Valid Use of Birth Control?

[Lady_D_I]

So, if you have a headache, you don’t take anything right? Or if you have the flu you forgo medicine? After all, billions of men have lived with debilitating headaches and the flu without medication.

Yeah, I’ll tell my husband to deal with it the next time he has a migraine or cluster (which aren’t just a headache). When I refer to debilitating cramps, I mean debilitating. There are cramps and then there are debilitating cramps.

As I’ve said before I suffer quite a bit that time of the month.

Obviously, you are able to deal with it… others aren’t. I was able to labor and deliver my first child without medications, but that is not the case with every woman. My mother had 6 herniated discs and never complained… it never kept her from doing things… but other people barely function with 1 herniated disc. Pain perception varies.

it’s not like women haven’t gone through it in the past without birth control, as already meantioned.

I’m not sure what the point is of this argument? Maybe the prevelance was less all those years ago.

 

[Lady_D_I]

1. On the other hand, the Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result there from—provided such impediment is not directly intended for any motive whatsoever. (19)

What is meant by cure? As a medical professional, I suspect my definition may differ. Even Merriam-Webster describes cure as “freedom from physical disease or pain”.

 

[aurora77]

No, we just take medicine that isn’t morally compromising. As I’ve said before I suffer quite a bit that time of the month. However, it’s not like women haven’t gone through it in the past without birth control, as already meantioned. All I have to say is unite the suffering with the suffering of Jesus. The Saints would, and as many people like to emphasize, the Saints were “ordinary people.”
And I don’t think the comment by gradstud35 was patronizing and without merit. It was simply objective, not to mention very true.

I’m truly glad for you that you are able to deal with your PMS symptoms, that they don’t interfere with your abillity to live your life. I was also blessed with that same gift; my cycles were difficult, but nothing compared to what some women experience.

I am curious–what medication or treatments do you recommend for the OPs experience that isn’t morally compromising?

 

[latinmasslover]

I’m truly glad for you that you are able to deal with your PMS symptoms, that they don’t interfere with your abillity to live your life. I was also blessed with that same gift; my cycles were difficult, but nothing compared to what some women experience.

I am curious–what medication or treatments do you recommend for the OPs experience that isn’t morally compromising?

I’m not an expert in endometriosis, if that is in fact what she has, but I do know that birth control pills don’t cure anything. If she is using tampons, she should stop. She should regularly exercise and stretch well around that time of the month, and eat healthy. If she stil has problems then, she needs to ask the doctor for alternatives. As long as she’s single it won’t be as big a deal as when/if she’s married. Birth control has effects that she probably won’t be happy with later in life; all it is now is a quick fix, and those usually have negative consequences.

 

[Lady_D_I]

I do know that birth control pills don’t cure anything.

If by cure you mean free from disease, there is no cure for endometriosis (though I wish there was). However, oral contraceptives may be effective in managing pain but treatment options should be discussed with a qualified medical professional (which I am confident everyone knows).

 

[aurora77]

I’m not an expert in endometriosis, if that is in fact what she has, but I do know that birth control pills don’t cure anything. If she is using tampons, she should stop. She should regularly exercise and stretch well around that time of the month, and eat healthy. If she stil has problems then, she needs to ask the doctor for alternatives.

Apparently this woman has asked the doctor about her alternatives, and you reject his medical opinion. What then should she do? On what medical training do you base this opinion?

 

[Listener]

I don’t know. Funny how modern women think they are so progressive yet seem to think they are the only ones in the history of the world who have ever gotten PMS or debilitating cramps and need birth control to fix it. Up until the 1960s, billions and billions of women throughout time and all over the world lived with PMS and debilitating cramps without birth control.

This is an interesting point. However, women did have hysterectomies well before 1960. I think that if their problems were bad enough, the doctor just scheduled them for a hysterectomy. Yes, women lived with this stuff since the time of Eve. Isn’t that the reason it is referred to as “the curse?” Many of them simply died before they reached menopause. In fact, menopause is a relatively new thing. Even at the turn of the century (1899-1900) many women didn’t live that long. A lot of them bled to death when having children.

