Switching From Loestrin 24 Fe To Lomedia (Page 3)

I am one of the customers unhappy with the discontinuation of Loestrin 24 Fe. I saw so many negative reviews with those who switched to Minastrin that I refused to take it despite what my nurse was trying to say. I researched and knew a generic was coming. I have waited since October of last year for Lomedia and picked up my prescription and pills 3 weeks ago. I still haven't taken them because I'd like to know about the experience on these pills. Has anyone taken Lomedia? Please share your experience so we can all be informed.

REPLY

REPORT

Thank you Jencentric!! You have been extremely helpful. :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hey everyone. I noticed a lot of negative reviews were coming from people that didn't ride out the first three months. On ANY BC pill (like most OB/GYNS recommend) you should give it at least 90 days for your body to adjust.

I have been on Lomedia for over a year and I just want to say IT GETS SO MUCH BETTER. The first 3 months I was an emotional wreck, I had major anxiety (something I have never experienced in my life), and was bleeding on and off for all three months.

Like clockwork, after about the fourth month I started to even out. My periods lasted about three days, and all I needed was a light panty-liner.

I still experience a little bit of anxiety, and I will occasionally get headaches. However, I have not gotten my period (any sort of bleeding or cramping) for about four/five months now, and my skin has cleared up amazingly. Yaaaaass! :D

I know it sucks, believe me I was so pissed off those first four months when I was bleeding on and off and running around like a crazy person. But I would say give it at least four/five months to truly see how you react to it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Except that Lomedia 24 FE was discontinued...so...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jencentric I have an update...so I called my regular chain pharmacy yesterday to call in my Lomedia prescription. They said that they could not get it from their supplier anymore. Sooo, I called the other pharmacy in town that had filled my prescription last month for me to see if they could get it in again. They said that they could the next business day, but that it would be a $10 charge instead of free because my insurance did not cover all of the costs for them, the $10 would just make them break even. I asked why my old pharmacy could no longer get it, he said that with a chain like that, they can't usually see all the costs involved with prescriptions, so their corporate office may have cut it because they were no longer making a profit but were in fact LOSING money on this prescription??

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I just got a six month supply no problem of Lomedia 24 FE and according to the manufacturers website...it's still active.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Huh. I wonder why it's so hard to find, then. My pharmacy is owned by Wallgreens and you'd think that if anyone could get Lomedia 24 FE they could....

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jencentric,

I am not sure why that would be. The pharmacy I found Lomedia at is a small hometown pharmacy that is not a big chain. Maybe ask your pharmacy (Walgreen's) if they could call around to local pharmacy's in your area and see if they can carry it? (If you wanted to) Good luck!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi ladies. I think I ve tried 15 different pills over the last 15 years. I used to use lessina for 6 years and loved it and then all of a sudden in my early 30s it stopped working for me. I ve recently tried Junel, low orgestel, lutera, sryonx, and sprintec....all were awful with terrible side effects. I am scared to try something new. I think the last 4 pills I may give a try before throwing in the towel are lo media, microgestin and then go higher to Levora or necon. What are your thoughts on lo media or any of the other I mentioned? Thanks

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi ladies. I am concerned about the effectiveness of Lomedia 24. I have been talking it for just under a month, and i've experienced almost no side effects at all, besides increased discharge and sore breasts randomly throughout the month. I have heard that the pill may not be effective for women over 150lbs, so i'm questioning if that's the Reason why I barely have side effects. I am 18 years old, weigh around 153 and am 5"6' tall. Has anyone experienced this ?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi Susanne,

I'm not a doctor at all, but in my experience, you'd need to give your body about 3 months to get used to birth control if you haven't been on it before, and even then, everyone will experience side effects (or not!) differently. You might want to check with your doctor about the weight issue, but I hope that your doctor weighs you at your appointments and wouldn't prescribe you the drug if they thought that the 3 pounds would really make or break the drug!

I'll note that I've been on Loestrin 24 FE, or some form of it since about 2007 or 2008 and I haven't gotten pregnant. I'll just say I'm a decent amount heavier than 150 pounds (lol).

