How I learned to stop worrying and love my hormones!

[ageofscience]

As I've mentioned, I'm working on a conference paper proposal on the use of oral contraceptives for menstrual suppression. Although paper is less about oral contraceptives themselves and more about why the idea of menstrual suppression is really messed up, in doing my research I've learned an awful lot about that little thing we call The Pill

Comments

[born_against]

I've always been pretty conflicted about the pill too... but as without it I have bad cystic acne.. which is very difficult to live with (and I challenge anyone to say that my reasons are entirely vain!). But from some stuff I've a read some of your points raised are still controversial and hotly debated with passionate experts on both sides. Thats what I find so challenging!

[ageofscience]

And this totally exemplifies why I think it's wrong to tell people what to do either way! That's one of many reasons in which it becomes totally understandable. Every time I briefly go off the pill (or even miss a day) I end up with super oily skin and usually a pimple or two, and I do fear that if I went off completely it would be much, much worse. I also used to get weird hormonal skin blisters on my fingers before my BC days, and I'm worried they'll come back too

[born_against]

I totally agree that that more information needs to be given to people who are starting something as serious as daily hormones!! Also that whole "taking the pill to stop menstruating" thing DISGUSTS ME! I mean... where does the junk go???? hahahah to ask the obvious gross question. I did go off the pill once a few years back and thats when I really discovered that I had bad acne in my natural state (because Id been on it since I was 17 I just thought I had naturally beautiful skin! hahaha) For me the acne isn't even mostly an appearance issue (which of course it is to some degree) the kind of acne I get is very painful! Anyways for me I've made my choice but I feel more informed after having read your entry AND I'm armed with some questions for my Dr.'s appt. on monday!

[ageofscience]

Oh, I hear you on the DISGUSTING factor! There's no way that can be healthy. Not to mention that it totally feeds into stupid ideas that periods (and women's bodies) are just a messy inconvenience. Sometimes sleeping is inconvenient, but I'm not going to stop doing it! Ejaculation is messy, but I don't think too many men would be willing to give it up!

Acne is one of those situations where none of the choices are really great. Antibiotics are bad for you. Things like Accutane are terrible for you. And birth control isn't perfect either, obviously. It's too bad :(

But being armed with knowledge is never a bad thing in my books! Good luck with your doctor!

[athoos]

informative, fairly-weighted, well-researched. thank you.

[ageofscience]

I don't know about fairly-weighted. Admittedly I tend to get a little accusatory when I'm enraged :) But I do my best!

And you're welcome!

[athoos]

Admittedly I tend to get a little accusatory when I'm enraged :)

yeah, i know, that's why i take it with a grain of salt. :P

truthfully though, i do think you fairly presented all the relevant information. even if you do have an obvious bias, it is just as obvious to the reader that you provide a clear caveat that said bias exists [you don't try to hide or excuse it, in fact you explicitly spell out the logical reasons for it]. thus i do not feel as though i am being led to necessarily agree with your position. your position is actually quite incidental to my absorbtion of the facts.

that said, they have invented a pill for males. he puts it in his shoe and it makes him limp. :P

Screw objectivity!

[ageofscience]

Yeah, the only valuable thing I learned in my Research Methods class- if you believe Marx, bias is fine if you admit it upfront. In this instance, I'm on Marx's side!

[janedean]

i have had my own research heavy contraceptive experience as well. i always find it amazing and utterly sad that i can get more information through academic journal articles than in my very own doctor's office. needless to say, i am currently not taking the pill and doubt i will again. it is marketed as a "too good to be true" way for us to get by in life.. worry free, cramp free, acne free, and, of course, baby free. just as the diet pill industry pumps our minds full of misconceptions about miracles by the pill.. the birth control industry isn't far behind. it is just hard for me to imagine a pill that can do so much good without doing some harm. although it is beneficial for a short-term medical ouch such as a cyst. one month of birth control and life was resumed as normal.. PRAISE THE PILL! on the other hand, i am not anti-birth control by any means, but i strongly believe that given the choice.. i chose no, just because..

