Birth control pills: Questions for the pros

...honestly, who has the energy to break all this down right now? I'm running low on patience... though she made a pretty solid point regarding those tumors...

...but here’s the crux of the matter, and I feel like I’ve touched on this before: you simply don't mess around with hormones. Hormone replacement therapy is arguably one of the most brutal treatments out there because trying to balance it is an absolute nightmare... and yet, here we are, using contraception to essentially meddle with our body's own natural hormonal rhythms...

...by doing that, we're basically sabotaging our own biology by default... and the fallout is massive. You can find plenty of info online about the repercussions, ranging from reproductive issues to impacts on other bodily systems... I don't see much point in lecturing everyone on it; anyone can just pick up a medical textbook and do their own reading...

...think about why it's such a struggle for diabetics to stabilize their blood sugar levels... it's precisely because they're trying to mimic the body's natural, daily insulin fluctuations...

...if you lay out all the pros and cons on the table, I am firmly against this specific type of contraception. The fact that Big Pharma stands to rake in billions and billions by selling these kinds of products is a whole different issue entirely...

...contraception should really be a tailored, individual prescription for women who actually face an increased risk of certain cancers—specifically those types where pill usage might actually lower the risk...

...but under no circumstances would I recommend this method of birth control to any woman based on a hunch or a whim...

For someone who claims they don't have the patience to explain things, you certainly went on a bit of a rant there...

But look at it this way... you shouldn't be using any medication for two simple reasons: Big Pharma makes billions off everyone, and every single drug messes with your system somehow. And since you're a med student, you really ought to get used to prescribing everything under the sun—otherwise, no pharmaceutical giant is going to buy you a car or a house. Long live the healthcare system...

Bottom line... contraceptives have been on the market for decades and they’re constantly being refined. You can't just claim they're bad for everyone, any more than you'd say everyone takes an aspirin and ends up with brain damage.

p.s. Sorry for the tangent 🙂

nimblesurfer20 said:used to everything being padded out because otherwise no pharma company is going to buy you anything, not even a car or an apartment... long live the healthcare system...

Offtopic:
So why isn't anyone buying me a house and a car? Or maybe, why won't a hospital even cover my $250 registration fee, let alone travel and lodging—and I'm not talking about some fancy hotel, just basic stuff since I was there with kids who were attending some nature school or whatever. Plus, the $500 symposium fee where I was actually the speaker came right out of my own pocket. I guess I miscalculated something somewhere 🤔 . But I have plenty of company swag lying around at home if anyone wants it 😁 . And some pens, too.

Ontopic: Robert Alvarez, you're being a bit dramatic. Metamizole can cause aplastic anemia, so it’s a drug we really have to watch carefully in surgery for up to 8 hours.

Standard Aspirin can cause Reye's syndrome in children, which has serious consequences, especially for the liver and brain.

And we could go on forever
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I didn't get the impression that managing blood sugar was that difficult? Our diabetes specialist does a great job 🙂.

Finally; I take Logitech (not an ad, I don't even have any of their swag, honest word), they have ten times less hormone concentration than some other brands.

And I'll have to check with Robert Alvarez regarding the incidence of pulmonary embolism in women on birth control. I don't know off the top of my head 🙄.

Oh, I just remembered this while looking some stuff up.

Regarding diaphragms—they actually carry a risk of toxic shock syndrome. Yeah, you could actually die from using one. Plus, they increase the chances of UTIs and hemorrhoids (I didn't even know that part! By the way, it's a pain to find one at a local CVS in this town).

Condoms are also less reliable in practice than they are on paper. I don't mean the statistical failure rates; I mean when you factor in everything—how they're actually used, how they're stored, all that stuff—the real-world safety is much lower than what the packaging claims.

With an IUD, you’re looking at potential pelvic infections, abscesses, ruptures... even ectopic pregnancies.

I just wanted to point out that absolutely nothing is 100% safe. You can get a pulmonary embolism just by flying on a plane.

So, if I just stay home and don't do anything, I guess I'll be fine. Wrong. I could get a pulmonary embolism just from being sedentary. 🙂.

Ashley Fox69 said:Honestly, I never felt like managing blood sugar was such a massive ordeal... My endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic is absolutely killing it with my management plan 🙂.

