Are Women and the Pill a Match

I may be a minority of one. I am not certain. I hope that I am not alone for so many reasons. What did I do? I am a woman who has never used the pill. That's right. Any of them. I don't know when it became a right of passage to put normal women on medication they don't really need all the time, but I don't like it. Hormones are nothing to fool around with if you don't need to, despite the number of obstetricians that love to put women on these things.

To begin with, I just think we as a rule should take as few chemicals into our bodies as possible. All of these things have effects, and it is easy to wind up taking medications to stand your medications. Anyone who is stuck on medications such as insulin or high blood pressure medication can easily explain this problem. Yet, it seems no one cares how many women as placed on the pill.

It also bugs me the first studies of the pill, like many medications that came out during the 50's were first tried on poor people, who mostly were unaware of what they were taking and the effects it could have. These studies started out in Puerto Rico (language barrier) and then continued in the poor areas of LA. Why were these tried on poor people? Because they had the least means to sue if something went wrong, and less children was good for them, whether or not it was their choice. The people who pushed this pill wanted "poor" people eliminated by eliminating their offspring. They forgot that some poor people were once better off. Some of our riches cultures are "poor." I can't get on board with that. Not at all.

Plus, you should remember that post menopausal women are not encouraged to take hormones at all anymore. These are the same hormones in your birth control pills. Estrogen is estrogen folks. I don't think these things are good for any age on a long term basis for whatever reason.

In addition, women have taken so many birth controls pills, that levels of the birth control hormones are readily detectible in water released to the ocean after treatment. It is believed these levels are affecting the ability of wildlife to reproduce. Clearly, this is not being green.

I also know these pill are dangerous to women, especially certain women. However, one cannot always know in advance which women will have problems. Were you aware that the original pill can no longer be dispensed? This has been banned by the FDA since 1988 due to its side effects. How many women took this thing up until 1988? Think this is old history? Johnson and Johnson in 2008 paid out millions in a settlement for deaths and injuries from the contraceptives they produced during the 2000's. They are not the only company either. Each of the companies was more interested in making money than caring about women. Mind you, contraceptives do not need to be taken by women. This also gives me little incentive to support these companies by buying their product.

Today's pills have lower concentrations of the same hormones as the earlier pills. This reduces the side effects, but does not eliminate them. The instances of heart disease, early strokes, blood clots and certain types of cancer remain higher for women who use the pill. These side effects increase with age, which is why doctors don't want you to use the pill at all after the age of 35.

The new pills provide less weight gain for women, another side effect of the pill. The pill also places your body in the hormone levels of the early part of pregnancy. I don't know about anyone else, but I found the early part of pregnancy not all that fun. I did not enjoy the upset stomach, sore breasts, and the emotional changes. I definitely resist taking a pill that would cause these things.

How do we know the pill works? We can test whether or not a woman ovulates when she is on the pill. If a women is not ovulating she does not have a period. Did you know you don't need to have a period on the pill? What you actually have is a small amount of bleeding caused by hormone changes in the pill. If you didn't take a week of placebos, which you don't need to, you wouldn't have any periods while you are on the pill. Every so often, they bring out a pill that works like this. But because women think having a period means they are fertile, these pills are not popular. Without the period, women think the pill has made them infertile (which is just what the pill does!) Confusing, isn't it? And the new lower dose pills cause more "break through" bleeding. It is bad enough having one period a month, I will be darned if I am going to have two.

Worse the pill is affected by almost everything you do that could effect your hormone levels. These include illness, taking other medications including antibiotics, stress, allergies, etc. Affected is a way of saying when the hormone levels change, the pills don't work. So, don't forget to keep a back up ready for your pill. You will need it at least three or four times a year.

Then there is cost. These doses of pills are not cheap, nor are the extra doctor visits required to stay on the pill. I have better things to do with that money every month, than give it to drug companies. These things are not cheap. And then you have to have a back up system at the ready. That costs money too.

Then, you have to take the pill at the same time each day. This is another place I fall down. I would have been okay somewhat when I was working or taking the kids to school each day. But during the summer, or get up at some early time when I don't have to? Please. So, I figured if I took the pill, my hormone levels would be fluctuating a lot. This is not good.

So what did I use instead of the pill? Mostly natural family planning methods. These worked fine, and also proved little problem, especially as things got busier at home with the boys. No, I didn't have any kids when I didn't want them. Sorry. I would suggest learning this method whether you use it or not. It gives you control over your conception and you will know where you are in your cycle, and if something is not working right. These are great things to know about your self. Usually when something changes, its not good.

Plus, you can now buy an ovulation kit which will tell you when you are ovulating. These kits are good to see what your monthly schedule is like; they are also most useful when you want to get pregnant this month. Most women valuate on the same day of their cycle, month after month. The standard cycle of 28 days is a myth. Women range from 21 days to 31 and more and vary sometimes every month. But this does not affect the ovulation day. It stays the same.

Now to be honest, the pill does decrease ovarian and endometrial cancers. This is a good thing. But, in my opinion, I don't think if offsets the rest of the damage the pill does. Unless these run in your family history, I wouldn't take the pill just to get these effects.

So this is me. You can get off the pill, too. You don't really need it. Change is always hard, but there are many good reasons to get off the pill, as I have listed above. You can do it!

Sources:

Asbell, Bernard. The Pill: The Biography of the Drug that Changed the World. Random House, 1995.

Marks, Laura B. Sexual Chemistry: A History of the Contraceptive Pill. Yale University Press, 2001.