What Are The Benefits Of A Hormonal Iud
In addition to preventing pregnancy, many people use hormonal IUDs to help with period problems. Hormonal IUDs can cut down on cramps and make your period way lighter. Some people stop getting their periods at all while they have the IUD. Hormonal IUDs can also help treat the symptoms of things like endometriosis and PCOS.
There are lots of other benefits to IUDs. Theyre super convenient once your IUD is in place, you dont have to think about birth control for several years. IUDs are also one of the most effective methods of birth control you can get. Theyre more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. And if you decide you want to get pregnant, you can get your IUD removed whenever you want and your fertility will go back to whats normal for you right away.
How Much Do Birth Control Pills Cost
Prices vary depending on whether you have health insurance, or if you qualify for Medicaid or other government programs that cover the cost of birth control pills. For most brands, 1 pill pack lasts for 1 month, and each pack can cost anywhere from $0-$50. But theyre totally free with most health insurance plans, or if you qualify for some government programs. In most states, you can even get birth control pills prescribed and mailed to you using the Planned Parenthood Direct app.
You may also need to pay for an appointment with a doctor or nurse to get a prescription for the pill. This visit can cost anywhere from $35$250. But under the Affordable Care Act , most insurance plans must cover doctors visits that are related to birth control. Learn more about health insurance and birth control.
If youre worried about cost, check with your local Planned Parenthood health center to find out if they can hook you up with birth control that fits your budget. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to get birth control starting at $20/pack using the Planned Parenthood Direct app.
How To Improve Digestion
Overcoming the negative impacts hormonal birth control can have on our digestion isnt difficult.
There are a few powerful supplements and self-care practices we can implement that can really give our gut a boost, even while using birth control.
My go-to practice to boost liver function and improve bile quality is castor oil packs.
Castor oil is an oil that is readily absorbed through the skin. Its extremely high in ricinoleic acid which gives it amazing fluid stimulating properties.
And when castor oil is placed over the liver and gallbladder, it fluid it helps to stimulate is bile.
Although they can be a little messy and daunting at first, castor oil packs are an amazing, not to mention relaxing, way to help improve your digestion.
All you need to get started is some castor oil, an unbleached flannel, a heating pad, and an old towel. The Wellness Mama has a great article on how to do castor oil packs, if youre interested in learning more.
Including more bitter foods in your diet is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to support your liver and gallbladder function during hormonal birth control use.
Foods like beets, leafy greens , grapefruit, and artichoke are all-stars when it comes to boosting your digestion.
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How Do You Get It
A doctor or a nurse practitioner must prescribe the Pill. They’ll ask about a girl’s health and family medical history, and will do an exam, which may include a pelvic exam. If the doctor or NP prescribes birth control pills, they’ll explain when to begin taking the Pill and what to do if pills are missed.
The doctor or NP might want to do a blood pressure check a few months later and make sure there are no other problems. After that, girls who are having sex should get routine exams every 6 months to a year, or as recommended.
How Well Does It Work
Over the course of 1 year, about 9 out of 100 typical couples who rely on the Pill to prevent pregnancy will have an accidental pregnancy. Of course, this is an average figure and the chance of getting pregnant depends on whether you take your birth control pills every day. The Pill is an effective form of birth control, but even missing 1 day increases the chance of getting pregnant.
In general, how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. These include whether a person has any health conditions or is taking any medicines or herbal supplements that might interfere with its use . Talk to your doctor to check if anything you take could affect how the Pill works for you.
How well a particular method of birth control works also depends on whether the method chosen is convenient and whether the person remembers to use it correctly all the time.
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How Effective Is The Birth Control Implant
Hormonal implants work more than 99% of the time. How do they stack up to other birth control methods?
- Intrauterine devices are also 99% effective.
- Birth control injections are 94% effective.
- The pill is 91% effective.
But none of these methods protect you from sexually transmitted diseases . Only condoms prevent STDs.
Birth Control Gut Health Connection #: Compromised Nutrient Absorption
Hormonal birth control has been shown to deplete the body of key nutrients like zinc, B vitamins, magnesium, selenium and vitamin C.
These are nutrients that we work hard to get from our food and possibly even other supplements and vitamins we take.
