Side Effects of the Patch

[mulherviva]

I have been on the patch for only two weeks now, but already I am worried about the side effects. In the last two weeks I have had no sex drive whatsoever, and when we try to have sex, it's painful because I'm not lubricated at all. I have completely lost my sex drive. Also, I no longer have an appetite. Even still, I weighed myself and I have gained a few lbs. I have read other threads where women have complained of losing their sex drive for months or even years because of the patch. Also, I hate not having an appetite. I have to force myself to eat. Does the patch come in different sizes? Perhaps I'm getting too many hormones with it. I will confess that I did something drastic. I cut the patch in half yesterday and threw half of it away , and I'm already feeling better. The trouble is that for me to see my doctor, I'll have to wait for two months or more, and I can't go without sex for two months. I miss it too much.

[GLSheridan]

Originally Posted by mulherviva

I have been on the patch for only two weeks now, but already I am worried about the side effects. In the last two weeks I have had no sex drive whatsoever, and when we try to have sex, it's painful because I'm not lubricated at all. I have completely lost my sex drive. Also, I no longer have an appetite. Even still, I weighed myself and I have gained a few lbs. I have read other threads where women have complained of losing their sex drive for months or even years because of the patch. Also, I hate not having an appetite. I have to force myself to eat. Does the patch come in different sizes? Perhaps I'm getting too many hormones with it. I will confess that I did something drastic. I cut the patch in half yesterday and threw half of it away , and I'm already feeling better. The trouble is that for me to see my doctor, I'll have to wait for two months or more, and I can't go without sex for two months. I miss it too much.

First of all, most importantly, you can NOT cut the patch in half. You will interfere with the time-release of the hormones, and could actually make your side effects worse, as well as make yourself susceptable to pregnancy.

It's common to have a low libido when first starting any brand of birth control. Usually the side effects go away, but for some women they don't. It's usually recommended that you say on one brand for at least 3 months for your body to become accustomed to the new hormones in the body.

The weight gain is probably just water weight, and all forms of birth control can cause some water retention.

While I think that you should at least properly finish this cycle (which that's going to be little difficult to do now, seeing that you've ruined your patch-- you'd have to just apply a new patch for 1 more week), if you're this concerned and aren't willing to wait and see what happens, call your doctor. Every gynocologist in the county has had women change brands of birth control, and I'm sure that s/he'd willingly change your prescription if you're having problems. It just takes a phone call.