Birth Control Pill
Combined Oral Contraceptive (COC) and
Progestin-only Oral Contraceptive (POC)
Description
COCs are pills comprised of the hormones estrogen and progestin. POCs are pills that contain only the hormone progestin. Both act to produce changes in the uterus making it inhospitable for implantation of an egg and difficult for sperm to move anywhere in the female reproductive system. Neither pill prevents the spread of STDs.
Effectiveness
One major attribute of the pill is that it is nearly 100% effective when used correctly. Real effectiveness is actually about 92-95% due to occasional misuse (i.e., forgetting to take it).
Directions
The pill is either administered on a 28-day or 21-day cycle. The 28-day pill is given for each day of the period, 7 of which are really just ‘filler’ pills (placebos) containing no hormones. The purpose of these placebos is to ensure the woman is maintaining the correct schedule of doses. In the 21-day pack, there are 7 days a month in which you do not take a pill and the woman must remember to resume the dose schedule after the 7-day break. If you wish to use the pill as an effective method of birth control then you must make it a part of your daily routine. Please see your physician to find out more on the pill and if it is right for you.
Benefits
There are many pleasant side effects to the pill. Menstruation is usually lighter, shorter and less painful. For most women the menstrual schedule becomes very predictable with menstruation occurring when there is a drop in hormones. It is even possible to change the day your period starts by stopping before the end of a package or adding pills to the end. Please consult your physician before you attempt to change the day your period starts. Studies have shown that those who take the pill have a decreased risk in developing anemia, pelvic inflammatory disease and cancer of the uterus and ovaries. Furthermore, it can help deal with problems such as cysts of the breasts or ovaries, acne, irregular bleeding and endometriosis.
Drawbacks
Consult your physician if you experience any negative side effects while taking the pill. It is important to note that all of the side effects caused by the pill are not yet known.
Short-term effects
Some women find that they experience occasional headaches, mood changes, breast tenderness, fatigue, and breakthrough bleeding in the first few months of using the pill. Spotting or breakthrough bleeding is due to a lack of estrogen in the first half of the cycle and a lack of progesterone in the second half. Bleeding normally stops without the need for treatment. However, if bleeding does continue, your physician will likely recommend that you change to a different brand. If you have been on the pill for several years and experience spotting then see your physician immediately to determine the cause. These effects will usually dissipate after two to three months of using the birth control pill.
Long-term effects
The birth control pill can cause a variety of long-term complications. It is important to identify, with a physician, if you are at risk.
Women who have had a history of circulatory disease should question their doctor about whether they are at serious risk because blood vessel and blood clotting disorders are more common in users of the birth control pill. Specifically, those women taking the pill have a higher risk of developing blood clots in the leg or pelvis, pulmonary embolism and heart attack or stroke.
Those who suffer from migraines should also question the use of the pill. If the migraines worsen during use of the pill, then usage should be discontinued.
The addition of hormones into the body will cause certain tumors to grow faster. Therefore, anyone with a known or suspected cancer should not take the pill. It is important to note that the pill decreases the risk of cancer of the ovaries and the endometrium by half. The effects of the pill on skin cancer and cancer of the cervix are currently unclear.
The addition of extra hormones will also cause an increase in breast size. Those women with benign breast disease (tender or lumpy breasts) may see an improvement in their condition while others may experience no significant change. The pill will also affect the breasts by decreasing the amount of breast milk produced; the quality of the breast milk is not significantly affected. Women who want to take the pill during breast-feeding should consult their doctor.
Women who have had liver damage should not take the pill. The pill causes a small increase in rare tumors of the liver. For diabetic women, the use of the birth control pill may change insulin needs and it may also change the results of the glucose tolerance test.
The pill has been linked to causing depression, irritability and/or tiredness in some women. This problem is usually not recognized until the discontinued use of the pill, when the woman gradually begins to feel better. The pill can adversely affect any of the prescription drugs that you may be required to take, so please consult a physician on the subject. The pill will increase the affect of some drugs (such as alcohol) and decrease the affects of other drugs (such as certain painkillers).
