Menstrual Suppression

[Gisella]

Has your doctor figured out why things are so bad? Is your doctor a pro-life doctor? (Probably not, if they are suggesting BC)…

My doctor found out what was wrong and was able to treat the hormonal imbalances with natural plant hormones, not man-mixed chemicals. Best thing is, there was no over manipulation of my hormone levels due to wacky BC pills. AND, it doesn’t mess with fertility. Her main concerns were addressing the problem AND preserving my fertility for later on (when I am married and want to have children.)

I suggest trying to find a good doctor. They do exist out there.

Best wishes!!

My doctor didn’t bring up stopping my periods. I did. I have cramps and bleeding that interfere with my athletics, so I asked if I could try this pill. He said that going on this pill might help. I asked him about later fertility, and he said that 90% of women become pregnant within a year after going off the pill.

 

[Gisella]

This was going to be my suggestion as well.
I’ve always been athletic… running a lot in college, tennis, scuba diving… having my period never STOPPED me from doing anything.

Without going into gruesome details… Is there a medical reason? Or an aesthetic reason? Or did they just not work for you? (in that case did you try different absorbencies?)
I’m just curious because of all the athletic women I’ve talked to, everyone seemed to be able to deal with using tampons.

I can’t insert the tampons. I finally got one in once, and it felt extremely weird and uncomfortable.

 

[Believe_85]

From a medical point of view, I would not risk taking the pill just to avoid the inconvenience of menstruation. I’m sure you’ve heard, the pill can cause stroke, break through bleeding, certain cancers, weight gain, and can throw off your fertility when you come off of it. If there was a lot of bleeding and cramping, etc. every time I cycle, I might consider the pill. JMO, but I would rather deal with inconvience than serious health risks.

 

[Em_in_FL]

I can’t insert the tampons. I finally got one in once, and it felt extremely weird and uncomfortable.

So you’re more willing to mess with your body chemistry and risk all the potential side effects? (like future fertility, cancer risks, etc)…

Just my opinion… but I think I’d get used to the “weird and uncomfortable” feelings before messing with pills…

 

[surfinpure]

So you’re more willing to mess with your body chemistry and risk all the potential side effects? (like future fertility, cancer risks, etc)…

Just my opinion… but I think I’d get used to the “weird and uncomfortable” feelings before messing with pills…

Indeed … I suffered major emotional side effects for the short time I was on the pill. Talk about weird and uncomfortable! My husband wasn’t all that comfortable either!

 

[Monsterkittie]

Just how was your doctor able to administer hormones without “manipulation” of your hormone levels? Doesn’t the very fact that hormones (plant or synthetic) are taken into the body, affect one’s hormone levels? I’m puzzled.

No OVER manipulation…I tried BC once for some problems, and the side effects of the huge doses of the wrong hormones made me really bad. My mom sat there and laughed at me because she said I was acting pregnant. (Really severe mood swings, bloating, insomnia, etc etc etc…)

My current doctor was able to regulate my hormone levels by giving me ONLY the ones I needed. Tailor made to supplement what I was lacking. Can’t do that with pre-made bc.

 

[Byzcat]

I can’t use tampons either. I get horrible cramps when Aunt Flo visits, and tampons make them worse.

If you’re having cramps so severe that taking Ibuprofen or Naproxin doesn’t help, you need to be seeing a doctor about a possible medical problem. Ditto for excessive bleeding.

 

[Gisella]

So you’re more willing to mess with your body chemistry and risk all the potential side effects? (like future fertility, cancer risks, etc)…

Just my opinion… but I think I’d get used to the “weird and uncomfortable” feelings before messing with pills…

There is no evidence the pill harms future fertility. I can’t get used to the weird uncomfortable feeling. It was like someone shoving their fist down my throat.

 

[surfinpure]

ccli.org/nfp/contraception/pill.php

Here is a well-documented list of many of the harmful effects of the Pill.

 

[Calliso]

There is no evidence the pill harms future fertility. I can’t get used to the weird uncomfortable feeling. It was like someone shoving their fist down my throat.

