Birth Control Side Effects In Relation With Combined Estrogen and Progesterone

Hormonal birth control gives most side effects of all. Pills have the lowest tolerance level, but individual factors have the biggest influence under the circumstances. We will briefly refer to the most common birth control side effects, yet, regardless of how mild they may seem, they cannot remain permanent. If the normal accommodation symptoms don’t go away after a month or two at the maximum, seek medical help right away.

Breast tenderness, dizziness and headaches are usually temporary birth control side effects. Once the accommodation period passes, these inconveniences ought to go away. The same thing applies to nausea, although the frequency of this adverse reaction is lower. You can deal with the problem if you take the hormonal pill with food. Sometimes the doctor could recommend a switch of brands when the birth control side effects persist despite your excellent health condition.

Breakthrough bleeding or spotting is the most common of hormonal birth control side effects, yet it is unbearable for lots of women. The incidence of this inconvenience could be reduced if you take the pill at the same time every day. Normally, spotting diminishes and disappears once the adjustment period is over, but the list of side effects mentions it as potentially bothersome for up to two months.

Further birth control side effects associated with the use of combined estrogen and progesterone, include mood swings. It is important to run medical tests and determine whether the birth control pill is to blame for depression. If it is indeed behind the problem, the pill will not work for you in general. Try non-hormonal birth control methods that have fewer adverse reactions.

The birth control side effects are more intense and potentially health ruining if they appear with smokers, women over 35 or those with a medical condition. For a perfectly healthy woman, birth control side effects appear just as a temporary reaction to the treatment. Weight gain often accompanies hormonal imbalances and it has been reported as a side effect of the pill, yet the incidence is reduced in the case of ultra-modern contraceptives.

Very serious birth control side effects include blurred vision, abdominal cramps, unexplained severe headaches, numbness in the limbs and chest pain. You should stop the treatment right away and address an emergency health care facility immediately. Report any other abnormal symptoms to the gynecologist. Do not use birth control pills unless they are prescribed by a doctor because you could seriously endanger your health.

The Birth Control Shot is a Contraceptive Method Injected Intramuscularly

An easy to administrate contraceptive solution, the birth control shot makes a good choice for lots of couples all over the world. It contains progesterone only, with the hormone being slowly released into the body. The main impact of this hormone is to prevent ovulation, meaning that there will be no egg release monthly.

The efficiency range of the birth control shot is superior to that of the birth control pill. While with the pill, 8 in 100 couples get pregnant yearly, the rate is only 3 in 100 per year in the case of the birth control shot. The chances of getting pregnant are very high if you don’t administer the next shot on time.

You should also be aware of the fact that the birth control shot does not provide protection against STD. Plus, there are physiological changes that could be an inconvenience while using this birth control method. Normally included in the list of adverse reactions, you could be experiencing:
-irregular menstrual periods;
-headaches, breast tenderness and weight gain;
-mood changes and depression.

Overweight is the most difficult to fight back if it appears as a side effect, because hormonal imbalances are harder to correct. Other long-term side effects have been reported in relation to the use of the progesterone birth control shot. Thus, many women have developed osteoporosis by losing in bone density during the treatment.

In case you decide that the birth control shot is a good option for you, talk to your health care provider and make sure that your daily calcium intake is enough to support the hormonal treatment without loss of bone density. Moreover, fertility may be harder to recover after the long term use of the birth control shot. The fertility problem is not permanent, and women can recover in time, but difficulties could appear along the way.

Your doctor could also warn you about other potential problems and even advise against the shot in case she/he suspects an existing health condition. You should not administer it if you suffer from any of the following:

-headaches;
-disorders with blood coagulation;
-unexplained vaginal bleeding;
-thrombosis;
-cancer;
-if you suspect a pregnancy.

As for costs, the birth control shot is not expensive, not to mention that health insurance usually covers the expenses. The best advice you can get related to the shot is at your doctor’s office.

Last but not least, when using some other drugs or herbal supplements, it is important to rely on a supplementary birth control method because the risk of interferences leaves you unprotected against pregnancy.

Another Type of Birth Control Pill is The Mini-Pill

The birth control pill represents one of the most efficient contraceptive methods available. Women take it daily, and thanks to the combination of hormones, it prevents ovulation and the release of eggs. And it works as follows:

-It contains a combination of estrogen and progesterone, both inhibitors of the ovulation. Pregnancy cannot appear without ovulation.

-It thickens the cervical mucus preventing the sperm from entering the uterus.

-It changes the lining of the uterus, thus preventing the nesting of the egg.

You need to administrate the birth control pill daily, at the same hour, twenty-one days per month. During the seven days when there is no hormonal administration, the period appears. Depending on the manufacturer, the pills are available in 21 or 28 pill packages. For the 28-pill package, the last seven pills are inactive, meaning that they contain no hormones at all.

As for the advantages of the birth control pill, they are pretty numerous.

-The monthly bleeding is less intense.
-The pre-menstrual discomfort disappears.
-There are no consequences on fertility following the use of the birth control pill.
-Hormonal imbalances may be treated.
-It prevents some forms of cancer.

There is one special kind of birth control pill that contains active hormones for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for a week. This means that the frequency of the period will be reduced to one in three months.

The mini-pill is another type of hormonal contraceptive we should mention in the category of the birth control pill. It contains progesterone only, and it requires continuous administration daily, on the same hour, without the monthly break. The efficiency of the mini-pill is considered inferior to the combined birth control pill.

The normal efficiency of the birth control pill is very high, with only 8 couples out of 100 reporting a pregnancy during the treatment. The chances of getting pregnant increase if you fail to take the pill daily, or you take it at random hours. Plus, there are some individual factors at work here, and they also influence the efficiency of the medication.

For example, the birth control pill may not work properly when drugs or herbal supplements are administered in parallel. Moreover, the incidence of adverse reactions should not be overlooked. It is important to read all the warnings on side effects and the possible consequences on the health condition before using this contraceptive method. Only start a hormonal birth control treatment following doctor’s orders!