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Is it your birth control?
Hormone-basedbirth controloften comes with side effects that can range from slightly annoying to bad enough to make you switch.
You may not know what you can tolerate until you've given a couple of them a try.
But here are some solutions for the most common problems.
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Nausea
这reaction will probably go away in a couple of months.
If it doesn't and you're usingoral contraceptives, try taking them with food.
If you're usingthe ringorthe patch, you might need to switch methods.
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Breakthrough bleeding
"I think this is the side effect that drives women crazier than any other side effect," says Dr. Hutcherson, because it's so unpredictable. Taking the Pill at precisely the same time every day may help. The bleeding occurs specially with shots, the mini-Pill, and the implant—the progestin-only methods—as the lining of the uterus is so thin that it sometimes sloughs off a little bit. (On the upside, this also makes yourperiodslighter and sometimes causes them to disappear entirely.)
Talk to your doctor if you're concerned aboutspotting. "You can sometimes add an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen, or occasionally you can add a little estrogen," says Anne Foster-Rosales, MD, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.
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Mood swings
If it's really the birth control and not some other factor that's bringing you down, you may need to find a nonhormonal method.
"In my experience, if a woman hasdepressionwith one pill, switching (formulations) usually doesn't help," says Dr. Hutcherson.
Allhormonal methodsare likely to cause the same problem. For some patients who really want to stay on the Pill, Dr. Hutcherson sometimes prescribes anantidepressantas well, with good success.