Skipping periods?!
Question: I've been on the pill for about 11 years now. Since my normal period (yes, even on birth control) lasts about 12 days, I've gotten pretty sick of it, and for the past year have been skipping it for months at a time...I think 5 months is my max. Occasionally I'll stop taking my pills and let it happen, just for nature's sake, but its just such a pain in the bum, amongst other parts. Question is - is there a real health problem with this? There are pills out there that let you skip it for 3 months, and also the shot, which makes it so you never have it, so whats the difference and any risk. Please be mature about this and dont give me "Ewww gross" etc. Also, if you don't actually know, please don't just throw something out there - this is my health.
Answers: I've been on the pill for about 11 years now. Since my normal period (yes, even on birth control) lasts about 12 days, I've gotten pretty sick of it, and for the past year have been skipping it for months at a time...I think 5 months is my max. Occasionally I'll stop taking my pills and let it happen, just for nature's sake, but its just such a pain in the bum, amongst other parts. Question is - is there a real health problem with this? There are pills out there that let you skip it for 3 months, and also the shot, which makes it so you never have it, so whats the difference and any risk. Please be mature about this and dont give me "Ewww gross" etc. Also, if you don't actually know, please don't just throw something out there - this is my health.
I have been told by my own OBGYN that you don't need to have a period regularly.
Current low dose birth control pills are very safe for most women. It is very unlikely skipping the period or the pill free week would change the safety of the pill. Birth control pills have been used by millions of women over the past 40 years. The first birth control pills contained about 10,000 mcg of progestin and 150 mcg of estrogen. The pills being recommended for every day or continuous use have only 100 to 1000 mcg of progestin and 20 mcg of estrogen. This is a huge drop in the dose needed for the pill to work. Taking the pill every day should be no different than taking them for only 3 weeks with one week off. The effects of the pill do not totally wear off in that week anyway.
Taking the pill every day should not make the hormone levels build up any more than when you take them for only 3 weeks. However, you will be getting one more week of estrogen which could increase the overall estrogen effects and this is the reason to use only the lowest estrogen dose (20 mcg) for continuous or daily use. There are published papers about skipping periods and so far there have not been any safety problems. As a matter of fact it is possible the pill could work better to prevent pregnancy if it is taken every day instead of taking a week off each month. Remember taking a pill every day to prevent periods is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and can only be done if you consult with your doctor.
There is a possibility that without menstrual bleeding and without the blood loss from a pregnancy women would build up iron levels which could increase their risk of cardiovascular disease. It was always thought that it was estrogen that made women less likely to die of heart attacks compared to men prior to menopause but this may not be the reason; it could be from the typical anemia found in premenopausal women from either menstruation or losing blood during the delivery of a baby. This "iron theory" is possible and women who suppress their bleeding with the continuous pill after a few years should have their ferritin (storage form of iron) measured and consider blood donation to keep it in a normal range. There are also rare diseases like hemochromatosis and polycythemia vera which would be found earlier in women not having menstrual periods or bleeding with pregnancies.
I don't recommend the shot. however if you constantly skip prescription drugs, you should go on Lybrel, Seasonale, or Seasonique, especially if you don't have doctor permission to skip the placebo pill week.