Eloine pill and high blood pressure

I decided to try Eloine due to negative experiences with other combined pills and the low-dose appealed to me. Unfortunately this turned out to be the worst decision I've ever made. In the first month I felt fine but soon after I began experiencing cramps, headaches and significant mood swings. After 4 months, I was suffering from daily severe headaches and migraines with aura. These migraines were consistent, occurring at the same time each week and lasting nearly two hours (something I had never dealt with before). I often had to take afternoons off work and isolated myself in a dark, quiet room until my vision returned and the dizziness subsided. The only times these migraines didn’t occur was the week I had off for my period. I also started experiencing regular spotting. Alongside the physical symptoms, my mood deteriorated. I became easily irritable, leading to frequent arguments with my partner… something that was rare for us before. This change in my behavior left me feeling down and my anxiety gradually worsened. My sex drive plummeted and eventually vanished altogether. The only positives from this pill was my heavy periods and awful period pain decreased and I lost weight. After discussing my symptoms with a doctor, I was advised to stop taking Eloine immediately. Since stopping, my headaches and migraines have ceased (I haven't had a migraine since) and I began feeling like my old self again within 6 months. The impact of this pill extended beyond my health; it affected my relationship as well. This experience has left me wary of contraceptive pills, making me hesitant to try another option.

I started taking this medication after doing research into combined pills. I started birth control from pre-teen age and had bad experiences, especially related to low mood, anxiety and depressive symptoms (using cerzette and logynon). I wanted to find a pill which would not affect my mental health, but would improve my acne, lessen menstrual symptoms and be effective as a contraception. I came across Yaz, which was discontinued so requested this alternative from my GP. My doctor warned me about increased blood pressure, which I have experienced but I'm still in the normal range. I have gained weight on this pill, but I have also gone through the later stages of puberty while using this pill (so my body has changed anyway). I may have gained weight for other reasons, but I have noticed my appetite increase. Compared to other pills, the notable effects on mood were probably external environmental factors rather than due to the pill. I do experience anxiety anyway. After being on this pill for about 3 years, which included the coming out of lockdown phase, I would say my mental health is now stable and I'm still using this pill. In terms of sex drive, it has decreased slightly, but this could be due to being in a long-term relationship too/other environmental factors. My skin has significantly cleared. I choose to not take the break on this pill, which I did double check with a doctor about. I wouldn't do this without checking. I have experienced breakthrough bleeding as a result of this, but it stops if I take the pill consistently every day at exactly the same time. I have never been pregnant while on this pill and plan to stay on it. Overall, at 19, I feel I am very stable, mentally and in terms of menstruation. I would recommend it. I do advise trial and error as birth control effects everyone differently :)

So as a quick background; I have Endometriosis and this is the 6th hormonal option I have tried to control my symptoms (4 combined pills, 1 mini pill, and 1 progestin treatment). I am also quite susceptible to mental health issues, both on and off hormones. I decided to start hormones again after my Endo pain started to increase again, meaning I had to rely on opioids quite a lot for pain relief, and a scan found evidence of adhesions, leading to me being referred for my second operation. I am SO thrilled to say that Eloine has worked wonders for me!! I first heard about it via a consultation with Dr Fran at The Lowdown when she mentioned Yasmin, the higher estrogen version of Eloine, as an option for me, but I stupidly didn't give it a go (I had trust issues with doctors at that point due to my bad experiences with other hormones and the Endo lived experience generally). I next heard about Eloine during a consultation with an NHS contraception specialist I was referred to, who recommended it to me due to hormones (particularly progestins) causing me to feel very depressed, and previous birth control pills causing me to gain quite a significant amount of weight. I was also having a hard time with my mental health at that point, and was scared about making that worse by starting a new birth control pill, but really wanted to make sure my Endo remained under control (I was on another combined pill before this point which controlled my Endo symptoms, but dramatically worsened my anxiety). Happy to say that my Endo is currently very under control (I haven't had to use codeine since October last year!!), as is my mental health, on Eloine!! It is worth mentioning that it took a few months for my "period" to settle - my periods got longer, and I was cramping for a longer amount of time, etc. However I definitely recommend pushing through if you experience the same! I made the mistake of taking pill breaks (I had been told to take it back-to-back) in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but Dr Mel told me in a consultation that it would be better to keep taking the pill through these bleeds (this was my advise to me personally based on my history of Endo and having a particularly stubborn uterus). Once I did this, my bleeding dramatically decreased, and I now get 2-4 days of incredibly light, barely-there bleeding every 15-17 days, with NO PAIN! I have taken a pill break a couple of times since then, as last month I felt very emotionally PMS-y and had a lot of water retention. Another tip, if you're like me and have had a bad experience with hormones in the past, is to order your pill and keep it in your drawer until you feel ready to take it. This really helped me because I could get use to having it in my house without the dramatic doctors appointment and walk to the pharmacy all at once. Plus, the Eloine packet looks different to a lot of mainstream pills, so psychologically that helped a lot. Another thing - in the interest of being totally honest, I did start taking Sertraline (an antidepressant) a couple of weeks after I started taking Eloine which obviously really helped get my mental health under control. However, this was due to PRE-EXISTING mental health issues, not anything caused by Eloine. I just feel like me on Eloine, and honestly have barely had side effects (apart from maybe bigger boobs and the aforementioned bout of PMS and water retention). I intend to stay on Eloine for the foreseeable <3 Good luck!