How safe is the pill for your health??

Question

what is the scientific evidence for and against? and is it really that safe to mess around with a woman's hormones??

Answer 1

Its very safe when taken properly..;

Answer 2

Am afraid I don't have any of the scientific evidence.. only personal experience. I have been on the pill for four years since I was 18. I do not remember any bad side effects at that time and I don't have any now either... my PMT has become worse as I have become older but I think that may be part of a poor diet or health regime (as I get worse mood swings after eating junk food). If your doctor puts you on the pill they should monitor you regularly at first to check you are doing OK. But it is really up to you to make a note of any irregularities in your normal day to day health and report them back to the doctor.

As I say I have always been fine..but I do know of some people who just can't touch any of the pills because they send their mood swings through the roof!

It really is different for everyone.

Answer 3

There are many, many different versions of the oral contraceptive pill (the Pill). It has been on the market for over 50years, and is one of the more studied medications on the market. Initial versions of the Pill carried significantly higher levels of estrogen and progesterone in them than the current generation. As a result, they had signficantly higher risks.

The Pill acts by administering reproductive hormones in a slightly different pattern than what your body would normally do, and by doing so can help prevent pregnancy, regulate your periods, decrease PMS and acne, as well as reduce your risk for both ovarian and endometrial cancers.

However, no medication is without side effects, right? Although the hormone concentrations are very low, the pill has been shown to increase your risk of blood clots. Despite that, the incidence of women with blood clots while on the pill remains very low. Your risk increases if your a smoker. The Pill can worsen migraines, and women with migraines are told not to take it. Lastly, because some breast cancers respond to hormones, women with breast cancer, or with a significant family history of breast cancer need to think seriously before they take the Pill - I don't know for sure, but I don't believe any of the studies done show a direct link between breast cancer and the Pill.

Basically, EVERYTHING - not just medicine - has risks and benefits when you put it into your body, and you are the only one (with the help of your doctor) who can decide if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Personally, with the reduction in two types of cancer, the decreased liklihood of an unwanted pregnancy, the regulation of periods and decreased pre-menstrual cramps and associated symptoms - the Pill works really well for a lot of women, and I'd use it.

In reponse to Pajamamama's Answer - while I admire your passion for the subject . . . the HRT evidence is controversial and cannot be extrapolated to the Pill. Furthermore, increased detection of breast cancer does not equal increased incidence of breast cancer - i.e. just because we are better at finding a disease, doesn't mean the disease has suddenly burst onto the world stage. There is no correlation between overall use of the Pill in women and breast cancer.

Furthermore - I guess Pajamamama doesn't believe in preventative medicine - no single aspirin a day to help prevent heart attacks - as long as you feel okay, and look okay, why take medicine?

Again, a lot of women take the Pill, not because they find periods inconvienent, but because they have horrible, life-interfering cramps and bleeding that causes them to be anemic. That, actually, is not normal. And if you want to talk about history, and since you mentioned menopause - menopause actually isn't normal for women, since in terms of history, women have only recently had a life expectancy that exceeds their reproductive years.

Answer 4

Hi, some say they are some say they arnt safe. My mum doesnt believe they are safe as when she was younger there were alot of health risks with them. But i think they are alot more safe nowadays. They all have side effects and some may not be suitable for all people. But in some cases someway can protect you from certain things and sometimes they can cause things.
In my point of veiw with being very emotional and stressed round the time of the month and i pain, Being on the type of pill im on is wonderful as i dont have to get like this every month.
If you want to know more about it then look on the family planning website or go into a centre near you and they will tell you all you need to know.

Answer 5

I thought it was wonderful to go on the pill, regular lighter periods, less risk of unwanted pregnancy etc etc. Until I developed chest pain, coughed up blood and could hardly breath one day. It was found I had a pulmonary embolism (clot in the lung) from taking the combined pill. I was in hospital for a week very unwell and needed daily injections to thin my blood.
After leaving hospital I had to have twice weekly blood tests and was medication for 6 months. That was 4 yrs ago and I am fine now but the slightest pain I worry. I'm not on pill now and have found the Mirena Coil very useful and safer!

