1. The hormones in birth control pills prevent the uterus from building up its lining (endometrium) as thick as it would be under a normal fertile cycle. This effect is mainly from the progesterone in the pills. Progesterone's function in the body is to maintain the endometrium in stasis, so that it...
hormonal
- Heather Corinna
Hey there, freakout. I'm so glad you've found so much help here, and kudos to you for thinking about all of this in advance of sexual activity! Really, that's an ideal we're always all hoping for. If everyone had all of this information in advance, we'd all be a lot healthier, and probably have much...
- Sarah Riley
My first question in this case is, did your health care provider look into your menstrual difficulties or did they just slap you on the pill and assume that would solve the problem? If nobody really looked into your problem, then I'd suggest that you consider heading back to your provider (or a...
- Sarah Riley
When you start taking the pill, you're adding lots of extra hormones into your system and they are essentially forcing your body into a new sort of cycle. It's not like the cycle you have when you aren't on the pill, because you no longer ovulate. Typically, you begin taking the pill around the time...
- Heather Corinna
So long as you take your pills as directed and on time, with the exception of a few medications or herbs that can interact with the pill, you're as covered as you get. We get questions like this a lot, so in the interest of making sure you and everyone else understand your pill as best you can, let...
- Heather Corinna
Starting with the birth control issue, not knowing which pill in particular you're on and not being able to see the insert for myself, I can't give you a 100% answer per promising you I'm being as accurate as I know how to be. However, there are indeed some BCPs which operate in the way you're...
- Sarah Riley
It sounds like you've got your body pretty confused here! Let's talk a little bit about how the pill works, because that may clear things up a little bit. Birth control pills are essentially doses of synthetic hormones. What this does is sort of re-order the way your body is functioning with regard...
- Sarah Riley
Generally speaking, when you start missing pills in the middle of a cycle (especially if you miss lots of pills) some weirdness with your withdrawl bleed is to be expected. By not having those extra hormones in your body, it's impossible to guess what was going on with your natural hormone levels...