On the myth about taking any other medication with the pill....

What they say is true, but another class of drugs that reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills is antibiotics. Most women that take the pill seem to be aware of this, but so many don't. Maybe I'm just picking at the article, but I think they should have included this information as well.

Viola, that was my immediate reaction too. I do know women on the pill who weren't aware of that until I told them, and I knew because I was lucky enough to have doctors and pharmacists who told me. As appalling as it is, not everyone is lucky enough to have a doctor/pharmacist that actually does his/her job.

Whether or not these myths are true - the pill is messing with our hormones to an extensive degree. Men would never take something that fucked with their bodies so much... and the chance it might compromise their sex drives?! They wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft. pole. This is what drives me crazy. So if this article is all about calming women down, to suck it up and take it? Well maybe men should give it a try... if they had the option, that is. I've been researching BC methods the past couple weeks so I'm a bit fumed when it comes to this. Not that I'll apologize for having a strong opinion, but just to explain it.

Whether or not these myths are true - the pill is messing with our hormones to an extensive degree. Men would never take something that fucked with their bodies so much... and the chance it might compromise their sex drives?! They wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft. pole. This is what drives me crazy. So if this article is all about calming women down, telling them to suck it up and pop it, well maybe men should give it a try... if only they had the option, that is. I've been researching BC methods the past couple weeks so I'm a bit fumed when it comes to this. Not that I'll apologize for having a strong opinion, but just to explain it.

“So if this article is all about calming women down, telling them to suck it up and pop it�
No FemStar, that’s not what the article is saying. The article is telling you that those are urban legends rather than medical facts. What is the significance of “messing with our hormones to an extensive degree�? It either has terrible side effects or it doesn’t. If we are claiming it does, those claims should be supported by scientific research.

i love my birth control pills and i wouldn't take them if i didn't-- i'd find another method. they prevent pregnancy, my sex drive is GREAT and since i'm on seasonale, i don't get my period very often and am a million times happier for it. and men wouldn't touch a male birth control pill with a ten foot pole? well, my husband for one has said that he would and wishes that it existed just for that double (sans condom) protection.

I was so glad to read this article. I'm not sexually active, but bad things happen when my depression is doubled with PMS and I've often thought about getting on something to reduce the number of periods I have so I only have to deal with it four times a year rather than a dozen. I had been afraid to because of myths and rumors and "I'm not sure where I heard this but..." about how suppressing your period will make you infertile (don't see why I'd care because I don't want to be pregnant ever anyway) or give you cancer or whatever.

Nice to see that it's not as bad of an idea as people seem to think. Definitely going to go check it out now.

Some of these myths are myths themselves. For example they claimed while using Depo that women usually experienced have no periods at all, which is false, I'm on depo and just had a 9 day period, when my normal period is usually 5-7 days long. They also claimed using the pill for a long period of time is ok, which is also wrong depending on which pill you use and they suggest that Depo shouldn't be used for longer then 2 years. Also, what they didn't mention were that condoms are just as effective as low-dose birth control pills when used effectively. They also claimed that most women who go off the pill get pregnant with-in three months. Um, maybe that's because women who go off the pill are trying to get pregnant OR have annoying partners who refuse to use condoms. Women can still use other methods of contraception, have no icky side effects and have the same effectiveness rate. There is even a highly effect, non-hormonal IUD.

I would recommend taking this article lightly. My previous post was pointing out one item the article glossed over, and while I'm not claiming to be an expert, I could nit pick a few of the other myths too. There are many different forms and formulations for BC, and each woman is going to have a different reaction. The pill was the best choice for me, and even at that, some formulas made my PMS symptoms worse or introduced new symptoms. Others got rid of my monthly migraines.

Since you suffer from depression, you really should consult your doctor and you can get information for specific drugs from a pharmacist, including common symptoms and possible drug interactions. I really don't like supposedly helpful articles that gloss over important information just so everything fits into tidy little paragraphs.

viola/ prairielily-- RE: antibiotics

I agree the article should have touched on this, especially since I would guess more women take antibiotics at times than they do St. John's Wort.

