Is the birth control patch harmful to my health? Should I be using the pill?
360122
The Patch has exactly the same chemicals as the Pill. They act exactly the same way, so side effects and hazards are all the same.\n\nI like being in the Pill. I am allergic to Patch adhesive. makes me itchy and my skin weeps. it's gross.\n\nbut the Patch is great for anyone who can't remember to take medication on time. that is, if you aren't prone to skin allergies.
30424
You need to follow your doctor's recommendations unless you don't think they take your well-being into account. If you are concerned about this, get a second opinion about your treatment.\n\nMy notion is that if you don't want to get pregnant, are sexually active, and want to avoid pain, its probably a good idea to take the birth control pills. Don't smoke while you take them, though!
871641
Birth Control Pills can do alot to your body and make you have symptoms like your pregnant... The perpose of the Pill or birth control in generial is to fake out you body in to thinking that you are pregnant so that way you dont get pregnant... So all the symptoms should be fine but if they do cause a problem or get very uncomfortable then talk to your Obgyn!!
920438
I doubt your pregnant.  With any hormonal method, you can have a fluctuation in your hormones which can make you spot.  However, pregnancy can occur on the patch depending on someone's weight.  If you weigh more than 198, the patch can't penetrate the body fat and there isn't enough hormone to keep from releasing an egg.  Some herbs can affect the Pill...St. John's Wort is one.  But I don't think it will affect the patch because it's metabolized in the body differently.
944012
No, it is not true.\nFor many women, just the opposite holds true.. the additional estrogen can contribute to water retention and gaining actual fatty tissue... the pill tricks your body into thinking it is already pregnant, that's why it disrupts ovulation, and the early stages of pregnancy often involve gaining several pounds.\nThe pill can also lower your sex drive, cause acne (it did not cause skin problems for me, but fot many women it does) cause blood clots, mood swings and spotting between periods
896796
I'm weigh 235 and am also on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo.  My doctor told me they work the same as regular strength pills, just less side effects.  Only the patch gets ineffective after 150 lbs.\n\nI've been on it 3 years and no pregnancy.
1151345
yes one of the complication is waigh gain\n\nWhat are the good points about the Pill?\n\nThe Pill has now been shown to have certain major health advantages:\n\n\nit abolishes period pain\n\n\nit makes periods shorter\n\n\nit makes them lighter.\n\n\nBecause of this, you are less likely to get anaemic.\n\nIf you have acne, the Pill should improve it.\n\nIn addition, it decreases your chances of getting certain cancers (though it increases the risk of others). Please see the section on cancer, below.\n\nBut can’t it give you a lot of side effects when you start? During the first few packs of the Pill, many women get minor, passing side effects, such as:\n\n\nheadaches\n\n\nnausea\n\n\nbreast tenderness\n\n\nslight weight gain\n\n\nslight ‘spotting’ of blood between the periods. \n\n\nThese side-effects usually go away after the first few packs. If they don’t, it’s very easy to get rid of them by simply switching to another brand of the 23 available brands of Pill.\n\n(For a full list of possible side-effects, see the package leaflet.)\n\nWhat about serious side-effects, like thrombosis?\n\nThere is no doubt at all that the Pill can occasionally cause serious problems like:\n\n\ndeep vein thrombosis (DVT) or clotting\n\n\nheart attacks \n\n\nstrokes.\n\n\nFortunately, these events are very rare. BUT ... they are much more likely to happen if you have certain ‘risk factors,’ which include:\n\n\nbeing a smoker \n\n\nhaving a bad family history of thrombosis or some similar illness (say, if your mother had a heart attack at 40)\n\n\nbeing severely overweight \n\n\nbeing diabetic (though quite a few non-smoking diabetics do use the Pill, under careful supervision)\n\n\nhaving high blood pressure \n\n\nhaving a high blood cholesterol level (hypercholesterolaemia) \n\n\na ‘past history’ of phlebitis (vein inflammation) or thrombophlebitis\n\n\nbeing immobile for a while (especially when having a surgical operation).\n\n\nThere are other ‘risk factors’ – for instance, making a very long journey in a plane or a cramped car seat. Your doctor or Family Planning nurse can give you more details.\n\n\nVaricose veins\n\nA lot of people (including some doctors) have the idea that ‘you can’t take the Pill if you have varicose veins'. This isn’t true. \n\nHowever, in recent years it has become clear that severe problems with varicose veins are a contraindication to the Pill. \n\nBut if you just have mild and superficial varicose veins, it is quite likely that your doctor will be willing to prescribe a low-dose Pill for you – provided that you have no other risk factors.\n\n\nMigraine\n\nIn 2004, new research showed that women who have severe migraine and who also use the Pill run an unacceptable risk of having a stroke.\n\nI’m not talking about people who have an occasional slight headache, like we all do. But if you have genuine migraine attacks – particularly migraines with ‘aura’ affecting your eyesight – then in my opinion you shouldn’t be on the Pill. \n\n\nDoes age make a difference?\n\nYes. The Pill is extraordinarily safe for young women in their teens or 20s who have no ‘risk factors’ (such as smoking). But when you get to the age of 35 or 40, the chances of having a thrombosis (clot) are starting to increase.\n\nIn practice, there are plenty of women of 40 who take the Pill. But as the years go by, there is more and more reason to switch to the mini-Pill, or to some other method of contraception, such as sterilisation and vasectomy for men. \n\nWhat about cancer?\n\n \nDid you know?\n\nThe Pill can increase the risk of some cancers and reduce the risk of others. Ask your doctor for advice. \n \n \nThe Pill does affect your risk of certain types of cancer, and when you first decide to go on it, you should be told about this. \n\nBut it’s important for you to realise that the Pill actually reduces your chances of getting some cancers – while it increases the risk of others. As far a
881888
I've heard that you should really use a alternative method of birth control until you start your next birth control cycle.  The effectiveness of the pills is a trickle-down cycle.  You get the most drugs out of the pill in the beginning and less and less as your cycle goes on.\nAntibiotics reduce the effectiveness of the pill and you won't build up your "protection" again until you start your next pill cycle.\nUse a condom just to be safe.
