Can Birth Control Affect Your Health?

Even though birth control pills are very safe,

using the combination pill can slightly increase your risk of health problems

. Complications are rare, but they can be serious. These include heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and liver tumors. In very rare cases, they can lead to death.

How do you know if birth control is affecting you?

• Headaches.
• Nausea.
• Sore breasts.
• Changes in your periods (early, late, or stopping altogether while on the pill)
• Spotting (bleeding between periods or brown discharge)

Why you shouldn't be on birth control?

Even though birth control pills are very safe,

using the combination pill can slightly increase your risk of health problems

. Complications are rare, but they can be serious. These include heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and liver tumors. In very rare cases, they can lead to death.

At what age should you stop taking birth control?

For safety reasons, women are advised to stop the combined pill at

50

and change to a progestogen-only pill or other method of contraception. It is sensible to use a barrier method of contraception, such as condoms, to avoid getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), even after the menopause.

How does the pill affect your body?

The most common side effects are

spotting or bleeding between periods (this is more common with progestin-only pills), sore breasts, nausea, or headaches

. But these usually go away after 2 or 3 months, and they don't happen to everyone who takes the pill. Birth control shouldn't make you feel sick or uncomfortable.

Can the pill change your personality?

A top psychologist found that

the contraceptive pill can significantly affect a woman's brain and change her personality

, she claims. Dr. Sarah Hill revealed that it affects “sex, attraction, stress, hunger, eating patterns, emotion regulation, friendships, aggression, mood, learning, and so many other things.”

Does birth control make you thick?

There's been a lot of research on common birth control side effects. And studies show that

the pill, the ring, the patch, and the IUD don't make you gain weight or lose weight

.

What is the healthiest contraceptive?

Abstinence

. Abstinence is the only birth control that is 100 percent effective and is also the best way to protect you against STDs.

Is it healthy to go on and off birth control?

Although

it's safe to quit your birth control mid-cycle, Dr. Brant suggests finishing out your current round so long as your side effects are not significantly impacting your quality of life

. “I generally encourage people to stay on it until they get in to a doctor to talk about other methods,” Dr. Brant says.

What are the benefits of coming off the pill?

• If your sex drive was diminished on birth control, going off it might help increase it. “Studies show that, for some people, birth control does decrease their sex drive,” Dr. …
• If birth control adversely impacted your mood, going off it might improve it.

How do you prepare for coming off the pill?

1. Improve dietary choices.
2. Supplement depleted nutrients.
3. Support detoxification and elimination processes.
4. Support gut health.
5. Chat to your doctor about getting your hormones tested/alternative contraceptive methods.
6. Address lifestyle factors.
7. Support ovulation.

What are the disadvantages of the contraceptive pill?

Some disadvantages of the pill include:

it can cause temporary side effects at first, such as headaches, nausea, breast tenderness and mood swings

– if these do not go after a few months, it may help to change to a different pill. it can increase your blood pressure.

How does the pill affect your brain?

“We found differences in brain structure and function between oral contraceptive users and non-users. “First, oral contraceptive use is linked to

increased activation in the prefrontal cortex during working memory processing for negatively arousing stimuli

, like images of a gun, car accident, etc.

Can birth control worsen anxiety?

If your anxiety is related to the physical taking of a pill, for example, it's safe to say

an oral contraceptive is likely to worsen those feelings

. If you have a history of anxiety, hormonal birth control may mean you're more likely to experience anxiety. Preexisting feelings may also intensify.

Can going off birth control cause depression and anxiety?

Be aware that stopping OCPs isn't necessarily a quick-fix solution.

Some women experience a rash of symptoms—including mood swings, anxiety, and depression—in the months following cessation of hormonal birth control

. Some hormonal experts have started calling this effect “post-birth control syndrome.”

Does birth control give you hips?

The pill could be exerting subtle influences on fat – particularly where it is stored in the body. At puberty,

oestrogen and progesterone are responsible for the development of typically ‘female' characteristics, such as wider hips

and larger breasts, largely by changing the way fat is distributed.

Will I lose weight if I stop taking the pill?

Your weight may go down

.

Women who used a progestin-only type (like injections, hormonal IUDs, or pills) may have gained a few pounds, so the scale might go down when they stop using them.

Can birth control make you infertile?

But

hormonal contraceptives don't cause infertility

, no matter which method you use or how long you've been using it. What they're designed to do, however, is temporarily delay your fertility and prevent pregnancy. But when you stop taking them, your normal fertility levels will eventually return.

Is an IUD safer than the pill?

Both the pill and IUDs are extremely effective in preventing pregnancy.

The IUD is 99% effective, while the pill is 91% effective

. The reason the pill is sometimes less effective is due to improper use, such as failure to take it regularly.

How effective is the pull out?

Pull-Out Method Effectiveness

Pulling out isn't a very reliable way to prevent pregnancy. It works

about 78% of the time

, which means that over a year of using this method, 22 out of 100 women — about 1 in 5 — would get pregnant. By comparison, male condoms are 98% effective when used correctly every time.

What is natural birth control?

Examples of natural methods of birth control include the

calendar rhythm method, basal body temperature method, and cervical mucus examination

. Advantages of natural methods include. cost savings, lack of prescriptions or health-care visits, and. avoidance of medications or procedures.