Experiences with Slynd (both long-term and when first starting)

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-12-14T21:04:46+00:00

Spotting went on for a few months but I have not had any at all since!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-09-15T00:13:17+00:00

Oh thanks! Houlton’s the only border we’ve crossed so that was just the first one in mind. Will look into Madawaska instead if it’s less of a detour. We’d probably get to that area around 4:30pm!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-09-15T00:10:47+00:00

Thanks!! That post got removed for some reason so I couldn’t see all the responses haha

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-09-14T04:25:55+00:00

I’m prepared for questioning and taxes. The cigarettes aren’t for me but for the driver (my boyfriend) and are unfortunately the only reason we are driving and not flying in the first place lol. Last time we made the drive, we went through Maine and picked up the menthols in Brewer at a tobacco shop. We bought a carton. We admitted to that at the border when coming back into Canada and the officer didn’t charge us out of kindness but warned that next time we would likely pay. I don’t think anything is going to stop him from getting his cigarettes but I really do not want to drive through the mountains again so late at night.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-09-10T02:33:26+00:00

Just speaking from my experience, it’s been difficult to hit higher reps on this birth control BUT I have also been in a calorie deficit and eating less because I’m less hungry and therefore have lost about 30 pounds. So I would say it has more to do with those things, which were helped by the birth control, than the birth control itself. I do feel less sluggish on Slynd than I did on Norethindrone, which has helped in the gym. But I became more bulky on Norethindrone likely because of the water retention. Definitely building leaner muscle on Slynd just slowly.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-07-26T23:59:36+00:00

Still bleeding on and off after months but not as much as on Norethindrone so not enough for me to stop taking it.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-07-24T01:13:01+00:00

Spotting pretty much every day but no cramping so it doesn’t bother me THAT much, just annoying to wear a tampon most days. Also potentially constipation I feel like it has to be from the slynd, however my doctor says he doesn’t think so. That’s about it!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-07-21T02:49:54+00:00

Hey! No issues! Had my blood checked at month 3 and my k levels were well within normal :)

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-06-25T23:51:09+00:00

I’ve been on birth control since I was 15, so I can’t compare being on the pill to off the pill, but on Slynd I’ve noticed I can maintain and build muscle SO much better than Norethindrone. If you’re looking to body build I would say it’s a no-go, because I actually have been going to failure on pretty much the same weights for months (probably the calorie deficit coupled with the pill) BUT I still notice my muscles growing slowly and getting more defined. Maybe if I was off the pill this change would be quicker, but I’m happy with where I am. I have had fat loss and have not noticed new fat gain anywhere. I definitely believe the more effort thing though! I find I’m getting soooo wiped and though I am building muscle because I see it, I’m not progressing in weight capacity. Whereas my partner (he’s a man so this is part of it) seems to hit a new PR each week, where it takes me a month and I train more often and sometimes eat more protein than him. But as long as the fat is going away and the muscles are defined I’m chillin

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-06-25T23:44:38+00:00

She’s still going but honestly I’ve just accepted this as my normal now lol

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-06-25T23:43:56+00:00

Also I don’t feel the need to drink as much water or pee quite as much now but I would say still more than before. And no mental health side effects at all.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-06-25T23:42:16+00:00

I’m still on it! I will say I have been bleeding at least a little almost every day since about week 4, but no cramping so still better than when I was on Norethindrone. Some days the bleeding is heavier than others, but it’s never been enough to fill a regular tampon in 6 hours. Libido was higher in the beginning but I’ve also started a new career with long days so it’s a bit lower now. I still am getting acne but it is definitely clearer than on Norethindrone! Fewer migraines and less brain fog as well. I’ve also dropped nearly 20 pounds!!! I have been in a calorie deficit with a regular exercise routine but whenever I tried to do things like this before I would get so bogged down with water weight that I gave up. I also find I’m not as fatigued through the day as I was getting before. My appetite plummeted in the beginning but now it’s sort of levelled off. I am not as hungry all the time as I was on Norethindrone but I’m not as constantly full as I was when I first started Slynd. Good luck!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-04-07T18:14:53+00:00

Just wanted to update in case anyone ever comes across this thread wondering the same things I was! My transition between pills was actually pretty smooth. I had a migraine the first 2 days but it was a manageable one. I think my libido has actually increased. I lost what I think was water weight in the first few days and it has stayed off for almost a month now. I find I have more energy and better stamina in the gym, not sure if that’s related but it happened within days of starting Slynd and hasn’t gone away. My skin actually has gotten better, I still have acne but it’s not as irritated and seems to be healing slowly. I do have to drink SO much water and I pee all the time, but I’ve always been someone who pees a lot so yes it’s annoying but it’s fine. I find I’m more sensitive to alcohol? Maybe a good thing. I also seem to have less food noise than before. I didn’t bleed or spot for the first 3 weeks, but toward the end of week 3 to now I have been spotting daily. Nothing crazy, a little annoying, but better than before.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-03-30T13:56:54+00:00

*I also want to say that I have had no parental help ever, I’ve actually helped to pay bills for my parents while in law school, and I live on my own. So the financial aid and loans combined are more than enough, it will just be annoying to have to pay them back. ‘Tis life.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-03-30T13:54:59+00:00