 

[LittleDeb]

Hello! It is totally fine to use it for issues like that. I have the same problem myself (bad cramps amoung other things!) And I sought the advice of a priest and my mentor, AND my RCIA instructor before I got married. All gave me the thumbs up for a few reasons:

1. The issue I have can only be treated with hormonal therapy becuase my imbalance is purely hormonal. I was anorexic and it caused me to lose my period for almost a year. As a result my body is freaking out.
2. This is the only treatment I can afford, and is mainstream enough that my health insurance will cover it (to use any other treatment will put me on the streets!)
3. Both my husband and I do not desire the birth control aspect of this treatment. We have discussed it and we are bth really sad that we have to wait to have kids (I count myself lucky in that I only have to wait another 3-5 years so my body can adjust itself)
4. The original issue was so bad that for a week every month I could not get out of bed. If I did get out, it was to throw up and then go staight back. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, so I couldn’t work. I had to do something about it so I could have some kind of life.

Yes, there are alternatives out there to the pill, but the church understands that we can’t all afford those, and that health insurance doesn’t always cover it. I would say if it’s the only viable option, it’s fine. The church isn’t an overbearing monster waiting to goble you up. I would reccomend, however, to follow the precepts of NFP while on the pill. My husband and I plan a week every month where we abstain. This is for several reasons, the biggest is that we fear during that particular week the abortive option of the pill is most likely to work. And if that happened we’d be destroyed. We keep our communication open on the topic, and as a result, sex isn’t just some meaningless selfish act. And after that week it’s like a honeymoon effect all over again! We are hoping that God will do what he wants with us, and we are praying that if it is his will to give us a child, he will do so anyway. Even if we aren’t ready by our standards.

Some people will disagree that the pill isn’t medication,but remember the pope said that it is okay for medical reasons. The oill is prescribed to treat some cases (I have one friend who’s heart would fail without it due to endometrium on her heart. To have a natural period for her would kill her). I can testify that the pill does work for my case. I have no negative side effects, and God IS blessing my marriage. My husband and I remain open to life, despite this hinderance. Just make sure you ren’t looking for any excuse to use it (light cramps, is that good enough? etc…) and I think you’ll be fine!

This discussion is a very good one. I, who normally says no to the Pill in all cases, find this particular post excellent!

It would be ideal to not be on the Pill at all, but yes, our secular society has dictated some constraints on us. It seems that this poster is doing a very good job of balancing the letter of the law with the spirit of the law. Without financial help from my grandmother I would have been in this same circumstance. I was able to seek out “expensive” treatments and quit my job during the search. Not everyone has that level of blessing.

Every time I have encountered someone on the Pill I have always encouraged her to seek out a better doctor and better treatment. But Delphinus is right. Sometimes that option just isn’t available. I admire her and her husband for the sacrificial abstinence week. Since the Pill causes a “fake” cycle, we don’t know if the abstinence is actually preventing a miscarriage. But again, in the spirit of the law it is preventing it.

I have found that the best use of my time has been in education. I am always presenting articles to my own doctor when I find them. He is a great doctor otherwise but does say “NFP doesn’t work.” I have told his nurse that my goal is to convince him that NFP does work and it works better in the treatment of these diseases. I may never accomplish my goal, but I have to keep trying.

to you and your husband, Delphinus85!

 

[bernardinelee]

As long as this young lady is not married and is not sexually active, I don’t see how it would be morally wrong to take the pill. A few years back, I was put on the pill for moodswings (rather severe). However, when I got no relief from them and had to be put on Lithium instead, I discontinued the birth control pill. I am single and not sexually active, nor was I at the time I was being treated.

I would warn women, though, that they can experience hypertension and even have a stroke. In fact, my sister worked with a young woman who had been taking birth control pills, and this co-worker suffered a stroke. She was only in her early thirties when this happend.

I might add that my sister suffered from terrible cramps every month, the years that she was menstruating. She missed a lot of school and couldn’t participate in various events/activities each month. Her whole life seemed to revolve around “that time of the month.” Our sweet grandmother would make her hot whiskey drinks to ease her pain. Finally, when my sister was in her late twenties, the gynecologist prescribed Motrin (muscle relaxant). This was the miracle drug for my sister. She finally was able to alleviate her pain and discomfort.

