hey ladies, new here...

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

I'm Kelly, and I went to my first gyno visit today. I have usually killer cramps to the point where it hurts to move, so I've been prescribed anaprox aka naproxen sodium. Hopefully it works. I usually used alleve, and drank lots of chamomile tea, and milk. Working out also helps before, during, and after. I didn't get a vaginal exam since I'm 19, and a virgin. I'm also going to be taking Ortho-Tricyclen Lo for cramps, and to lighten my period since according to my Gyno I really shouldn't be bleeding for 7 days, and just to be safe since my boyfriend and I have been together a while now, and I really don't want kids right now!

Are any of you on Ortho-Tricyclen Lo, and if so how bad were the side effects for you? I know the usual ones, but hearing it from an actual user would be great since I'm going to be using it.

For any of you that also suffer from bad cramps and blood clots, I've been told boiling parsley and drinking it as a tea works wonders for both.

Comments

[fuglyl0ser.livejournal.com]

the pill affects everyone differently blah blah blah.. but i had no side effects from OTC-lo.. kind of. umm.. my libido went WAY down after 4 months and i still have cramps (but less) and headaches. i also lost some weight but that might have been because of stress and going vegetarian.

the worst thing for me was the libido loss.. good luck though!

[obvious.livejournal.com]

OTC-Lo killed my libido, made me horribly depressed, worsened my migraines and made me gain weight. If you have side effects you don't like, you can switch pills. There are so many different types, don't feel pressures to take the lastest pill.

[fuglyl0ser.livejournal.com]

what did you switch to after otclo? did your libido go back up?

[obvious.livejournal.com]

I'm on Mircette now, and although my libido isn't what it used to be, it's better than OTC-Lo. The best thing to do is talk to your doctor about your options. Everyone responds to each pill differently.

[bullwithouthorn.livejournal.com]

umm... isn't Naproxen = Aleve?
So, I am slightly confused. Unless the doc gave you some high dosage. hmm. *shrug* I'm not the doc though.

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, most painkillers have Codiene in them... I don't believe that naproxen does, because coediene makes my friend violently ill so she takes naproxen for her migraines. It's pretty serious stuff, so it does the same job as a bunch of extra strength (over the counter) painkillers but doesn't tear up your stomach as much.

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

pratically, but she gave me a killer dosage of it. Let's just say my cramps should fear me..lol!

[nessachan.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to mention you should watch out with the Naproxen. I took it for several years for the same reason (my cramps are so bad I am bedridden and miss days and days of work and school). However, I recently came down with esophogitis, and apparently Naproxen was the reason.. it had eaten away at the lining of my esophogus and stomach. I have to take another pill now to repair what Naproxen did to me.

Now I'm rushed to try and find another painkiller. I've been on tons of other stuff and alas it's not been very helpful.. (I got a new one and it's not working, I've been up all night). Anyway, Naproxen worked really well for me, but I would avoid taking it for many years or months because it can be irritating to the stomach. I myself can't take anything with hormones in it because of a separate disorder.

However I think you should be careful with large doses of Naproxen, I was on huge doses, too. ^_^

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'm actually "iffy" about it because my body sometimes develops tolerances to drugs. I used to take midol when I was younger, and it worked for a while, then my body just took it like it was candy, didn't work at all! I think the same may happen with naproxen, and now that you mention what you have going on now...yeah I'll leave it as a last resort!! thank you :)
Try going to an asian supermarket, and looking for muscle relaxer tea, it really works. It kills my body and back aches, lightens up the cramps a bit as well too.

[viva-la-blondee.livejournal.com]

Welcome!

I had my first gyno visit a few weeks ago. Im a virgin and all, and they still gave me the vaginal exam. Your lucky you got off easy, it was uncomfortable for me.

I got on ortho tri cyclin lo as well. Im on my period now, and the doctor said to start it the sunday after your period starts, so ill definitly let you know if I have any side effects.

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

I kinda wanted one just in case, but she said it wasn't necessary.
I have to start it on the first day of my period. thanks :) I hope my side effects won't be so bad, if not I'll probably get on the patch.

[viva-la-blondee.livejournal.com]

Well definitly let me know what happens, and ill keep everyone posted as well =)

Girl power <3

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

hey, how's OTC-LO workin' for you? read the small post I made about it yesterday, it's about what i've been going through since I started taking it, and since after my period ended.
what have your side effects been?
I hope nothing bad :)

[tusk.livejournal.com]

I'm on Anaprox, actually. It works like a charm. :)

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

read some of the comments on this post about anaprox...
kinda scary. I'm leaving it as a last resort.

