Seasonale vs. Seasonique

Birdie1483

Have any of you been on Seasonale? And if so, have you switched to Seasonique for any reason?

My girly doc gave me a sample of Seasonique and a scrip in case I decided to stick with it. I'm liking it so far, and am planning on filling the scrip sometime. However, I just found this weekend that Seasonale (older version of Seasonique) has a generic version that would be almost $500 cheaper over the course of a year through my mail order pharmacy than Seaonsique.

I did some research and found the main difference is the last week of pills in the 3 month pack. Seasonale uses placebo and Seasonique uses low dose estrogen pills. This supposedly makes the length of your lovely time of month shorter and cramping lighter. If this is the only difference, I think I can deal with worse cramps three times a year to save $500. However, I wasn't sure if there were any other differences.

Any first hand experience or suggestions you can give me??

buckettgirl

I am on the generic of Seasonale (quasense), and have been for several years. I haven't had any problems with it whatsoever.
The weeks of the placebo pills are far better than my period ever was before birth control (although I still get miserable cramps; but I've always had awful cramps).
I also will occassionally NOT take the lask week of pills and go straight into another pack and have had no problems doing so.

akhensley81

Sorry, I don't have experience with either. Although I have a few friends who are on Seasonale and they like it. And I'm a cheapskate, if your doc says both are the same (or similar) I'd go with the cheaper one. I always ask for generic brand prescriptions, where ever I can.

baystateapple

I took Seasonale six years ago, so they've probably made some changes since then.  I had a horrible time on it, I gained 30 lbs the first month I was on it, and my periods and cramps were worse in the month when I actually got them than they were before I went on the pill.  It took me forever to lose that weight afterward.

brilibby4

I was on the generic brand and had to switch back to the name brand.  I'm not sure why but the generic brand made my skin break out and gave me horrible cramps.  However, my doctor writes a special note on my prescription that I am not to be given the cheap brand because there are medical differences so that my insurance will cover some of the costs (instead of automatically only covering the generic brand which they originally tried to do). 

missy68

I went the other way because of a deductible I have to meet with non-generic drugs yearly, plus the $150 cost of the Seasonique.
My period is almost non-existant - mostly spotting, some cramping. And I have spotting the last week of the 2nd month. I'm on Jolessa, the generic of Seasonale.

Birdie1483

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:4b823edd-9f5a-49bf-9302-74b46489c09d">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]I was on the generic brand and had to switch back to the name brand.  I'm not sure why but the generic brand made my skin break out and gave me horrible cramps.  However, my doctor writes a special note on my prescription that I am not to be given the cheap brand because there are medical differences so that my insurance will cover some of the costs (instead of automatically only covering the generic brand which they originally tried to do). 
Posted by brilibby4[/QUOTE]

Yeah this is what I"m afraid of. I'm afraid my body has champagne tastes while I'm on a beer budget. <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-undecided.gif" border="0" alt="Undecided" title="Undecided" /> When I've previously been on generic BC's, I didn't like them as much as the name brand.

squirrly

Seasonale didn't work for me.  The purpose of BC for me was pregnancy prevention.  Complete loss of libido pretty much does that, but not in the manner I preferred.  I never tried Seasonique.

noodle_oo

I just talked to my doctor about this.  She told me that you can do the same thing as Seasonale/Seasonique on any estrogen-progesterone mono-phasic BCP (that means it has a constant dose of horomones all month vs. ones that change each week.  Usually the pills are all the same color (monophasic) vs. 3 different colors (tri-phasic).  So you really just pay extra for the packaging with Seasonique.

