>waves back<
Luckily I told my Mum first (my husband told her I was having some tests and rather stupidly mentioned ovarian cancer
, so I needed to put her mind at ease). From her reaction I quickly decided not to share more widely...
It looks like trial and error then. I am planning on going back to my GP, just wanted to be forearmed this time. I just blindly and gratefully agreed to everything that was suggested last time. I'm lucky that my GP's speciality is gynaecology.
I always have a reduction in libido and sort of 'dull' apathetic feeling on any combined pill (and I've worked my way through quite a few over the years). Less so on the mini pill, but I was breastfeeding at the time, so that may have skewed things one way or another.
On Zoely my libido completely switched off and I had these unexpected spells of almost overwhelming fatigue, plus migraines every 6 days or so (linked?) It was annoying, because I'd had sporadic and short-lived spells of fatigue and low libido before starting Zoely, and had rather hoped it might fix them rather than make them worse. I've been off it for nearly 3 weeks now, and feeling much better.
I've had a google (never a wise idea, I know!) and wonder if it might be linked to low testosterone levels and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), high levels of SHBG are listed on one paper as one of the benefits of taking Zoely.
Other than bonkers periods, my only other peri-menopausal symptoms prior to starting birth control pills were very infrequent night sweats, the odd migraine and slightly lower libido (fluctuated). More distressing, and maybe not linked at all, is a general loss of muscle tone and stamina which is very apparent when I play sport. I'm working on that though.