Combined pill and bowel habits

[tryingtoexplainmyself]

Has anyone had experience of the combined oral
contraceptive pill causing a change in bowel habits? It’s a coincidence that things have changed after starting it. Obviously if it persists I will check
in with my GP, but just curious.

No, but my IBS worsened when I started on combined continuous HRT.

I had been on the pill for years and suffered with Ibs terribly, to the point I could no longer eat dairy. I came off the pill 4 months ago and have very little symptoms from the ibs and have started to eat food containing milk again

hmm very interesting. I used to suffer with digestive issues before I had my children, and I thought it was pregnancy that changed things… but perhaps it was the pill causing my problems the whole time!! Now just to choose between the bowel issues or the severe period pain…

For me it was definitely the pill I’m so glad I came off of it. The only downside is I really feel ovulation symptoms, the breast tenderness is awful!

I just started a similar thread about a progestin only pill. How did your bowel movements change OP and did it get better?

Well I’ve always been on the constipated side and suddenly now I’m much looser. I wouldn’t call it diarrhoea but much softer than is normal for me.

It hasn’t resolved, I’ve been to the GP and had negative QFit and Calprtectin and she’s putting it down to IBS. I’m not sure and currently keeping a food diary. I’m not keen to come off the pill as I have endometriosis and it is hopefully controlling things…

Good news that the tests were negatieve. I hope it gets better soon, how long have you been on the pill now?
I suspect in my case I have become more sensitive to dairy (as in cant consume large quantities or things like sour cream without getting issues). This was an issue before but seems exacerbated on th pill.
If it persists I will also speak to GP

I started the pill some time in January, so around 6 months now. It was a rocky start as my GP said to run 3 packs together which my body didn’t agree with.
The worry in the back of my mind is that this is not related to hormones at all and is in fat a bowel cancer warning sign. I’m going to go back to my GP soon if things don’t improve.

Three packs together as in three pills a day? That seems like a lot of hormones so makes sense of your body reacts. I am on the mini pill so only 1 hormone in low dose but have always been sensitive to hormones and also have a sensitive gut in general.

Like you I also have bowel cancer on my mind and it freaks me out (which of course doesnt help with the bowel movements). But there are no other signs or symptoms and recently had my hemoglobin checked which was fine. I am iron deficient bc of horrendous periods which is why I am on this pill + iron supplements and iron has gone up a bit since (started those 3 months ago)
The iron supplements didn't affect my bowel movements at all luckily (gentle iron) but th pill seems to be another story. I think this is the culprit as it would be too much of a coincidence as my bms started to change 4 days in...
How did yours change? Mine have become consistently mushy but I am only 3 weeks in so I will give it some more time.

I hope you feel better soon and a doctors visit will help find the cause. Will you give an update?
Good luck op!

No 3 packs back to back with no break!

Same really. Much softer stool than normal, some times mushy, sometimes just softer but with difficulty to wipe clean.

My dad has bowel cancer so that is obviously contributing to my worry… which as you say probably doesn’t help with the bowel movements!

Sorry to hear about your dad, I hope he is going to be all right soon.
Do mention this to your GP. It's still much more likely to be related to your pill but with a family history it"s worth checking with a colonoscopy.
Have you considered quitting the pill for a while to see how you go? You can always restart or maybe look for another contraceptive.
For me that would be the next logical step especially if you have to wait long for further investigations.

The dairy issue seems to be happening here too ..🤔 What pill were you on, Coconutter24?

I actually ended up making an appointment today. She’s given me another sample pot this time to check for infection and said if that’s clear then we will think about next steps. She’s aware of dad’s diagnosis and was satisfied with my QFit coming back less than 4 in Feb and also had one in 2022 which was less than 4. I’m trying to be ok with that but I know they say the only way to know for certain is colonoscopy…

She absolutely agreed that hormones play a huge part in bowel function, so coming off the pill would be something I can discuss with her. My only
problem is that I’m on it in a bid to keep endometriosis at bay… but maybe a couple of months off to see if bowels return to normal would be ok.

Microgynon 30. All my stomach issues are loads better since coming off of it

Interesting coconutter. That’s exactly
what i’m on

I think if your problems persist after a trial off birth control pills you can always ask for a colonoscopy. I can't imagine you would be refused one in your situation; it's totally understandable you would want some extra reassurance. Are colonoscopies not recommended after a certain age when there s a family history? If I were you I would want to know your 'baseline' bowel health for future reference, but I have health anxiety so maybe that is overreacting and not advisable at all.
From what i read on MN it can be quite difficult with the NHS (I am not in the UK ) to push for tets, but it sounds like your doctor has a handle on things and you are both taking the steps to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks @MozzarElla84I have health anxiety too, and I would like to know absolutely for sure. The colonoscopy itself also terrifies me - the bowel prep sounds horrendous - so I’m not all that keen on it! Why can’t there be another way to look?! I think this GP would at least do a gastro referral and then they can order the tests they think are needed.

So the stool tests all came back normal, no infections or anything. I’d been a bit better the last few days but suddenly today having a bad day again. I can’t seem to link it to anything in particular diet wise. I’m going to have to go back to the doctors again next week I think, maybe I’ll see what she thinks about coming off the pill for a couple of months. I really don’t want to cause the endo to flare up by doing that though…

Rather than come off the pill request to switch to a different combined pill. There are many different ones and it could be that microgynon isn't the right one for you. I'm surprised that the GP hasn't already suggested a switch.

Do you think that might work? I assumed all combined pills would have the same effect? I guess different hormone levels in them maybe might make a difference?

No, they aren't all the same. They contain different types of oestrogen/progesterone and different levels.

There are also some that are exactly the same that are sold under different brands names.

Unfortunately, many women think that all contraceptive pills are the same so try one, experience side effects and give up on it entirely rather than return to the GP and change to something more suitable.

Low oestrogen is often a cause of the change of bowel habits you are having so a pill with a higher level might work better for you.

This is a really handy list that shows all brands, the hormone types contained and which pills are the same.

Contraceptive list

It took me a long time to find the pill that worked best for me (I've tried the majority of this list) but as soon as I found the right one for me it was life changing.

Thank you @Cluckycluckthats so interesting and helpful. So I’m on microgynon with says it’s medium for estrogen. Apologising you don’t know, but would a medium estrogen pill likely be a lower level than my body produced naturally? It’s the estrogen I want to suppress really because that’s what endo feeds on, so I’m not sure if going to a high estrogen one will be any good 🤔

questions for my GP I guess

It could be the type of oestrogen that is effecting your rather than the level. Speak to your GP, it might be worth seeing if you have a GP at your practice with a special interest in contraception.

Microgynon is a combined pill that is known for giving women quite severe side effects. It's the cheapest combined pill available so it is always prescribed first by GPs even though they know there are much better ones to prescribed. Fourth generation pills (Yasmin for example) are much better tolerated than lower gen pills, Microgynon is a second gen.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! I actually asked for microgynon because I took it for years prior to trying for a baby with no side effects. Everything changed cycle wise after I gave birth though so I guess my tolerance may well have changed. Prior to this year I’d been off b/c for 11 years!

The same thing happened to me. I took Marvelon for over 10 years with no issues, had my DD and then just didn't get on with it anymore.

Hope you get it all sorted