info on pill - Birth Control Message Board

sweeterz12321 · 02-19-2005, 07:33 PM

i'm thinking about the pill. i've heard a lot about side effects from acne, to mood swings, to irregular periods, and yea i gues the list can be endless. can someone clear up myths and facts of BCP? like how it works and the risks?

Rms11 · 02-20-2005, 08:45 AM

Side effects are different for every women. You will probably have some side effect when first starting but after 3 months these usually go away. How it works is you take the first pill on either the first day of your period or the sunday after your period. I take mine the sunday after my period to avoid having periods on weekends. You take one pill everyday at around the same time (2-3 hour time range). You will do this for 3 weeks. The 4th week of pills are inactive sugar pills, you take these just so that you don't get in a habit of forgetting pills, during this week you will get your period because there is a withdrawl from the hormone. Most women get their period on the 3-4th day of the sugar pills. If you are smoker you should not take the pill because of the heart risks. You could talk to your doctor and decide what pill you would like to go on. Sometimes it takes a couple tries to find the right pill for your body. Hope this helps you. If you have any more questions feel free to ask

GLSheridan · 02-20-2005, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweeterz12321

i'm thinking about the pill. i've heard a lot about side effects from acne, to mood swings, to irregular periods, and yea i gues the list can be endless. can someone clear up myths and facts of BCP? like how it works and the risks?

Here are some common facts/myths:

1. It's more difficult to get pregnant after stopping the pill.
True- It can take up to 8 months on average to become pregnant after stopping the pill. However, there are women who get pregnant the month after they stop taking the pill.

2. The pill helps acne.
True- Acne is helped in more than half of women who take the pill. While only certain brands of birth control are approved for treatment of acne, all pills have the potential to help acne. Of course, in some women, outbreaks become worse with the pill, but this usually changes with a switch in pills.

3. The pill makes you moody.
Maybe- Most pill users report fewer mood swings and less depression. Still, some women do experience excess moodiness. Again, this can usually be helped by changing pills.

4. The pill decreases risks of endometrial and ovarian cancer.
True.

5. The pill increases risk of breast cancer.
False.

6. The pill lowers libido/sex drive.
Usually false, however it does happen. Usually a change in pill will help the problem.

7. The pill causes weight gain.
The experts say that this is false, but women will tell you otherwise. The experts say that the pill can cause pre-period water-weight gain, but can be easily shed with a proper diet and regular exercise.

8. With perfect use, the pill is 99% effective.
True, assuming that you're not overweight.

9. The pill helps irregular periods.
True. Many women take the pill for this reason alone.

Basically, the pill works by preventing ovulation and by thickening the uterine lining so that no fertilized egg can be implanted (and cause pregnancy).

rotlude · 02-20-2005, 02:56 PM

Hello, I just saw this post on BCPs. I'd like to add one more risk to the list that you will find more information about if you go under Liver and tumors due to BCPs. There is a slight chance, from what I have been told 1 in 100,000, women that get benign tumors on the their liver from BCPs. Unfortunately I am one of these. You would think that this only happens if you take them for 20+ years, but that is not the case. I was only on the pill for 4 years when I started having mid abdominal pain like indigestion. When I had an ultrasound and found this 4.0 cm tumor I was shocked. They say this is caused by the Estrogen in BCPs, so if I were you I would recommend asking your doctor about a pill that has a lower dose of estrogen or just a progesterone only pill. Again, this is a rare side effect but it is a major one--just read the posts underneath the liver topic about it. I am sure there are probably a lot of women that will/would have this but they do not find out until it ruptures and they are in major pain and have to go to the ER. I am contemplating liver surgery this summer as mine has grown to 7.5 cm due to a pregnancy. The plain fact is that any over 5.0 cm could rupture at any time and if you do not seek immediate medical help (surgery), you could bleed to death. To find out more information about this via the internet, they are called hepatic adenomas. Personally, I loved being on the pill and probably would not have gone off until i was ready for children. I lost weight, had more energy, my periods always lasted 3 days and I knew when they were coming. It was great! I was only 22 when this was found. I would also recommend asking your doctor about an IUD that last about 5 years with no hormones. Hope I offered you a little bit of in-site. Good luck!