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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for thinking the contraceptive pill is Not A Good Thing from a longterm health perspective

59 replies

SchrodingersSexKitten · 09/03/2010 19:18

Background, I am a woo-hater, cannot stand astrology, crystal healing, homeopathy etc etc and like to think I make decisions for the health of my family and me on scientific evidence, not "feelings".

And yet, and yet...I just feel that being on the contraceptive pill is not a good idea.

"Pumping" your body with hormones to suppress ovulation...bleeding once a month to make you feel like your body still functions normally, when it is a fake period....side effects....

Recently was speaking to the doctor and was asked about birth control; I said I didn't want to take the pill as I wanted to have another baby soon(ish) and I thought it took the body a while to get back to normal after taking the pill for ages. The doctor laughed and said it only takes one month and it is a myth that long term pill-taking has an effect on fertility and ability to conceive.

Is doc right? Evidence, please!
And AIBU to "feel" like it's a bad idea?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 09/03/2010 20:24

I loved the Pill.

I think it's fab.

All it's doing is what we no longer do: stay pregnant and bfing for vast stretches of our lives.

BrigitteBardot · 09/03/2010 20:47

For years I was TTC, then I had DD with AI and DS, naturall 18 months later. I don't what to do about contraception as I also feel uncomfortable with the pill an other hormonal contraceptives.
So no YANBU

MyBoysHaveDogsNames · 09/03/2010 20:59

I was incredibly fat and moody too! A very effective contraceptive in fact, as my boyfriend didn't want to shag me as I was such a cow. I didn't like the way the doctor just randomly selected a pill and gave it to me, 'to see how that one suits you'. Seemed very impersonal. It didn't suit me, nor did the next one. I haven't used it since.

So, I don't think YABU.

Reallytired · 09/03/2010 21:30

Its not normal to have a period every month. We should be permamently pregnant or breastfeeding and have a period about twice in our adult lives.

Anyway I partly agree with you. I get horrid side affects with hormonal contraception.

RedRedWine1980 · 09/03/2010 21:32

Depends on the pill.
Progesterone only pill has very few side effects and is suitable for the vast majority of people.

TrillianAstra · 09/03/2010 21:33

YABU since your decision seems to be based on how things 'feel' rather than any evidence.

Obviosuly your contraception is your choice.

amber1979 · 10/03/2010 09:03

The best thing about the pill is that periods are optional. I didn't have a period for about two years once. Was bloody great I just took it straight through with no break. Doesn't do you any harm according to my GP. Woo!

mellymooks · 10/03/2010 09:17

Ovranette destroyed my life for over ten years I would never go on the pill again. It's great for some people but for me it wrecked my body and basically "mimicked" the symptoms of ME which I was wrongly diagnosed with when actually it was the pill causing all the same symptoms.

I only found this out when I came off the pill to have baby num one and within 2 months felt incredible - but just put it down to being pregnant, then when DD was about 13 months went back on pill and within 2 months all symptoms had returned and I made the connection - one no Doctor I had ever seen had picked up on or even suggested could be a problem.

Came straight back off it and within days started to feel well again.
My doctor was shocked it had had such an effect on me but agreed that all symptoms I had experienced that they had said was ME could actually be caused by this pill also.

Scary shit and I feel like I missed out on my twenties being ill for absolutely no reason.

helenwombat · 10/03/2010 09:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

motherbeyond · 10/03/2010 09:28

i was on the pill from 18-26,when i got married.expected a honeymoon baby,but my period didn't come for 9 months.fell pregnant 1 month after that.then went back on the pill and came off a year later,took few months for period to return,conceived straight away....refused to go on pill and used condoms,am now preg with 3rd dc and no way am i going back on the pill. 'tis evil i tell thee!

OtterInaSkoda · 10/03/2010 09:29

The only time I had reliable periods was on the Pill. Worth being on it for that alone imo. Plus of course you can take two packs in a row and skip the bleed altogether should you be so inclined. At least you used to be allowed to do that, if you were going on holiday or whatever.

If I had a teenage dd I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to her for these reasons alone.

pecanpie · 10/03/2010 09:38

Was fine for years on the pill and it had loads of advantages but am convinced that taking the mini pill after DD1 contributed to 2 miscarriages having read up on how they work. Now that DD2 has arrived, just planning to take my chances with getting pregnant sooner than planned - much preferred to having trouble conceiving DC3.

BendyBob · 10/03/2010 09:50

I took it for years and then after dc the Depo injection for about 18mths. After all that yes I think I do agree that it wasn't great and I wish I hadn't taken it for so long. Especially the depo injection. That was horrendous for me.

Missmodular · 10/03/2010 09:58

I never liked the idea of going on the pill, but when I was 30 I was diagnosed with stage 3 endometriosis and suspect part of the reason for it was all those years having 'normal' period after period. If I'd been on the pill for a few of those years it might have prevented the endo.

I then took it for two years after diagnosis and it made SUCH a difference - periods less painful, feeling less 'hormonal' all the time, was slim and trim, felt great.

