While watching “Later Today” they were talking about using the birth control pill continously (getting rid of the seven placebo pills replacing them with the hormonal pill) which would allow you to never have a period again.
They don’t have any long term tests on this yet and they did say that you may not know if you were pregnant. This is a treatment for women with endometriosis (sp?) so it has been around.
I don’t know about the rest of you women, but I think this would be so great! I don’t plan on having kids so the monthly inconvenience and the cramping is something I could stand to get rid of.
If I am correct, you still have your period after you have a tubal ligation, if this is so, then to add the pill as a means to control this obnoxious bodily function especially when your body is no longer able to bear children seems promising.
When I quit smoking, I definately will look into this.
Oh, they also stated for women who have severe cramping, this is a great way to relieve the pain.
< sorry guys, but I thought the women of the board might be interested in this information…oh and for you married men it might be something your wife is interested in >
I had read about this before but not as a long-term thing. I once took pills straight through in an attempt to avoid a period during a vacation (at the end of the third week I just started the next pack, skipping the sugar pills). I didn’t have a real period but had spotty bleeding all week, so I don’t think I’d consider it very successful, although I’m sure the results would vary with the individual and the medication. If you did this all the time (and actually avoided your period), what would happen to the lining that builds up (and normally sheds) each month? I can only assume it has to go someplace eventually, since the pills don’t stop that process. Did they say?
I don’t recall if they addressed the issue of the lining shedding naturally, and if this is a possibility then I would surely discuss the ramifications in detail with my doctor.
I checked for a link on NBC’s web site and the story was not on there. I will check later for a link though.
Sheesh, if the side effects are small I sure would love to try it!
I’ve been getting the depo provera shot for 3 years now and I’ve had about 2 periods during that time. One of the side effects is the stopping of the bleeding. I don’t even get the cramping that I used to have.
The only bad thing was that I was unprepared for “Aunt Flo” when she did decide to visit. So now I carry emergency backup just in case.
I highly recommend depo provera as birth control!! It is much easier and you only have to think about it 4 times per year.
I get really incredible migraines around my time and severe cramping so I always just keep taking the hormonal pills. My doctor has said this is safe. I lay off every few months and stock up on pain killers and retreat. Differently to cygnus I have never had any spotting or any problems at all with this. The longest I have been is 6 months without, which is about as far as I will go before worrying about things. This was originally suggested as a medical treatment but it has its other payoffs too. So convenient.
There is no reason why you should not look into it IMHO
I’ve never been on the pill, never will be . No religious or moral reasons behind that decision, mostly just a “don’t mess with nature” kind of attitude. Menstruating doesn’t bother me that much, my cycle usually only runs about 3 days. Thanks for sharing the info, if you do look into it and go for it, keep us posted on how it goes.
Drat those menses. All they do is sit around and talk about how smart they are. Hanging around with menses is a bloody mess, I can assure you.
If you can find a way to alleviate the presence of menses, please let everyone know. Mrs. C. hates menses, too, so I’m sure she’d be happy to know your methods.
I ask this because I have a hormone problem. I can go 6 months without a period. When it does come, it does not go away. I have to take hormone pills or, even worse, get a scraping.
My doctor told me that my body was making up for lost time, so to speak. I envision the womb lining thickening and thickening. . … It doesn’t sound too healthy.
I did the “skip-the-sugar-pills” thing for my honeymoon, which accidentally fell on that week. Oops. No bleeding, no cramps, no side effects. I read up on and consulted my doctor beforehand; the latter said it was not a problem on an occasional basis. I seem to recall from reading that it is recommended to allow the period to occur on a regular basis - can’t recall how often - will see if I can find the sight.
I’m not sure that I could mess aroudn with mother nature that way. It’s bad enough that I was on the pill for over 10 years. Meds almost always make me feel bad and I just don’t like that.
I would probably opt for a hysterectomy (full or partial) rather than take pills the rest of my life to stop menses. But then again, I’ll just stay as I am until nature changes me I guess. It seems to work best that way.
Let me know what you find out Techie, it would be interesting.
Thanks for providing the link, I looked all over MSNBC’s site but didn’t think to check out MSN.
I personally have thought about tubal ligation because I don’t want my own children, but it really irritated me that you still would have the monthly hell. With this treatment, I may consider it again.
In reading the article, I think it would make sense to see your doctor a couple times a year because of a few issues but other than that it sounds like a relatively safe “treatment”.
