Help! Big birth control question!!

[Color Me Crazy]

The next time I'm on my period I'm going to start birth control via "the pill". I talked with my gyno, and she said it would be safe to not have my period at all-- which means that I'd be skipping a certain row out of every pack to keep me from menstrating.

She said this was a safe thing to do, because hormones in the pill prevent me from building up uteral lining which is what I'd be shedding... I think-- or something like that.

Anyway, I just got off the phone w/ my sister, and we got into a huge fight when I told her all of this. She is convinced that not ever having your period is unsafe and causes cancer, but most of all, it's unnatural. Where did she hear all of this? Some 20/20 episode.

My question is this: is it really safe to not have your period? My gyno said it was fine, but apparently my sister, backed by 20/20, feels it isn't. I've looked around on the web for articles on this, but have come up with nothing.

Can someone please help me by figuring out if it really is unsafe to not have my period when I'm on the pill?

Thanks,
Crazy

P.S-- I'm going on Yasmin, in case that matters at all.

 

[dollface007]

From what i've read and heard, this is a totally safe thing to do. If you don't feel you can totally trust your gyno, get a second opinion, but remember who has years upon years of medical training. It's not your sis! Read the below artical that i copied from www.talksexwithsue.com. This is the website for "Talk Sex" and the "Sunday Night Sex Show" with Sue Johanssen which is a great great source of info on this stuff. This article too says it's safe to skip your period, with some caveats.
I personally prefer to have a period each month even though i'm on the pill. It's usually short and painless and for the times i've skipped, i've had some spotting. Anyway, i figure it's better to know when my period is coming and avoid staining my underwear....but that's just a personal preferrence.

http://talksexwithsue.com/nonstopbirthcontrol.html

"Non-stop Birth Control
Some women resent having a period every month. Even when they are on the pill and have short light periods with few cramps, these women just do not want to menstruate. Now you don't have to.

One important key here, to do this, you must be on MONOPHASIC birth control pills. These are the ones with 21 pills of the same colour in the package. Or if you have a 28 day prescription, you have 21 pills of one colour and 7 sugar pills of a different colour.

Do not try this if you are on TRIPHASIC pills, seven pills of one colour, 7 of another colour and the last 7 are another colour. If you are on 28 day pills, there would be 7 sugar pills of another colour. Go back to your doctor or Birth Control Clinic and ask for a prescription for Monophasic pills.

On Monophasic pills, you start your first pill on a Sunday, take one pill a day, every day for 21 days, but do not go off the pill, you'll menstruate. Instead, you take a fresh package of pills and start all over again. You can safely do this for three months, no period. Then after three months, they suggest you go off the pill for the prescribed 7 days, have a very light period, and then go back on the monophasic pills for another 3 months. If you have been prescribed the 28 day monophasic pills, throw the last seven sugar pills out.

The most common Monophasic birth control pills include: Alesse, Demulin 30, Minovral, Cyclen, Marvelon and Diane 35.

Because the Triphasic pills have three different strengths of hormones, there is a possibility you could get pregnant using the non-stop method of birth control. Triphasic brands of pills include: Tricyclen, Triphasic, Triquilar, Ortho 7.7.7. or Synphasic. So to go on non-stop birth control, you would have to change to monophasic pills.

In 2003, a new pill will be available in the USA. Called SEASONALE, it contains the same hormones you take daily for 12 weeks, then take the placebo (sugar ) pills for a week, have a period.

A major risk for non-stop birth control is for women who smoke. Because you would be exposed to nine extra weeks of the hormone estrogen every year and estrogen increases the risk of a blood clot causing a stroke or heart attack, do consider giving up smoking.

Talk to your doctor or Birth Control Clinic about this method. "

 

[warrior queen]

i have been doing this, off and on, for some 14 years, and i have never had a problem.
no, i don't have cancer.
no, i haven't had any other horrible side effect either.

i would imagine that someone who is super-sensitive to oestrogen levels might have trouble, but other than that, it seems to be quite safe, and many women are happily doing without their period.

i love the fact that i have control over my cycle - it makes it easier for me to have holidays etc., without having to worry about getting my period in the middle of it all.

 

[peachykeen]

I do not believe this is a 'normal' or 'natural' thing at all to do to your body. In fact I am not particularly in favour of artificial hormone based birth control methods at all (although I would much rather, say, a teenage girl be on the pill than have an early unwanted pregnancy). So, I would never in a million years choose it for me. However you are the only person who can make the best choice for you. My personal feeling is that there are lots of things that women have been told would be "perfectly safe" for them that, years down the line, turned out not to be, and although having a monthly period isn't the most convenient thing in the world, it is at the very heart of what we are, and I'm just not willing to fuck around with that.