Dang…and is that with any size and brand of tampon? Some are better then others. Try to use a thin one and one that is especially designed for comfort. Tampons do take some getting used to though if you have only tried them once I would give it another go.

 

[Em_in_FL]

Another article on fertility and the pill…
parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/ttcprep/0,toniw_469j,00.html

From that article…

In the case of the Pill, Norplant and Depo-Provera, many women find that it takes a long time to resume cycling again after having been on hormones. It usually takes even longer for women coming off Norplant and Depo-Provera to resume cycling, but in any case, once women start recycling again they tend to revert back to their former pattern. So, for example, if you used to have very irregular cycles before going on the Pill, your cycles would probably revert back to that irregular pattern.

The other more insidious problem with the Pill is the undetectable effect it can have on the cervical crypts within the cervix. These channels produce the healthy, slippery cervical fluid necessary for conception to occur. The Pill often destroys the cells that line the channels, preventing a woman from producing the wet cervical fluid, which allows the sperm to swim through the cervix around ovulation. Often a woman’s body will be able to regenerate the destroyed cells, but if not, she may need to resort to intrauterine insemination (IUI) in order to bypass the “biological gate” which is preventing the sperm from reaching their prized destination of the egg.

 

[Calliso]

You know though since we are talking about side affects most medications have sideeffects. I mean heck the pamprin I took today has a possible side effect of stomach bleeding for instance. But I would not have been able to keep on working with out taking it. But most medications have possible negative side effects some that may even be deadly. But really I doubt the majority of people are going to get cancer or uterine bleeding from taking the pill.

 

[surfinpure]

Dr. Mary Davenport writes the following:

1. BIRTH CONTROL PILLS CAN HAVE LONG-LASTING EFFECTS ON FERTILITY, EVEN AFTER BEING DISCONTINUED. The main mechanism by which birth control pills prevent pregnancy is the suppression of ovulation. Although for many women suppression of ovulation reverses within a few months, there is a substantial percentage of women—especially those with underlying hormonal problems and who are put on the pill to control bleeding—whose cycles and hormones are impaired for many months and even years after oral contraceptives. One percent of women who use oral contraceptives will never ovulate again without using fertility drugs to induce ovulation. In addition, research by Dr. Eric Odeblad of Sweden has shown permanent impairment of cervical mucus production, which is vital to achieving pregnancy, in women who have used birth control pills. The ranks of women in their thirties experiencing infertility include a very large percentage who used oral contraceptives to control their fertility in their teens and twenties. For women who wish to become pregnant in the future, there are much safer methods of fertility control which do not have permanent, adverse effects on childbearing ability.

Get the whole article here: canfp.org/artman/publish/article_456.shtml

 

[surfinpure]

I should also add that after reading multiple articles from various sites, I discovered that most of the research that the authors used to determine women’s fertility post-Pill involved ovulation alone. None except the pro-NFP authors took mucus into account. It is important to remember that ovulation is not the only determining factor in fertility, and therefore many of these so-called studies are skewed.

 

[February]

Dang…and is that with any size and brand of tampon? Some are better then others. Try to use a thin one and one that is especially designed for comfort. Tampons do take some getting used to though if you have only tried them once I would give it another go.

I agree.

Gisella, I would have totally agreed with you a few years ago though. I felt the same way, but they do take some getting used to. Have you tried slimfits or something along those lines? They work better for me. It took me some “practice” the first few times I used them.

 

[Sabda]

You know though since we are talking about side affects most medications have sideeffects. I mean heck the pamprin I took today has a possible side effect of stomach bleeding for instance. But I would not have been able to keep on working with out taking it. But most medications have possible negative side effects some that may even be deadly. But really I doubt the majority of people are going to get cancer or uterine bleeding from taking the pill.

Ah, but your not taking the pamprin every single day are you? Where talking about taking a pill, that we don’t need, every single day.