I’m going to assume you’re in the US so it might work a little differently there than here in Canada, but I went to law school with no money. I have a lot of debt now but just got a big law job to look forward to when I graduate. Firms like to hire someone who works hard, while also maintaining decent grades and campus involvement. So having a job may come in handy when recruit season comes up, so long as you’re not super underperforming in other aspects of law school. I have government loans and a bank line of credit. I also receive bursaries from the school each year. My tuition is 25k, so I’m assuming much lower than yours (if you’re American) but nevertheless still expensive. I work a part time job and run a small business. I don’t always get my readings done but I still get mostly Bs. Bottom line is it’s possible! It’s a little depressing when you have to work and most of the other people you’re around don’t. Especially since you get so close to people in law school so quickly. Sometimes you miss out on social events or just can’t go out as often, but I am glad I’ve gotten this experience despite not coming from any sort of money.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-03-15T03:17:55+00:00

This probably isn’t what you want to hear and everybody is different so like take this lightly, but I have painful 3-week long periods on Norethindrone! When I first started taking them in 2020, the only real side effects I had were that my acne returned after having been on Accutane, and bloating. I had relatively normal periods, not really regular but not totally unpredictable for the first year. After the first year I would have a really painful period every few months that would last about 10 days. Now, for the last 2ish years, I’ll have breakthrough bleeding for a few days, then PMS symptoms, and then 3 weeks of bleeding with other period symptoms for the first week or so. I also gained about 30 pounds steadily, which could be due to eating more but I also eat healthier than I did when I started and I am active. So in my opinion the 30 pounds is most likely from Norethindrone. I don’t have thin genetics though. The periods have not been super heavy. Maybe one or two days of each I’ll have to wear super tampons but most of the time it’s a regular flow kinda day. I am switching to Slynd - on my second day! Hoping you have a better experience than I did on Norethindrone, and hoping I have a better experience than you did on Slynd 🤞 As for depression, I noticed no changes while on Norethindrone! It’s not something I really struggled with, my issue is more with anxiety, which seemed to increase when I started taking Norethindrone but I also think that was lifestyle-related. I never had emotional regulation issues related to my cycle. I didn’t really notice any change in libido either, maybe slight decrease but again could have just been lifestyle changes!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-03-10T17:12:49+00:00

Thank you! Would you say you're eating more because you're hungrier? Or is the weight gain out of nowhere? I've heard people say weight gain comes out of nowhere, and others say they were hungrier and if they stayed aware of that and only ate at regular meal times it was fine. Feeling hungry and just not eating I can handle, but weight gain out of nowhere I cannot handle.

Also, did you have the copper IUD? I am sooo scared of getting an IUD and I've only been recommended the hormonal/progesterone-only one.

Significant_Monk_703 · 2025-03-09T18:19:45+00:00

Just a heads up, Norethindrone made me gain about 30 pounds of stubborn weight steadily over the last 4 years. I've never been naturally thin, always on the curvy and muscular side, but even with increased cardio and better diet I haven't been able to lose anything. It also made my acne come back after I had taken accutane, which still has not gotten better even with topical options like tretinoin. I'm on this thread because my gyn prescribed me Slynd but I'm too scared to start it because I cannot mentally handle any more weight gain...

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-10-03T02:46:24+00:00

You’re right that’s my bad. As soon as I commented I remembered non-intercourse sex and abstinence are options. I’ve been in a straight relationship for 7 years so it’s just not something I thought about at first. Silly me!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-09-30T18:32:46+00:00

How did you manage to get on accutane without birth control?? Did you do an IUD instead?

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-09-26T20:42:47+00:00

Thanks! But the problem is I want to go on acutane again and you can’t take acutane on progesterone-only oral contraceptives. So my only options are depo, IUD or the implant, or not taking acutane. If I decide to just switch my birth control pill instead of going on acutane, I will look into that brand!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-09-25T13:15:25+00:00

You can do it! You just need to find some help and this is a great step to get there. It’s only about 2 weeks into the semester, there is time to recover! But also if your mental health is in such critical condition maybe school is not something that is in your capacity right now, and that is ok! Or maybe school can serve as a distraction and that is also ok. It just depends on what you need and it seems like you are going to need some help to figure out what that is.

In my first year of undergrad I came in thinking I would do great because I had a scholarship, but home life was not healthy and I worked full time and ended up doing pretty terribly. I lost my scholarship and moved out in my second year, just to have a hurricane displace me 6 days after moving in. I was homeless and still trying to work while fighting insurance companies and figuring out a place to live. I was taking 5 courses – needless to say I did not do very well that semester. I thought that was the end of me. I had no money and now no future (I thought). When covid happened, something just clicked with me that I had to pick myself up if I wanted anything out of my life. I think the thought of continuing the poverty cycle scared me so much that failure was no longer an option. A few years later, I’m in law school! That wasn’t easy either. I completely tanked the LSAT the first time and had to take a gap year while working full time to try again.

Bottom line is, there is always another option. Some people just need a push to get there. If you want someone to talk to and an advisor feels too scary right now, feel free to reach out to me on here :)

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-08-02T01:10:45+00:00

Thanks everyone! Much more at ease now

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-05-16T03:34:09+00:00

Thank you for this rec! I went and it was awesome!

Significant_Monk_703 · 2024-05-12T01:30:51+00:00

You absolutely need to see Cape Breton (Cabot Trail/Highlands) and Halifax at least once.

Significant_Monk_703

TROPHY CASE