For health reasons

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Chris_in_BC

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My fiancee has an ovarian cist that not only causes her great pain when it ruptures but has been told by the doctor that if things get worse it could cause damge to her ovaries. Since it ruptures when she ovulates the doctor has said that if it gets to a certain point she will have to take the pill in order to keep the cist from rupturing and then when we’re ready to have kids to get off the pill. With both of us being Catholic I guess you can see whatthe dilemma we’re in is. On the one hand we have our faith that is opposed to artificial birth controll but on the other hand if she does not take the pill there is a possibility that damge could be done making her unable to have kids. We are discussing this and don’t know what to do, We want Biological kids of our own yet we don’t want to go against the church either. When it comes to the pill does the church allow for exceptions i a woman takes it for medical reasons as opposed to just simply avoid getting pregnant?
 
Lots of faithfull people here will have far better answers for you than me Chris. My understanding is that you’re ok in these circumstances!

Pax tecum.
 
I’m wondering if she could have the cystic ovary removed? That would certainly solve the pain and the dilema of using birth control pills, and she could still conceive easily with only one ovary. You can use NFP until you are ready for children.

Good luck.
 
there are other newer, safer ways of treating ovarian cysts, and the underlying disorder that causes them. Search here under NaPro, CCL (Couples to Couples League) and other links to NFP doctors who do not rely on deadly hormone therapies.
 
Intention counts here. The Church is not opposed to Catholics using hormones to treat specific condiitons, only to using them for the purpose of contraception. Specifically its the concept of double effect. The hormones in this case would be taken to treat a medical condition and would have the unintended side effect of limiting her fertility.

That being said, I agree with others here regarding examining other options. Alot of women experience unpleasant side effects from taking them and there are some risks involved (though that is true with almost any treatment, you have to balance the risk with the expected result). I would say get a second opinion about methods of treating the cyst. Some doctors are too ready to treat any problem with a prescription.

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Bill
 
The pill is terrible for the body. My friend had the same situation, went on the pill, and the cyst still ruptured. It will NOT prevent it. All it does is mask the symptom.

Morally, for med reasons, assuming it would work, you would be fine, but the pill is the WORST thing for the body. The health risks are higher than smoking risks, but they are ignored.

I also have PCOS, charted creighton for my health, and found the problems lied in insulin resistance. I take a diabetic drug (although I’m not diabetic), and it fixed the problem.

go to www.omsoul.com and look up the directory for NFP only docs. They will actually FIX the problem instead of masking the symptoms.
 
With respect, the medical evidence does not support the charge that taking the pill is terribly risky. Are there risks? Yes, there are, but to try and equate those risks with smoking or obesity is simply not supported. Mind you I agree that there are usually better alternatives to the pill for many health conditions it is prescribed for, but sensationalism about its negative side effects does nothing in the long run but discredit the real reasons for not not using the pill

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Bill
 
I am not sensationalizing in the least bit. Talk to any NFP-only doc and they will tell you the same thing.

It has been declared a carcinogen with higher risk factors than Smoking. There IS medical evidence to back it up. you can find some of it at the link I provided earlier.

Also, on Catholic radio, they talked about a study, I missed the citing, about the HIGHER risk rates than smoking.
 
It also increases risk of blood clots and strokes. That’s a fact. You can google it.

I say to TREAT the problem, not use the pill to MASK the symptoms. I have PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) myself. All the pill ever did for me was make the problem worse and give me a blood clot in my leg. You can bet I’m never going to take it again!
Get real treatment. Check out www.popepaulvi.com for a practitioner trained in the Creighton method near you. The treatment for PCOS is metformin, not the pill. Do some research and find out how to fix this, not just put a bandaid on it until you have more problems in the future.
 
No offense, but the site’s research is kind of old (the articles sited tend to be anywhere from 12 years old or older), and old articles in science often have been supplanted by new research. Particularly considering that many of these studies probably were looking at versions of the pill that used far higher levels of hormones than the current versions of the pill.

The other issue is that the site is an advocacy site, not a science site. I am not suggesting the pill is a great thing. However, advocacy sites of any sort have a tendancy to ignore data that contradicts their position. In addition I certainly saw no evidence on the site to suggest that the increased risk of cancer rivals the risks of smoking. Just a quick search shows that more recent research than listed on the site suggests that the short term risk associated with the pill is roughly 24% increase over the base rate of breast cancer for current users (who tend to be young and at a relatively low immediate risk) and almost 0% increase for those who stopped using the pill more 10 years ago. In contrast the increased risk of smoking increases the risk of lung cancer many times that of the non smoker.

Mind you for a similar reason, NFP only doctors are lible to be biased against the pill for reasons other than simply its medical side effects, as a result are not going to be necessarily objective when they present the evidence.

Does this mean I am for the pill? No, I think there are many social and religious reasons why its not a good idea. That being said, I find the evidence supporting the severe health risks that you suggest to be sorely lacking.

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Bill
 
The link I cited is from July 2005 when the WHO released the statement that the pill is carcinogenic. It is the actual press realease re: IARC Monograph.

