Rigevidon

I started taking it at the age of 19 because I heard that I’d have lighter, more regular periods (they used to be incredibly heavy every 5-6 weeks with such intense back pain that I would sometimes have to stay home from school/University) and it definitely helped this. 3 or 4 times over the years I’ve even kept taking the pill when I’m scheduled a week off so that I don’t get my period at a really inconvenient time, e.g. My wedding or a holiday. It requires discipline to take it at a similar time every day, so wouldn’t suit someone who’s forgetful. I keep my pill packet in my purse as I’ve nearly always got that on me, and I can take the pill discreetly when I need to, it’s about quarter of the size of an M&M. I take it without water, it’s got a sweet tasting coating, but I wouldn’t normally take something like paracetamol without water, it’d get stuck in my throat and I’d throw up. I get 6 months’ worth at a time, and I can only get 1 self-requested repeat prescription per year, so I go to the nurse once a year to check in. She asks things like “have you had any spotting (bleeding between periods)? Have you missed any pills? Do you know what to do if you did miss a pill?…” There’s never been an uncomfortable physical examination: they weigh you, measure your height, check your blood pressure and ask a few family medical history questions. I can’t tell if I had weight gain because of it, I got into a serious relationship shortly after and ate out way too much, so the weight gain is probably because of that. I then lost 3 stone a year later whilst still on the pill. Always tell a Dr/nurse if you’re on it because it *might* be less effective when taking other medicines. They’ll tell you if so. I’ve never had this issue and took a variety of pain killers for a slipped disc last year. In the 7 years I’ve been taking it I’ve never had to take a pregnancy test. I take the pill at about 5pm-8pm every day, and have only properly missed a pill maybe 3 times. In that case I’ve either abstained from sex or used a condom. I’m not regularly a heavy drinker, but the pill still seems to work when I’ve had a “big night out”. I guess if you’re someone that’s sick if you drink too much and you know you’re going out that night then leave enough of a gap after taking the pill so that it absorbs into your body (there’s no hard and fast rule on how many hours that is, sorry). The pill is less effective if you’re sick or have diarrhoea. It also won’t protect you from sexually transmitted infections so still use condoms for that purpose. Things that put me off a longer-lasting contraception like the injection or the implant are the potential for mood swings and irregular periods. Having regular periods is really important to me so that I can plan my life. I go away a lot and was caught out a few times as a teenager. It’s quite embarrassing having your Dad take you shopping for tampons in a foreign country.