Thoughts on hormonal birth control...
Hi all! I know birth control is a very personal, important decision for people, but I am wanting to get some perspectives from you guys--since I know you're like me in being interested in natural, organic, healthy (etc.) things.
Besides that fact that it's decidedly un-vegan (as I'm sure the medical industry tests the stuff on animals--or did at some point)... What do you think about hormonal birth control? I have been on it for 4 years, and it hasn't been until recently that it started to make me wonder just what is going into my body... I avoid all hormones, pesticides, and other yucky unnatural things in my food, body products, make-up, etc. But at the same time, I am putting hormones into my body via birth control. (I know it's not the same kind, but they're hormones that my body isn't naturally making, nonetheless.) I have never had any problems with my birth control, and have actually experienced positive effects from it (about a 10 lb. weight loss, clearer skin, lighter & shorter periods, MUCH less cramping, and more even moods at that "time of the month"--I think; it's been awhile since I started it). But now that I am more into natural foods than ever before, I am feeling a little nervous about the long-term effects of putting this stuff into my body...
What are your thoughts on this? Please share! :) Also, if you're not a fan of hormonal birth control, what do you use instead? Thanks in advance for delving into such a personal topic with me!
A friend of mine supposedly got pregnant while she was on the pill & antibiotics, and she claims she didn't know about their interaction, but I have a suspicion it is because she wanted to get married ::)
::) is right! I have never understood that! I think it's pretty obvious that having a baby won't keep your man around in the long run... If he doesn't want to be with you, all you're going to get is a ton of responsibility & a fight for child support. So dumb & sad.
Anyway, fortunately, I did know about the effects of antibiotics or St. John's Wart with the Pill. And whenever I've had to go on antibiotics, my pharmacist reminds me of this--which is great! I do appreciate that they take the care to do that for people.
I wonder if maybe that's where the .02% (or so) comes from with the Pill failing...? I'm just trying to figure out if it's a user error or if sometimes pregnancy just occurs, even if you do EVERYTHING right with your pill... I don't think I have too much to worry about, but I don't want that attitude to bite me in the bum (uterus? ???) later!
Well I've been on it for I think 8 years now & still no baby for me! 0.02% is really tiny. It's 2 in 10,000. I dont think any thing can claim 100% effective except abstinence.
A friend of mine supposedly got pregnant while she was on the pill & antibiotics, and she claims she didn't know about their interaction, but I have a suspicion it is because she wanted to get married ::)
I wonder if maybe that's where the .02% (or so) comes from with the Pill failing...? I'm just trying to figure out if it's a user error or if sometimes pregnancy just occurs, even if you do EVERYTHING right with your pill... I don't think I have too much to worry about, but I don't want that attitude to bite me in the bum (uterus? ???) later!
I think the .02% comes from the if you do everything correctly, then it still has a failure rate. I read on some site that if you take it typically, but not correctly it has a 5% failure rate.
Well I've been on it for I think 8 years now & still no baby for me! 0.02% is really tiny. It's 2 in 10,000. I dont think any thing can claim 100% effective except abstinence.
True! I feel much better about it now, just hearing everyone's 2 cents. My mom got pregnant with me when she & my dad were engaged (not married). She & I are really open with each other & have a close relationship... I can talk to her about so much, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to ask her if she was on the Pill when she got pregnant or how that happened. ::) Then she'd ask why I was wondering, and then she'd picture me having sex (in their house, no less! I live at home right now), and I just can't deal with that at the moment. ;D
Thanks for everyone's input!
I think the pill messed me up. It was really hard for me to get pregnant after being on it for like 10 years on and off.....plus, I didnt' realize it at the time, but I think it did things to me emotionally. I didn't realize it until I went off if it, and felt so much better!! I guess I thought my emotional rollercoasters were just normal, but after stopping the BCPs, those quit too. I was convinced it was a conspiracy and men were controlling women with these nasty little pills :D
Recently we began using the withdrawal method :P which seems to work, but I sure wouldn't recommend it if you aren't married or if you would HATE to be pregnant! :) As of late we aren't using anything because we're hoping for a littler2ant.
Yes, L2A!! For me, the pill = emotional mess and really bad cramps. I hate the pill. Yay for vasectomies! If, of course, you're in a monogomous relationship and you know for sure you don't want (more) biological children.
As of late we aren't using anything because we're hoping for a littler2ant.
How cute is this?! :D I love that!