[ageofscience]

Interestingly enough, ovarian cysts were one of my major reasons for going on the pill in the first place! But no one ever told me you only need to take it for a month- what I was told is that if you're prone to them, every cycle when an egg is released, you're risking it not "bursting" when it's supposed to and getting a huge, painful cyst. Hmmm!

I totally hear you about the "too good to be true!" aspect. And admittedly, that's one of the reasons I started taking it too. It's like one day it occurred to me that, "dude! This pill can do everything! Why aren't I taking it again?" and off to the doctor's office I went! And while it does provide a lot of short term benefits, I think often people are too blase about long term things. I mean, it's easy to choose between "osteoporosis or cramps?", but it becomes less easy to choose between "breast cancer 30 years from now or less worrisome sex for the next 30 years"? You know

[sakuramochii]

i would be interested in reading that.

[sakuramochii]

i wrote that post so that you'd write this informative one.. i've been waiting!
this reaaally makes me want to go off of it now, but i had 2 packs left so i started one last night. i might have to wait out the 2 months... the packs are expensive :\
thank you, pam!

[ageofscience]

And I'd been working on it diligently, slowly but surely! But you gave me the kick in the pants I needed! Well, that and my last exam was finally over :) I'm glad you found it informative!

Yeah, I just started my last pack on Sunday. I only pay about $1.50 a pack, but I still felt bad about "wasting" them. I can see why the waste would be even more difficult to stomach when you have to pay so much. Maybe if you know a girl who uses the same prescription as you, you could give your last pack to her? Or save it in case you decide to go back on later?

[blackacre]

On that note:

My health insurance is so ridiculously crappy. Had I gotten just the basic plan, i would have essentially had no insurance - full price for everything. I currently have no copay; but I got a RX plan SOLELY in case I wanted to go back on the pill. But even then, it sucks because I can't do the generic loestrin and the discount might not even apply if I get a name brand!!!

That said, the 3-4 years I was on it seemed to straighten out some of the problems I had and I'm not going to go back on unless I start throwing up from cramps again. When I went on, it wasn't really a choice given that and all the genetic history...but as long as thats all fine, I will probably choose not to be on it. This post has given me something to think about regarding the whole thing to boot...

[ageofscience]

Mmm, I'm so used to taking it now that I'm a bit worried about how my body will adjust to going off, but I know that's silly. I've never had cramp issues, but I am a bit worried about the possibility of developing cysts again though. Scary stuff :(

Thank goodness for Canadian health care and school insurance plans, is all I can say.

[queencallipygos]

I agree with you that it is a highly, highly individual decision. I did go on the pill for a while, and while I appreciated less-acne as a side effect (I've had cystic acne in the past as well), I didn't appreciate the moodiness. Then again, though, the guy I was seeing at the time I was taking the pill was an ass, so he could have been more so to blame for the moodiness anyway

[ageofscience]

Hello! This was a wonderful response, thank you for writing it! Also, I totally giggled at the guy I was seeing at the time I was taking the pill was an ass, so he could have been more so to blame for the moodiness anyway. Hehehe. How often that is the case

[queencallipygos]

It also baffles my mind that most women seem to be stuck on the idea that condoms and the pill are the only two forms of contraception that exist. I think, "did you not have sex ed class in the seventh grade? What the hell?".

I read your praise of Halifax public schooling, and should probably point out a very good explanation for why people might be misinformed about contraception:

I live in the U.S. You were required to take a "health" class, but if you wanted to take the version that included lessons on sexual health you had to get permission from your parents. If you didn't, you were stuck with learning about the 4 food groups and hygiene.

[ageofscience]

Grrr. The politics of sex education is kind of one of the most infuriating things about the world today! I can't believe how different so many people's experience is from my own. We started learning about how the deed was done in the fourth grade! I think there might have been parental consent forms for the first year or two (except they had to give the sheet back if they DIDN'T want you to attend, rather than the other way around), but after that it was kind of like, "If parents don't like it, tough".

To think that kids are stuck learning about food groups when I was in a jr. high health class where people were asking, "can I use a diaphragm and condoms at the same time?' and the always adorable, "can a girl get pregnant from oral sex with a boy?" is really depressing to me! And then to also remember that not only is abstinence-only education is so pervasive, but abortion is almost NEVER discussed as an option, is kind of crazy to me.