Two DCs later and having just finished bfing I've asked to go back on it again until we've made a firm decision about whether to have a third child. TBH it's not about the contraceptive part of it, I just don't want to menstruate 'normally' again unless I absolutely have to.

So for me, the pill has been great and I wish I'd gone on it earlier.

Morloth · 10/03/2010 10:08

This is a good thread, shows how vastly different women's bodies are. Sometimes it is assumed that we are all the same physically, when clearly that is not the case.

bellissima · 10/03/2010 10:16

I couldn't take the old high dose pills. Literally had 'morning sickness' the day after I too the first one in the packet. And sore boobs. But the lower dose ones fine for me - my own cycle is only three and a half weeks and with a longer 'natural' period I feel like I've got a period one week out of three. Managed to get pregnant very easily when I wanted (in late 30s and v early 40s) - my own period always returns three and a half weeks after I stop taking it! So yes, shows how we vary and how different strokes or rather contraceptives suit different folks. Have had to change brand more recently as get headaches before period (whether on or off pill) but nurse at last smear test (ugh) told me to take it till I was 50.

GrimmaTheNome · 10/03/2010 10:33

The main 'side-effect' that Marvelon has for me is no horrible horrible acne . And I had a bone density scan a few years back which showed low, apparently I need the oestrogen to protect against osteoporosis. I suspect I'll be going straight from the pill to HRT in a few years time.

Dianette made me depressed though. A combined pill I tried when I was younger didn't suit me either.

One size definitely doesn't fit all.

chandellina · 10/03/2010 10:39

i don't think you can really go with your gut about medically proven things, but I think it can be detrimental in that it disconnects women from their natural cycles and they can end up having very little understanding of their own fertility.
I was on the pill for about 17 years with no problems, and i think it's a god send in the broader sense of giving women choices about reproduction.
ultimately, Grimma is correct in saying our natural state is to be pregnant or breastfeeding through much of our adult lives, so any form of birth control is "unnatural."

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 10/03/2010 11:36

I got pregnant 2 weeks after coming off the pill. However it suppressed my sex drive which sucks. Tried the mini pill after ds was born but combination of pill hormones and post baby hormones were not good for my mental health! Yanbu to prefer to be off the pill, there are other hormonal contraceptives that have much lower doses, or old fashioned condoms which i use now and will use until i'm done having children and dh gets snipped. But for many women the pill is a godsend and it's not great to scaremonger without evidence.

ArcticFox · 10/03/2010 12:27

There was some research done a few years ago re the pill and ovarian cancer- they were trying to find out why they see lower rates of ovarian cancer in women who have taken the pill for most of their reproductive lives. Their thesis was that ovarian cancer is caused by unnaturally freqwuent ovulation, and the pill reduces frequency of ovulation over reproductive lifespan. Per this article, women now ovulate up to twenty times more frequently than our early ancestors. Can't remember where they got to though- think it was the usual "more research is needed."

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 10/03/2010 12:49

I remember reading about that arcticfox. Our uterine linings have to shed and grow far more than is evolutionarilly (?) expected which could lead to more mutations. The pill is actually therefore a good thing?

DuelingFanjo · 10/03/2010 12:54

I remember reading in about 1997 that after a pill scare where women were told a certain generation of pills were damaging the abortion rates in the UK went up.

Joolyjoolyjoo · 10/03/2010 12:57

I've been on the pill on and off for 20 years! had no problems getting pregnant 3 times very quickly after coming off it. Without it my periods are every 3wks and last 10 days, which was really getting me down. I don't worry about the risk of breats cancer much, as I feel I kind of offset it by bf 3 babies for so long! Also I believe the pill actually protects you against ovarian cancer, which is harder to spot.

On the mini-pill I was a weeping lunatic- very glad to get back on the combined pill when I stopped bf dd2, and refused to go back on it when bf'ing ds.

One thing I've always wondered about and noone seems able to tell me- IF you are born with a pre-determined number of eggs, and you hit the menopause when they run out, since women on the pill don't ovulate, can we expect to have the menopause much much later?? And will this protect us somewhat from the risks of osteoporosis? Have asked doctors and nurses alike, but noone seems sure!

Bramshott · 10/03/2010 13:01

I've had a DVT so the pill is out for me. It really annoys me how many methods of contraception are hormonal, and how few option there are if you don't fancy that (or can't use it) - condoms, copper coil, possibly a cap if you can still get one, but they're being phased out aren't they? All new developments in contraception seem to be hormonal/

DanJARMouse · 10/03/2010 13:03

I think its a case of what works for one person doesnt work for another.

I was on Microgynon for years and I hated it, but kept going. Fell pregnant first month (twice) with no issues.

After DS was born, I went on cerazette, mainly because my periods were so heavy, I was constantly aneamic and feeling shite. I have never felt better!!! No periods ever, pop a pill every night before bed and hey presto, Im covered and DH is spared the snip! (He keeps wavering!) Even if DH was to get the snip, I would want to stay on my pill simply because I like not having periods!!!

You just have to find what works best for you. Good luck.

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