But I would talk to your doctor about this as well.  She told me she can just write me an RX for my current pill so that I can get more packs. You just skip the placebo pills and go straight to the next pack.

squirrly

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:eaef4384-c537-40c4-adda-ca14a1dfa228">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]I just talked to my doctor about this.  She told me that you can do the same thing as Seasonale/Seasonique on any estrogen-progesterone mono-phasic BCP (that means it has a constant dose of horomones all month vs. ones that change each week.  Usually the pills are all the same color (monophasic) vs. 3 different colors (tri-phasic).  So you really just pay extra for the packaging with Seasonique. But I would talk to your doctor about this as well.  She told me she can just write me an RX for my current pill so that I can get more packs. You just skip the placebo pills and go straight to the next pack.
Posted by noodle_oo[/QUOTE]

Careful with this.  Most likely your insurance won't cover the extra packs.  Mine would only allow you to get a new pack every 25 days.  More frequently than that and you had to pay for it out of pocket. 

Meg1979

I am in my fourth month of Seasonique.  I had severe spotting for about a month (at the end of the 3rd month) and then had a regular period.  I just started the new pack, so we'll see how the next three months go.  If I have the same problems with spotting this month, I'll have to see.  With insurance, it was $75. 

NuggetBrain

I just have a picture of the Octomom jammed up there.  They see it, literally turn tail and swim as fast as possible in the other direction.

noodle_oo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:a1cb64bb-8c16-4053-bddb-ba62cb5431af">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique : Careful with this.  Most likely your insurance won't cover the extra packs.  Mine would only allow you to get a new pack every 25 days.  More frequently than that and you had to pay for it out of pocket. 
Posted by squirrly[/QUOTE]

I asked my doctor about this since I was worried about it and she said that if you are using it for continuous use as suggested by a doctor, they can make get a special case exemption.

But like I said, this is the info my doctor is giving me, and you have to make sure it is the same with yours.

noodle_oo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:282dc710-6c9a-425e-9a13-c35ffdcf6344">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]I am in my fourth month of Seasonique.  I had severe spotting for about a month (at the end of the 3rd month) and then had a regular period.  I just started the new pack, so we'll see how the next three months go.  If I have the same problems with spotting this month, I'll have to see.  With insurance, it was $75. 
Posted by Meg1979[/QUOTE]

Ouch, $25 a month?  That sucks!

Birdie1483

Right now my prescription is going to be around $600 for the year... I think. My insurance just changed and they don't have the most user friendly site for the pricing a medication section. The generic would be around $150 at most I think.

The breakthrough bleeding isn't too much a problem for me right now because I started as a proactive move. After we chose our date for November 2011, I found that I would have my monthly friend visit my on the honeymoon. I decided to start something now so it would be in full effect by then. I've just come to terms with the fact that I dont think I'll ever find a BC that 100% takes care of my symptoms.

Talking to my doctor outside of my yearly appointments has been a PITA so far, because I'd have to call the GYN nurse, leave a message about my problem, and wait for her to call me back. She always seemed to call me back when I was in a meeting at work too. However, I just checked their website and saw that I can email her instead now. Yay! I still have two months before I need to get a new pack, so I should have time.

squirrly

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:d3892da2-447d-407e-b5cb-1ad6940b8514">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique : I asked my doctor about this since I was worried about it and she said that if you are using it for continuous use as suggested by a doctor, they can make get a special case exemption. But like I said, this is the info my doctor is giving me, and you have to make sure it is the same with yours.
Posted by noodle_oo[/QUOTE]

It's off-label use, and many insurance companies will NOT make exceptions for that.  It's up to the insurance company NOT your doctor.  Just call before you get surprised with the bills.

Meg1979

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_seasonale-vs-seasonique?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:299a6e15-ca5c-4fdd-aa14-6fafaaf6207bPost:d0fa3b74-a247-43b9-b97a-1d3e86549cee">Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Seasonale vs. Seasonique : Ouch, $25 a month?  That sucks!
Posted by noodle_oo[/QUOTE]


Well, I guess it's okay because when I was on the other name brand it was $35 a month.   Ugh, bc coverage stinks!

hccpsu

I used Seasonale for a couple years and didn't have a problem, although it was harder to lose weight on it than on my regular pills.  One of my friends has been on it for at least four years and hasn't had any trouble.  I always took the generic brand, either Quasense or Jolessa.