Contraceptive Pill Choices Stated

Read Time:5 Minute, 0 Second

This really is an introductory explanation of the several types of oral contraceptive pills that will help you to finally select the one which is most beneficial for the body. 50 years on, we’ve unearthed that the oral contraceptive pill for girls still prevents pregnancy if it is made up of much lower doses of estrogen and progestin than in the first days. ‘The Pill’ used to contain 50-100 micrograms of estrogen and today it has only 20-35 micrograms, with researchers trying to reduce this amount further to reduce side effects. Synthetic hormones (estrogen/ethinyl estradiol and progestin) used in contraceptive pills mimic the natural hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) created by the ovaries, adrenal gland and liver.

Estrogen’s main job in a contraceptive pill is to prevent ovulation (release of an egg from a woman’s ovary). Progestin in the pill, although it does possess some intermittent effect on ovulation (about 50% of the time) is relied on mainly to thicken the mucus across the cervix to stop sperm from getting right through to an egg.

Contraceptive Pills can be found in two basic types: single hormone pills (progestin only) and combination hormone pills (estrogen + progestin) Pills are supplied in two basic packs- 28 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills +1 week placebo pills and 21 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills without placebo pills.

PROGESTIN only pills (the ‘mini pill’) don’t contain estrogen and just have a little bit of progestin in them. Breastfeeding women are often prescribed these ‘mini pills’ (estrogen could cause a lowering of milk supply) in addition to women who cannot take synthetic estrogen for medical reasons. Unwanted effects are less than pills containing estrogen and they’re not associated with heart disease, however, irregular bleeding /spotting/mood swings may occur. Progestin only pills MUST be taken at the same time frame daily and are influenced by vomiting or diarrhoea.This type of contraceptive pill is not suffering from antibiotics.

COMBINATION PILLS- contain estrogen and progestin and can be further categorized as being Monophasic, Biphasic or Triphasic- what exactly do these terms mean? Pills are put in these categories according to whether or not the quantities of hormones they contain stay exactly the same through the entire first three weeks of a woman’s menstrual cycle (in 28 day pill packs, the pills for the fourth week in the pack are placebo or ‘reminder pills’ that are inactive and don’t contain any hormones)

MONOPHASIC Pill- is one that contains exactly the same quantity of hormones in most ACTIVE pill so you are less inclined to have mood swings as your hormone levels don’t vary much through the entire month. Popular monophasic pills include:Alesse, Brevicon, buy demerol online Desogen, Levlen, Levlite, Loestrin, Modicon, Nelova, Nordette, Norinyl,Ortho-Cept, Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho-Novum, Ovcon, Yasmin. In 2003 the FDA approved a new packaging of a monophasic contraceptive pill called Seasonale. This pill is taken for 91 days, during which no periods occur -so in 12 months, women taking this pill will only have 4 periods (for the first year though, expect exactly the same no. of menstrual days just like a conventional contraceptive pill till the human body adjusts)

BIPHASIC PIll- is one that contains different amounts of hormones through the entire pack. These pills alter your hormone levels once throughout your cycle by increasing the dosage of progestin about halfway through your cycle and are thought to better match your body’s natural production of hormones- they contain smaller doses of hormones as a whole than monophasic pills. However, insufficient evidence has been gathered to favour these pills over monophasic ones, where a great deal more reliable data can be acquired so monophasic pills are preferred. Breakthrough bleeding has been reported as a side effect with one of these pills. Popular biphasic pills include : Jenest, Mircette, Necon 10/11, Nelova 10/11, Ortho-Novum 10/11. Attempts to decrease negative effects resulted in the three-phase pill in the 1980s.

TRIPHASE pill- is one that contains 3 different amounts of hormones in the ACTIVE pills over three weeks, i.e. an alteration in hormone levels within your body occurs every 7 days for the first 3 weeks.. The dose of estrogen is gradually increased and in a few pills, the dose of progestin can also be increased. Whether three-phase pills result in fewer pregnancies than two-phase pills is unknown. Nor can it be known if the pills give better cycle control or have fewer side effects. Look for the ‘TRI’ on the label such as:Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Triphasil, Tri-Levlen, Trivora, Tri-Norinyl, other brands include: Cyclessa, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7.

The Best Pill to Take – All contraceptive pills are effective if taken correctly, with combination pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) being more effective compared to low dose ‘mini pill’ ;.Monophasic pills could be the best to begin with because they are cheaper and people that have lower amounts of estrogen might have fewer negative effects (but more breakthrough bleeding)

Always use back up (a condom or diaphragm) for the remaining month in the event that you miss a pill. Trial and error, negative effects and talking to your doctor should help you to look for a contraceptive pill that suits your body. Pregnancies occur mainly when women forget to take a pill or bring them incorrectly, vomit, get diarrhoea or, in the case of the mini pill, don’t take pills at the same time frame each day. It is very easy to take up a pill packet late if you simply forget or in the event that you don’t have another new packet on hand. The most dangerous time for you to miss a pill is at the end or beginning of a package as it lengthens the pill free gap beyond seven days meaning that may very well not have absorbed sufficient synthetic hormones to prevent you from ovulating within the next month.