Originally Posted by
maidentomother
The second number (after the slash) refers to the dose of estrogen. BCPs can have 20, 30, or 35mcg estrogen, when it comes to monophasic pills like both those you mentioned. Most pills have 30mcg. So yes, you are on a higher dose of estrogen at 35mcg, but not by a huge amount.
You also need to take into account the different type of progestin (synthetic progesterone) as different progestins vary widely in effects. On your old pill you were taking a progestin called Levonorgestrel which is a more powerful progestin than the one in your new pill, I.e. Norgestimate. Because Norgestimate has weaker progesterone and androgen properties/activity, even just changing to it from Levonorgstrel increases overall estrogenic activity. So effectively, you are now on the BCP with the strongest estrogen effect, in terms of both hormones.
I hope it helps your PMT. And be aware that each woman reacts differently to the various progestins, and not all women can tolerate all types of progestin. There are other high estrogen pills that you can take if you can't tolerate this latest one. On the other hand, you might find you vastly prefer how you feel on this new progestin. FX you get lucky!