So, its important to know that using hormonal birth control, no matter how necessary it is, can leave you susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.
Some of these nutrient deficiencies can specifically affect gut function, and may be behind some of your gut symptoms or conditions.
Zinc, for example, works in our digestive tract to enhance the gut lining. This supplement can actually be used to heal leaky gut. But when youre deficient in it, as is common with hormonal birth control use, your gut is more likely to be leaky.
Selenium is also a critical nutrient when it comes to gut function. This micronutrient helps to regulate glutathione production. Glutathione is required for normal gut function and detoxification.
Diets high in selenium have actually been studied to improve the microbial diversity in the gut.
Its no secret that the health of our gut relies heavily on our ability to maintain adequate levels of key nutrients and vitamins. And, unfortunately, hormonal birth control does not do us any favors when it comes to improving nutrient status.
But, dont worry. Even if youre on birth control, or have been in the past, you can use targeted supplementation to help recover those nutrients that The Pill is possibly depleting.
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Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
Oral contraceptive pills provide patients with the option to prevent pregnancy. If the patient has medical conditions that put them at increased risk for taking combined OC or progestin OC, the prescriber should inform patients of many alternatives to prevent pregnancy. OC’s are a choice made by the patient and her clinician after adequate counseling of risks and benefits. There are significant non-contraceptive uses of hormonal contraceptives, and these should be considered when counseling the patient about her options. Many OC formulations can provide menstrual regularity, treating both menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea. They can even be utilized to induce amenorrhea for lifestyle considerations.
What If My Period Is Very Light While Im Taking Birth Control Pills
Your period may be so light when you are taking birth control pills that you may have only a brown smudge on a tampon, pad, panty shield or underwear. The hormone doses in birth control pills are very low. This means that the lining of your uterus doesnt become very thick so very little blood needs to come out each month.
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What Are The Side Effects Of Hormonal Birth Control
Every woman will have a different experience with every method of birth control, but there are still a few common side effects of hormonal birth control to be aware of, like:
- Mood alterations
- Breast tenderness
The side effects of hormonal birth control are rarely serious and usually dissipate after several months of continuous usage. Just because you experience one or more of these side effects doesnt necessarily mean that hormonal birth control isnt for you. Keep in mind that it takes about three months to adjust to the combination pill and about three to six months to adjust to the minipill. If you still are experiencing side effects after the adjustment period, you might simply need to adjust the method or brand.
Women should be aware that increased levels of estrogen in the body can slightly elevate the possibility of blood clots. While this should not be of concern for most women, those over the age of 35 who smoke are advised not to take any estrogen-containing forms of birth control.
When Is The Pill Not A Good Option
The pill may not be a good option for you if you:
- find remembering to take a daily tablet difficult
- have certain types of migraine or headache
- are very overweight
- have a close family member who has had a deep vein thrombosis
- are taking certain types of medication which might stop the pill from working
- have had some health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart or liver disease
- are over 35 years and smoke
- have been treated for breast cancer
- are unable to move around for a long time .
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What Is Hormonal Birth Control
Medically reviewed by Susan Vachon, PA-C on October 26, 2020
Hormonal birth control is exactly what it sounds like: a method for preventing unwanted pregnancies that works by adjusting your bodys levels of naturally-occurring hormones. These changes in hormonal concentrations have a number of different impacts on your body, all of which work together in order to minimize the possibility of conception.
Learning about hormonal birth control is the first step towards finding out whether or not its right for you. Some things you may want to know include:
What Is A Birth Control Shot
This birth control method is commonly known by the brand name Depo-Provera . The hormone shot comes in the form of an injection. It prevents pregnancy for up to three months after injection.
There have also been some studies and research done behind a male birth control shot that has shown some process in recent months.
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Starting After The 5th Day Of Your Cycle
You will not be protected from pregnancy straight away and will need additional contraception until you have taken the pill for 7 days.
If you start the pill after the 5th day of your cycle, make sure you have not put yourself at risk of pregnancy since your last period. If youre worried youre pregnant when you start the pill, take a pregnancy test 3 weeks after the last time you had unprotected sex.
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What Are The Types Of Birth Control Pills
There are two different types of birth control pills. Both types contain hormones that prevent pregnancy.
