Birth Control Haters

[blas87]

I didn't want to derail the other BC thread. And this isn't actually about religious beliefs or people who are against BC because of those reasons (though I suppose it isn't out of the question).

You wouldn't believe how many people actually give me the riot act or some stupid lecture on how I am "ruining" my body/fertility and "messing" myself up by being on birth control for so long.

Though it's true Depo Provera is some nasty stuff, I got off of that in December 2010, after realizing I was at risk for premature osteoperosis (osteoperina?) and needed bone density tests every few years I stayed on it. I started taking Lybrel (now Amethyst, the generic) at that point, which is a no placebo 28 day pill.

I love life without a period. I had it really awful from 16-17 with my periods getting out of control and showing signs of early endometriosis. This "horrible" birth control has saved me from ending up needing a hysterectomy like my mom had to have after years of suffering overly heavy periods with too much bleeding and not enough time between cycles and cramps that would take down Stallone.

I have a friend who whined that birth control wasn't "natural". It was fine and dandy agreeing to disagree until she had to keep asking me if I was still on it. Did I not make it clear for the past how many years I do not want to get pregnant and honestly CAN NOT be pregnant (well, physically I could if something went wrong, but I mean it in the sense that I can't handle it, no matter what). I don't even rely only on the shot/pill, I also am religious about condom use.

Some dumb girl at work who really has rocks for brains tried to lecture me that I'm "ruining" my body and destroying my fertility by being on birth control. Like the dumb bitch isn't aware that if you discontinue use, it takes time, sometimes a long time (especially with longer term BC), and a small percentage of women may falter to infertility, but most women will eventually go back to the way it used to be. The body can and will go back to its old cycle. Oh, and the blood clots/strokes? That's from SMOKING, a risk that I know I'm taking by being on the Pill. I'm not going to sue if it happens to me. I'm not a dumbass. I know it's kind of a no no. If anything, the only other real bad thing I'm doing is by not releasing eggs, they are kinda just hanging around there, not being released for nearly 8 years now. I'm not so sure the long term effects of not ovulating for several years, but it can't hardly be any worse on the body than viruses and diseases from no protection or the chance of a high risk pregnancy.

Just had to rant. You'd think people would be proud I made a mature decision (though at 17, it was to help with my period only, but it turned out to also be beneficial to relationships) and took control of my body. Decided that I will not be a slave to my body.

By the way, to those same people who say "You NEED to have a period!" No, you don't. My doctor would have taken me off of Depo many years sooner if I "needed" to have a period to be healthy. And women on the regular "pill", that's not a real period, that's bleeding from taking placebos instead of active pills. If it was not safe to not have a period, it wouldn't be approved by the FDA and doctors wouldn't willingly prescribe these pills or give these injections. End of story there.

[fireheart17]

I can sorta understand the whole "you NEED to have a period" thing, but that would be only if people had no idea how the various methods actually WORK! There's three methods: preventing ovulation (most hormonal contraceptives), preventing an egg from imbedding itself in the uterus (IUD) or preventing sperm from reaching the cervix (condom, diaphragm).

If birth control isn't "natural", then either your "friend" is popping out babies constantly or hasn't had sex. >.>

[blas87]

My friend has been going through all kinds of crazes and phases over the past couple of years. Attempting vegetarianism because she figured it was animal cruelty to eat meat....that didn't last.....tried recycling literally everything.....ended up with a messy house......and then it was like Oh, it's not normal to prevent yourself from getting pregnant so I just won't.

[Boozy]

You wouldn't believe how many people actually give me the riot act or some stupid lecture...

I have a friend who whined that birth control wasn't "natural"....

Some dumb girl at work who really has rocks for brains....

I agree with all that you've said in your rant, blas, but I have to know - why are your birth control choices being discussed so many with people other than your doctor and sex partners?

I do not recall a time when I discussed my birth control usage/non-usage with someone other than my doctor, my pharmacist, and my husband. I think I may have mentioned it to my sister once, but we are exceptionally close.

Whatever these nitwits in your life believe, I think you could solve the problem of their judgmentalism by just not telling people what you use for birth control. If they're nosy and rude enough to ask, you just chuckle and say, "That's none of your business!"

[HYHYBT]

...which doesn't work once one person finds out who won't shut up about it.

[Greenday]

I agree with all that you've said in your rant, blas, but I have to know - why are your birth control choices being discussed so many with people other than your doctor and sex partners?

I do not recall a time when I discussed my birth control usage/non-usage with someone other than my doctor, my pharmacist, and my husband. I think I may have mentioned it to my sister once, but we are exceptionally close.

Discussion about birth control isn't a big deal in my circle of friends.

[Cats]

While getting a period is annoying, I'm one of those people who is scared of going on the pill or other forms of birth control for fear it will mess with me too much. My cycle runs pretty much like clockwork, and has been since the day I started. While about 1 day a year I may have horrible cramps for a few hours, other than that, it's only a minor inconvenience at best for me. I'm not in need of the other benefits the pill offers, so I'm okay with suffering through 4-5 days a month of bleeding out my crotch. I'm not sexually active either, so I don't really have a "need". I'd rather deal with my very predictable period than go through trial and error of figuring out which form is right for me and what dose of hormones I need. I have given thought about it though.


