Hi everyone,

I was wondering something. How does the doctor determine what pill to presibcribe to their patiences? I know they do a health check and a family history but with so many different pills out there and some are very simlar to each other how do they pick? Back when i was 17 (i'm now 30)i went on the pill(Ortho-Novum 777) i always had regular periods and no health problems before the pill. The only thing was that my period would arrive every 21 days then the usual 28. I have read that ortho-novum 777 is usually given to older women than younger. I never had a problem with it for the years that i was on it. Unforutaley my doctor took me off of it and put me on Depo-provera. Bad problems with that and switched to pargard IUD now. I am thinking of going back on the pill cause i have started having a small acne problem on my chin. It's always breaking out and no matter what otc acne treatments i use i still breakout. If anyone has any feedback it would be great. Thanks :wave:

On the pill, a woman's period comes duirng the last week of pills (day 22-28), so it *does* come roughly every 21 days. It's a 28 day cycle, because you count the first day of your period as day 1, and the last day of your cycle is the day before you start to bleed. :) So the pill was acting just as it was supposed to.

Different pills can have differnet side effects based on the formulations of hormones in them. Some pills are estrogen-dominant, meaning that estrogen-related side effects would be most common, whereas others are progestin-dominant, meaning that progestin-related side effects would be more common. Based on what you are looking for in a pill, you doctor can sort of "match" you to the one he or she feels will best achieve what you are looking for.

For example, one pill may be known to be great for acne, but not as great at lessening breast-tenderness. Another may be great for breast-tenderness, but not as good for acne.

Talk to your doctor, tell them what you are looking for, and they'll make the best choice for you they can based on what you tell them paired with your medical history.