I’d love to actually know what we're even talking about here. Are we discussing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes??? Or maybe someone on hormonal birth control dealing with Type 1 (or Type 2) and all those annoying spikes and dips in glucose levels???

Someone please clear this up for me.

Regarding the physiological release of sex hormones...

Robert Alvarez was acting like managing someone's blood sugar was some kind of Mission Impossible, but I just told him I didn't really feel that way.

It’s probably not 100% the same as it would be for healthy people, but I guess you can still see pretty good results.

We weren't even considering any type of diabetes, nor the issues with regulating glucose during IVF. Diabetes is actually one of the relative contraindications for IVF anyway.

Seriously, what are you guys even on about now? 😕

Look, I started taking Celeste because of ovarian cysts and irregular periods... not primarily for birth control...😉

If I end up having to go through those liver function tests... man...😲 😳 🙄

They just draw some blood and check your liver enzymes. It’s really not a big deal. Mine came back perfectly normal 👋.

Ashley Fox69 said:Robert Alvarez was acting like managing someone's blood sugar is some kind of Mission Impossible task—honestly, I just told him I didn't really feel that way...

I mean, sure, it’s not exactly 100% identical to how things work for people without it, but I still think you can hit pretty solid numbers.

Look, there is a massive difference between managing Type 1 versus Type 2. It drives me absolutely crazy when people constantly lump them together... they're totally different beasts with completely different causes and treatment plans.

With Type 1, getting those perfect glycemic levels (keeping glucose consistently between 54 and 122 mg/dL, for those keeping track) is actually doable if you're using intensive insulin therapy (MDI), or even better, an insulin pump combined with checking about 10 times a day—all without totally wrecking your "normal" lifestyle (whatever that even means 😁). Honestly, it would be even easier with closed-loop systems—you know, pumps paired with continuous monitoring—but the tech isn't quite all the way there yet.

Now, Type 2? That’s a whole different ballgame. It’s super individual. For some folks, just dropping some weight does the trick, but for others, it's a nightmare to stabilize their sugar even when they're using insulin alongside oral sensitizers.

I have Type 1, and I don't use hormonal contraceptives.

But during the second half of my cycle, my basal insulin needs just spike. I'm guessing it's because of that surge in hormones that make you more resistant to insulin—like progesterone?

Am I hitting the mark here?

offtopic
Kudos to Ashley Fox69! It’s actually pretty useful having a doctor hanging out on this forum, 👍

Emily Castillo81, if you think quitting smoking is going to be too much of a struggle because of birth control, just remember there are plenty of other issues caused by smoking that they don't bother putting on Celeste's instruction leaflets..

Smoking ramps up the risk for impotence, miscarriages, infertility, lung cancer, cervical cancer, heart disease, oral diseases, allergies, depression, cardiovascular issues, bad skin, etc..

Did I help? 🙂

Honestly, the constant blurring of those two conditions just gets on my nerves.

Nobody was mixing them up; people were just talking about them in general.

because they require different treatments.

Not really... I mean, you've got Type 2 diabetics on insulin too.

with Type 2, it’s highly individual. Some patients can manage by losing weight, while others struggle to regulate blood sugar even when using insulin combined with oral sensitizers.

That’s because the underlying causes are different.

Progesterone, along with a few other hormones, bumps up insulin production (in healthy people) to increase the demand for insulin in peripheral tissues. So, I guess you're right—if that applies to you, your demand is higher, so you need more insulin. Progesterone levels peak in the second half of the cycle and then drop at the start (which is what triggers menstruation).

not to mention I can't even get interested since I don't have ovulation or whatever else... etc., etc...

yeah, my partner went through the exact same thing. Her doctor actually has this theory that years of messing around with different birth control pills is why she couldn't conceive for so long. It was over two years of trying everything under the sun... just constant hoops to jump through.

Ashley Fox69 said:Wait, no... fat levels mean more bleeding, right? If her blood is clotting more because of the pills, she shouldn't be seeing higher fat levels!

From what I've seen with people dealing with liver issues, they end up with massive fat buildup—mostly because their clotting mechanism isn't functioning properly. Their blood just stays too "thin"... if you want the layman's version.

You should probably get some liver function tests, a lipid panel, and maybe check your clotting factors too.

