WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for January, 2002: Re: [Birth Control] McIntosh

Re: [Birth Control] McIntosh

From: Maggie (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 29 Jan 2002 21:34:05 -0600 (CST)

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In reply to: Stella: "Re: [Birth Control] McIntosh"

At Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Stella wrote: >
>At Tue, 29 Jan 2002, William McIntosh, MD wrote:
>>
>>At Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Stella wrote:
>>>
>>>How might a single episode of diarhhea affect the effectiveness of my
>>>birth control pill? I'm on Ortho TriCyclen and took my pill as usual in
>>>the morning, then experienced a watery BM about an hour and a half
>>>later. Should I use a backup method for the remainder of my cycle?
>>
>>No effect at all. The pill's active agents never make it that far.
>>
>>--
>>William D. McIntosh, MD, FACOG
>>
>>This is for educational purposes only, and is not a substitute
>>for consultation and examination by a licensed medical professional.
>>
>Thanks for the reply. I've heard similar thoughts from other medical
>professionals, yet almost all birth control user information states that
>diarrhea *can* have an effect on absorption and warrants using a backup
>method for a week, using a backup for the remainder of the cycle, or
>even throwing out the current pill pack and starting over immediately.
>My CNM told me I could use a backup method for a week if I wanted to be
>extra cautious, though she admitted there's very little reason to do so
>unless it had been an extended illness. I'm just curious from a
>layperson's perspective why there seems to be such a gap between medical
>professionals and consumers regarding the information we're provided
>about the true effects of antibiotics and other factors on BC
>effectiveness. Sorry to ramble. I'll go back to my place with the
>rabble now.
>
>--
>Stella
>

Hi Stella, I would agree with the doctor that brith control is NOT affected by diarrhea. I would refer to the inserts in the pill package, not info on the internet. Antibiotics can sometimes have an affect on BCP's, but only certain kinds of antibiotics. And your doc will tell you that when they persribe them if they know that you are on BCP's. I would hope that the information that you get from other people would correspond with info from the doctors. If it does not, I would say that the "other people" are not correctly informed. There are lots and lots of myths about birth control, budding from different areas such as religion, etc. Hope this helps! Take care, Maggie

--
Maggie Beth Anderson
Medical Student at University of Washington

Next message: Kat: "Re: Endo, PCOS and Factor V Leiden--To Kristy"
Previous message: Maggie: "Re: [Birth Control] 2nd Month on the pill"
In reply to: Stella: "Re: [Birth Control] McIntosh"

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