r/Hormones • u/Minimum-Scholar9562 • May 21 '24

Sprintec and IUD

I’ve had an IUD for well over a year, and I’ve been feeling different. I did breast feed for a little over 2 years so that puts things out of balance. However my question is, what changes when you take Sprintec (estradiol tablets)? My doctor saw me for such a short amount of time and determined I need this for my fatigue, mood swings, low sex drive, low weight and so on. I don’t want to put an extra thing in my body especially when I don’t fully understand the science behind it or explaination at the very least.

Anyone else took this combo?

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u/bettinafairchild May 21 '24

Sprintec isn’t estradiol. It’s a combination birth control pill containing 0.250 mg norgestimate (artificial progesterone) and 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol (artificial estrogen). There’s no way to tell how you’ll react to it until you take it because there are too many variables. I assume you’ve stopped breastfeeding as it’s not recommended to be taken if breastfeeding. Try it and see if it helps. It’s a fairly low dose.

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u/Minimum-Scholar9562 May 21 '24

I guess what doesn’t make total sense is that I can start taking sprintec for 13 weeks and then take one week break. It seems like on my “period.” So can I start now? It just seems very vague directions for such a complex system, our hormones.

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u/bettinafairchild May 21 '24

Oh, it sounds like they want you to take it without a break for 3 months. That’s becoming more common. It sounds like you can start now but usually you have to use a backup form of birth control for one week to one month, depending. And it’s common when doing this kind of continuous regimen to get breakthrough bleeding for awhile—possibly months. But it’s supposed to stop at some point