"i&#039;ve been on nortrel 1/35 for about 10 months now.  i&#039;m 22 and this is the first time i&#039;ve been on birth control.  i had spotting between periods for the first few months i took it - way longer than you&#039;re supposed to.  sometimes it practically was a period, and then during the off-week i would have another one. but my periods were never regular and now they are - a good thing.  my cramps, however, seem to have gotten worse.  but my biggest problem is vaginal dryness!  it&#039;s not that i don&#039;t have a sex drive, it&#039;s just that sex hurts without an hour of foreplay and a gallon of lubricant.  i guess that makes this a highly effective method of birth control, because i&#039;m starting to avoid sex out of fear that it will leave me sore for hours."