I don’t know if I like the fact that you don’t have a period every month. It would be convenient but I would be worried about the long term effects. Kind of like the depo-provera shots… I just don’t think it’s natural to not have a period because of your birth control.
I’ve been on the pill for 8 years… off and on anyway, only being off when I was pregnant and while breastfeeding. I just got back on it last December when my son was 3 months old and I wasn’t nursing anymore. The first three months I would have my period and then two weeks later I would start bleeding again. I went in to the doctor and they switched me to another type of pill and I’ve been taking this kind for 3 months now. The first month everything was fine and the last two months I’ve been going through the same thing… have a period and then 2 weeks later start bleeding again. They won’t switch my pills for at least another month because they want to see if my body will adjust to these pills first. It’s such a pain in the ass. It sure beats the alternative though!!
If the same thing happens this month, (which I think it will) I’m going to go back to the doctor and insist that they switch me to a different kind of pill!
What ever happened to the Norplant contraception? Is it still around?
There have been recent studies that suggesting that ‘regular’ periods may not necessarily yield health benefits. Here’s an article which deals with that as well as pointing out that the number of periods we have now as modern women is much greater than historical and not as ‘normal’ as we may have been led to believe:
I read the article and am still amazed at what I read:
Yikes! Where did she get her degree? Apparently she is under the impression that menstral blood suddenly generates from thin air to produce the flow for sugar pill days?
Any cramps I previously experienced disappeared with my first pregnancy (and subsequent miscarriage). It was simply a matter of stretching out the uterus a bit.
If a woman is certain, absolutely certain, that she does not want to bear anymore children, I’d suggest a partial hysterectomy, removing the uterus only. If you receive a full hysterectomy (which includes removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes), you’ll end up taking replacement hormones for the rest of your life. That’s not a healthy alternative and you’ll also face the increased risks that older women face following menopause.
[On Soapbox]
If someone decides to alter normal bodily functions (the body is an amazing machine!) you better be well aware of the possible reaction(s) to this change. And, I’d add, particularly changes induced by synthetic chemicals.
This is your health, and perhaps your life; not merely an inconvenience.
My girlfriend doesn’t do menses any more. Well, maybe twice a year. It appears that the originators of the birth control pill thought that it would be more acceptable (especially to the Roman Catholic church which had not at that time as of yet come out against the pill) to mimic the rhythms and cycles of women who were NOT using the pill. There is no medical reason to interrupt the pill.
I can ask her for the original medical journal cites, but you can find a quick summary by checking under New Yorker magazine listings for this spring (I forget which week).
She (my girlfriend) is furious, i.e., “Who the fuck are these medical self-important jackasses to decide they could make that decision for women??”
This isn’t precisely on topic nor does it address techchick68’s assertion that she never wants children BUT – I was rewarded with a year of no periods following the birth of my son, because he was breastfed during that year, as well as a year and a half beyond. This provides somewhat reliable birth control, which may be easily bolstered by following some simple observations of temperature and cerevical mucus.
The absence of Aunt Flo’s monthly visits is just one of the fringe benefits of longterm nursing. (Since I saw a soapbox being pulled out, I couldn’t resist jumping on my own!)
[hijack](hands firmly over my ears, if menses are what I think, I know too much already)
Where are the Women of the SDMB photos? Not trying to rush, just don’t want to miss the “unveiling”.
[/hijack]
The link Vivamus posted wouldn’t work for me, but there was also an article about this in the New Yorker around the second week of March. I don’t know what the Guardian article says, but I found the other article (by, I believe, Malcolm Gladwell) quite interesting.
The skipping-the-sugar-pills thing seems to be quite common knowledge among women, less so among the male gynecologists I’ve dealt with. My regular gynecologist’s partner sniffily informed me that there was “no compelling reason” for me to want to skip my period…nevermind whether or not it was safe for me to do so. If you take triphasic pills, however, it’s a lot more complicated. I’ve only done this once, and I basically took the last week of pills twice in a row. This meant sacrificing almost a whole pill package, so I wouldn’t do it again unless there was something like my honeymoon at stake.
I’d better talk to my doctor! I get the impression from you guys that you’re not supposed to have sex during the sugar pills…my doctor never said that! I was under the impression that they give your body a break and you still have enough of the hormone in you during that time that’d it’d be safe. I have a differnt doctor than the one who prescribed the pills. I’m going to give him a call.
