Birth Control and Heavy Period
Hormonal imbalance happens may occur when you get too much estrogen and progesterone in your system. You have to remember that these two hormones are produced by the body and when you take pills that also carry this ingredient, a hormonal balance occurs. This is prevalent among adolescent girls and women who are nearing menopause.
Another is by using intrauterine devices or IUD’s. Just like pills, this T-shaped plastic device is either wrapped in copper or contains hormones. Both are effective in preventing pregnancy but if ever you experience heavy bleeding, you need to remove it.
If you experience heavy bleeding as a result of either of the birth control methods, it is best to see a doctor immediately and tell that person when this happened.
Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history before a physical exam will be done. These include blood tests, an endometrial biopsy, Pap test and ultrasound scan.
Should there be additional tests needed, you may undergo a sonohysterogram, a hysteroscopy or dilation and curettage otherwise known as D&C. This is done of course to rule out other menstrual disorders.
Treatment for heavy period is based on your current health and medical history. If it has been found that birth control devices are the culprit, you may have to switch to another device so this will never happen again.
Often recommended by doctors are oral contraceptives because it has been proven to help regulate ovulation and reduce episodes of heavy periods. Since this may not go away right away, the doctor may also prescribe NSAID’s or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the heavy period. They are also known to relive painful menstrual cramps.
There are two types namely combination birth control pills and progestin only pills. You should keep in mind that there are certain side effects in using them and if this is a problem, you should ask your doctor to reduce the dosage or recommend something else.
If birth control is not the reason and you are anemic, the answer will be to take iron supplements as part of your daily diet.
Should heavy periods still occur, this is the time that surgery may be the final solution. Some examples of these include Dilation and curettage or D&C, operative hysteroscopy, endometrial ablation, endometrial resection and hysterectomy.
Except for the last one mentioned, the others can be done on an outpatient basis. You can check in the hospital or clinic in the morning and be out by lunch or in the early afternoon.
The different birth control methods are effective in preventing pregnancy but not all of them can protect you from sexually transmitted diseases or STD’s. Two of those mentioned above are directly linked to heavy periods or menorrhagia so if you don’t want this to happen, you should be examined regularly by a doctor and consider other conventional birth control methods.
Birth Control and Migraine
A migraine is a severe headache usually accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can disable you for a few hours or even days. The level at which this happens or even its frequency varies.
A recent study shows that women suffer from migraines more than men. Although its exact cause is unknown, birth control devices happen to be one of the culprits.
An example of such a birth control device is the oral contraceptives. This is because its ingredients alter the woman’s hormonal level and causes the migraine. The cause of course is too much estrogen which is added to what is already naturally produced by the body.
Aside from migraine, oral contraceptives may cause medical abnormalities from uterine fibroids to breast cancer.
Sometimes, the migraine attack may occur before or after taking the oral contraceptive. If this happens regularly, you are advised to try another method of birth control. This can be avoided though if you take it with food or milk. You must take this at the same time daily and stick with the prescribed dosage that was given to you.
Women over the age of 35 and experience migraines as a result of using birth control pills and other devices are at risk of getting a stroke. This is another reason why some institutions strongly advice females to use something else if they don’t want to get pregnant.
Those who are diabetic, have high cholesterol levels and blood pressure are advised not to take oral contraceptives.
But there is hope. One of the newest oral contraceptives to date is Seasonal. This pill was introduced into the market in 2003 and since it makes females only experience a period four times in one year, this means fewer headaches for migraine sufferers.
But this oral contraceptive may not work for everyone. If you suffer migraines due to neurological problems, this won’t do any good and you will have to find another birth control device.
Women may still choose to use oral contraceptives. This is only after they are examined by the doctor and if everything looks good, he or she will prescribe a lower dose of oral contraceptives. Talking to your physician may even prevent a full blown migraine from happening since there is really no permanent solution to stop this from happening.
But there are some women who experience migraines even before they start using oral contraceptives. In fact, the frequency did not increase or decrease once they were on the pill but complained that the severity of the migraine got worse.
The severity of the migraine will also not go away overnight after you quit using oral contraceptives. Studies show that it will take a few months for your hormonal levels to normalize and only then will you be able to see an improvement.
Despite that, migraines will still happen and you will not blame it only on the pill but due to other factors such as the food you eat, stress at home or in the office, other medications that you may be taking, physical factors and changes in the environment.
So although there is a direct link between oral contraceptives and migraine, you cannot say that it is the only reason why women suffer from it more than men.
Birth Control and Side Effects
There are different types of birth control pills around. Before you start using any, you should consider the side effects.
