[Gynecology Series 4] Pill side effects? My experience with "breast tenderness"

This is Gynecology Series 4.

▼ Click here for the story of how my menstrual pain and bleeding volume changed significantly
after I started taking Yaz (low-dose birth control pills).

"Why didn't I realize this sooner?"I regretted not starting sooner because the pill suited me so well.

I would feel depressed every time my period came,
I couldn't focus on work or fun during my period,
I couldn't get up due to abdominal pain on the second day of my period,
and I would feel miserable for a week before and after due to PMS.

In other words, for more than a week out of every month, my mind and body were completely taken over by my period.

Thinking about it that way,it felt like nearly a quarter of my life
was being pushed around by my period.

But surprisingly, after I started taking the pill, within a few months,

it was calm.

A year later,

it was as if there was no wind at all.

Period? Oh, come to think of it, that was a thing, wasn't it? That's how it felt.

However, it wasn't all good when I first started taking the pill.

I also had symptoms that I believe were side effects.

That was "breast tenderness."

About two weeks after I started taking it.

"Huh? My breasts hurt?"

At first, it was just that level of discomfort.

But gradually, it went beyond the level of "a little tender," and it hurt just to have something touch it.

When I wanted to lounge around, I couldn't lie on my stomach.


Of course, I couldn't sleep on my stomach either.

When I walked fast, I would walk while supporting my chest with both hands walked.

I tried my best to look like someone walking while holding a bag to those around me.

Underwire bras, sports bras, and bra tops were all no good. Nothing I wore worked.

"Is my only option left to wrap my chest with a bandage?"

I seriously thought that.

……But, before doing that, I went to the hospital.

When I consulted the doctor, they gave me a very reassuring comment:
"It should subside if you take a break from the medication, right?"

As advised, when I entered the pill-free interval, or placebo period, my breasts, which had been so painful, suddenly felt much better.

"So, will this happen every month?" I wondered, but that wasn't the case.

On the second sheet, it barely bothered me. On the third sheet, my breasts were tender again. After that, it was hit or miss.

In my case, it wasn't a symptom that occurred every single time.

Of course, having tender and painful breasts was a problem, but even so, I didn't think about stopping the pill.

This is because the positive changes I experienced far outweighed that.

I no longer need to take painkillers for menstrual cramps.
The heavy bleeding that used to leak even with overnight pads has almost disappeared.
I barely feel PMS anymore.

For me, those changes were much more significant, and I didn't think "having side effects means it's a bad medication."

Medications have both benefits and drawbacks.

What matters is which one is greater for you personally.

In my case, even though I had the trouble of breast tenderness,the fact that my daily life became easier every month was much more significant.

Moreover, that breast tenderness would settle down during the pill-free week, and since I knew how to deal with it, I felt at ease.

Of course, everyone feels things differently.

But for me, the pill was something that eliminated the "even more difficult days" that come once a month,in the midst of an already exhausting daily life..

It became a great support for recovering my basic physical strength.

So, if there is anyone out there currently suffering from menstrual pain, I want you to know that there is an option to consult a gynecologist instead of just assuming that "menstrual pain is something you have to endure."

I myself didn't know that until I was 37.

And for me, knowing about the option of the pill truly changed my daily life.

It is no exaggeration to say that my life has taken a turn for the better.

*Whether or not the pill is right for you varies from person to person. I am sharing this strictly as my own personal experience and as one possible option.

Next time, I will write about the reason why I switched from Yaz to Yaz Flex.

Even though it was the same pill, why did I end up changing it?
I will look back on that time.

🌸 I am writing this gynecology series because
we already have exhausting daily lives, and then there is the physical drain of having a "period."

But there are options to reduce that burden.

As someone who is recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome, this was one of the ways I was able to change my life,
and that is why I want to share that "there is this option too."
I am writing this because I want to convey that.

▼ I have compiled these in a magazine, so please feel free to read my other articles as well.