Birth Control Effects?

[MD84]

I don't know if this has been addressed or not in the forums. I tried to do a search but didn't come up with much.

A question mostly for the ladies (men are welcome to discuss), does taking birth control on a regular basis affect your CD?

I began taking the Pill about 18 mos. ago, and quit about 9 mos ago. I always felt bloated, sex drive really reduced, and felt it worsened my CD a slight bit. My tolerance for CD triggers seemed to be lower. I did read somewhere (can't recall where exactly) that birth control can irritate IBD. I recently began taking NuvaRing which supposedly is lower hormone. Hopefully I'll have better results.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kev]

Being a male, I'm going to go way out on a limb here, and speak from a totally uneducated perspective.. Never having taken the pill, I hardly paid attention to the gossip/info on the drug, BUT, I believe I vaguely recall hearing that the most active hormone in it was testosterone (sp?), not estrogen (as one may assume)

I believe the long term adverse health risks of taking BCP was associated with this 'male' hormone... and it was the study of that which lead to med. science beginning to understand the risks associated with elevated levels of the male hormone.. In theory (if my understanding of how it works is accurate) when the balance of hormonal activity in women was thrown out of whack in taking male hormone, it interrupted the natural cycle, preventing any conception. In males, natural male testosterone levels meant elevated risk of heart disease, arterial disease, stroke, etc.. with the intro of elevated testosterone in the women taking BCP, the numbers of women suffering what had in the past been considered 'male' illnesses (heart attack, stroke, etc) suddenly went up.

That lead to further studies, and further theory/understanding of what these hormones could do. for instance, for years, what was considered and 'easy' method of permanent birth control was the simple, male vasectomy. It was a no brainer.. simple op., under local anesthetic, done in any doctors office, and no long term health risks.. Right? Wrong!! Seems that cutting the boys off at the pass DOES present problems.. Testosterone levels in post op patients don't decline as rapidly as typically found in men who didn't have the big 'V'. And, over time, the fact that testosterone doesn't decline means elevated risks of heart attack, stroke, arthritis, and a variety of other hormone driven illnesses... or at least those in which hormone levels plays a role that even today science has a hard time explaining, accepting or truly understanding..

so, long winded diatribe winding up, if my understanding of how BCP works is accurate, and it is based on info that crossed my path when I really wasn't paying attention to it (seeing as how, as a male, it really didnt' affect me), then if hormones (esp those nasty testosterone ones men/women share) have any number of nasty health effects on men, they should/would/could also have a nasty health effect on women... At least, that's my uneducated take on the subject...

 

[danna]

I have been on birth control since well before I was diagnosed with Crohns. My GI Doc and my OB have both told me nothing to worry about as far as any side effects. My OB did change me to the ring instead of the pill just to help me out since I am already taking so many pills a day from the crohns.

 

[soupdragon69]

Hi MD,

I found info on a website that my hospital set up its www.crohns.org.uk and then look under "living with IBD".

I can see why it could impact on Crohns but I have to say the research only seems to apply to the combined pill. I am currently using the progesterone only pill and plan to change to implanon (implants in arm) purely from an absorption perspective.

Personally I have found the pill has helped me because my Crohns is much worse during my monthly and it in turn compounds my pain. So going onto the pill has been a big help once things settled down.

Hope this helps.

Jan

 

[melinda crawford]

http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2014/40839a-eng.php