Answer 6

I myself have learned to appreciate the body's own natural ability to heal itself. Therefore I do not take prescriptions of any kind.
They have pills out now that shorten your period.
A woman's body was made to bleed once a month...so let the
body do it's job. Interference with the bodies natural rhythm only leads to problems further down the road.
After giving birth to my second child, I decided to forego taking birth control pills. I tried an age old method of tracking my cycle to prevent pregnancy. I did it for 2 and a half years (successfully).
I made the mistake of listening to husband and had intercourse when I knew I was ovulating...hence child # 3. But it does work.

Answer 7

If you really want to hear the truth, no pill is any good for you in the long run. Sooner, or later, if you keeping popping pills, regardless of whether they are perscription or not, it will start to deteriorate your organs a little at a time. This is why I stay clear of ALL drugs.

Answer 8

Here are a few of links if you'd like to learn more about the big announcement about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) causing breast cancer. Note that breast cancer rates originally started increasing rapidly when birth control pills and now other forms of hormonal birth control also began to be widely used. Hormonal birth control methods contain estrogen and progestin, hormones that are the most widely used in HRT. This is true for The Pill, The mini-pill, The Patch, some types of IUDs, and Nuva Ring, Shots, and Rods under the skin. Levels in HRT, which have already been shown to cause breast cancer, are actually lower than that in hormonal birth control methods, on top of the fact that hormonal birth control methods are used by young healthy women with naturally occurring hormones in already normal levels. How long will we have to wait before the medical community admits to women that hormonal birth control methods are just as dangerous as HRT? I have a feeling that it will be much longer, as hormonal birth control is considered to be the "holy grail" of "women's reproductive freedom". Never mind that women are dying of breast cancer at alarmingly increasing rates since 1974 when BC pills began to be more widely used. Thirty years later, we are reaping the "benefits" of artificial hormones that are used to suppress the natural processes of the female body.

Just like menopause, the female bodily functions of ovulation and pregnancy ARE NOT ILLNESSES. Medications should only be taken when it's absolutely necessary to prevent or cure ILLNESS, and then ONLY if the benefit outweighs the risks.

If you must practice birth control, abstinence or a condom, diaphragm, cervical cap, with plenty of spermicide, when used correctly is STATISTICALLY JUST AS EFFECTIVE as hormonal birth control. Condoms also decrease your chances of contracting an STD and they don't work by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg, like hormonal birth control does. If you are pro-life and believe that life begins at conception, this last point should be of particular interest to you. Abortifacient types of birth control also include non-hormonal types of IUDs, which work exclusively by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg. Even if you DON’T have any moral objection to this, at least stop using hormonal birth control for the sake of your health!

A + B = C

How many more "news flash: drug causes bad side effects" announcements before we realize that the body does NOT need drugs, except in dire circumstances. Let's leave our bodies alone and live healthy lifestyles, and our bodies will take care of the rest!

HOW HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AND HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL METHODS HAVE NOW DEFINITELY BEEN SHOWN TO CAUSE CANCER
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1025191125.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/15/gupta.breast.cancer/
HOW SOME TYPES OF BIRTH CONTROL CAN CAUSE ABORTION WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE
http://abort73.com/HTML/II-D-2-types.html
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BIRTH CONTROL AND HOW IT IS ANTI-WOMAN
http://www.the-edith-stein-foundation.com/articles.asp?col=2

Answer 9

depo provera literaly made me crazy,my sister also.i ended up having my period for 7 weeks,my moods we're out of control.i OD'ed & in hosp..my doc's blamed the depo provera.i know alot of ppl. who've had bad side effects on birth control.but everybody is different.

Answer 10

not al pills are safe- some make you lose or grow more hair ect...some don't prevent preggers.....it just aborts after you concive so be careful which one u pick!