[shakespeareswan.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I can understand your pain. I have had a tough period since I was a teenager and did all of those things the docs suggest which make things worse. The caveat to those pills is that it may relieve the pain somewhat, but as soon as you come off of it, well hell begins. Just think of killer cramps and bleeding like you wouldn't believe.

At your age, I don't appreciate gynos wanting to put you on hormones. I myself have found relief with herbs. Parsley tea actually is a period inducer and will encourage bleeding, not what you are going for, I don't think. For cramps I definitely recommend cramp bark tincture (amazing all by itself) along with yarrow, lady's mantle, red raspberry, and valerian tincture.

If I had to suggest just two go for the crampbark and the yarrow for the cramps, (in tincture form because it assimilates into the body quicker and is more powerful giving the fastest relief). If you want to sip on a teas red raspberry and catnip together are good as catnip relaxes and is good for cramps as is red raspberry.

If you are having trouble with bleeding too heavily, yarrow, lady's mantle, and shepherds purse are really good. If you are short on cash just pick the crampbark,yarrow and lady's mantle. These will run you about $9 each. If your bleeding is out of control where you feel uncomfortable and have to change every hour then you will need to take yarrow,lady's mantle, crampbark and sheperds purse, and cayenne pepper tincture (though u can do without the cayenne though it stops bleeding anywhere in the body, but can be irritating to the throat) every 30 minutes until it lessens, and then every 3 hours. And 3 times a day after that on your heavy days. A good book is called The herbal drugstore by white and foster. YOu can get it at borders, barnes and nobles,etc.

Try to take this a few days before your period hits. Usually I can tell my period is near because of the dull pain I will start to get and I start taking it then. A tip, take the tinctures together in as little juice as possible to gulp it down in one go because it is not very tasty, but it works, and then drink a glass of water.

Try these before you go on the pill and see if it works. that should be your last resort. I can't tell you the amount of friends I have who have been messed up because of the pill, when they decided to stop taking it, and who wants to take something for the rest of their lives. I used to take naproxen in a strong dose and I took it so long that my body built up a tolerance to it and it wasn't effective anymore. I refused birth control, and I was in serious pain with nausea, back pain, blood clots that I almost considered it, but my friends experiences stopped me, and I turned to natural methods. Anyway hope this helps and good luck. by the way, the milk (avoid all dairy products during your period especially if you are having pain) makes cramps worse due to the hormones in them. Good luck.

[darkeyedvamp.livejournal.com]

All the herbal stuff sounds great, but I am currently broke :/ I am gunna get the red raspberry tea though. I live on this asian muscle relaxer tea as well, it's so great for my back and body aches. I took my first pill today. My friends have all given me complaints about the shot, which I was considering, and then after their "hell" sounding complaints about it and figured no. I've read that milk and other forms of calcium are actually good for cramps..hmf interesting. I never tried the parsley, my mom's friend recommended it, but it sounded "iffy" to me so I never tried it. My cramps went away for a while because I was working out every single day, but since I can't workout as much anymore, they've come back a bit, but not to the point where I feel I'm going to die...thankfully. I think I might become tolerant to naproxen b/c I have developed tolerances to other drugs before, I think I might take it if only NOTHING works on the cramps.
thanks for the herbal shopping list :)
<3

[urania.livejournal.com]

Hi!

I was on orthotricyclen (not otc-lo) for several years and it worked quite well for me; I had breakthrough bleeding very lightly near the end (light spotting around mid-cycle) but that wasn't enough to bug me. But like everyone said, side effects vary, and if you *should* get bad ones you can switch pills. My worst side effect was queasiness for the first few months I took it, but that wore off (and it obviously wasn't *so* bad that I stopped taking it, since I didn't!).

I second what the person above said about being careful on Naproxen, though. Naproxen/Alleve/etc are part of a class of drugs called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) that are wonderful as painkillers but over time can hurt your esophagus/stomach. I was prescribed big doses of Ibuprofen (another NSAID) for cramps for awhile, and later ended up with gastritis/possibly ulcers from it. So basically remember to drink lots of water with naproxen sodium, take it with food whenever it's remotely possible to ease its impact on the system, and keep an eye out in case you start to get acidy stomach pains. Plenty of people take it with no problem at all, but it's something to remember in case you're one of us few unlucky ones :-P