But I think you just need to wait it out for a bit. Your body probably is getting used to new/different hormones.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jencentric- thank you for your reply. I've been doing crazy amounts of googling to try and get some real experiences from real people haha. That definitely put me more at ease, and i'm gonna stick with the pill for as long as I need it. Thank you again :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi all, I just wanted to share the results from my little predicament last week, and in the process give my experience with Lomedia in hopes other women will find it useful. Before I started birth control, my periods we're extremely heavy, and I would get the most excruciating cramps that would stop me from doing everyday activities. I just recently got my first period being on the pill, and can I say it's been the best one so far! I've had minimal cramps for the first day, and it went from light spotting to a light flow of a regular period. I only had to wear a regular tampon, whereas before I had to switch a super plus at least once every hour. This pill has left me with no side effects AT ALL!! I still feel like myself, and I am hoping that the pill continues to work its magic like this. I would highly reccomend this pill for any first time users. Every woman is different, but personally for me, this pill is the one.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

I realize this thread hasn't been used for a while but I wanted to get my experience out there in case someone else has been as horrified as I have. I have had the WORST time on Lomedia! I've had breakthrough bleeding through my entire four months accompanied by intense cramping all day for weeks on end. It's been so bad that it's been waking me up in the middle of the night. I've tried so hard to ride it out and see if my body can adjust but I can't keep going on like this. The cramps are so bad all I can do is cry. I finally made an appointment and I will hopefully be put on something that works better for me. I don't even plan to finish up this pack I'm in the middle of. I'm already bleeding anyway. I was on YAZ for a year with zero side effects other than mood swings which aren't fun but I would take ANY day over the stuff I've been going through on Lomedia.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Oh god. That sucks! You were on Loestrin 24FE before, though?
What you're describing is similar to my experience on Minastrin. My pharmacist put me on a super generic Norethindrone Acetate and Ethinyl Estradiol 1mg/.02mg with ferrous tablets by Mylan. It looks just like the Loestrin I used to take and I've been on it since about April and it's absolutely the same for me as the Loestrin was before. No mood swings, light periods, no cramping, I feel like myself.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

No fortunately I guess, I hadn't been on loestrin 24 before this. I wasn't on anything for a long time and then just recently decided to go back on and this was my first shot back on. I wonder if I could speak to my pharmacist and see if I could try for something like you. It's worth a shot because I have been feeling so out of whack. I would take all the other side effects if I could just get rid of the cramping for extended periods of time. It's insane!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Well, different people react to different meds in different ways. This board was mostly for folks trying to replace the Loestrin 24FE that was discontinued. It seemed to have worked well for us. You might want to search for a different board with other options, but if you're feeling like that about this drug, you should probably call your doctor. There are a ton of different options out there. Good luck!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I went from Loestrin to the chewable Minastrin 24 FE when Loestrin was discontinued. To me personally it felt like the same pill! I had no odd side effects! So if you guys are looking for a pill similar to Loestrin talk to your PCP or Gyn regarding Minastrin. Sadly, Minastrin is not a generic brand and now my insurance has jacked the price on it so I have to find something else to take which is why Ive been looking into Lomedia since that is the generic version free under the ACA. But with all the negative reviews ive been reading online about Lomedia I am honestly scared to try!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have posted several times on this board. I know it affects everyone differently, but Minastrin was a devil drug for me. I was a depressed moody mess. Even went to the doctor about it who told me to try it for one more month to see if it straightened out before I switched. I LOVE Lomedia and have had 0 problems on it, I'm back to my happy stable self and been that way for the last 2 years -- best of luck to you and everyone!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Does anyone still read this? Here's my story. I was on a generic black pack of microgestin 1/20 for years and had absolutely no problems. When I was put on it, I was probably 240lbs and doc had diagnosed me with polycystic ovarian syndrome but that was really just a "hey, you have this and we aren't going to worry about it". Whatever. So anyways, I started taking birth control when I was 17 (ortho tricyclene lo) and have been on birth control ever since. I've taken others between the otclo and that microgestin but I don't remember the names lol. So... I gained a bunch of weight due to sheer laziness and what have you. Up to 280lbs. Still, my microgestin worked wonderfully and my period came like clockwork. And then this January, I started working out and by April I'd lost 30lbs (down to 210) and I start having break through bleeding. What. The. Eff. I was livid. My wonderful gyno left the practice I've always gone to so I made an appt with a new one, saw him once and he called in generess fe for my birth control for the year. I didn't think anything of it. And then... no no and more no. I was a fricken lunatic. Mood swings like a mother trucker, exhausted, so on and so forth. So I make a follow up appt and after waiting over an hour I flipped s*** and left (literally saw 8 women come in after me and go in before me... the receptionist had slid my file under her keyboard... cute). To a new doctor I go. I told the new doc my concerns, what I was on, yatta yatta. He gave me samples of minastrin 24fe and I loved it. I felt great, no breakthrough, no cramps, etc. He called in the script and boom. My insurance doesn't cover it so he called in generous. No no and more no. I called my insurance company to find out my other options. If I could afford over $100 out of pocket, I'd pay for it but I can't. So Lomedia 24FE is on my approved medications that my s*** insurance will cover. Called the doc, told them it's what I wanted, switched on over. I am at a point that I don't know whether to stick with it a couple more months or give up. I just started my 3rd month. I've been crazy, hormonal, exhausted, up and down, angry, you name it, I've been it. Plus I've had breakthrough bleeding each month. It's always the second week of pills and it's that just heavy enough to make having relations out of the question... and my boyfriend and I have a really great intimate life. We're good at what we do. I'm 28. I'm not new to birth control but damn. Anyone else symptomatic like me? Did it go away? I smoke so I figure I'll stop that and see if that helps with the bleeding - I've read that it will cause it. Who would've thunk. And I figure I'll switch the time I take it but i refuse to give up my coffee. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel???