High fat levels basically mean circulation is shot. That’s exactly what these pills do. It's why so many women end up with cellulite after being on birth control...

Matthew Sullivan32 said:Bruises just mean your circulation is working. That’s basically how those pills function. I guess that's why so many women end up with cellulite after being on birth control.

Well, if that's how you want to look at it.

I don't really see it that way.

In my opinion—and maybe I'm wrong here🙂—bruises happen when you bump into something and bleed under the skin. If your blood actually clots the way it's supposed to, the vessel should seal up before you even get a hematoma.

I get bruised pretty often, but I had them long before I ever touched any medication. I guess I'm just clumsy.

And people who actually have clotting issues, like someone with liver cirrhosis or someone on heavy anticoagulants, they are covered in bruises. Like, seriously, dozens of them all over their arms.

tepsija said:But when you really think about it... you probably shouldn't be using any medication at all for two simple reasons: Big Pharma makes billions off everyone, and every single one of these things ends up doing some kind of damage to your system eventually...
p.s. sorry for going off topic 🙂

I look at medication a bit differently—for certain drugs, there just isn't a viable substitute, but when it comes to birth control pills, there are still other options out there, right? If I were a woman, I wouldn't touch those pills if I could help it, though I see plenty of guys trying to wiggle out of responsibility by claiming condoms don't fit or whatever... My partner decided she was done with hormonal stuff for good.

Ashley Fox69 said:Well, if that's how you want to look at it...

I don't really see it that way.

Bruises, in my opinion—and maybe I’m wrong here 🙂—show up when you take a hit and bleed under the skin. If your clotting factor is working properly, then the blood vessel should seal up nicely before a hematoma or significant bruising even forms.

I get bruises pretty often, but I dealt with them long before I started taking these pills. I just tend to bump into things.

And honestly, people with actual clotting issues—like those dealing with liver cirrhosis or on anticoagulant therapy—they're the ones covered in bruises. Like, twenty different spots all over their arms.

As for those bruises that pop up from any little bump or pressure and linger for ages—especially if the person didn't have that issue before starting the medication—I tend to link that to poor circulation. Maybe I'm off base...

Maybe we’re both just barking up the wrong tree here 😁.

Go ahead, walk me through it. Maybe I'll actually see your point. I guess I'm pretty easy to convince if the logic holds up.

Ashley Fox69 said:Not really... you've got Type 2 folks on insulin too.

Look, I know there are Type 2s using insulin—I already said that—but most of them are pairing it with some kind of oral insulin sensitizers, so the whole treatment vibe isn't even the same thing. Plus, even if their pancreas is pretty much shot, they’re still making their own insulin... which is a totally different ballgame than Type 1. I am definitely not putting those two in the same bucket. 🙂
And honestly, that doesn't make managing Type 2 any easier—if anything, it’s usually way more of a headache than Type 1. But yeah, we've already been down that rabbit hole... 🙂

I get the deal with progesterone 🙂, but tell me—what other hormones are we talking about? I can never seem to find anyone giving me a straight answer on that. Also, if certain hormones (like progesterone) are responsible for tanking insulin sensitivity—and I'm dying to know the actual mechanism here, like does progesterone mess with the insulin receptors directly or just act as an antagonist?—then, if we know progesterone causes higher blood sugar, why wouldn't we just use oral contraceptives that suppress progesterone in the first place?

Cortisol, growth hormone, estrogen, placental lactogen, thyroid hormones (I actually went looking for this in my Physiology textbook 😁).

It just says it antagonizes insulin action.

I'll dig into this a bit more; I'm not entirely sure yet, but I want to give you a solid answer on whether it's a receptor issue or something else. Give me a little time (even though I'm out sick today, I'll still try to look it up).

Why not use OHC for diabetics? Because they already have an elevated risk of cardiovascular events from diabetes, and if you add OHC to the mix, you increase the chance of thromboembolism. It all adds up.

And yeah, you're right—you can't compare apples to oranges. My bad.

Do you have an insulin pump?

Taylor Swift said:Maybe we’re both just lost in the woods here.😁.

Go ahead—give me a more precise explanation. Maybe then I'll realize you actually have a point... I'm always open to being convinced if the logic holds up.

Do you happen to read German? I've got some PDF documents I'd love to walk you through.