- Combination pills contain estrogen and progestin.
- Progestin-only pills are also called the minipill. Theyre better for some women, such as those who are breastfeeding or have a history of blood clots and strokes and shouldnt take estrogen.
The pill comes in different dosing packets from 21-day pill packs to 90-day pill packs, to even 365 days of active pills. Traditionally, depending on the brand and dose, you take at least three weeks of active pills followed by two to seven days of hormone-free pills. This is called cyclical dosing. Most women have a menstrual period during the inactive pills. Some brands do not provide any inactive pills at all in the pack . With the 21-day packs a woman does not take any pills for a week. During this time, youll have your period, similar to what happens when taking the inactive, hormone-free pills.
Some formulations offer continuous dosing, which means you do not have any inactive pills, and a woman takes an active pill daily. Alternatively, extended cycle dosing is when inactive pills or breaks in the active pill regimen only occur three to four times per year. Skipping the inactive pills prevents menstruation. Your healthcare provider can discuss the best option for you.
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How To Take It
The minipill comes in a pack of 28. Unlike combination birth control pills, thereâs no row of inactive, or placebo, pills. Itâs important to take the minipill every day and at the same time each day. Your body clears progestin more quickly than the hormones in combination birth control pills. If you take the minipill more than 3 hours outside of your usual time, it may not work as well to prevent pregnancy. If you miss the 3-hour window, use a condom or don’t have sex for the next 2 days.
If you forget to take a pill, take one as soon as you remember. That may mean you take two pills in one day. Take them a few hours apart. Then take the next pill at your regular time.
When you first start the minipill, take it within 5 days of when your period starts. It takes time for the minipill to work. Use a condom every time you have sex in the first week after you start the minipill.
Ways Birth Control Pills Rob Us Of Our Health
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Todays Pills Are Different
When birth control pills were first sold in the early 1960s, they had very high levels of estrogen and progestin. Estrogen in high doses can cause weight gain due to increased appetite and fluid retention. So, 50 years ago they may indeed have caused weight gain in some women.
Current birth control pills have much lower amounts of hormones. So weight gain is not likely to be a problem.
Show Sources
Planned Parenthood: History & Successes â âBirth Control Q& A â and âBirth Control Pill.â
4Parents.gov: Birth Control Chart.
Is It Ok To Take Other Drugs While Taking Birth Control Pills
Some drugs, including antibiotics and anti-seizure meds, can make birth control pills less effective. Some herbal supplements like St. Johnâs wort and some drugs used to treat HIV can also affect how well your pills work.
Tell your doctor about all medications, over-the-counter agents, herbs, and recreational drugs that you take. They can tell you about any possible effects on the pill.
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How To Take Every Day Pills
- Take the 1st pill from the section of the packet marked “start”. This will be an active pill.
- Continue to take a pill every day, in the correct order and preferably at the same time each day, until the pack is finished .
- During the 7 days of taking the inactive pills, you will get a bleed.
- Start your next pack of pills after you have finished the 1st pack, whether you are still bleeding or not.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Hormonal Contraceptives
The biggest advantage of hormonal contraceptives is their reliability: Studies have shown that only about 1 out of 1,000 women get pregnant per cycle if they take the pill or use a contraceptive skin patch or vaginal ring properly.
Hormonal contraceptives can also relieve period pain, and often lead to lighter periods. If a teenage girl or woman has acne, the hormones may improve her skin too.
The potential disadvantages include side effects such as headaches, nausea, sore breasts and vaginal yeast infections . The hormones can also cause spotting between periods or lead to mood swings, and may reduce womens sexual desire.
And there is a small risk of blood clots forming . This risk is higher in women over the age of 40, as well as in women who smoke, are very overweight, or have a higher risk of vascular disease in their family.
Third- and fourth-generation birth control pills appear to increase the risk of thrombosis more than older first- and second-generation pills do . It is estimated that thrombosis occurs within one year in
- about 9 to 12 out of 10,000 women who regularly take a birth control pill containing desogestrel, gestodene or drospirenone.
- about 5 to 7 out of 10,000 women who regularly take a birth control pill containing levonorgestrel or norgestimate.
For comparison, thrombosis occurs in about 2 out of 10,000 women who arent on the pill.
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