The Pill Problem: How to Protect Your Health from the Side Effects of Oral Contraceptives

The two types of pill look different. One pill is taken each day for 28 days with no break between packets of pills. Every day pills need to be taken in the right order. Follow the instructions that come with your packet. If you have any questions, ask your GP, practice nurse or pharmacist. It's important to take the pills as instructed, because missing pills or taking them at the same time as certain medicines may make them less effective. Most women can start the pill at any time in their menstrual cycle. There is special guidance if you have just had a baby, abortion or miscarriage.

You will not need additional contraception. If you start the pill on the fifth day of your period or before, you will still be protected from pregnancy straight away, unless you have a short menstrual cycle your period is every 23 days or less. If you have a short menstrual cycle, you will need additional contraception, such as condoms, until you have taken the pill for seven days. You will not be protected from pregnancy straight away and will need additional contraception until you have taken the pill for seven days. If you start the pill after the fifth day of your cycle, make sure you have not put yourself at risk of pregnancy since your last period.

If you're worried you're pregnant when you start the pill, take a pregnancy test three weeks after the last time you had unprotected sex. Find out more about taking pill packs back-to-back. The chance of getting pregnant after missing a pill or pills depends on:. Find out what to do if you miss a combined pill. If you vomit within two hours of taking the combined pill, it may not have been fully absorbed into your bloodstream.

Take another pill straight away and the next pill at your usual time. If you continue to be sick, keep using another form of contraception until you've taken the pill again for seven days without vomiting. Very severe diarrhoea six to eight watery stools in 24 hours may also mean that the pill doesn't work properly.

Keep taking your pill as normal, but use additional contraception, such as condoms, while you have diarrhoea and for two days after recovering. If there are no medical reasons why you cannot take the pill, and you don't smoke, you can take the pill until your menopause. However, the pill is not suitable for all women. To find out whether the pill is right for you, talk to your GP, practice nurse or pharmacist.

The Effects of Hormonal Birth Control on Your Body

You will be protected against pregnancy straight away. If you start the pill later than 21 days after giving birth, you will need additional contraception such as condoms for the next seven days. If you are breastfeeding, you're not advised to take the combined pill until six weeks after the birth. Some medicines interact with the combined pill and it doesn't work properly. Some interactions are listed on this page, but it is not a complete list.

If you want to check your medicines are safe to take with the combined pill, you can:. Skipping your pill for one day, for example, will increase your risk for pregnancy. However, no form of hormonal birth control protects against sexually transmitted diseases STDs. Ovaries naturally produce the female hormones estrogen and progestin. Either of these hormones can be synthetically made and used in contraceptives.

Higher than normal levels of estrogen and progestin stop the ovary from releasing an egg. Without an egg, sperm have nothing to fertilize. The progestin also changes the cervical mucus, making it thick and sticky, which makes it harder for sperm to find its way into the uterus. When using certain hormonal contraceptives such as the IUD Mirena, you might experience lighter and shorter periods and an easing of menstrual cramps and premenstrual symptoms.

Birth control pill: Side effects, risks, alternatives, and the shot

These effects are among the reasons why some women take birth control specifically for premenstrual dysphoric disorder PMDD , a serious form of PMS. Some women with endometriosis also take birth control to ease painful symptoms. Using hormone-based contraceptives can even decrease your risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer. The longer you take them, the lower your risk becomes. These therapies may also offer some protection from noncancerous breast or ovarian growths. However, controversy remains regarding the possibility that hormonal contraceptives may somewhat increase the risk of breast cancer.

When you stop taking hormone-based birth control, your menstrual period will likely go back to normal within a few months. Some of the cancer prevention benefits accrued from years of medication use may persist for several more years.

Reproductive side effects of when your body is adjusting to oral, inserted, and patch contraceptives include:. Serious but uncommon side effects include heavy bleeding or bleeding that goes on for more than a week. However, for some women, birth control pills and patches can increase their blood pressure. Those extra hormones can also put you at risk for blood clots. Being overweight is also considered a risk factor for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Seek medical attention if you feel chest pain, cough up blood, or feel faint.

Severe headache, difficulty speaking, or weakness and numbness in a limb could be signs of stroke. Estrogen may aggravate migraines , if you already experience them.

