Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

This is an introductory explanation of the different types of oral contraceptive pills that may help you to finally select the one that is best for your body. 50 years on, we have discovered that the oral contraceptive pill for women still prevents pregnancy if it is made up of much lower doses of estrogen and progestin than in the early days. ‘The Pill’ used to contain 50-100 micrograms of estrogen and today it contains only 20-35 micrograms, with researchers trying to reduce this amount further to reduce side effects. Synthetic hormones (estrogen/ethinyl estradiol and progestin) used in contraceptive pills mimic the natural hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) produced by the ovaries, adrenal gland and liver.

Estrogen’s main job in a contraceptive pill is to prevent ovulation (release of an egg from a woman’s ovary). Progestin in the pill, while it does have some intermittent effect on ovulation (about 50% of the time) is relied on mainly to thicken the mucus around the cervix to stop sperm from getting through to an egg.

Birth control contraceptives are said to be very effective in controlling pregnancy and a lot has been reported about the various other benefits of they offer. But like every coin has two sides, the same way along with so many benefits, these contraceptives have some demerits also.

Demerits of Birth Control Contraceptives:

Some of the less serious side effects of the birth control contraceptives are migraine, depression, breast tenderness, and weight gain among others. Apart from this, a woman can also experience nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, these are not the only side effects as one can have more serious side effects like heart attacks, increase in blood pressure, blood clots, strokes as well as a condition called venous thromboembolism. For the women who are suffering from diabetes, taking contraceptives may result in increase in the blood sugar levels.

These are some of the most common side effects, but some women also experience hypertension due to the usage of contraceptives; they are also said to be contributing to gallstone formation along with some kinds of benign tumor in the liver. Not only this, contraceptives can also interfere with the effectiveness of some drugs such as rifampin used for tuberculosis; griseofulvin, which is an anti fungal drug; corticosteroids; theophyline, which is a bronchodilator; and also anti anxiety drugs that contain benzodiazepine.

Birth control is something that needs to be effective. In choosing their oral contraceptives, women have a large array of medications to choose from. Is choosing a generic contraceptive as good as choosing a brand name?

The FDA has different rules for generic drugs than for the originals. When first introduced to the market, drugs have to undergo a series of tests to make sure that they not only do what they allege, but also to make sure that they don’t have unpleasant or dangerous side effects. Generic drugs do not undergo such stringent testing procedures.

The FDA requires that generic drugs prove that they are therapeutically equivalent to the originator drug. This means that generic drugs have to prove pharmaceutical equivalency and bioequivalency. Pharmaceutical equivalency means that the drugs have the same active ingredient, in the same dosages, and delivered in the same way. Bioequivalency means that it is not absorbed at a different rate or strength than the originator drug. To prove pharmaceutical equivalency and bioequivalency, often a study is carried out with only 20 or 30 women.

How would you rate your use of combined hormonal contraceptives - are you the perfect ’student’, using them exactly as you have been instructed by your health care professional or do you regularly rely on emergency contraception (Plan B or the ‘morning after pill’) for ‘damage control’? If you are not at the ‘top of the class’ for your contraceptive behavior, you may also be playing swings and roundabouts with your emotions. The outcome of a study of 26,250 women, aged 18 to 49 has just been published and confirms that being inconsistent with your contraceptive regime can adversely affect your health, your schooling, your job and your relationship with your partner.

The study was carried out over a three month period in Spain where women completed a questionnaire at outpatient clinics of the departments of gynecology and family planning centers of public and private institutions throughout across the country in 2006. The lead investigator of the study, Dr Inaki Lete, Hospital Santiago Apostol, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, collated information about attitudes and the psychological impact of imperfect use of hormonal contraceptives from women who used three different hormonal contraceptive methods, being the combined pill, (65%) the skin patch (12%) and NUVARING(R) (23%) (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring). Non-compliant behavior (inconsistent use of a hormonal contraceptive) was defined as missing or delays in the taking/ application/insertion or removal of the pill, patch or ring. Dr. Lete is confidant that the findings from the study will help health care professionals to “empower women to increase compliance with the prescribed contraceptive regimens.”

Having a child is a big adjustment in a woman’s life. Birth control methods are adopted by a woman if she feels she is not ready for a child. She has to ask herself the question, “Am I prepared to have a child? Am I ready?”

There are several methods to avoid a pregnancy. These methods can either give temporary or permanent prevention. Temporary or reversible method can be used to prevent conception without any effect on fertility. Permanent prevention is where the process is irreversible as this method involves surgery.

