Low Dose Oral Contraceptive Pills Minimize Side Effects

Today’s oral contraceptive pills contain much lower doses of synthetic hormones than in the 1960’s when ‘The PILL’ (with 50 micrograms of estrogen) first went onto the market. “That’s not helped me much”, you may be saying to yourself but here’s some information about low dose oral contraceptive pills that may be beneficial for you if you’re not happy with your current pill.

Trial and error with different pill types is worth pursuing -bearing in mind that oral contraceptives are still not the perfect method of birth control for everyone. If you are on the ‘right pill’ to suit your body, you should feel exactly the same way as you do normally, if not a little better. Some women cannot tolerate the estrogen in combined oral contraceptive pills so are prescribed progestin only pills. Estrogen seemed to be the main culprit where side effects were to blame so ‘low dose’ pills were developed to minimise these.

Changing hormone levels within your body can result in side effects which vary for every individual.
Keeping hormones at a consistent level in your body is the job of oral contraceptives so that you do not ovulate, your uterine lining thins and your cervical mucous thickens. These three events work together to prevent pregnancy.

Pills such as ALESSE and MIRCETTE are called ultra low dose pills as they contain only 20mcg of estrogen. These oral contraceptives are effective at preventing pregnancy but some women find that they have more spotting and breakthrough bleeding with them than with pills containing 30 or 35 micrograms (considered the norm today) of estrogen. Spotting and breakthrough bleeding often disappear after a few months on a low dose oral contraceptive pill. Women who prefer ALESSE and MIRCETTE say they reduce headaches, mood swings, breast tenderness and bloating. These two brands also may be better for ‘first timer pill users’ as a ‘low estrogen start’ to introducing synthetic hormones into their bodies.

Progestin only pills or ‘mini pills’

These oral contraceptives are 90-95% effective at preventing pregnancy compared to the 99% efficacy rate of combination pills. However, they do not cause the common side effects of estrogen pills such as nausea, breast tenderness and cramps. The risk of developing deep vein thrombosis and cardiovascular disease is lower with progestin only pills. Nursing mothers can use progestin only pills a few weeks after giving birth as progestin does not affect milk supply like estrogen does.

‘Mini pills’ must be taken every day at the same time with no break. If you miss just one pill or take it more than three hours past the regular time, you need to use a backup method of birth control for 48 hours after taking the late pill. Disadvantage of the ‘mini pill’ – apart from irregular spotting and breakthrough bleeding, is that it can increase the risk of ovarian cysts and ectopic pregnancy.

Sources:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Elizabeth Silverman, obstetrician-gynecologist at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. Dr. Pamela Deak, obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of California San Diego Medical Center.

Doc Check Yourself Before Asking For Alesse

I know it seems alarming and quite off -putting to be considering a list of medical conditions that would STOP you from using Alesse or any other oral contraceptive pill, when all you may want right now are simple facts and a prescription for 3 months supply! Oral contraceptives are highly effective at preventing pregnancy but before you rush off to the clinic and demand to be ‘put on the pill’, you owe it your body and your future health to make sure that you are NOT placing yourself at ‘high risk’ of developing a serious disease that could cause temporary or permanent disability or death.

Most of you probably know that if you are pregnant, or miss two menstrual periods in a row, you should stop taking the contraceptive pill and get to the doctor as soon as possible. The hormones in Alesse can pass into breast milk or slow down milk production so safe guard your baby’s health by NOT taking Alesse if you are breastfeeding.

How many female friends do you know who are on the pill and who are overweight or who still smoke? (or both!) Hmm…would they think you were a ‘wally’ if you suggested that they have another chat with their doctor?

At least you can arm yourself with information to take to the doctor’s by quickly scrolling through the list below and jotting down anything that ‘rings a bell’ – then pat yourself on the back for being a ‘ savvy and responsible girl’, grab your purse (with your notes) and head off to get the most out of that consultation.

 Do not use Alesse if you have:

•       a history of a stroke  or a history of heart attack, seizures or epilepsy
•       a history of depression
•       a history of fibrocystic breast disease, lumps, nodules, or an abnormal  mammogram
•       blood clots in the legs, varicose veins, blood clots in the lungs or eyes
•       high cholesterol or if you are overweight or have severe high blood pressure
•       circulation problems (especially if caused by diabetes) or a heart valve disorder
•       angina (chest pain)
•       uterine fibroid tumors or a hormone-related cancer such as breast or uterine cancer, cervical or vaginal cancer
•       abnormal or unexplained vaginal bleeding or a history of irregular menstrual cycles
•       current liver disease or liver cancer
•       severe migraine headaches
•       tuberculosis
•       yellowing of the whites of the eyes or of the skin (jaundice) during pregnancy or during
•       previous use of the pill
•       a need for surgery that requires prolonged bedrest afterwards
•      a known allergy to the active ingredients in Aless (levonorgestrel and ethinylestradiol)

OK, so you ticked NO to all of the above, filled the prescription and have started your first pack of Alesse (or other brand of contraceptive pill) and so far so good…..not wishing to make a hypochondriac out of you, it would be irresponsible of me not to follow up with a final Check Yourself ‘watch out for’ list so here ’tis…. 

WARNING SIGNALS

If any of these adverse effects occur while you are taking oral contraceptives, call your health-care provider  immediately:

· Sharp chest pain, coughing of blood, or sudden shortness of breath (indicating a possible clot in the lung).

· Pain in the calf (indicating a possible clot in the leg).

· Crushing chest pain or heaviness in the chest (indicating a possible heart attack).