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

So, I thought I'd give an update as to where I am.

After switching from Loestrin to that super generic version of it things were great. I was myself for like a year. It was delightful.

I had an ocular migraine (where my vision got super blurry) that lasted for a half a week. Now, I've had ocular migraines before, but they're usually due to stress and they last an hour max. This one was WEIRD. So I called my GP. She sent me to an allergist. The allergist looked at my sinus cavity and said that it all looked ok, but that he heard something that ocular migraines, while being on BC could either be a precursor to strokes or be a stroke itself. So off to the Neurologist I went. The Neurologist said that the ocular migraines do increase the chance of getting a stroke (chances go from something like .0001% to something like .001% - so still small).

GYN was having NONE of this. Took me off the BC as soon as he heard what the allergist had to say (HOLY HELL were the cramps bad that month it was like I hadn't had a period in a decade - which truth be told I hadn't thanks to Loestrin FE). After hearing what the Neurologist had to say, GYN still didn't think that having me on BC was a good plan and suggested an IUD. Since my family has a history of endometriosis and fibroids, I went with the Mirena.

It's effing amazing people. I did NOT realize the amount of stress that taking a pill every day for 17 years was causing. It was extremely liberating. The Mirena takes some getting used to, but I think we're finally on the same page and if you can afford it, you might want to look into it...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I am 39 and Have been on loEstrin 24 Fe for many years to now find out that it's no longer being made and was being ...

4 REPLIES

I have been on the birth control aubra for 5 months and usually bled during my 7 day placebo week. However I recently ch...

1 REPLY

My doctor has me switching from effexor to prozac which I am in total agreement with but the symptoms I am having are ho...

2 REPLIES

I've been on brentillix for about 3 weeks. It HSS been a God send, up until about a week ago. I woke up with s sever...

1 REPLY

I have been on the butrans 20 mcg patch for 3 months and am getting ready to switch to the fentanyl 25 mcg patch. Will I...

2 REPLIES

Hello. I have been on Lexapro 20mg since July. At my last check up my blood pressure was extremely high and I had gained...

1 REPLY

I am currently taking fenofibrate. I just switched jobs and my prescription coverage won't take effect for another m...

1 REPLY

Since switching from xarelto to eliquis two years ago, I have been experiencing extreme bouts of sluggishness, itching a...

13 REPLIES

I have had to go through 7 different BC pills to find one that I did not get horrible side effects from (nortrel) now I ...

3 REPLIES

Seven years of back pain with long history of muscle relaxant and more recently oxycodone and lorazepam. Docs finally di...

15 REPLIES