Hi,

Have a question about how birth control pills affect my meds. I've been taking a combo of Strattera and l-tyrosine, and went back on low-estrogen BCP (Loestrin) going on three weeks ago. Within a week the l-tyrosine stopped working completely and the Strattera leaves me really flat and kind of depressed. Needless to say, I've been dragging around and having a hard time getting motivated to get my work done, or conversely, end up getting scattered. I've put on 4 pounds too, which really sucks.

Anyone else have this happen and if so, what did you do?

Thanks!

Jennx-

sorry to hear you are having problems. I just started Straterra 2 weeks ago and until a couple of days ago I thought I would have to quit it. but it seems to be leveling out now.

What would worry me most if I were in your shoes would be the fact that almost ANY medication taken in conjunction with birth control pills can render them virtually useless. Even OTC cold medications ... Just a thought.......

Call a pharmacist. Tell him/her your medications and ask if any of them counteract or react to each other.

They should know and be able to tell you!

I've been on Estrostep for nearly seven years with Ritalin and Prozac/Lexapro at the same time. I've never had a problem with ADHD meds not working. Just a note- the "nearly all medicines render BC pills useless" comment is not correct. If it is correct, I'm infertile. Maire

Birth control pills affect concentration negatively -- the more hormones involved, the more negatively. You're not going to find his information on the inserts, but rather you're going to have to look up a medical research on the individual hormones involved. I did this after I noticed my level of concentration going severely south on them. No, I don't just mean ADD south, which I live with all my life. I mean cannot not think straight south, straight past the Mason Dixon borderline and right into the depths of hell ;-)

I'm a certified genius who usually tests between 140 and 150. {No, not bragging, because if you look at the research, most ADD affected people test out on a higher level of intelligence in the scale used on these IQ tests}. When my regular low-dose birth control pills were switched for an older higher does prescription, I noticed that I went from being able to translate many pages of Japanese a day in my free time to only a couple of them. My mind just flat-out wasn't working as quickly.

As somebody who defines herself by her intelligence, this is emotionally devastating. Unfortunately, this is one of those pills I have to take if I don't want to end up in the emergency room once a month {extraordinarily painful periods without them}, so I have to take them.

If I were someone was just using them for birth control, I wouldn't use them. We have enough things to deal with being ADD affected without adding something that's going to dull our minds..

Birth control pills affect concentration negatively -- the more hormones involved, the more negativelyAMEN!!! Even before I was on any meds, my birthcontrol pills made me worse. The doctor tried me on Zoloft for a while to stabalize my mood but it only made the attention issues worse. My doctor finally switched me to a lower dosed pill and guess what.. I ended up pregnant for the 4th time.

By the way, during each of my pregnancies I could forget something within 3 minutes. My memory and attention was that bad. My boss resorted to taking shorthand notes for everything I needed to do and I had post it notes tacked to the side of my purse.

When my daughter was diagnosed 6 years ago with ADHD the first thing the doctor discussed with us was what hormones did to ADHD symptoms. Testosterone actually lowers the symptoms...one of the reasons that boys who are calm until about 2 1/2 become supercharged after that. (baby boys have testosterone levels almost equal of a grown man until about this age and resurge during puberty). Girls, on the other hand, get worse as they enter puberty and the Estrogen levels go up. it's very common for girls to need increasingly higher doses of medications through their teen years until Estrogen levels off. Pregnancy shoots another high dose of hormones into the system hence the worsening of ADD symptoms.
Talk with your doctor about birth control that will not conflict with your meds. Something may need to be changed.

Wow! This could explain a lot for me. My ADD symptoms were tolerable up until I got pregnant. Then they went haywire. Trouble is, it's been 3 years and they are still out of control. I am trying to work on my meds for depression and ADD (currently 30 mg Paxil, 27mg Concerta daily.) I recently had another assessment and find out what my new cocktail is next week. But if the hormone surge was the reason the symptoms worsened, why havent they leveled off three years later??? I'll mention this to my Doc. Guess Ill forget about going back on the pill for my endometriosis. One day a month close to home isnt that high a price to pay to not go back on the b.c pill.

But if the hormone surge was the reason the symptoms worsened, why havent they leveled off three years later??? I'll mention this to my Doc.
I really think that for a lot of us there is a change in body chemistries after that first child. It affects how our bodies metabolize. Women who were once thin have a hard time loosing weight. For me it also marked a break from severe migraines. however, the stress of parenthood is enough to escalate ADHD symptoms. The same coping strategies may not work after you have children and new responsibilities.

Talking with your doctor is great and always the best advice, but do some research on the topic too.

I can totally relate to the chemistry changing after children. I have never been the same since my first child and she will be 8 in January. I also have son that will be 5 in Oct. and a 2 1/2 year old daughter. I almost feel disabled or something now after 3 kids. Stress totally brings out the ADD and depression I think. I have my days where I feel like I should go back in time, remain single, and just have a simple little job or something. I love my kids though and it has always been my dream to be a mother. I just didn't dream of the ADD and Depression part that came with it.

About the pill...my hubby had a vasectomy done so I hadn't been on the pill for a couple of years but about three months ago I had pretty bad PMS and stuff and I had heard that the pill helps with this as well as mild acne. So I've been on Ovcon for about 3 months now but I have also been in a funk that I can't get out of! Gosh, I wonder if it has to do with the pill? It's just one more pill I have to take right now anyways and I hate that. I may just go off of it since it's really only for PMS purposes. Any of you take it for that reason?

That's the only reason I take it, for endometriosis. I was taking it every day without stopping for a couple of years. I am fixed (tubal ligation) so I dont need it for b.c. I am not going back on it. I feel the same way you do, I dont need to take another pill. Since I had my son 3 years ago.............forget my old body. I want my old mind back!:(