Expert: Diane Cheryl - 6/7/2010

Question
I have only been on evra for 3 months. I finished my last pack and had my period, but when I went to go purchase a new pack - the pharmacy had none left. Now I haven't been on Evra for five days. I do plan on going to get a new pack and I know I have to use a back-up method of birth control for the following 7 days. I was just wondering if there are symptoms that could happen because I am not on the patch anymore. My possible reasoning is that my body is used to higher levels of hormones, which now it's not getting so my body is trying to adjust which in turn might cause some irregularities. I'm nauseous a lot (esp at night when I go to bed), I'm smelling things that I would normally never notice, and all my friends say that I never have to pee but now I've tripled the amount that I usually go. I feel pregnant and I'm not sure if it's all in my head or not. I then further started reading into consumer info on evra and I'm between 189-192lbs and the cut off is 198lbs for best efficiency. Although, my doctor knew my weight when she prescribed it to me. On top of that, this month I had an eczema break-out and was prescribed hydrocortisone topical cream. Apparently, this medication interacts with your hormones but I don't know if that applies to oral use only or when you use the cream too. My pharmacist didn't mention anything but he also isn't my regular pharmacist so he didn't know I was on the patch.
Thank you,
Alex

Answer
Dear Alex,

Thanks for your question. Has anything further developed since you posted your question? Please email me at CHERYL51@aol.com so we can talk privately.

Yes, when you go off the patch or any kind of birth control, you can indeed, have problems with your normal cycle. Have you taken a pregnancy test yet? If you want to get a free one, you can go to this website http://www.optionline.org or call 1-800-395-HELP. This is your first step, the pregnancy test.

Also, try http://www.heartbeatservices.org and click on the upper right hand corner on the picture of the globe. The medication you mentioned also might interfere with your normal cycle.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon. Please update me.

Diane Cheryl