Birth Control From a Friend?

[-arsyn-]

maybe it's a dumb idea, and that's why i can't find another thread or question about this, or maybe i didn't look hard enough.

my friend gave me a few months' supply of Desogen birth control pills, and i'm wondering if it would be so bad to just follow the instructions and take them. she says she gets the pills for friends all the time, and that it's fine, but i'm not so sure it is.

i have a feeling the general reaction is going to be no, get the pills from your doctor. i got just one month's supply of ortho tricyclen lo from planned parenthood recently, but they didn't do a pelvic exam or anything really, i'm not sure how they decide which brand is best for a certain person. they said to start the pills last sunday, but i forgot, and i was wondering if it would probably be okay to start the desogen this coming sunday? since i have more of them and a switch would probably be difficult.

also i recently had medication abortion (a few days ago) if that makes any difference, and haven't had sex since then, but do i have to wait until my period starts anyway? since that's what it says on the instructions for both brands.

argh, so many questions.

[Brandye]

I am a doctor and I posted the lead sticky thread on this forum.

Between using a "borrowed" med; adding more homrones for the abortion and god knows what other medications and supplements you are taking, your system is a mess. Now, without exam and perhaps not knowing what your recent history is, another formulation has been given you. First, get out the condoms and spermicide for a few months to allow your system to rebalance. In the meantime, get an appointment, discuss all this and get your own prescription.

I, regrettably, know how common the practice of sharing birth control pills. I also know the problems. Do not do it.

[-arsyn-]

well they gave me the ortho tricyclen the same day i got the abortion medication from the clinic, so they know, _basically_, my recent history and said it was okay to start the pills that sunday, so i don't know. i haven't taken anything else but the medication for the abortion. [except antibiotics they gave me, and painkillers.] i haven't taken any borrowed meds, i just have them. but i do have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks so i guess i'll have to wait and talk to them.

can i ask you what some of the risks or problems are, with sharing birth control?

[Brandye]

Sure. There are forty or so different pills available. Some are clones of others but there are about thirty different formulations. Getting women balanced on any of them can be tricky. Look at the number of posts here from women who have lost their sex drive or become extremely moody. If you are switching around on the pills, some of them work a bit differently and will increase the likelihood of bad side-effects.

The vast majority of patients for whom I have prescribed do well on the first or second pill they try. But if you are using "borrowed" pills, your doctor is at a loss for what is working and not working. From the formulation we can almost predict the side-effects. If we do not know what all you have been using, we do not know how to correct for the side effects.

Using the pills and then the morning after pill, you do not, at this point, even know what your menstrual cycle is. That is why I recommend you get with a doctor and start over. You need a base date for starting and you do not have one. Using borrowed pills, you have not had a proper exam and history. There are past things in some patients' medical histories that may lead a doctor to recommend one or another, or perhaps none, pill.

If you were losing your eyesight would you borrow pills from a glaucoma patient? If you lost all feeling in legs, would you ask a friend? You are messing with your endocrine system and serious things can happen. Pregnancy is one; depression is another; circulatory problems are more common on the pill than off.