T O P I C R E V I E W
babygirl88
Member # 9745
posted 09-19-2004 09:20 AM
i get my period very irregulary. i am not sexually active, i excercise a lot, and i've often questioned whether or not i consume enough iron in my diet, especially since i never eat red meat. but anyways my normal health care provider prescribed me to use birth control pills. what's so good about getting your period more often than you normally would? i'm kind of scared about this; i just don't like to mess with my body. but my stepmom keeps saying it's important to get your period so you don't get osteoperosis. i'm supposed to start taking them today, but i'm really hesitant... can they be bad for you? Thanks!------------------ "It's something unpredictable but in the end is right i hope you had the time of your life"
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-19-2004 10:07 AM
Well, you've got some flawed logic happening there.When on the combined pill, you don't get a period at all: you get a withdrawal bleed, called that because your body is withdrawing from the hormones. So, the idea that the pill can regulate a period is false: it makes monthly bleeding regular, but it in no way alters the health and regularity of your real cycle, since the pill suppresses ovulation altogether. So, that would also make no difference with osteoporosis: in fact, some studies have started to show that the pill may cause some bone loss in young women, so it may do the opposite.
So, you're right: in this instance, there really is no benefit to you bleeding more often, because that bleed isn't your period.
Your better bet would be to look at your health overall: if you suspect you are overexercising and/or undereating, for your WHOLE health, you need to deal with that, and THAT is going to cause problems with bone loss, with metabolism, with your reproductive system, the whole enchilada, that taking the pill can't fix.
(Getting enough iron may be a side issue on top of those things: if it is, you don't have to eat meat to get it: leafy greens -- spinach, kale, broccoli -- are even richer in iron and your body needs them anyhow.)
babygirl88
Member # 9745
posted 09-19-2004 06:50 PM
thanks a whole lot for this useful information. i suspected that birth control couldn't override the actual cause of naturally irregular periods. however, i guess i have a little problem here: i decided to start taking the pill today. really though, your post just confirmed my beliefs that it won't really be of benefit to me. my stepmom is EXTREMELY set in her views that if i don't do something to get my period regularly, i'll get osteoperosis. she's been on birth control pills for 20 years (since she was 18) and says her bones are fine, therefore i should take them too. she also started telling me that i have amennorhea- however, i thought that implies a condition where periods are absent altogether. neither she nor my health care provider supplied me with reasons i agreed with. in fact, my doctor didn't tell me anything at all- she didn't have even a guess as to why it is i may not be getting my periods, and simply told me i need to get a period every month. for lack of restating the same thing over and over, i'm going to end this post shortly! if i were sexually active, MAYBE i would consider sticking with birth control, but i guess it's kind of too late to even claim that i'm not on birth control since i took the first pill this morning. i guess i just kind of gave in huh. aw man...------------------ "It's something unpredictable but in the end is right i hope you had the time of your life"
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-19-2004 06:57 PM
Well, you're certainly welcome to direct your stepmother here if you like, or a few simple google searches which explain how the pill works, what it actually does, and what risks it might pose to youth might do the trick if you do not WANT to take the pill.Sounds like you could use a better doctor. if she didn't even suggest looking into the WHY of your absent periods, you have one who isn't doing her job properly.
babygirl88
Member # 9745
posted 09-19-2004 08:10 PM
thanks again... now that i've already started using the pill, though, is there a way for me to get off it?------------------ "It's something unpredictable but in the end is right i hope you had the time of your life"
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-19-2004 09:16 PM
Of course. No one is required to take the pill for any amount of time (and speaking of which, 20 years is an AWFULLY long time to be on it: your stepmom may need a new doc herself -- she's also, at a mere 38, in no real position to know how her bone density may be 20 or 30 years from now when it counts, and going on at 18 isn't the same as going on as a younger adolescent).Whenever you want to go off, you can, even should you decide you want to be on the pill yourself, now, or at a later time in your life.
babygirl88
Member # 9745
posted 09-20-2004 01:41 PM
i've been trying to reach my doctor all day, without success... i'd like to speak with her on the matter, but most importantly, i don't know whether i should take my birth control pill today. i took the first yesterday, intending to start with the whole swing of things, but then i changed my mind... after just the first pill, is it safe to stop?? please respond if you know, this is very important! i don't want to mess with my body.------------------ "It's something unpredictable but in the end is right i hope you had the time of your life"
emsily0
Member # 2059
posted 09-20-2004 11:10 PM
yes, it is fine to just stop. you might experience a little spotting, but it's not going to hurt you. the pill doesn't fully take effect until you have gone through one full cycle (1 pack) of it. 1 pill isn't going to be a problem. em