Studies have shown that there are only two methods that do not have side effects. First is abstaining however, it may be hard sometimes to control the urge if both of you feel like doing it. The best thing to do then is outercourse or masturbation so the sperm will never come into contact with the egg.
The second is with the use of condoms because it does not release any hormones into the body and it is simply used as a barrier that is disposed off after intercourse.
Spermicides come in different forms. There are creams, film, gel, suppositories and tablets. The side effects of using them include the risk of TSS and one of you will experience a burning or itching sensation. It rarely causes a skin rash but when it happens, this will only go away after some time.
Those who choose to use the diaphragm are at risk of bladder and urinary tract infections. If you have had this in the past, you are strongly discouraged to stop using it. There have also been cases of toxic shock syndrome or TSS but is also quite rate. This should not left in the vagina for more than 24 hours because there will soon be a smelly vaginal discharge, an inflammation or an infection could occur.
Birth control pills have a lot of side effects. These include breast tenderness, headaches, mood changes, nausea, spotting and weight gain. It may also contribute to blood clots, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, breast and liver cancer.
Apart from conventional birth control pills, there is a new one called Seasonale. Since it has been around for only 5 years, there have only been a few reported cases of blood clots in the legs or lungs, stoppage or rupture of a blood vessel in the heart and other organs, liver tumors and high blood pressure. However, those who have been taking it regularly complain of breast tenderness, weight gain, vomiting and difficulty wearing contact lenses.
The morning after pill is better known as an emergency contraceptive pill or ECP. This must be taken 120 hours after unprotected vaginal intercourse. Its side effects are similar to that of conventional pills but if you happen to vomit within an hour of ingesting the pill, it is advised that you call a doctor. Another thing to keep in mind is that this should not be used as a regular birth control pill.
The patch is another and this is applied to the skin. One patch is good for a week and this has to be placed for three consecutive weeks and can be placed anywhere in the body. On the fourth week, the female doesn’t have to stick anything so she can normally go through her monthly menstrual cycle. Side effects include application site reaction, breast symptoms, headaches, mood swings and vomiting.
Injectables are injected into the body every three months. The sides effects include irregular periods, weight gain and vomiting. Something similar to that are implants and those who use it may experience irregular bleeding, headaches, nausea, depression, dizziness, nervousness, weight gain or loss and hair loss.
Majority of the birth control methods around have side effects. If you don’t want to experience any, perhaps not having sex at all is the answer to your problems.
Birth Control Methods
Birth control methods were created to solve the problem countless families are encountering. Family planning is a method of spacing your children. Birth control methods also allow people to have the maximum number of children they can provide for.
The responsibility of family planning is not just in the hands married couples but also young people. Birth control methods and options should be known to them to prevent teenage pregnancy.
How many of us have dreamed of their perfect family? A lot of newly weds often say that they want a huge family with a lot of children. But as reality sinks in and gives them a wake up call they slowly realize that it is not always the more the merrier. The truth is most of the time it’s the more the uglier, because of today’s rapidly growing population jobs are becoming scarcer, urban areas are becoming smaller and more crowded and the world is running out of resources to meet the needs of the growing population of man.
It may have been said in the early years of the earth that we should go forth and multiply but up to what extent was not really discussed. Since that time people have not been looking into the adverse effect of a huge population and a small planet.
No one has even noticed that there are options for Birth control methods that are ready for them to use.
To solve this problem countless ways have been invented and promoted to encourage people to plan their family. Family planning is the method of spacing your children over a period of time to prevent yourself from having a hard time raising them.
For some people the main concern that they have is the age gap of the children but the number of children they have. Even if you are a hard worker if you have twenty mouths to feed it will drive you nuts just as having one child in the family and also having no job. It’s a nightmare for some people to raise their family because there’s just too many to take care of.
The age and number of the children largely out numbers that of the disposable income of the household.
In fact some families resort to putting their children up for adoption not because they don’t love them but because they do and they don’t want them to suffer so much.
It is sad when you think about how it could’ve been prevented by simple family planning. Some people are afraid to understand family planning because there had been no real attempts to study how it works and for who it works for. Some people remain ignorant to the fact just can’t say no. The responsibility of family planning not only falls into the hands of couples in marriage but also young people who engage in pre-marital sexual acts.
Birth control methods and options should be known to them to prevent teenage pregnancy.
Birth control should be more than just something that we use to prevent pregnancy.
It should also be a responsibility that we are willing to carry on until we retire and we should take part in educating children about the importance of proper spacing.
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