Women only, please. Female health stuff!

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JCPhoenix

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Hello, ladies! :o

I’m going to be as delicate as possible…not sure what I can or can’t say as this is kind of a personal issue.

I really need some advice/ words of wisdom, especially if someone here has experienced this.

I’m currently on “the Pill”, ever since I was about 25 or 26–I’m 30 now, and today I was in for my “yearly”. I told my doctor I am planning on going off of it because I don’t have the belief or birth-control need for it. I did express my concerns that my previous health problems would come back however.

So she wrote me a prescription which I intend not to fill…it’s a “just in case.” She understood that when she wrote it. I pray that I won’t “need” to fill it.

Here’s the history (I’m sure many women can relate). I’ve always, until I started, had unprectictable periods, ranging from 12 to 31 days, anywhere in between, painful ovulation, painful periods…you wouldn’t believe the cramping that lasted 3 days…heavy periods…etc. OH! and the PMS! Even on the pill I cry at the drop of a hat…was crying a few moments ago over someone’s post about something precious a child did. Irritability to the max.

I’m afraid of myself when I go off this medication.

I’ve researched endomitriosis and have friends who suffer from it, and what I experience is not the same.

I’m taking ortho tryicyclin, and love the skin effects, also. Will miss that.

So! I’ve been on this for 4-5 years…what is going to happen to my physically when I go off? I realize that the previous symptoms may not come back, but as they didn’t diminish from age 13 to 25, I really don’t have much hope they’ll magically disappear now.

But I want to do my best to be fully within God’s will. It’ll mean wearing feminine protection 24/7 and that adds up.

Can anyone give me any good advice as to what to expect or good alternative treatments? I like my doctor because she almost literally bends over backwards to help me be a comfortable as possible during the “yearly.”

As soon as the current prescription runs out, I’m on God’s good graces…pray for me please.
 
How is your over all health? Are you a healthy weight? Do you exersise? Do you eat a healthy diet free of pop, chips, fried food, and high in fruit and veggies?

If your health habits are generally poor, then I would advise you seeing a more holistic doctor and changing your lifestyle. Regular Docs only treat the symptoms, but a lot of health problems result from our American lifestyle, and it can take a lot of perserverence to overcome years of unhealthy living.
 
Hi,

I’m not a medical professional, but there are other options available out there. You might want to get a second opinion as a lot of doctors are quick to offer birth control without getting to the heart of the problem. Check out www.omsoul.com for a list of nfp-only doctors. They may have some other options for you since they’re not willing to provide birth control in most situations. Also, look into the Pope Paul VI Institute ( www.popepaulvi.com). They specialize in fertility and reproductive healthcare from a morally Catholic perspective. A friend of mine sought treatment from them for problems similar to yours. Although my problems don’t sound nearly as serious as yours, I have had some serious pain problems associate with periods that resulted in heavy cramping, getting sick and dizzy, and fainting. Although I was prescribed birth control in the past, my present doctor understood and respected my desire to use nfp and gave me a prescription for anaprox which has helped immensely. There have been no problems since I’ve taken it. Progesterone cream may be another helpful, non-bc option for you. I just want you to know there’s hope without having to resort to artificial birth control. God will bless your faithfulness in so many ways that will far outnumber the positive effects you mentioned like clear skin, etc. I’ll pray for you and hope you can find other great options out there! God bless.
 
Hi there! I, too, was on the Pill for years (various brands) and I suffered no ill effects when I went off it. Good for you for making the decision to go off it. Regarding your health problems, have you looked into polycistic ovarian syndrome? I have a friend that had similar symptoms and she was diagnosed with PCOS. Also, check into NaPro Technology. Its all about treating the cause of such symptoms rather than blindly prescribing the Pill. Good luck!

Kristina
 
all good advice above, especially about PCOS and Na-pro. add only: get regular cholesterol, liver function and bp checks for at least 2 years after you go off, since the pill has dreadful effects here, worse the longer you take it. Advice to recruit your overall health and immune system is excellent. diet is crucial, it is a drug-the Zone books by Barry Sears give the best explanation of how this works, and the insulin-modifying effects of proper diet, and how insulin imbalance impacts all body systems. Natural vegetable based diet with adequate protein and small amounts of monosaturated fat are the basis of healthy diet. Liver-cleansing diet books by Gittelman also good for explanation of diet and effects on women’s health. good luck. I assume you have already covered the fertility aspect and are ready either to be a mom or are not sexually active.
 
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puzzleannie:
all good advice above, especially about PCOS and Na-pro. add only: get regular cholesterol, liver function and bp checks for at least 2 years after you go off, since the pill has dreadful effects here, worse the longer you take it. .
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Puzzleannie… I went off the “pill” about 8 months ago after being on it for about 14 years. I have done alot of research but have not come across anything about the effects of the pill on cholesterol or liver function. Could you point me in the right direction please?

Malia
 
without going into the gory details, was on it several years ago for several years, and developed liver inflammation, elevated liver enzymes and cholesterol, had a liver biopsy, went off the pill and after about 18 months levels were back to normal. went on a different pill for a year before my hysterectomy because it was supposed to cure my problem (it didn’t) liver problems returned, BP up. all that went away after the surgery. Now there are other therapies and hysterectomy not necessary, but oh, well.

Plenty of documentation on pill and stroke, but since liver function tests are usually not done unless for another reason, it is not always documented. Any long-term therapy that affects hormone system, i.e. thyroid, steriods etc. affects liver function because of how metabolized, also kidneys, because some metabolization occurs there, depends on the drug. Also any hormone therapy can affect insulin resonse and levels, so should be checked.
find the PCOS thread, and the “doctors treat symptoms, do not diagnose properly” thread that is more recent, some links were posted there.

forgot to say if you smoke let doc know because that will also have an effect
 
Not a woman, but my wife had the same problems.