 

[rayne89]

hi,

By the way, I believe in order for it to be ok to use birth control for medicinal purposes not only does it have to be the only option but it also has to be a life threatening condition.

This not a reflection of church teaching, the condition does not have to be life threatening.

 

[bernardinelee]

In the case of a married couple where the wife’s life is in danger if she gets pregnant, I believe in the Lord’s plan that the greater sacrifice would be to try a have children and not take birth control pills. Birth control pills interfere with the plan for the creation of a new life. I realize, though, this would be a very difficult situation.

 

[CuriousInIL]

As long as this young lady is not married and is not sexually active, I don’t see how it would be morally wrong to take the pill. A few years back, I was put on the pill for moodswings (rather severe). However, when I got no relief from them and had to be put on Lithium instead, I discontinued the birth control pill. I am single and not sexually active, nor was I at the time I was being treated.

I would warn women, though, that they can experience hypertension and even have a stroke. In fact, my sister worked with a young woman who had been taking birth control pills, and this co-worker suffered a stroke. She was only in her early thirties when this happend.

I might add that my sister suffered from terrible cramps every month, the years that she was menstruating. She missed a lot of school and couldn’t participate in various events/activities each month. Her whole life seemed to revolve around “that time of the month.” Our sweet grandmother would make her hot whiskey drinks to ease her pain. Finally, when my sister was in her late twenties, the gynecologist prescribed Motrin (muscle relaxant). This was the miracle drug for my sister. She finally was able to alleviate her pain and discomfort.

FYI Motrin is not a “muscle relaxant”; its only active ingredient is ibuprofen which is also available in generic form or in Advil.

 

[Lady_D_I]

B) Has anyone else delt with extreme cramping and not using the pill to alleviate it?

I skimmed through and didn’t see a link to this… my apologies if this is a double post. Some helpful info may be found here… the annswer to question #3.

 

[bill2085]

I have a question. My fiance has Lupus and was told if she were to concive she could have kidney failure and die. She also uses birth control because she has uncontrolable bleeding and needs it to maintain her cycle. When we are married is it ok to use the birth control for the bleeding and considering her lupus if she were to get pregnant she might have life threatening consequences. So is it still ok to have sex given all that?

bill

 

[Sure]

I have a question. My fiance has Lupus and was told if she were to concive she could have kidney failure and die. She also uses birth control because she has uncontrolable bleeding and needs it to maintain her cycle. When we are married is it ok to use the birth control for the bleeding and considering her lupus if she were to get pregnant she might have life threatening consequences. So is it still ok to have sex given all that?

bill

Yes. As long as the contraceptive effect is an unintended side effect of taking the pill for a legitimate therapeutic purpose.

 

[Seatuck]

I have a question. My fiance has Lupus and was told if she were to concive she could have kidney failure and die. She also uses birth control because she has uncontrolable bleeding and needs it to maintain her cycle. When we are married is it ok to use the birth control for the bleeding and considering her lupus if she were to get pregnant she might have life threatening consequences. So is it still ok to have sex given all that?

bill

Bill I suggest you call up your Diocese and ask to speak to someone about this. There are a couple of issues. Is your intention to never have children in your marriage with your wife? Not sure if this would invalidate the union. The second is the pill is not always the best choice and it might be prudent to get the advice from a pro-nfp pro-catholic doctor who might be more willing to treat what is wrong instead of masking symptoms with the pill. Thirdly , there is still some evidence that the pill could cause abortions. This is a concern. Many moral theologians have said that women who must take the pill should abstain from sexual relations until the danger of an abortion is over. Some have said that the couple should make a reasonable attempt to ascertain whether ovulation has occurred and then they may have marital relations. If you believe your future wife’s life would be in danger then you should perhaps choose to protect her and not engage in marital relations.This is a decision that should be prayed about and discussed between you two and a spiritual director. Artificial contraception is not 100% effective. Sometimes there is breakthrough ovulation. I don’t know if I’d take the risk of pregnancy or abortion.

Prayers for you as you discern this difficult situation.

