Switching From Loestrin 24 Fe To Minastrin 24 Fe (Page 8)

Hey Guys!
So I went to the pharmacy to pick up my monthly pack of LoEstrin 24 Fe two weeks ago, only to find out that the makers of LoEstrin 24 Fe discontinued the pills and are replacing it with Minastrin 24 Fe. (I am VERY disappointed to report that I was NEVER notified of the discontinuation, as my reproductive health care is apparently not a priority of my pharmacy or my doctor). My pharmacist says it's the same pill as it is made by the same company and contains the same amount of hormones in it, the only difference is that this pill is chewable. The pharmacist then proceeded to tell me that she would be happy to fill in the prescription for me expect that since she could not get a hold of my doctor to approve the Minastrin, I could not purchase it which caused me to start my pack late. I was supposed start the new pack on a Sunday at 9pm but did not start it until Monday morning at 10:40am when the pharmacist finally got a hold of my doctor (this would put me at taking the pill roughly 13 hours late). I then proceeded to take my normal dosage for Monday night at 9pm. When my boyfriend and I are sexually active we always use condoms and pull out, in addition to taking the pills but since I started my pack late, I'm very worried that my birth control pills aren't effective. I haven't been sexually active at all this month because I'm too nervous about an unplanned pregnancy. The pharmacist told me that as long as I double up on taking two pills on Monday (which is what I did) I should be fine and no additional contraceptive is needed but the nurse at my gyno's office says that the pills won't be effective for two weeks and that during that time I need to use another form of contraception. I don't know who to believe! Does anyone have any insight on this, or has anyone been through something like this while making the switch from LoEstrin 24 Fe to Minastrin 24 Fe? Is there a high possiblity that a pregnancy could occur if I decide to become sexually active this month, as I started the new pill pack late? Thanks for your help!

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Hi all . I have been following this thread for quite some time and thought I would review Lomedia 24 fe. I was on minastrin for two months and had minor, inconvenient side effects. My face broke out and I felt a bit bloated, nothing too severe beyond that. Still, the acne concerned me so I wanted to give Lomedia a try. After just two weeks my acne has completely cleared up and I'm back to feeling as I did on Loestrin. I highly recommend! Plus no chewing is a plus :)

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Hi everyone,
Like others have said, I am so glad I found this forum. Due to loestrin's discontinuation, my dr switched me to minastrin in November. The first month was ok, but the cramps were a bit more severe however my period never came down. The next month-December-I had SEVERE, HORRENDOUS cramps. So bad I was going to go to the ER. I wasn't home when they hit, I almost fainted in a deli. I took 2 Excedrin, that was the only thing I had on me at the time and it relieved maybe 30% of it. But again, I spotted for a day and that was it. Now the third month-January-is when I really this pill is a problem. All of a sudden, I can't fit any of my pants. I would wake up in the mornings and NONE of my pants fit-mind you, I've maintained my weight level for years and I never put on weight that fast. I have called out of work at least 4-5 times b/c I'm so fatigued and just uncomfortable. I'm bloated, nauseous and with this last cycle, I've been bleeding for 2 weeks. When I was on the 4-day placebos, my period started on Friday and when I started the new pack on Sunday, I had brown discharge that never stopped. By that Thursday, I was full on bleeding and passing clots. That was 2 weeks ago, I'm STILL bleeding.

Thanks to this forum, I called my Dr earlier this week and asked if they can switch me to the Lomedia 24. They called it in, my pharmacy has it, prescription is ready. I am trying to determine if I want to start it tomorrow (Sunday) or finish this last pack of Minastrin. I really want to get rid of the Minastrin altogether. I HATE this pill and everything it has done to my body.

I am praying the Lomedia works just like my Loestrin and that this weight gain comes off easily :(

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Hey Lady! I'm having the same issue! Did you ever stop bleeding? I've only been on it for a week but the whole point of me getting on it was so that my cycle would get back on track! My doctor says the typical give it 2-3 months nonsense but I can live like this for 3 months. Thanks in advance!

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Well, there's NO WAY I'm taking the doc's "advice" to stick this out for 2-3 more paks. They went in the trash and now we are TRYING to figure out which way to go. I'm afraid this is going to take some time for us all to sort out. I'M SO ANGRY that LoEstrin had to be discontinued due to some stinkin' patent issue. Hello? Isn't health more important than money? Guess not.

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I have been on Minastrin for 4 months, I hate it. I had my period the first month and have not had it for 2 months, I am "due" to have it this week so we shall see. I have taken multiple pregnancy tests all negative. Will be calling doctor to switch. Bring back LoEstrin 24 FE! This is DEF. not the same :/ Glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem-- I take my pill regularly as well, soo that can't be the issue.

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I have been on the new generic lomedia 24 fe for a month now and it has been the exact same for me as the loestrin 24 fe. I love it! Nothing changed.

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So I was switched to Minastrin. Two weeks into my pack I had bleeding for two days now that I'm into the placebo pills no period has started so now I'm all paranoid! Anybody else had this issue?

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I had the same issue last month! Now this month just started spotting. I'll see next week if I actually get my period when I should.

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How is lomedia 24 fe working for anyone?

