About OCP's?

Question

Okay, I have another question about birth control pills. I asked one before but I didnt get a good answer. I want to know what would happen if I just took the estrogen (white) pills and not the progesterone (blue) pills every month (or vice versa) Would it prevent pregnancy and regulate my period or do nothing...or what would it do?. Also, is it normal to have chest pains without shortness of breath or stomach pains? I started the OPC's yesterday and this has already happened.

In a nutshell what would happen if I just took the estrogen...also what would happen if I didnt take the estrogen and just took the progesterone. I'm curious is all.

Answer 1

First of all, if your chest pains cannot be explained by recent trauma, coughing, etc. then you should see your doctor to see if it is related to the OCP.

As for the question about estrogen, you do in fact need the progesterone in order for birth control to be effective. It's the progesterone which inhibits ovulation and thickens the cervical mucous to prevent pregnancy.

The estrogen is added in so that you don't get irregular spotting in between periods. This can often happen if you use progesterone-only methods of birth control like the Micronor pill or the Depo-Provera shot.

So, estrogen by itself would not be effective as birth control.

Keep an eye on that chest pain.