Types of Methods

Natural method

This method does not involve any hormonal intake or surgery. It is essential to study a woman’s menstrual cycle and make efforts to watch out for signs and symptoms for ovulation. During ovulation period, sexual intercourse should be avoided as the woman is highly fertile. The egg is ready to be fertilized by the sperm. These methods can also be called as fertility awareness methods.

Withdrawal

The man withdraws his penis from the vagina before ejaculation so that the sperm does not enter the vagina. This method is however not completely effective as

Contraceptives are used for preventing pregnancy and are mainly of two types, hormonal methods and barrier methods, also called as devices. Oral contraceptives account for a major part of the contraceptives market.

Condoms and oral contraceptives are the two cornerstones of the contraceptive market. Although condoms are a type of contraceptives but these two are distinct and totally different segments of the market. Condoms are different from other contraceptives used by females in one aspect and that is their use for safety against the STDs. No other contraceptive method is effective in these areas and so in this area condoms have an added advantage over other contraceptives. On the contrary the use of condoms by men while having sex is not that high.

The oral contraceptives market consists of branded products and the generic versions of those brands. These brands, for example the leading Yasmin brand by Bayer, are facing a threat to its market by the generic drugs in the US market.

The decision to use condoms and other contraceptives in every single sexual act is a sign of responsibility as well as maturity in a man. Though some worry about the possibility of reduced sensation when using condoms, the possibility of getting your partner pregnant unexpectedly or contacting sexually transmitted diseases would be enough to overpower any transient objections one may have against contraceptives. Also, after learning how to put on a condom correctly and choosing the correct condom for you, you’ll find that there is no reduced sensation when you approach condom use seriously.

With numerous brands of contraceptives to choose, the most convenient and cheapest is the condom. Discuss with your partner the choices of contraceptives available to you and have her tell you what she might prefer. While some women may have already taken steps to use contraceptives themselves, though additional protective measures would sure to be appreciated.

It is important to keep in mind that no condom manufacturer claims absolute efficacy in their products in terms of birth control and eliminating the risk of getting STDs. However, the use of condoms concurrent with other contraceptives used by your partner would significantly reduce the chances for both of you significantly.

IUD (Intrauterine device) is such a small thing that is carefully placed inside a woman’s uterus. This will prevent her from getting pregnant with an accuracy of 99 % as a contraceptive device which is not bad.This affects the movement of the sperms and the eggs from the ovary so that it will prevent fertilization. I just came from a family planning seminar with my friends as they carefully introduce/explain different methods, I’ve noticed that there were so many questions arose about IUD, So I’ve decided to share it.

This procedure is usually done when a woman is having her menstrual period, because Doctors have to be sure that the woman is not pregnant the day that they will insert this device.

This can actually stay and lasts inside the uterus for 10 years, of course it depends on what kind of IUD they will apply. IUD is not for everybody. The following are this list of women who can’t undergo this method:

* Woman with pelvic or cervical infections

* pregnant women

* unexplained vaginal bleeding

* HIV positive

* and has a history of ectopic pregnancy

Nobody’s perfect. Even the most responsible and obsessive of us have slipped up at some point. In a contraceptive emergency, it’s always good to know you have options so you won’t panic too much. A lot of women are not aware of emergency contraception. Lack of knowledge about emergency contraceptive methods has led many women to choose abortion when faced with an unplanned emergency.

Knowing you can protect yourself with emergency contraception in the event that something unfortunate happens may be better than deciding to terminate a pregnancy, going through the procedure, and living with the psychological scars of an abortion. While they don’t actually protect you from sexually transmitted infections, emergency contraceptives can prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse, a sexual assault, or when a condom breaks while making love. As the name applies, emergency contraception should not be used on a regular basis. You should be practicing a regular contraceptive method that is effecting and suitable for you.

Tip 1 - I forgot to take my birth control pill.

Of all the scientific advancements, effective contraception is arguably the one that has been eminent in making women equal partners in society. It has also given men and women unprecedented control over such major life considerations as when and how families are created and reared.

One of the most successful means of contraception is the injectable contraceptive. This method of birth control involves synthetic hormones that are administered by a deep intra-muscular injection. These injections are considered to be a secure technique of reversible contraception for most women. There is availability of two types of injectable contraceptives. These are progestin-only contraceptives and combined contraceptives that contain both progestin and estrogen hormones. The progestin-only injections contain DMPA, which stands for depot medroxyprogesterone acetate. The administered dosage is 150 mg IM every three months. The injection should be given within the first five days of the onset of menses. If given beyond this time, it is advisable to use an alternate birth control method for two to four weeks.