I suggest you give the Pope Paul VI Institute a call, the will do a consult over the phone. Then you probably will do NaPro charting for three months, Dr. Hilgers will look art your charts, and set up an appointment.

God bless and good luck.

My guess is that you have low progesterone. Bet ya $5.
 
Although I had minimal problems with menstruation in my early years, as I approached menopause I developed fibroids, and with them, heavy bleeding, cramps, and migraine headaches.

At the time, I was into Taekwondo, and my instructor’s wife (both Korean) is an Accupuncturist. She uses Korean hand accupuncture, so the needles are only used on the hands. I went to her for treatment, and, after about two weeks of treatment was migraine and cramp free for more than a year, and the bleeding was not so heavy. Another week’s treatment was sufficient to free me of these symptoms again. I do not know how it works, but it does!

Perhaps you might consider accupuncture.
 
Thanks, everyone, for your responses!

This area is very lean in nfp-only doctors, and none of them are female. I have looked into that. Right now I’m just praying my old symptoms just don’t come back.

Generally I’m healthy, but in the last year I’ve gained more weight than I should have, and discussed this with my doctor. My diet isn’t the best, but at the same time, it doesn’t “justify” the weight gain.

And today I’m going in for an ultrasound on an enlarged thyroid—my doctor is actually hoping that this is the cause of the weight gain as it can be corrected. I’m a little concered, though, because when I asked her what causes enlarged thyroid, she just told me that it could be a lot fo things.

Unfortunately, my new computer wasn’t connecting well last night and I couldn’t get any research done on the topic–pages weren’t loading. So I guess I’m not sure how this is really going to affect my overall health because I KNOW a whole host of problems can accompany the thyroid dysfunction stuff.

Thanks again, everyone, for your help! 🙂
 
I highly recommend getting the book Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon. You can order it from www.ccli.org.

Good luck and congrats for getting off the pill. I did my senior thesis in biology on the pharmacology of oral contraceptives, and man, that pill can screw you up if it doesn’t kill you!

Krista
 
JCPhoenix,

I went off the pill last April after being on it for four years. Part of the reason I was on it was to help with PMS/periods (regular cycles but very long, heavy periods, massive blood loss, severe bloating/cramps/migraines/hot flashes) but as much as I hate to admit it I enjoyed the convenience of not worrying about pregnancy. I have since seen the light and dropped it altogether.

Since going off the pill, I haven’t gotten back many of the severe symptoms. My cycles are still regular as always, but the periods themselves have been cut in half, both in terms of time and blood loss. The cramping and migraines have also lessened, and I don’t really bloat up anymore (at least not to the point of needing special “bloat” clothes and bigger bras for a few days per month). The PMS symptoms are more than what I had on the pill, but other things are better. I dropped about 5 pounds when I went off, I have fewer problems with irritation and yeast infections (sorry to be gross but it’s the truth), and our love life is definitely better (which DH really appreciates).

I don’t know how coming off the pill will affect you, but for me it seems to have reset my hormones, and I feel healthier than I did before I went on it. Best of luck to you.
 
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JCPhoenix:
Thanks, everyone, for your responses!

This area is very lean in nfp-only doctors, and none of them are female. I have looked into that. Right now I’m just praying my old symptoms just don’t come back.

Generally I’m healthy, but in the last year I’ve gained more weight than I should have, and discussed this with my doctor. My diet isn’t the best, but at the same time, it doesn’t “justify” the weight gain.

And today I’m going in for an ultrasound on an enlarged thyroid—my doctor is actually hoping that this is the cause of the weight gain as it can be corrected. I’m a little concered, though, because when I asked her what causes enlarged thyroid, she just told me that it could be a lot fo things.

Unfortunately, my new computer wasn’t connecting well last night and I couldn’t get any research done on the topic–pages weren’t loading. So I guess I’m not sure how this is really going to affect my overall health because I KNOW a whole host of problems can accompany the thyroid dysfunction stuff.

Thanks again, everyone, for your help! 🙂
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If you are hypo-thyroid you can take a synthetic hormone replacement called Synthroid. I was diagnosed a few years ago with Hoshimoto’s Thyroiditis. I had a “lumpy” thyroid. My symptoms included depression and weight gain (but, menstral problems are also part of the symptoms. My teenage neice was diagnosed hypo thyroid. After she fainted and was bleeding very heavily, they finally tested her thyroid and they found her problem. She is doing great now). Thankfully, there were no other problems with my thyroid.

My biggest worry about my thryoid before my tests were concluded was that I may have cancer. It is pretty common in women to have a dysfuncitoning thyroid so don’t get yourself too worried about it. The C word is always hard to say for a doctor and I am sure they don’t want to worry you if there is a pretty good chance that that is not the problem. A friend of mine went through this last year. She had herself convinced that she had cancer and ended up on sedatives. But, she was fine. Just a little hypo-thyroid. Thankfully, there is a treatment for this and you can live a pretty normal life taking Synthroid. I will have to take it for the rest of my life but it really did the trick and my depression went away. It does not take away the weight, though. That is something you still have to work hard at.😉
 
Dr. Drufner at the Hudson Hospital and Clinic is an NFP doctor. He is a good Catholic.

(651)436-7860
 
I think you would benefit from a consult with a reproductive endocrinologist – they are fertility specialists who do the full gamut of bloodwork to determine any hypo/hyper thyroid issues, pcos, endo, etc. A baseline workup now can be very helpful if you end up having fertility issues in the future.

Good luck!
 
There are other resources, seek an experienced NFP instructor plus a nutrionist comes to mind.
 
This thread is closed. NFP and proper Theology of the Body issues is discussed in the Moral Theology forum.
 
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