I was on the patch for the longest time and it worked just fine, just remember to put it on the same day every week. I liked it becuase it was easy to remember... But after awhile I started getting sharp pains in my legs. I told my doctor about it and he said that there is just too much hormones in it and that no women should be taking that much. He switched me to the pill. I must admit, the patch is easier, but the health risks really dont seem worth it... If you can just remember to take the pill once a day, then I would reccomend that. The patch did come off a few times but usually you can reapply it, it is very sticky, but sometimes it can come off on your jeans (depending on where you put it) I heard that the shoulder blade is the best place.. Just put it far from your bra strap. The patch is also way more expensive than the pill...

Health risks? Like what though?.Im using the pill right now,but its hard for me coz I got a 3 month old babyboy who takes up my time.How much is it usually??.

Well, some of the health risks are blood clotting, and higher risk of cancer and the reason for this (so I heard from a doctor) is that this medcation puts a lot more estrogen in your body than the pill and estrogen causes clotting and cancer (i believe thats correct). Since the pill is taking daily, the estrogen is monitored, but the patch is left on you day after day, so the hormones aren't controlled as they release into your body. As for the price of it, I know that without insurance, the patch is about 90.00 (a month supply) but my insurance made me pay 30.00 (which I think is a lot). You could probably get it a planned parent hood or something for a lot cheaper or even for free, but I really think you should discuss the risks with your doctor first, because I didn't even know that I had a higher risk of cancer until 3 years of being on the patch. If you can remember the pill, then I really reccomend that, but maybe you should do something non-hormonal (since maybe you are breast feeding) like an iud which is a copper implant that is simply put in by your obgyn. I believe it is place in your cervix and will be effective for up to 5 years, and if you want to get pregnant again, then just get it removed. I know there are a lot of options out there for birth control, but I really think you should think twice about the patch, becuase like I said, there are soooooo many health risks. I hope this helped!!

I started using the patch about 2 years ago. The first week I puked and was very nauseated. I liked the patch for its convieniance but it is not worth the health risk. I am 22 and not in high risk for stroke etc due to the patch. (healthy weight, young, active,etc..) anyway I started hearing reports on tv about girls my age having bloodclots go to their hearts and some even dying from using the patch. I also started seeing those lawyers commercials wanting to help sue anyone who has permanant damage or death by the patch. All this came when I had unexlplained health problems. (im still not sure if the patch caused it or how serious it may be I just had an mri today) anyway I went off the patch and I feel like myself again. I guess I didn't realize how it affected me. I have so much more energy now and I have only been off it for about 2 weeks. Oh and also while on the patch I gained 20 pounds, my boobs got went from a c cup to a d cup, sex drive went way down, moodswings, depression. Look on the fda website. They put out a warning that ortho evra pumps 60% more estrogen hormones into your body than the pill. Although the patch is convieniant it is not worth all these problems and it sure is not worth dying over. Good luck!

Ok so I started with the patch about 2 weeks ago and for the last 4 days or so my boobs have been really sensitive and have gotten noticubly bigger? Anyone else had this happen?

I hated the patch. They are already so expensive but if you add on the cost for all the replacments I had to buy when they fell off I could easily spend 75$ a month. I never could get them to stay on so I was always concerned about how effective they really were. It also made my skin very itchy and red. I would take the pill anyday over the patch becuase I spent alot more of my time stressing over if it was gonna stay on through out the week and how am I going to get the money to replace it when it falls off (my insurence didn't cover this). It was so much more simple to remember the pill each night.

The patch gave me the worst migraines in the world. I went to the doctor many times telling them I had migraines and that I was on the patch, and nobody even told me that the patch could cause migraines, I had to figure it out for myself. If you start getting migraines all the time, thats why.