That being said, I'm well aware that birth control offers benefits that women can benefit from and would never dream of putting down a woman who has chosen to take it. A period serves a woman one purpose...to tell her she didn't get pregant this go around. That's it. There are no health benefits to having one (exception where having one and instead not being a sign of a potential problem), so why bother if you can get around it?

Using ANY form of birth control, so long as it's safe and effective, is no more 'unnartual' than abstaining and not getting pregnant via that 'method'. What's to hate about it?

[BlaqueKatt]

A period serves a woman one purpose...to tell her she didn't get pregant this go around. That's it. There are no health benefits to having one

incorrect

Historically speaking, then, the amount of menstruating that a woman does today seems a bit excessive. Is there any benefit to these increased troubles? It turns out there are a few cardiovascular benefits to those having menstrual cycles not regulated by the pill. Though menstruation is necessary to rid the body of the uterine lining that has built up in preparation for pregnancy, it also eliminates excess iron, which can be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the menstrual cycle includes two weeks where women demonstrate significantly reduced blood pressure. As a result, women have fewer heart attacks and strokes while they're in their fertile years [source: Kelley]. An evolutionary biologist also posited that monthly menstruation flushes bacteria out of the reproductive system, serving as a form of protection for STDs and infertility

If it was not safe to not have a period, it wouldn't be approved by the FDA and doctors wouldn't willingly prescribe these pills or give these injections. End of story there.

Rako and other doctors opposed to menstrual suppression worry about a woman's hormonal levels. Oral contraceptives cause a drop in testosterone, which can affect libido, bone strength and heart health. And while less-frequent menstruation may prevent ovarian cancer, long-term use of estrogen has been linked with breast cancer [source: Fried].

There are no studies of long-term use of menstrual suppressing oral contraceptives, so there may indeed be hormonal surprises in the wings. Additionally, we don't know how fertility is affected after long-term menstrual suppression. Another unknown is how menstrual suppression affects adolescents, because most testing is performed on subjects older than 18.

Just sayin'

The FDA approved thalidomide for pregnant women who were anxious and had morning sickness, how did that turn out?

[HYHYBT]

They also UNapproved Thalidomide pretty quickly. Birth control pills, on the other hand, have been in common use for what, 50 years or so? "Safe" is a relative concept, but still, if the dangers were likely and serious they'd have been pulled long ago.

[BlaqueKatt]

They also UNapproved Thalidomide pretty quickly. Birth control pills, on the other hand, have been in common use for what, 50 years or so? "Safe" is a relative concept, but still, if the dangers were likely and serious they'd have been pulled long ago.

yes except to requote:

There are no studies of long-term use of menstrual suppressing oral contraceptives, so there may indeed be hormonal surprises in the wings. Additionally, we don't know how fertility is affected after long-term menstrual suppression.

so no the FDA has no clue if it's safe or not.

Safety based drug recalls by the FDA(as in found out they were not safe), these drugs were recalled for safety reasons, 10, 20, or 30 YEARS after they were approved as "safe"

and here's a list of articles about the ortho patch which has double the risk of stroke or blood clots in perfectly healthy women, but it was approved because the FDA considered it the same as the pill, and it wasn't, non-smoking women under 25 were dying from strokes. and it's still on the market.

And Same thing for Nuvaring

and remember I posted previously about the utter crap safety testing for birth control-the "woman years" method.(article)

Women years is a measure that takes into account that different people use a particular contraceptive for different periods of time. For example, if three women each used a patch for four months, that would count as one woman year rather than three current users.

[HYHYBT]

How is that "utter crap?" It's not perfect, but "utter crap" would imply it's totally worthless.

[fireheart17]

Before I start, I'll remind you that the FDA does not apply down here in Australia. We do have a control for regulating medication, but I can't remember the name (I THINK it's the Therapeutic Goods Association, but I'm not sure).

I remember going for a visit to my GP and asking her about contraception. We discussed the pill and I brought up the side effects. She then explained that in regards to strokes, DVT and the like, the increased risk was very small, although if there were other risk factors in play, then the risk would increase further (the risk factors would be things such as smoking). Also down here, I remember being told that every 3 months they would take my blood pressure among other things, to ensure that I was OK.

[tropicsgoddess]

The birth control haters can eat a dick, IMO. My body, my decision to be on birth control. Birth control is a god send to me. I don't want kids yet, I want to be able to have fun with my SO and not constantly worry about possibly being pregnant. I also like being able to skip periods if I don't want them to happen on an occasions like my birthday, SO's birthday or holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The light to no periods thing is awesome. Again I will say, my body, my decision and if they don't like it eat a dick. I refuse to listen to some birth control hater's bullshit about how they think I'm wrong for not wanting to be a baby factory.

[blas87]

Or that you're "wrong" because you're preventing Aunt Flo, because you "have" to have Aunt Flo to be "normal".

I haven't been "normal" in 8 years.

[Amanita]

Or having a period makes you more of a woman, and choosing to subvert it makes you unwomanly. I hate beliefs like that, they certainly don't help the self esteem of women who lose their ability to have a period through disease or injury, and aren't happy about it, because they actually did want kids someday.