T O P I C R E V I E W
lemonade
Member # 28113
posted 03-27-2006 12:34 AM
I was just given the birth control pill Lutera by a doctor at planned parenthood, and I wanted to find out if anyone has had any side effects associated with it. I feel a little strange about just taking these pills that they handed me because they didnt do a physical examination (pelvic exam/pap smear) at all...they just weighed me, got my height, discussed my medical history, and took my blood pressure. I understand that doctors feel birth control pills are so safe they can just hand them out without a physical examination, but it still feels strange to me. So my questions are: is it safe to take it because of how they prescribed it and how have others here done on Lutera ( I understand that every one is different, i'm just wondering). Thanks!
dailicious
Member # 22471
posted 03-27-2006 01:14 AM
Actually, it seems a bit strange to me that they didn't at very least schedule you to come in at a later date to have a pelic exam... MOST doctors won't actually prescribe birth control without doing this, even clinics such as Planned Parenthood which will prescribe the birth control since it's usually required right then, rather than waiting for when they can get their gynecologist in (a lot of clinics only have one gynecologist on call, who only comes in a couple times in the month, for example). It's good they took the medical history, to make sure there wasn't any risk within that for things like blood cots, but still, it seems a bit odd to me and it's very smart of you to be hesitant as well. What I'd suggest you do is call them back and ask if you need to schedule to have a pelvic exam done, and even state outright that you'd feel more at ease if they DID do an examination. And while there shouldn't be a risk in starting the pills before they do an examination, if you want to wait and speak to them about it and have the examination done first, by all means do so- because what's most important is that YOU feel safe in taking the pills. I hadn't actually heard of Lutera before your post (shows how up to date I am on checking pill brands...) but I did a search (Lutera is also apparantly a movie from 1955, hm) and there are really no side effects for the brand that aren't typical with all other birth control pills. Also remember that what one person experiences on any given prescription may not be what you will experience. What's most important to know is that if you have any negative side effects that are either too much of a bother to wait-through and see if they get better (ie, breakthrough bleeding or spotting in the first cycle), you can speak to Planned Parenthood again about trying a different prescription. Also keep in mind that it takes your body until about the third pack of pills to really get settled with the hormones, so any side effects (again, like spotting) you have in the first month or so may not necessarily stick around.