I started a new birth control this month (Seasonique Lo) so I should only have 4 periods a year. I had to go on it because I had a serious hormone imbalance from PMDD. Well right now I know that this is the week I should have my period because I am having some hormonal fluctuations and mild spotting. My question is would I still retain water like I normally would on my period even though I'm not having one? The scale has gone up 5 lbs (normal for me on my period can be upwards of 10lbs). Just wanted to see if it's me or if its the TOM.

Thanks

I don't know how yours works, but even though I have heard that you don't retain as much water when on BC, I certainly still bloat and have a gain on the scale (I tend to avoid it during my period).

It took me 2-3 cycles of Seasonale (same medicine) to stop spotting and retaining water every month. I still spot now sometimes, but not as regularly. I've been on it for almost five years now.

I had the same experience as Shannon, but with Seasonique. After 3 years my doc switched me to LoSeasonique and I started having huge problems. I actually recently went off it because I couldn't handle the side effects. I had bad mood swings and felt like I was going out of my mind most of the time. I couldn't sleep and didn't want anything to do with my favorite activities. I also gained 10 pounds during the switch. I loved seasonique; I had issues with PMDD too and it was fantastic. Plus only dealing with that 4 times a year and having it only be 3 days was perfect. I was always incredibly irregular but I never noticed any bloating at all even during the yellow week and I had previously gained 5-10 of water weight a month. It take a little while to even out though. For me though the side effects were too scary. With LoSeasonique, I also started having a lot of numbness in my feet and other symptoms of blood clots which I learned it can cause. Last year I went to my annual checkup and they found a lump which turned out to be a breast tumor; benign thankfully but after testing they determined it was extremely likely it was caused by seasonique! I really miss all the conveniences of it but since stopping I feel much more like myself and have had a lot fewer health problems. I know there are a lot of herbal alternatives to treat PMDD so I'm going to start looking into those. Best of luck to you though! I know not everyone goes through what I did, and I hope you don't. Side effects aside, it really was fantastic to only have 4 (light) periods a year with no PMS!

I take a generic pill and just skip my in-active pills. I have to count it out and mark on my calendar, but it ended up being way cheaper than any of the name brand ones.

I've been on it for nearly five years, and like Shannon, see no spotting or water retention on a monthly basis.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I have tried 7 or so different kinds of BC and these are the only ones that make me feel normal. All of the others I tried I was never on for more than a month (that was absolute at most) so I am not sure about the side effects that I should be experiencing.