From the The Lancet Oncology, Volume 6, Number 8, August 2005
Carcinogenicity of combined oestrogen-progestagen contraceptives and menopausal treatment
Cogliano V, Grosse Y, Baan R, Straif K, Secretan B, El Ghissassi F, WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer pages 552-553.
sensationalism about its negative side effects does nothing in the long run but discredit the real reasons for not not using the pill
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I agree!!👍
 
Mind you I am not disagreeing that there are potential health risks of the pill. It certainly increases the risk of certain types of cancer (and it also decreases the risks of other types of cancer) and also the risk of certain other conditions.

However that being said, the risks need to be kept in contextt. For example, the risk of breast cancer increases 24% while using the pill. But since the vast majority of pill users are likely younger, their risks of breast cancer are relatively low in the first place. So while 24% seems like a lot, if it raises the risk from 1 in 1000 to 1.24 in a thousand, the risks are seen in a better light (BTW, that is for purposes of illustration, I don’t know the actual risk of breast cancer for younger women, though I do know it is lower than for those who are older).

All of this also needs to be balanced against evidence that delaying children by any means, even NFP and abstinance may also increase the risk of certain cancers.

Lets be honest, the human female’s body was designed to become a mother at a much younger age than is currently normal, even amongst couples who have children immediately after they get married. 100 years ago it was not considered abnormal for a 17 year old woman to be married and already a child, today most of us would be slightly shocked. Certainly delaying marriage and family into one’s 20s could have a negative health impact.

So, when discussing the negative aspects of the pill, lets not try to sensationalize the risks, and instead look at the real negatives (such as masking not correcting the problem being discussed).

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Bill
 
the risk of breast cancer increases 24% while using the pill. But since the vast majority of pill users are likely younger, their risks of breast cancer are relatively low in the first place. So while 24% seems like a lot, if it raises the risk from 1 in 1000 to 1.24 in a thousand, the risks are seen in a better light (BTW, that is for purposes of illustration, I don’t know the actual risk of breast cancer for younger women, though I do know it is lower than for those who are older).
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I don’t remember the actual risk now. It is a slighly higher risk. I agree this should not be sensationalized, but the information should be considered before a woman is prescribed OCs.

I’ve never read any evidence that OCs are more carginogenic than smoking, but I just might not have read it. 🙂
 
Check out www.popepaulvi.com for a practitioner trained in the Creighton method near you.
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yes, contact the Institute.
The treatment for PCOS is metformin, not the pill. Do some research and find out how to fix this, not just put a bandaid on it until you have more problems in the future
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Metformin is an option but this may not be the best option for every woman with PCOS.

Just a note, an ovarian cyst does not mean a woman has PCOS.
 
I appreciate all the respomses but I guess it all got lost in the debate about the pill but I just want to know is is it ok for a woman to take the pill if she’s doing it soley for medical reasons and not so she can have sex an not get pregnant
 
Yes, the Church has taught that it is allowed to take the Pill for medical reasons not directly related to contraception.

In cases like this, contraception would be an unintended side effect.

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Bill
 
meeshy said:
I’m wondering if she could have the cystic ovary removed? That would certainly solve the pain and the dilema of using birth control pills, and she could still conceive easily with only one ovary. You can use NFP until you are ready for children.

Good luck.
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She could just as easily form cysts in her other ovary. If this is happening every month than both her ovaries are affected. I have had them a few times in my life and when they burst it can be excruciatingly painful. I went to emergency in an ambulance and was vomiting from the pain. It was the worst pain I have experienced in my life.

I’m not sure I understand what the OP means about it ruptures when she ovulates. Once a cyst ruptures it should desolve. If she is forming a new cyst each month (the cyst comes from the egg sac -either it doesn’t release the egg and grows into a cyst or the sac doesn’t dissolve after releasing the egg and grows into a cyst) her only option may be to prevent ovulation.
mayoclinic.com/health/ovarian-cysts/DS00129

If this is happening every month I would more suspect mittleschmerz (mid cycle pain) than ovarian cysts. This can also be very painful. I’ve experienced that too. But if the doctor diagnosed with certainty that she is regularily developing ovarian cysts this may be her only option to preserve her ovaries from damage.

I take meds for my heart that have serious possible side effects but benefits outweigh the risks. If the pill is the only way to preserve her ovaries than I think there is a legitimate reason to use it as treatment for a medical problem not as birthcontrol.
 
I actually asked this same question on the boards sometime in december…its probably a few pages back if you want to read it…

I to have some severe cysts to the point I have been hospitalized from them rupturing…I was also put on the pill to help with the problem so I can only tell you what happened to me personally.

The way I understand it is that my own cysts also form and rupture during the time of ovulation, now the general idea behind the pill is the hormones are supposed to supress ovulation therefore if your not ovulating you will not expreience cysts.

This is all welll and good but somehow i STILL got a cyst and it ruptured AGIAN.

So my feelings are this : either my doctor did not really take the time to look into the root causes of my cysts and they are not related to ovulating OR while on the pill I still ovulated and had a cysts.

Either way this upsets me because 1) i’m in alot of pain and want this condition resolved and 2) if I am infact ovulating while still on the pill that definatly reinforces the abortive effects of BC pills for me which is horrifying!!!

Luckly my husband and I practice NFP while taking the BC so we were not having relations during “fertile” times

My advice would be to get a few other opinions from some other doctors and see if its necessary and realize she may very well STILL get cysts…I have 😦

good luck!

We’re also looking into other options
 
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