That said, not all antibiotics are known to affect birth control pills, only some are. And if you ask a pharmacist vs. a dr., you may get a different answer.

It's known that rifampin decreases the effectiveness of bcp, and penicillin and tetracyline derivatives COULD, but it's not known for sure. Since researchers can't rule out that a small % of women could face a decreased effectiveness, pharmacists/doctors often take the conservative route and may warn all women to always use a back up method when taking any antibiotic. But really the risk is unknown and likely way overstated. Fluoroquinolones and sulfa typres aren't thought to affect bcp, but there haven't been large studies to completely rule that possibility out. Also if you're on a low dose pill, you could be at more of a risk. When I'm taking a fluoroquinolone, I don't use a backup for these reasons.

JustAnotherJane:

When I read that part of the article, I read it as "these are the only drugs you should really be concerned about" and I thought that was irresponsible "reporting". The article also states that weight gain/loss has not been proven as a side effect, but many women still experience it and it is listed as a possible side effect for many of their prescriptions.

Not all antibiotics increase the chance of BC failure, but I didn't need to go into specifics to point out that the article was still glossing over the facts. Barbituates, used as depressants, and some diabetes meds, like Actos, also MAY reduce the effectiveness of BC pills and they also weren't mentioned. I guess some things had to get cut to keep to the paragraph format.

Then there's also the affect BC meds have on the effectiveness of other meds. The article only mentioned anti-depressants. Taking Warfarin Sodium (a blood thinner) and Ethinyl Estradiol/Norgestimate (birth control) together result in the Warfarin being less effective, which requires some monitoring of the Warfarin levels in your blood if you are prone to clots. That same form of birth control can have toxic effects when used with Prednisone or Hydrocortisone(used to treat symptoms of allergic-type reactions). Some BCs can change the effects of aspirin, acetominophen and caffiene.

That's not to say every person that mixes meds will definitely have that reaction, but knowing there are precautions is certainly better than the ignorance this article actually promotes. DrugInteractionSearch.com and Rxlist.com are pretty useful if you're curious about your prescriptions.

All I can say is that so much of this piece just plain sucks.

Is some of it accurate? Sure.

Is some of it just more myth-building, and some of that based in sexism or what the status quo (and pill profiteers) wants fo women? Far as I can see, yep.

For instance, we're still without long-term study on menstrual suppression, especially for younger women, and the studies we do have are nothing close to all in agreement: they're really quite diverse, and there is a LOT if bias in the mix with a lot of them.

And anyone who's done it (suppression) with the pill -- and understands women's reproductive physiology -- knows that there is still some buildup of endometrium, thus the spotting that often occurs when you suppress.

And I suppose the scores and scores of women who DO experience vaginal dryness and decreased libido -- which aren't guesses, again, when you look at what hormones we're talking here and what they do, it's a great big DUH -- just don't understand their own bodies? (Boy, do we know that tired deal.) Are just being silly when they notice these effects gone if they go off BCPs? same goes with mirgraine issues, which is something even pill inserts will warn you about? Really, you can look at scores of credible reproductive technology sources that discuss these issues: if a writer whose arena this (reproductive health) actually was had written a piece like this, I'd posit we'd be seeing something a lot different than we're seeing here.

Not about to say NO MORE PILL, mind you, because BCPs and other hormonal methods are highly effective, pretty darn safe, and work just fine for a whole lot of women who are happy to use them. But a piece like this seems to champion one method, with a bunch of dismissed issues or blithe generalities, rather than -- in the better interest of women -- addressing how very much no one method is best for all women, and the best method for a woman is the one that's best for her, period. I just don't think half-arsed rah-rahs like this for one given method are of help to anyone.

(Of course, I can't figure for the life of me why in a piece stating it's 10 myths about the pill the IUD is brought up as one of the myths, or what the sponge has to do with anything.)