Birth Control or Mood Stabilizer?

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I started taking birth control when I was 14 because of irregular periods and awful cramps that would leave me in bed all week with a heating pad. I have never been sexually active, so I never needed the birth control for anything else.

I think it is important for me to mention that I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome at age 19.

When I was about 20 or 21, my Psychiatrist put me on Lamotrigine (or Lamictil) which is a mood stabilizer. About a year ago, I had my Lamotrigine levels tested through a blood test and it didn't show up at all. My regular doctor said that the birth control was the reason why.

I went off of the birth control about 6 months ago because I was really depressed and because I didn't need to have it to protect me from becoming pregnant. I wanted to see if that made the Lamotrigine work. It did, but i haven't had a period since. My mother is really concerned after I told her about it a couple weeks ago. I have been having bad abdominal pains which I suspect may becoming from my ovaries. I have had cysts before and it feels the same and I wonder if that could be caused by the lack of birth control.

I don't want to give up the Lamotrigine, however. I feel so much better with it. I no longer feel like my emotions are controlling me and I don't feel like I'm stuck on an emotional roller coaster. I'm not sure what I should do at all. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Thank you for reading my long post.

"The pill" does reduce how well the Lamictal works (or, I guess, how much it stays in your blood?). If you need both, your doctor needs to put you on a higher dose. IIRC, I had to go from 300mg to 400mg while on the pill. Would a hormonal IUD help with the cysts? It doesn't have the same effect on the Lamictal, I guess because the hormones don't have to go through your whole system.

Thanks for your reply, My doctor had me on 400 mg at the highest, but since going off of the birth control, reduced it to 300 mg. I think I'll look in to an IUD, that's a good idea. Thank you!

I wonder if a different mood stabilizer would have the same drug interaction. I'd discuss it with the psychiatrist, and also with your general doctor.

I will. I'm seeing my psychiatrist next Monday, so hopefully she will be able to do something. Thank you for your reply

I went on the pill due to having heavy long periods. It made my period lighter. but still lasted a week. I began on a low dose, but overtime had it upped due to break through bleeding between periods. I gained weight. So I went to my doctor and she said I could stop taking it. So I did. Now I'm focusing on losing the weight I gained. I really didn't like that I gained weight on it, even though I was told it happens. It made my body more feminine looking, which I really don't like the different it did to my body shape. Which I'm pissed off about because all the meds did was make me look more female, and I'm trans. I feel like I wasted over 3 years of my life on a pill that just backfired on me.

I gained a lot of weight on the pill too and I'm trying very hard to lose it too. I was on Seasonique, which gives you three months of regular pills and then one week of sugar pills, so you would get four periods a year. I was about 120 pounds when I was 13, which is still a little heavy for my height, but by the time I was 18, I was 230 and I am about 240 right now.

UPDATE: During my lengthy time in the ER, I learned that I do have a cyst on my left ovary.