Birth Control Pills for Perimenopause

Mistyeyze

Hi ladies,

In my quest for information before I start taking my bcp's (did I mention I have a lot of health anxiety?) I found a site that really explained what is different between hrt and bcp's.

This is the main thing:

BCPS OR HRT?: What’s the Difference?

Some of us going through early menopause or premature ovarian failure are put on birth control pills; others on hormone replacement therapy. Both act as hormone replacement; in other words, in both cases, you’re taking them to replace the hormones your body used to make. But there are significant differences between the two.

So, inevitably, questions come up: What are the differences? Is one better than the other? Why am on one and not the other? As you’d expect, there are really no simple answers! (Isn’t that always the case....)

That said, though, here’s an attempt at explaining this issue, the pros and cons of each...and the reasons your doctor may have prescribed one of these for you.

BIRTH CONTROL PILLS

Let’s start with a look at Birth Control Pills: First, and most importantly, it’s important to realize that birth control pills aren’t for contraception only! Yes, you might have used them in the past to prevent pregnancy, but if you’re prescribed them due to early menopause, POF, or perimenopause, you’re not taking them for the contraceptive reasons as much as you are taking them to boost your hormone levels.

When They’re Usually Prescribed....and Why

Most often, your doctor will suggest birth control pills for you if you’re perimenopausal -- that is, you’re still getting your periods, you’re not testing at post-menopausal levels, and you haven’t been diagnosed with POF or early menopause. In this case, it’s likely that your doctor has suggested bcps as a way of helping you cope with symptoms. This is becoming a fairly common treatment, because, although you’re getting menopausal symptoms (like hot flashes, night sweats, and so forth), you’re still producing a fair level of hormones on your own. And, unlike typical HRT which supplements hormones in your body, birth control pills literally take over.

They override your own hormonal production -- in effect, signaling your ovaries to take a breather and stop producing estrogen and progesterone -- and supplant it with the hormones in the pills themselves. In other words, you get just what is in the bcp. You’re not adding hormones on top of what you’re producing on your own, but literally replacing them.

This is a key reason bcps are often prescribed if you’re perimenopausal and going crazy with symptoms: In perimenopause, you’re still producing non-menopausal (that is, higher) levels of estrogen and progesterone on your own, so adding more hormones (as you would if you went on standard HRT) might actually make you feel worse. Your hormone levels are usually fluctuating a great deal in perimenopause, so there could be days when HRT would provide you with too much....and wind up causing symptoms from excess estrogen or progesterone. In addition, since irregular bleeding is often one of the mostly widely experienced symptom of perimenopause, bcps will regulate your bleeding.

All in all, you’ll get a set, steady amount of hormones that won’t fluctuate according to your own ovarian production.