The pill may also cause some unwanted physical changes such as water retention; which in turn can cause bloating, irritability, leg cramps and nausea. If you suspect that this is a problem, you should ask your physician about changing the brand of pill that you use. Some women may have dark rings around their eyes due to the increased estrogen levels. A weaker brand of pill will normally correct these problems. Some women experience weight gain and an increased appetite that can be controlled by switching to a pill with a weaker progesterone level.
Cerazette.
I'm on Cerazette, I was on it for a month & a half, then stopped taking it, and now I'm back on it and I've read the leaflets it come with and whatever else, but it's a POC.
And I can't find information ANYWHERE on POC pills.
I've read what got posted up there ^^^^.
But I got told that the Cerazette brand can and will stop me from being able to have children.
Is this true or what?
wat bout using the pill and
wat bout using the pill and still cumming inside her? is that effective enough as it says?
If you can't figure this out
If you can't figure this out on your own, you don't need to be having sex - obviously you aren't old enough.
-.- It's common sense. She takes the pill, you have sex and ejaculate inside of her there is a lower risk of her getting pregnant if she weren't on the pill hence BIRTH CONTROL.
i have been on the pill for
i have been on the pill for two years now and have not got pregnant. my boyfriend cums inside me but then i have never really missed the pill. i might forget the exact hour but i have never went a whole day without taking the pill. just remember to wait at least a month so the pill is absolutly in the system and that the woman is taking it on time everyday
my first days
Yeah I recently changed to a different kind of pill, and I was throwing up terrible right when I switched and then it went away. So make sure your doctor knows, to be on the safe side, but if it isn't anything dangerous it will most likely go away if you are just willing to wait it out (to be unable to bear children temporarily and have less resitricting periods makes this seem totally worth it to me).
Is it true?
Alright, I heard that if a woman is on the pill for too long she can become infertile. Is that true? Cause if so, as much as I enjoy having sex with my gf, I'd like for her to have children later..
no
Not forever thankfully, but my doctor did advise that the Depo Provera{{which is the same thing as the pill only injected}} can take about 2 years to get your body back to normal. Once you've conceived and want to look at birth control again, try a different type of hormonal contraception. You obviously like ones you can have done and forget about them. There is the implant in the arm which lasts for 3 years and you are instantly fertile once it comes out (Implanon). There is also the Mirena IUS (not to be confused with old-fashioned coils!) which is a small piece of plastic inserted into your womb which releases hormones for 5 years. Don't worry, you'll fall pregnant and have a whole new set of worries - lol!
hoped this helped
It's rather worrying that
It's rather worrying that this page mentioned COCs and POCs, but that ALL the information that follows is only relevant to COCs. POCs change hormones in a different way and are more suitable for people experiencing migraines, for instance.
Older varieties MUST be taken within the same range of two hours or so [unlike COCs which can be taken up to 12 hours later] and are also slightly less effective birth control [although newer brands such as Cerazette address both the timing and birth control aspects.] Not only this but POCs are taken all the time without a break for a period.
Please please revise this page and make two totally distinct sections for disambiguation!
slow metabolism
the pill also slows down your metabolism. you will most likely see a rise in your body weight.
Leg aches, mirgaines
I recently started tri-cyclen lo. I'm only 5 days into my first dose and have never used contraceptive other than a condom before. On my 3rd day of using the pill I got a severe migraine - i'm 22 and have only ever gotten a migraine once before in my life- and today the 5th day my legs ache all over despite not doing anything out of the ordinary. I've also noticed a huge increase in my apetite. Anyone else ever have symptoms like these? should I be concerned or should I wait the three months before seeing my doctor?
Tri-Cyclen
There have been problems for people on Tri-Cyclen, nothing severe it just depends on the person. My boy's mom is an OB-GYN, so I've heard some things and I know it takes 2-3 months to ajust. You may be getting a migrain because the body changes your hormones making "your body think its pregnat". Which may result in sickness at first. However, if it gets worse let your doctor know ASAP!!!