I have been on the pill and I would not recomend it. One thing that doesn’t really get talked about is the fact that the pill will surpress your sex drive. That’s what happened to me when I was on it. Obviously for a Catholic who is obeying the teachings of the Church that wouldn’t be an issue but for other people it would. When I quit taking it after 3 years my system was seriously screwed up for 4 months. For one thing, I became so bloated I couldn’t zip my pants up and looked like I was pregnant, even though I wasn’t.

I would keep trying different tampons until you find one that fits.

One other thing I wanted to add, I had heard of a study that was done sometime ago which showed that girls who took the pill in their teens had serious problems in trying to conceive later on. I don’t remember who did the study but I seem to recall it was on one of the shows like Dateline or 20/20. Maybe someone on here has that info? I haven’t looked at the links yet so it could already be listed.

 

[theistgal]

Hi Gisella - -

First of all, ultimately this is your decision, regardless of what anyone here says. It’s great that you are trying to find out what the Church’s teaching is first! A lot of women wouldn’t bother doing that. So to you for that!

Second, I’m not sure from reading your posts how old you are. And it’s none of my business, except I’ll just say: If you’re over 30 and aren’t planning to marry and have kids, then the risks involving decreased fertility are something to consider, but perhaps not that big a deal for you.

However, if you’re under 30 and are hoping to have kids someday, please take those warnings seriously. It would be awful if you found out, too late, that it was too late.

God bless you whatever you decide!

 

[hasikelee]

I absolutely abhor tampons.

That being said, how many times will your period actually coincide with swimming in the pool? Is it possible to just bring along a tampon just for that 1-2hr swim meet, then go back to a regular pad?

The birth control most commonly advertised to control acne is Tri-Cyclen. For detailed information on this drug:

drugs.com/Ortho_Tri-Cyclen/index.html

Ethinyl estradiol and norgestimate side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop using this medication and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;
• sudden headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance;
• chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;
• a change in the pattern or severity of migraine headaches;
• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet; or
• symptoms of depression (sleep problems, weakness, mood changes).

Less serious side effects may include:

• mild nausea, vomiting, bloating, stomach cramps;
• breast pain, tenderness, or swelling;
• freckles or darkening of facial skin;
• increased hair growth, loss of scalp hair;
• changes in weight or appetite;
• problems with contact lenses;
• vaginal itching or discharge;
• changes in your menstrual periods; or
• headache, nervousness, dizziness, tired feeling.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

 

[Pokedaughter]

As far as I know, and have discussed this type of medication with many Obstetricians/Gynecologists, there are no physical risks to menstrual suppression. “Seasonale” allows for 4 cycles per year. Talk to your doctor about the physical risks and side effects.

 

[surfinpure]

As far as I know, and have discussed this type of medication with many Obstetricians/Gynecologists, there are no physical risks to menstrual suppression. “Seasonale” allows for 4 cycles per year. Talk to your doctor about the physical risks and side effects.

Every drug has side-effects, and every drug has risks. If a medical doctor told you this drug comes with no risks, he or she was either woefully ignorant, or telling a fib. It is a commonly known fact that prescription drug companies offer nice perks to doctors for prescribing their drugs. I know one doc, for instance, who got box seats to the Houston Astros baseball games for promoting a particular drug. Some doctors even get trips to Hawaii. Can we say “conflict of interest?”

If your doctor will not tell you about the risks and side-effects of this drug, you can be sure your pharmacist will. Ask him or her, and also read the material that comes with the prescription. Seasonale is a very new drug, which means it hasn’t been tried and proven the way some older drugs have. Many of the downsides have yet to be discovered, but you can be sure there are some. There’s a reason they call these hormones “artificial” … they’re not natural.

Also, I know you are new to the forums (welcome!), so you may not be aware that Catholics have a very, very different position on contraception. In short, we believe that to contracept willfully, or without a serious, valid medical reason, is a sin so grave that it can eternally separate one from God. Now, the original poster has not mentioned in this thread whether or not she is married, but if she is, she will need to think carefully (even better – talk to her priest) about whether using contraception (potentially one that could cause an early abortion, though I don’t know for sure) for the sake of athletics constitutes a serious medical reason. As you can probably tell from many previous posts, lots of us don’t think it does.