Here’s a link from Yale about the benefits and possible risks of continuous birth control pill use to prevent menstruation: http://www.ynhh.org/healthlink/womens/womens_8_00.html
Bottom line: Continuous birth control pill use is probably not a bad option for a select group of women.
QtM, MD
Thanks, Qadgop, that was interesting reading.
I’m definitely seeing my doc about this soon.
Ava
/pout
I can’t take the pill, I get horrid side effects plus I spot all the way through, even when taking an exceptionally strong dosage. So I won’t get to experience this shock and awe till menopause hits, alas.
I’m confused. Can someone explain this? When I was on Yasmin (low-dose) I didn’t spot, and I wasn’t nauseous. When I started Orthocyclin, I felt ill every day for a week, and I’m still spotting, 7 weeks in. God I want my Yasmin back.
(not saying you’re wrong, just confused)
I think I’d be more leery if this somehow became a requirement.
I choose many years ago to never go on the Pill, for a number of reasons, not the least of which because the women in my family who have used it have had some serious side effect problems. Since my female plumbing is about as trouble-free as it comes my periods are an inconvenience, not a torture. Prior to my current relationship, I used alternative forms of BC with success, and since my current squeeze can’t have kids BC has been a non-issue for about 14 years. Nonetheless, I have had any number of doctors INSIST I go on the Pill (one even when I was 15!) and totally ignore my concerns, my reasoning, or the fact that my husband is sterile. (Uh, yeah, really - and if by some miracle he DID inject a live tadpole we would be overjoyed to have that bundle of joy. After the intial freaking-out session.)
On the flip side - I would never, ever, criticize a woman who choose to go period-free, particularly one who was suffering from endo or one of the other horrors nature perpetrates from time to time. Throughout history a certain number of women have suffered horribly during menstruation and I’m very glad there are now some real choices for them. I have a friend who finally had a hysterectomy, should have had it done years earlier, and it broke my heart the way some folks criticized her for it - but seriously, the woman was suffering all the time, having real health problems, and now she’s healthier and happier than she’s been in decades. That was what was right for her. For me it would be wildly inappropriate.
I just hate it when folks try to bash all the pegs into the same hole. Cookie-cutter medicine. Icky-poo!
I think “choice” is the operative word here. How a woman handles her reproductive organs should be something that is worked out with her health, history, and environment in mind (I could see where a servicewoman deploying overseas would really rather not have her period for the duration).
“Erasing” a natural function? No, just suppressing it. The Pill has been around a long time, if there were going to be a major fallout from using it, it would have shown up by now. Menstruation used to be suppressed by constant childbirth or famine. I think the current method probably is safer than either of those two.
okay, to be completely shallow–can we re-visit the weight-gain subject again? (i know, we heard from the Depo people) my gyno said the pill doesn’t make you gain weight, just increases your appetite (i have very, very little self control already!).
Soooo, has anyone who’s tried this miracle of a period-free life through BC pills had substantial weight gain?
I’ve never used Yasmin, so I can’t speak to that.
I will tell you my doctor tried all sorts of pills, from the really lightweight ones (he was trying hard to avoid the nasty side effects) to the heavy hitters (because, as I said, I had a lot of break-through bleeding. Really, to call it spotting is misleading).
I experienced all the symptoms of pregnancy (yes I’ve got two children, so I know what I’m talking about), including exceptionally tender breasts, bloat, nausea and I just felt emotionally weird. This in a woman who does not have PMS (even my ex-husband will tell you that).
A round of blood work showed that I make a ton of estrogen, about 2 points below what would be considered abnormally high. So no more pill for me, thanks anyway.
Another voice from the Depo crowd. I had been having severe cramping and bleeding for about two months straight, and finally went to a different doctor. She put me on Depo Prevara and :: can I get an amen! :: No More Periods! It dried up that night. It is wonderful! I’m 44, and had started menopause, and my periods were getting totally screwy and painful. I had been on the Pill forever— like 30 years, with time off to have one kid. I’m also a smoker, and Depo is safe for smokers. No hormone that causes the clotting problem.
I gained about 3 pounds, but it’s worth it. I heartily recommend it! And you don’t have to remember to take your pills every day. One shot every 3 months. Woo-hoo!
Lynne, different women react differently to all the different formulations of the pill. Some women have horrible side effects from the low-dose ones while doing wonderfully on the high-dose ones. Other women are the exact opposite. Still others have horrilbe side effects from any version they try.
Similarly, some women love, love, love Depo. It stops their periods, cures their PMS, and gets rid of waxy yellow buildup. (Okay, maybe not the last part.) Other women bloat horribly on Depo, or their PMS gets worse, or they start having mood swings and panic attacks the rest of the month, or they have constant breakthrough bleeding. These women are the reason I refuse to try Depo, no matter how much the PP folks try to shove it at me. If I have side effects from any other form of birth control, I can stop using it, but with Depo you’re just stuck for 3 months.
The period-skipping thing works much better if you’re a monophasic pill than on a triphasic one. The shifting hormone levels in triphasic pills can often trigger breakthrough bleeding. Skipping a period with triphasics typically involves shifting back and forth between multiple pill packs, and it can get confusing if you’re trying to skip multiple months at once.
As for the weight gain, my first gyno told me that up to 10 pounds could be from retaining water. Anything more than that, and it’s you, not the pill.
Personally, I’d like to hear more about the fantastic plastic, please. I’m considering getting a bit of plastic myself soon (unless my new gyno has a better suggestion, like pulling the whole pile of useless garbage out and setting fire to it), but all the reading I’ve done about the potential complications and side effects has me a little leery. I mean, that stuff’s rare, but it’s still really, really nasty and dangerous.
::sigh:: Digging my uterus out at home with a salad fork and ligating the blood vessels with dental floss doesn’t really sound so bad after reading about all the ways birth control could kill me.
Ah, so sorry. Thanks for the info!
Well, it isn’t all gold so far. I am on the 3rd day of the reduced hormone pill and I am spotting a bit. My doc said that would happen at first and (hopefully) go away after the old bod has had a chance to get used to the new cycle.
Cramping a bit, but nothing like before. I’m sticking with it!
Holy crap! This is my most successful post yet…a two pager??? I’m lucky if I get 20 views.
Oh wait, I’m the first 2nd page post. Oh well, it is still the best ever.
Disclaimer: my gushing has a lot to do with this odd hormone imbalance…
Not entirely true; there is a medical procedure called an endometrial ablation that can cause this shock and awe effect any time you want it. I can’t take the pill either, but I’m seriously considering this procedure.
Oh my god, who thought of uterus boiling? Many gals are going to think this a spoof sight…
My sister has laser surgery on her ute for her endo.
Can you do the depo or IUD? You know, something less out of the 18th century?
Actually, endometrial ablation is a serious medical procedure, not a spoof. You will also notice that there is a selection of procedures to choose from - heating the uterine lining is one option. I only recently heard about it through a news story, but it sounds like a great solution to me. We don’t want kids, and I would love to not have to deal with a period anymore - two birds with one stone, baby.