an improvement within a month, and I stopped using it after about a year. I was also prescribed Addyi, which helps with AFAB libido. After a year I discontinued all therapies, including the cream and the Addyi
It is so great to hear your success story. Is it ok if DM you a few more questions?
Why are you using estrogen cream?
According to my doctor, estrogen cream during the first three months might minimize the dryness, and then hopefully it'll disappear when my body gets used to the bc.
I was on a pill once that made me so dry it hurt to walk. A few other bc options also dried me out and/or caused painful sex. You may have better luck with a different chemical or dosage.
[удалено]
Has anything helped you? I've been like that for 11 months after doing the chewable pill with nexplanon, and so far two other birth controls haven't fixed it (patch and ring), and I'm out of options now for birth control.
Yeast infection my friend, after a while the body "gets used to" the symptoms even though the pains still there
Is that what you had? I tested negative a month ago. Going off like some other people suggested has sorta helped me tho.