"i&#039;m 42 years old and prior to taking loestrin 24, i had one day of bad cramping with my period which lasted 5 days.  i started this pill after my period and for 15 days i bled and it was the worst cramping in my life.  besides the weight i added in those 15 days that i had lost in the prior month, i was bloated, couldn&#039;t sleep through the night, and had terrible headaches.  "