Your contraception guide

Some women also experience mood changes and depression when taking contraceptives. Hormonal IUDs thicken the cervical mucus and suppress ovulation. Non-hormonal IUDs produce an inflammatory response in the uterus that is toxic to sperm. It lasts for up to 10 years and is almost percent effective at preventing pregnancy. Adverse effects include intermenstrual spotting and irregular menses. Some IUDs can lead to heavier periods with worsened cramps. A small, plastic rod is implanted into the upper arm during minor surgery. For the next 3 years, it releases a hormone to thicken cervical mucus, thin the endometrial lining and suppress ovulation.

It is almost percent effective.

• What Are the Side Effects of Birth Control Pills?.
• Cardiovascular and central nervous systems?
• Don Quixote of La Mancha (Full Text)/ Introductory analysis and literary poem by Atidem Aroha (Annotated)..
• The Adventures of the Phillyfab Family.
• Rural Planning in Developing Countries: Supporting Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Livelihoods.
• ?

Side effects are similar to those of the birth control pill. They include abdominal, back pain , and a higher risk of noncancerous ovarian cysts. Many women report diminished or missed periods after several months of use. Surgery is carried out in the man, to block or cut the tubes that transport sperm from the testicles to the penis.

In the woman, surgery blocks the fallopian tubes.

• Counting Nifty From One To Fifty:Learning Tool Concept (3 and Up) Book.
• .
• At a glance: the combined pill.
• .
• Walking on La Palma: 45 day walks including the GR130 and GR131 on the worlds steepest island (Cicerone Guides).
• .

Possible complications for men include infection, hematoma, bruising, and the formation of sperm granulomas, lumps developing in the tissue surrounding the vas deferens where sperm have leaked out. Having a shot of contraceptive hormones can be a more reliable way of preventing pregnancy than using a pill, as the user does not have to remember to take it at the same time every day. Injections such as Depo-Provera suppress ovulation and thicken cervical mucus to reduce the chances of sperm from reaching egg cells, just as the birth control pill does.

It is a progestin-only contraceptive POC. The advantage of the shot is that you do not have to take it every day, but you do have to remember to have another shot every 3 months , and this must be done at the doctor's office. It is more than 99 percent effective when used correctly.

However because women sometimes forget to have another shot, around 6 out of every women will become pregnant each year when using it.

Page contents

This makes it more reliable than oral contraception. Anyone who has had breast cancer is advised to not to use it. It may also increase the risk of Chlamydia and HIV , but why this should be remains unclear. Oral contraceptives have been associated with cardiovascular problems.

Some studies have linked the shot with thrombosis, or blood clotting, but others have not. The Mayo Clinic notes that some providers may discourage its use in people with a history of heart disease , diabetes, or stroke. Possible adverse effects that should be reported to a doctor include:. Other effects that tend to pass within a few months include:. Depo-Provera has also been linked to a loss of bone mineral density, increasing the risk for osteoporosis and bone fracture in later life.

Even when used correctly, pregnancy can occur with the shot. After stopping it, it can take up to 10 months to conceive. We picked linked items based on the quality of products, and list the pros and cons of each to help you determine which will work best for you. We partner with some of the companies that sell these products, which means Healthline UK and our partners may receive a portion of revenues if you make a purchase using a link s above. Article last updated by Yvette Brazier on Mon 29 January All references are available in the References tab.

What you should know.

• related stories.
• The Practical Guide to Converting Unsupported Digital Video & Audio File Formats for a Dumb TV / Now TV Box;
• Combined pill - NHS;
• American Entrepreneur, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurs in the Age of Upheaval, 1850-1880?
• 10 most common birth control pill side effects.
• Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The (Rabbit Ears: A Classic Tale (Spotlight)).

American Family Physician, 91 9 , Retrieved from https: How birth control pills affect women's sexuality. How safe is the birth control shot? Impact of oral contraceptive pills on central corneal thickness in young women. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 48 6 , Migraine and the contraceptive pill. Oral contraceptives and cancer risk. Contraception and cardiovascular disease. European Heart Journal, 36 27 , JAMA Psychiatry, 73 11 , MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

Privacy Terms Ad policy Careers. This page was printed from: Get the most out of Medical News Today. Subscribe to our Newsletter to recieve: Professionally-verified articles Daily or weekly updates Content custom-tailored to your needs Create an account. More Sign up for our newsletter Discover in-depth, condition specific articles written by our in-house team. Please accept our privacy terms We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience, personalize content and offers, show targeted ads, analyze traffic, and better understand you.

Sign in Log in with your Medical News Today account to create or edit your custom homepage, catch-up on your opinions notifications and set your newsletter preferences. Register for a free account Sign up for a free Medical News Today account to customize your medical and health news experiences. Register take the tour. Hormonal contraception is taken to prevent pregnancy and for other medical reasons.