· Sudden severe headache or vomiting, dizziness or fainting, disturbances of vision or speech, weakness, or           numbness in an arm or leg (indicating a possible stroke).

· Sudden partial or complete loss of vision (indicating a possible clot in the eye).

· Breast lumps (indicating possible breast cancer or fibrocystic disease of the breast; ask your health-care provider to show you how to examine your breasts).

· Severe pain or tenderness in the stomach area (indicating a possibly ruptured liver tumor).

· Difficulty in sleeping, weakness, lack of energy, fatigue, or change in mood (possibly indicating severe depression).

· Jaundice or a yellowing of the skin or eyeballs, accompanied frequently by fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, dark-colored urine, or light-colored bowel movements (indicating possible liver problems).

Sources:  Manufacturer’s information- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.Philadelphia

ALESSE

Is Alesse an effective contraceptive for YOU, ladies?

An effective method of contraception- isn’t that what we all want ladies? What a trial and error journey it is though eh? There isn’t any shortcut either as all our bods are unique and until we swallow a pill, even Vitamin B3 (which brings me out in an embarrassing itchy red rash all over!) we just cannot predict what reaction we shall have.

The contraceptive pills I write about are approved by the FDA so that’s a start I guess but today I want to give a basic overview of one in particular, Alesse.

Regardless of which ‘pill’ suits you, for all of them to be most effective, you must use them correctly.

All hormonal contraceptive pills can cause some side effects, in varying intensities, in some women. After all, we are swallowing chemicals that affect our natural hormone levels each month, just like being pregnant does!

Many women who wish to manage their birth control in a convenient way find that Alesse suits them very well (Alesse is also sold under the brand names Aviane, Levlite, Levlen, Levota, Tri-leven, Triphasil, Trivora and Triphasil-28 -the active ingredients in these pills are levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol)

The synthetic female hormones in Alesse do 3 things in your body:

1. stop your egg from escaping from your ovary. This event, which happens once a month (per cycle) is called ‘ovulation’. No egg to fertilize boys? No heir this month!
2. alter the consistency of the mucous around your cervix (neck of the womb)- now this REALLY makes it tough swimming for those eager little spermies. Alesse makes the mucous much thicker than normal so it stops the ‘boys’ from reaching an egg even if one does manage to escape
3. change the nature of the lining layers of your uterus (womb)- this lining becomes much thinner than normal so that a fertilised egg, called a ‘zygote’ at this stage, does not find ‘ a comfortable room at the inn’ to bed down in, no attachment to the uterus means no baby grows to buy yet darling

If you take Alesse make sure that…..

You follow the instructions on the packet or your doctor’s orders. The pills are laid out in a sequence you must follow on each day of your menstrual cycle. Take a pill daily and at the same time if you can for maximum effectiveness and protection. If you miss a pill, there are options to keep you protected, which may mean taking a double dose the next day but check with the doctor first because missing an ‘inactive pill’ (one of the dummy 7) is no cause for concern.

Some warnings to heed

Are you pregnant now or have you just had a child? If so, do not take Alesse.

Do you fall into one of these groups below ? If you do, you should also avoid taking Alesse or any other type of oral contraceptive pill:

• women who have problems with blood clotting, abnormal bleeding every month, circulation or high blood pressure
• women with diabetes
• women who have cancer of the uterus or breast (these are related to hormone problems)
• women with liver problems

Extra precautions to take when you first start taking Alesse

As the Irish say ‘To be sure, to be sure’ and I’m not telling you to use 2 condoms at the same time but even one and maybe a spermicide is good ‘insurance’ against pregnancy during the first few weeks until your body adjusts to the changing levels of hormones caused by Alesse.

We are told that if we take an oral contraceptive, we increase our chances of developing ‘plaque’ in our arteries and subsequently developing a heart disease. This is specially true for smokers and women over 35 years of age. While this does not suddenly appear overnight, it is wise to heed this warning if you plan to take Alesse for years and years without a break and I would be looking for an alternative method of birth control if I smoked.

Are you taking other medicines besides ‘the pill’?

As with all ‘cocktails’ of mixed medications, your doctor MUST be told if you are taking ‘over the counter medicines’ (yes, I know it sounds silly but even vitamins and mineral supplements) or any other prescribed medication as well as Alesse, since they could reduce the effectiveness of this contraceptive and you would unknowingly be putting yourself at a higher risk of getting pregnant.

And last but not least – those side effects!

It would be irresponsible of me not to mention the main side effects that some women have reported when using Alesse. Every BODY is unique remember, so while you should not tempt fate by expecting to have side effects yourself, you should monitor your reactions carefully when taking Alesse and try to distinguish between monthly changes that you usually have with your period and any different ones you get with Alesse. Unfortunately, (well, I suppose that depends on the way you look at it too!) some women seem to have less interest in sex altogether when on ‘the pill’.

Mild nausea is not uncommon but often fades after the first couple of months.
Birth defects have been linked to hormonal contraceptives though no studies have proved this.
The production of breast milk in some women has slowed down but I, for one, do not recommend that you use a hormonal contraceptive, including Alesse, while you are breastfeeding because you don’t know what it will do to your baby.

Some other women have found that they feel depressed, have a little swelling or numbness, notice an increase in hair growth or a darkening of their skin and some women even find that their contraceptive ‘pill’ affects the wearing of their contact lenses. It’s possible that you may have a side effect not listed here too.

Common Sense is the key, trials and careful monitoring will hopefully reward you with an effective contraceptive pill, either Alesse or one of the other popular ones, that you will find convenient, comfortable and will empower you to enjoy your sexuality and manage your birth control successfully.