 

[burrish]

for me personally i would rather do without. i was on the depo-shot for six years and never had a period and loved it, but the last year that i was on it i started to have really bad stomach cramps a couple of days before the shot was due and during the cramps i would start bleeding, the cramps and bleeding would last no more than 30 mins but the doc said that my body was starting to regect it so it was time to come off of it for six months to get my body back to normal. 3 months after i stopped the shots i got pregnant, and now have a 8 month old baby. i got fixed so i couldn't go back on the depo but wish i could. i have watched a show once not long ago that showed a womens bones that has had her monthly all her life and her bones were strong and white and then they showed a womens bones who had not had a period in five years and they were very see thru and brittle. to me i don't care i would still get rid of my periods if i could. but that is just my opionion and food for thought. good luck

 

[5pintshefound]

cycles...

ok, from what i understand its not that bad.. but!!!! if you dont have a full cycle for a while, i would guess {at least from previous experiances} that your period when you DO get it - is gonna be really rough.....not sure tho... just what i would guess would happen...

 

[Vixandra]

The doctor's I've talked to recommend the Depo if you want to stop your periods- though you can gain up to 10lbs while on it.
As long as you're doc's okayed it then go ahead and take the pills, skip the sugar pills and go to the next pack. Have your period every three months to "clean things out" and restart.
If you get waspish, bitchy, spot, or any other things contact your doctor.

 

[missbehavin_badly]

They not only say its safe, they are about to put out a birth control pill that is called Seasonal, which will mean you only have a period once a season.

 

[SexyGiggles]

One thing to check with your doctor about -- most insurance companies only pay for 13 packs a year (4 weeks per pack, 52 weeks in a year...) If you only use 3 weeks of pills, you'd need 17+ packs per year -- who pays for those extra four packs? Probably you...

Something to check into...pills can be spendy....

Good luck!

 

[Ms_Lilith]

Your sister is right in ONE thing: it is not natural. It is natural for your body to build up a lining and slough it off once a month. It is natural for your body to want to reproduce. Going on birth control is messing with your system as far as 'natural' goes.

However. I am on the Depo shot, and I have had virtually no troubles with it. I don't get a period, and I don't get PMS or anything, either. My Doc said this was the safest birth control option for me, as the other ones have really high estrogen levels, which can promote breast cancer to predisposed persons.

 

[Meat Whistler]

Most doctors will let you know that this is fine; however, it doesn't always work for each BCP. Talk to your doctor first to make sure that it's okay for you and your BCP.

 

[lovechild27]

I am assuming your sister doesnt have a medical degree and keeps up on the latest research articles in the medical journals. If your doc says its safe go for it. Give it a try. Its a pill..you decide you like your period you can go ahead and just take that week of placebos and have one. Its really a personal chioce. I dont see it as natural but if it floats your boat...why care what sis says? its your uterus, not hers.

 

[bare_pussy]

I went on the pill (orthocyclen) hoping to do the same thing, but have yet to actually skip one. First of all, having your period when you are supposed to will give you a first warning as to whether or not the pill has failed and you could potentially be pregnant. Also, any time you have an excess of cells hanging around in your body, there is always a long term risk for cancer. Finally, my doctor told me that the cycle would be heavier once i decided to have it.
I have decided that if I were every to skip one, I'd do it every other month. If I were someone considering it, I would probably want to wait for FDA approval.
So...of course it's up to you, but I would probably start off skipping every other month to see how your body reacts, and maybe wait for the FDA approved pills.
the most important thing to remember is that you need to take 'em every day, around the same time, and to use back up if you can because it can always fail ya!
good luck!

 

[ReadyOne]

The theory behind suppressing periods is that without birth control a woman will be pregnant with many (several?) children in her lifetime (think stone age, bio-evolution). Thus she would naturally skip maybe 100 periods (10 kids x 10 lunar months). So, why not skip them artificially without going through the childbearing?

Of course that invites the question of what additional things are going to missed by a pregnant mother, which her period skipping sister won't miss, and how will that effect things (e.g., breast cancer)?

 

[simonedb27]

which 'pill' did your gyno put you on? this is important because some pills don't work as well continuously. interestingly, i just read a study in a medical journal that said that not only is continuous birth control safe, it also is cheaper! just make sure your insurance will cover the extra pills. most will as long as the dr. says you should do it this way. it is perfectly safe as long as you monitor your blood pressure (making sure it does not go up). it will not give you cancer. in fact birth control pills have been shown to decrease the incidence of cervical, uterian, ovarian, and breast cancers. those studies that show an increase in breast cancer were mostly done in the 70s in regards to pills that were 100 times more potent than today's.

 

[Sabledrake]

Ready One said what I was going to ... I read an article recently about that very thing. The idea being that, what with women having a.) longer lifespans and b.) fewer children, it's not really 'natural' or necessarily healthy for our bodies to have so many periods.

The insurance thing is a very good point. I know that mine would probably be very picky about those extra refills. But I've been on Depo for a few years now, so it isn't something I have to worry about. Personally, I much prefer skipping that 'time of the month.'

Sabledrake