The Common, Not so Common and Possibly Serious Side Effects of Birth Control

Female birth control has gone through a lot of changes in the past few generations. For our great grandparents it was basically abstinence or what they called the rhythm method. Considering all the children some of them had that method had it's problems. Then during our grandparent's and parent's time there was the diaphragm and later, the IUD. the diaphragm didn't always fit or position right and could break causing pregnancy. Then, many of us know of or know someone who was pregnant right along having an IUD.

Then during our generation, came the "pill". Most of us, when we got married were put on the "pill". Our choices at that time were often offered by our doctors, were the "pill" or the condom. Most of us chose the pill since it was considered more reliable and lent itself more to spontaneity.

During this present generation, the "ring", the "patch" and the "injection" have been added to the improved and updated arsenal of a wide range of "pills".

Newly wed brides have often gone down the aisle with their newly slimmed down figures, so that they could look good in their wedding gowns and the photos only to bemoan their weight gain, bloating and mood swings due to the "pill" or other hormonal birth control. These are just some of the common symptoms related with hormonal birth control, which will be covered in this article, along with the not commonly reported and the not as common, but serious side effects of hormonal birth control.

Commonly reported or experienced side effects can be nausea or what appears to be morning sickness,
weight gain, due most often to water retention or weight loss. There can also be irregular periods or breakthrough bleeding or spotting between periods, or an increase in periods, shorter or lighter periods or missed periods, altogether.

You could also experience diarrhea and bloating, moodiness, heart palpitations or vaginal discharges. You could also become more susceptible to yeast infections due to the changes in hormonal levels which would affect the endometrium. Your breasts could also become tender or grow larger. You could also experience a lower sex drive.

There could also be a change in your hair, a decrease in calcium retention which could affect bone density, leading to osteoporosis or increased water retention, leading to possible high blood pressure.

Some of these symptoms in the beginning can be due to your body readjusting to the new hormone levels and there's nothing to worry about. But if they persist beyond around three months or past the first missed period, you need to see your doctor and discuss the situation and possibly trying a different product.

In any case, this why your doctor requires regular checkups while you're on any form of birth control, so that he can monitor your health and be able to take necessary measures before a situation can become life threatening.

Less common but serious side effects are reported as depression, eye problems such as an increased possibility for cataracts, gallstones, heart failure, mini strokes, low resistance toward yearly infections, ectopic pregnancies, increased possibility for uterine or cervical cancers, jaundice and blood clots or thrombosis.

Any of these are serious and require immediate medical attention and removal from the birth control medication.

When I was first married, I was on the "pill" for a year. I stopped taking it after a year due to a not so commonly reported side effect. I experienced a change in personality, not moods, but an actual character change, My "Doctor Jekyll" became "Mr Hyde".

I've always had an ability to read people, to discern what is going on with them at the time. But, I usually keep those things to myself and they are usually both good and not so good things. However, during that year the only things I picked up were things that bothered or hurt people and they were out of my mouth before I had a clue
what I was doing. My foster-mother and I spent an entire year apologizing and trying to put the heads back on that my tongue was chopping off. That year was a nightmare.

I didn't know this was due to the "pill". However, my multiple periods, missed periods and heavy, thick, prune colored clotting clearly indicated a hormonal problem. My husband finally agreed that I needed to go off the "pill". Then three weeks later, it was as if I'd awakened from a nightmare and I understood what had happened.

When we moved from Northern California to Southern California, I met a dentist's wife when I went back to school. One time, while we were talking, she told me that several of her friends had experienced the same thing and went to a psychiatrist since they thought they were losing their minds and found that it was their birth control.

I also experienced another side effect that can come from birth control use, but isn't reported, although the doctors will speak of it. Some of them will tell you that you might go through a period of infertility which usually won't last very long. I couldn't get a time frame. I was told that it can vary. It took me five years to get pregnant after going through infertility testing and I was on the "pill" for only one year.

Another unreported side effect is that certain forms of hormonal birth control can help clear up acne.

Sources:

http://birthcontrolsideeffects.biz/

http://community.livejournal.com/birthcontrol/3454565.html