PCOS Messages for August, 2001: Re: birth control pills: can they make things worse?

Re: birth control pills: can they make things worse?

From: Amanda (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 31 Aug 2001 00:04:31 -0500 (CDT)

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In reply to: Renee: "Re: birth control pills: can they make things worse?"

While I think BCPs are a legit way of masking the symptoms of PCOS, they DO NOT act as hormone regulators as suggested by your message. BCPs effectively shut down the functioning of your ovaries (thus they stop producing hormones) and you don't get periods - you get withdrawl bleeds. Periods come from a functioning ovulation cycle. The high estrogen content of the pill also helps bring down androgen levels by binding with the free androgens. So they work to help with the abnormal hair growth and acne.

I had been treating my PCOS with BCPs for 7+ years, but I stopped last spring to try another method. While I had no adverse reactions to taking the pill, I have felt more emotionally stable since being off and less tendancy to cry as a way to handle stress. Should other therapies not work well, I would definitely consider taking BCPs again.

At Thu, 30 Aug 2001, Renee wrote: >
>Some people feel that the BCPs can mask your symptoms. However, I have plenty
>of other symptomatic markers to let me assess my control, so that's not a
>problem. I've been taking BCPs for 5 years now, and like the birth control
>effect, not just the hormone regulation.
>
>The thing to watch for is the cyclic ones, with varying doses throughout the
>month. Those aren't good for PCOSers.
>
>Renee
>

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In reply to: Renee: "Re: birth control pills: can they make things worse?"

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