884190
Nothing serious - as soon as you take off the patch your body is not getting the hormones (progestrin & estrogen) it needs to prevent you from ovulating.  Once the patch has been off for 24 hours, your body will start a so-called cycle aka break-thru bleeding.\n\nInstructions straight from their website read as follows:\n\nFor less than 24 hours: Try to reapply your patch or apply a new patch immediately. No backup contraception is needed and your "Patch Change Day" will remain the same.\n\nFor more than 24 hours, or if you are not sure for how long: Start a new 4-week cycle immediately by applying a new patch. You now have a new Day 1 and a new "Patch Change Day". You must use backup contraception, such as a condom, spermicide or a diaphragm, for the first week of your new cycle because you may become pregnant during this time.\n\n\nJust so long as you used back-up, you will be okay.  Your body is just adjusting to the hormones.  If however, you did not use back-up, you had better get a pregnancy test.
188235
It shouldn't cause a problem as long as you stop taking it as soon as you find out you are pregnant.  I was a birth control accident baby and oddly enough my first son was one too.  We are both fine as far as I can tell, and when I told my OB-GYN, they weren't that concerned because I hadn't been taking the pill that long while I was pregnant.
425090
dont take trial meds. especially birth control needs to be talked over with a doctor there are many side effect my friend was on the depro vera shot and she gained alot of weight and her hair thinned go to a doctor free clinic go to\nplanned parenthood someone will help you.go to the gyn and talk about this they will give you different choices of safe sex that wont hurt your body you weight issue will probably go away leave the patches alone stay away from the pills unless the doctor says there safe
887646
No you shouldn't. It could cause you to have blood clots in your system and that's never a good thing. Discuss this with your doctor and please don't self medicate yourself. If  you want to be doubly sure of not getting pregnant or avoiding STDs then just use condoms.
947729
The amount of weight gain associated with the birth control pill is very slight... and a lot of doctors think that it's just due to the fact that everyone tends to gain weight and have more trouble keeping it off as they get older.  Some women lose weight while on the pill!  \n\nYour doctor can give you good advice, but a low-dose pill (another commenter said Ortho tri cyclen lo, which is a good one) generally will have fewer side effects, including weight gain.
999095
You don't need to give your body a break, but you might want to thing about whether you want to switch to a safer form of birth control, especially as you get older and the risks of the Pill increase.  Otherwise, just continue.
1022740
Birth control pills are fine, but in our experience they can lend to severe mood swings.\n\nBecause we believe we should not conceive any more children (but may adopt), I had a vasectomy (or male sterilization).  I was uncomfortable for about a week and then back to normal.  The urologist told us that it takes about 20 ejaculations to clear live sperm out of the man's system, so we still used protection until then.  To make sure, go to a urologist to have yourself tested before not using any form of birth control.\n\nCheck out the article below for more info.
970583
eww, the ring just grosses me out.  if its already been that much of a problem, then do the pill.  i take ortho cyclen and havnt had any problems. good luck
229859
not that i should advise on this matter i have 5 kids, 22-15 i found i.u.d. caused more problems than they are worth Son no 3 is the result of an i.u.d the implants are good but again they have their own problems, my friend gets an injection every 3 mths and she thinks its great, 6 yrs now, the pill is ok for a lot of people, and most people can take it with no problems, i would talk to my doctor or nurse at the family planning clinic, they can take you through all the pros and cons, with an i.u.d. you can get a lot of bleeding and bad cramps and are more prone to a pevlic infection, if all else fails do what i do now, keep your knees together, (only joking,) good luck with whatever you decide to go with