I think the pill messed me up. It was really hard for me to get pregnant after being on it for like 10 years on and off.....plus, I didnt' realize it at the time, but I think it did things to me emotionally. I didn't realize it until I went off if it, and felt so much better!! I guess I thought my emotional rollercoasters were just normal, but after stopping the BCPs, those quit too.
I know what you mean... I think I mentioned this in my original post way back when, but when I first went on BC, I was on Ortho-Tricyclin. I loved that, but after awhile, my insurance stopped covering the name brand. The generic "equivalent" (>:() was total crap & made me depressed, emotional, cranky, crampy, headachey, and overall miserable. Looking back, it wasn't as horrible as it sounds here, but I definitely was not my normal self! I finally got smart & am now on Yasmin, which I love!
I think it really depends on the brand & how your body chemistry matches with it, but then again, the Pill isn't for everyone... It's good that we can all find things that work for us individually!
I was convinced it was a conspiracy and men were controlling women with these nasty little pills :D
Wow thanks L2A, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has thought such things!
I love vegweb by the way :-*...this topic has been on my mind for months now, I recently took my last 'active' Yasmin pill & when I went this week for my yearly check up I told my gyno NO MORE!
Sadly I don't see much action these days :'(, and I figured why pump these hormones into my body (then into the water system), pay $30/month & risk nasty side effects down the road???
It's just not worth it to me anymore. I guess there's a possibility I'll be calling my Dr back in a couple of months if my cycles go haywire... I'm considering possibly going with the copper IUD. My Dr gave me some pamphlets to peruse, but for now I'm going to brave going with the flow, as it were, and see what happens. And stock up on condoms in the event I get lucky! :D
Good topic, Jessacita!
Yeah, I'm going to do a copper IUD, too. I've been off BC for 3 or 4 years and feel much better for it. My husband is sick to death of condoms, but I refuse to do hormonal stuff anymore-- notgonnadoit.
Of course, the IUD is not 100% accurate either, but at least there's less chance for "user error."
Heh, I was an "ooopsie." ;) But, it was a condom ooopsie.
Whenever I think about all the "ooopsies" out there, I am truly amazed. I mean, being generous, there are only 10 days in the month where pregnancy could potentially happen. In reality, it's more like 7 days. But, I'm trying to be safe. The egg is viable between 24 to 48 hours. Sperm can live inside of a woman anywhere from 3 to 7 days depending on the amount of cervical mucus present. Hence my calculation.
This is not to mention that, although there are millions and millions of sperm, not all of them are the type that will become a baby.
So, I'm always amazed at how many accidents there are. Nature, when it comes to reproduction, is truly powerful!
On a different note, my mom uses (and has for the past 6 years) an Indian birth control pill - Centrochroman. It is, however, illegal in America so you'd have to order it from India in a bit of a "shady" way, lol. I used it myself, for a while, before I got the IUD. It's basically one pill a week, after the first week. With virtually no side effects, and just as effective as the hormonal kind in America. The whole year supply costs $40.00. But, probably, that's not something that would interest anyone on here. Considering you'd have to get it shipped illegally to you.
do you know why it's illegal in the US?
too effective or something? ;D
I was on ortho-tricyclen for like 5 years and I started getting breakthrough bleeding. My doctor said my body became immune to the pill!! She didn't say whether I had a risk of pregnancy during that time because I hadn't been doing anything for a while, but I assume it would have been an issue! She switched me to Yaz and I was still breakthrough bleeding AND it messed with my emotions. So now I'm on the ring and very happy with it!!
do you know why it's illegal in the US?
too effective or something? ;D
lol. Well, there are a lot of theories as to why it's not legal. That could be on of them! The "official" stance of the FDA is that it has not gone through enough clinical trials, and the ones it did go through, they didn't like the side effects. ::)
However, it has been used in India for decades. It's affordable. It is not made with hormones, and the side effects listed are very minor compared to the ones listed with the hormonal birth control pill in America, i.e. no chance of stroke, blood clot, increasing breast cancer risk, etc. So, no one really believes the FDA in this.
The prevailing theory a lot of people believe is that the FDA won't approve it because the hormonal birth control companies wouldn't like it. For the birth control pill here, it's like on pill per day and it costs anywhere from 10 to 30 per month. Centrochroman is one pill per week and costs 30 - 40 for the whole year. And that's WITH shipping from India. So, just do the math. Sadly, instead of letting people decide which birth control pill they want to purchase, the drug companies and the FDA are good friends who do "favors" for one another.
If you google the name, you'll find a forum that has, literally, hundreds of pages of information on it and personal accounts from women who use it.
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