WOMEN’S BODIES: MORE ABOUT ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILL

MARCH 11TH, 2009
By ADMIN

What else could make the Pill less effective?

Vomiting and /or diarrhoea If you have a digestive upset with vomiting and/or diarrhoea, the hormones, though taken, may not be absorbed from bowel to blood in quantities sufficient to be effective. If you vomit within two hours of taking your Pill, treat it as a missed Pill. If your digestive upset lasts longer than 24 hours, contact your doctor for advice.

Other medicines Some other medicines reduce the effectiveness of the Pill. The main ones are rifampicin (used to treat tuberculosis), most anticonvulsant drugs (used to treat epilepsy), spironolactone (used to treat high blood pressure, some types of fluid retention and some types of hirsutism) and griseofulvin (an oral antifungal). If you take any other medicine while you’re taking the Pill, ask the pre-scriber or your pharmacist whether it could make the Pill less effective. If this is the case, use additional contraception (such as condom or diaphragm) until seven days after you’ve finished the medicine. If prolonged use of other drugs is intended, ask your doctor whether you can continue to rely on the Pill.

If you suspect your Pill has become less effective for a day or more, it’s safest to take precautions for missed Pills, especially if you’re using a low-dose Pill – these have a narrower margin of safety.

What about antibiotics?

Broad-spectrum antibiotics can kill some of the bacteria that live in our bowels and assist with digestion and absorption. In theory this could reduce the amount of hormone absorbed, but studies in the United Kingdom have demonstrated the effect in only a tiny proportion of women. Perhaps the few accidental pregnancies reported in women taking broad-spectrum antibiotics could have resulted from fever or other effects of the illness that would reduce the absorption of hormones, rather than from the effect of the antibiotic. Pregnancies among women who take the Pill together with antibiotics long term for acne or cystic fibrosis seem to be extremely rare.

Some drugs have their effects increased (though not greatly) when taken with the Pill. These include benzodiazepines (minor tranquillisers), corticosteroids (antiinflammatory) and theophylline (used in asthma to relieve spasm of airways).

If you’re using hormonal contraception, be sure to tell any doctor or dentist who might prescribe other medication for you.

What is the effect of vitamin С on users of the Pill

High doses of vitamin С (0.5-1 g per day) cause more oestrogen to be available in the blood. The effect is as if you were taking a Pill higher in oestrogen. If you take high doses of vitamin С for a short while, on stopping you may have some withdrawal bleeding as the amount of oestrogen in the blood drops.

If you miss a period

Bleeding during the week off may be so light that it isn’t noticed. If you haven’t missed a Pill it’s unlikely that you’re pregnant. Start the next cycle on time. If you miss a second period, check with your doctor to rule out pregnancy.

Some women regularly have negligible or no bleeding during the hormone-free week because the uterine lining built up by the Pill’s hormones doesn’t bleed when it breaks down. This is not harmful, but if you miss periods often and this makes you nervous about pregnancy, your doctor may suggest a different Pill that will produce regular bleeding during the ‘week off’.

What happens if you keep taking the Pill when you’re pregnant?

The risk of your baby being harmed by the hormones is negligible, but if you suspect that you could be pregnant, contact your doctor immediately.