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I've read that Lomedia 24 Fe is the generic version os Loestrin 24 Fe. Maybe you can ask your doctor about it, it just came out January 2014

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Has anybody experienced the extreme "mood swings" or feeling like a completely different person psychologically by being yanked off Loestrine and jumping into Minastrine?
This pill is hell.
Crying hysterically one hour then raging the next for absolutely no reason, excessive dreaming, anxiety, racing mind etc. It may all sound psychotic but it is what it is. The human body is operated by chemicals and if you mess with them, certain adverse things will happen. In this case, female reproductive hormones . Do not underesitmate it.
I'm sorry for every women out there suffering from this marketing scheme in every which way! Please don't be ashamed to share here on this forum.

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I am experiencing this :( but not on ministrin. I'm on the lomedia 24 fe.

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Nope, here we are 5 days after my post and I'm STILL bleeding, clots and all. The weird thing is it will stop mid morning and be pretty dormant all day and evening and when I take the pill at night (I take it at 8pm), the bleeding will start again. I haven't picked up the Lomedia b/c I missed the pharmacy before it closed on Sunday, so I figured I'll finish this pack of Minastrin and then I'll start the Lomedia. My last Mnastrin pill is Tuesday and I have a gyn appt on Wed, wish me luck.

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Yeah, now it's the Lomedia we are talking about . . . and it's ACTING just like the Ministrin did. GARBAGE. I can't believe they did this to us!
"They" may say Lomedia is the same as Loestrin . . . it is NOT.

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I would be VERY AFRAID if bleeding seemed to be so related to the time of taking the next pill. DEFINITELY go over all this with your doc and PLEASE ask WTH can we do about this! Yanking a perfect drug off the market and giving us this garbage to replace it should be criminal.

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I've been on this pill for almost 2 months and I haven't had a period at all! I've also taken pregnancy tests and they've both come up negative! Somethings wrong!

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I did not have a period for 4 years on loestrin and been on lomedia a month and no period! Love it!

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I'd like to share a very negative experience with Minastrin FE, as a warning to others.

My 19 year old daughter started taking it about 3 months ago. The first few months were unremarkable. I'd forgotten she was taking it. Then quite suddenly about 3 weeks ago (in her 3rd month) she started experiencing horrible side effects. Extreme mood swings, depression, anxiety, lack of appetite, nausea, sleeplessness at night, fatigue during the day, intense headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, heaviness/numbness/aching in her arms, tingling in her legs, etc...

Finally, she had an incident that sent her to the ER in an ambulance last week. She blacked out and when she came to she had chest/arm pain, tingling, numbness, she was mentally confused and unresponsive, lethargic and had elevated blood pressure. The hospital released her hours later as all her tests came back clear and eventually her BP dropped to normal. And in case you're wondering, she doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs (confirmed by the ER in their screening and tests).

She confided in me the next day that she'd been battling severe anxiety in addition to the long list of physical symptoms above and was scared about what was happening to her. She felt utterly helpless, hopeless and ill. We were about to schedule a battery of appts with doctors and therapists to find out what was so suddenly effecting our normally well-adjusted, mature, healthy daughter.

The next day, I received a desperate text message from her, which as you can imagine gripped me with grave concern and sent me into Mama Bear mode. As I was racking my brain for answers/solutions, it suddenly hit me to look closely at the hormones in her birth control pill. I looked up the list of KNOWN potential side effects as listed by RXlist, WebMD and even the manufacturer, Warner Chilcott Company, LLC. She had almost every "severe side effect" listed.

I immediately informed her she had to stop taking that pill, which she did. It's been 3 days and she already notices a difference. Her headache has abated, her nausea is gone and she feels intensely relieved to have found a "main suspect" -- and that she's not just going crazy and/or seriously ill as she was starting to think.

It's still too soon to say definitively if Minastrin is the sole culprit of her symptoms. But judging by the sudden onset, in an otherwise mentally and physically healthy individual, I feel like we're on the right track eliminating this BCP.

We'll be monitoring her condition over the next several weeks/months, of course.

While i understand this pill is working nicely for some, for others it may be having devastating side effects that impact school/work/relationships and health.

Consumers should be wary and warned. Though my knee-jerk reaction would be for NO ONE to take this pill, I recognize everyone is different and my daughter COULD be one of the rarities. I would strongly recommend keeping track of your mental and physical health in the first 6 months of taking, to identify any changes in physical or mental status. And, obviously, if you have any adverse side effects, discontinue use immediately.

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Hello ladies so basically everything yoy girls are saying i experienced as well .... ive been taking BC for years, June 2013 i found out i have endometrious very very painful and Now Feb. 18 8 days after my 32 birthday i go to my reg. Dr due to a paun in my left leg which i coyod not walk because of to find out i have a blood clot behind my knee .... my Dr. Thinks its because of my BC my gyno and Dr told me to immediatly stop taking the BC .... so just be aware of your estrogene levels and know that this can happen to anyone never did i ever think id be the 99.9% to get a blood clot from my BC... good luck stay healthy

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I was on Loestrin for years (the only BC i've ever taken) and absolutely loved it. Now my doctor switched me to Minastrin. I just finished my first pack.. I started my period two days before I should but thats the only negative thing I have to say! I'm 22 years old and no medical issues. I didn't experience any bad side affects like a lot of the people on here are saying! I would continue to take Minastrin but its way too expensive with my insurance.

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