 

[stteresaofavila]

I have debilitating cramps from time to time. They are not debilitating every month, but from time to time they are so bad I throw up, even with prescription nausea medication and I get really lightheaded to the point where I wonder if I’ll actually pass out this time. I’ve tried various treatments such as Motrin regiments, exercise, no cafeene, and vitimins. They don’t help. I finally went to the gyno to make sure I didn’t have a disease or something. He was going to prescribe me a birth control pill. I asked him why. He said because it regulates your period and reduce your flow. My period was already regular yet he wanted to prescibe “the pill” to me anyway without diagnosing me with anything. That is irresponsible medical practice and unfortunately most doctors treat “the pill” as a cure all. The entire medical field treats the pill this way making it impossible for any real cures to be found.

That being said, even though I do get cramps from time to time that make me wish I could just stab the parts of my body that hurt, I still refuse to take the pill. I can’t see myself paying a company that makes it impossible for real cures to be discovered. I can’t pay a company that allows so many other women to take the pill for immoral reasons. I’d rather sit there, scream, throw up, and wonder if I’m going to pass out this time.

 

[Listener]

You will notice that the condition of this woman is not being cured, the sympoms are being relieved . HV says **cure **and I don’t believe the Pope was referring to the pill as it wasn’t in common use at the time. He was referring to hysterectomy or removal of a tube due to ectopic pregnancy or radiation as a treatment to cure cancer.

I don’t know where you are getting your information. I was in the work force in the early 1960’s, and many women in my office were using the pill for birth control. When I interviewed for a job, I was asked “Are you on medication?” I knew exactly what she meant, but she re-stated the question, which was “Are you on birth control pills (so you won’t cause us a headache if you get pregnant right away)”? The funny thing is that I answered yes because I was on birth control pills because of cramps from hell. All of the priests I talked to said that you could go on birth control pills for medical reasons, and I’m sure it didn’t have to be life threatening. This was back in 1963 and 1964. The answer was the same if you were married or unmarried.

 

[brittany_hopes]

I am in a very similar situation. I am 26, and have been battling PCOS basically since I started a period at the age of 13. Recently, I went more than a year and a half between natural periods (if I don’t count the 3-4 months last summer when I resigned myself to the therapeutic use of the BC pill.) I have read exhaustively about PCOS, and managing it through diet, exercise, supplements, and medicine, and done my best to implement changes in my life… and my efforts seem to be in vain because I have recently found out that in addition to PCOS I also have developed Hashimoto’s disease (of my thyroid.) Evidently, my entire endocrine system is in an uproar. I also suspect the possibility of Celiac disease or at the very least gluten sensitivity because of the autoimmune involvement of these different conditions and their frequent connection to one another.

During a recent pelvic ultrasound, the typical small cysts of PCOS were found dotting both of my ovaries. Much to my alarm, I had also developed a chicken egg-sized cyst on my left ovary, that now needs to be watched. Sometimes these cysts “resolve themselves,” meaning, sometimes they shrink back down on their own. However–sometimes they do not. They can grow larger, to the size of a baseball or grapefruit, causing extreme pain and even twisting in upon themselves, cutting off the blood supply to that ovary and effectively destroying it. They can also burst, necessitating a visit to the ER and oftentimes emergency surgery and probably ovary removal. My doctor suggests I go back on the pill to shrink this down and to give my endocrine system a rest while we work on our treatment plan and try to restore the thyroid and digestive system to optimal health. The pill is a highly common means of shrinking these cysts back down and eliminating a greater risk to your health.

I am married. I definitely did not set out to go back on the pill and I don’t feel that it is the be-all-end-all to my health woes. We have been married for almost a year and have had no success in getting pregnant. The likelihood of us needing reproductive assistance with Clomid etc. is very high. For me, this is more about preventing a potential life-threatening situation, and preserving my fertility, and taking some of the incredible burden off of my endocrine system right now, than anything else. It’s frustrating to me that I have to struggle with feelings of guilt at the use of birth control for a very valid medical reason.

 

[baltobetsy]

Brittany, this is one of the examples of a legitimate use of the birth control pill. Many people will say that doctors use the pill reflexively instead of looking for the true cause of your problems, but, clearly, your doctor is not doing this.

If you are still in doubt, you can consult with your confessor, who will be able to give a definitive answer with the help of the Holy Spirit, and put your mind at ease.

I hope you get your health issues resolved.

Betsy