Continous Birth Controll Pill

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Ron - 25 Mar 2006 19:25 GMT

My wife is on continous BCP since a year i.e. she doesn't take the
dummy pills, but directly goes on to the next pack.
(her gynaec put on these because she has had a lot of minor
gynaecological problems. She had endometriosis 7 years ago
& was operated on but no recurrance yet.
The pill she takes is Aviane
(0.10 mg levonorgestrel and 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol tablets)

I was wondering if there any known problems with
continous BCP?
1) Do people take an occasional break? i.e. have a
pill stoppage induced period once a year or so?
2) Are there any problems she would face now which
people normally face after menopause - i.e. is she
more at risk for osteoporosis etc now?
3) Does the pill increase cholesterol levels?
Some websites say they increase, others say they
decrease it.

Anyway, we have talked with the gynaec about these
questions, but would still like more info.

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Tricia - 25 Mar 2006 22:10 GMT

Hi Ron....

>From what I remember hearing I thought women took a break at least once

a year or every 3 months or something. I'm not real sure. I know when
I was last on BCPs (quite a while ago), they were continuous but they
were also progesterone only so I still had my periods every month
anyway.

I can't say anything for sure on the other two medical questions you
asked (and you may never get a straight answer from anyone about the
cholesterol question -- I honestly don't think anyone really knows 100%
for sure, even if they believe they do) but.... as far as I understand,
many of the post-menopausal concerns stem from the body's lack of
estrogen and the effects that have on the body and organs.... with the
pill you say she is taking, she is still receiving daily doses of
estrogen.

What you are likely to receive here is anecdotal (sp?) advice....
anyone claiming to be a medical professional should have their
credentials fully checked out before you put any more stock in what
they say....

Best wishes,
Tricia

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C A III A - 25 Mar 2006 22:52 GMT

Please ask your doctor and not pseudo-doc here, even though some are, you
never know which psycho will answer.

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Robert - 25 Mar 2006 23:29 GMT

> Please ask your doctor and not pseudo-doc here, even though some are, you
> never know which psycho will answer.

Rather than simply asking if the cholesterol will go up or will it go down,
I would suggest one simply measure it and find out.
One goes by the actual measured value and not by the perceived one.
Women on birth control pills and pregnant women are not "normal" when it
comes to coagulation studies. They may be normal for their respective
groups.

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Ron - 26 Mar 2006 13:31 GMT

>> Please ask your doctor and not pseudo-doc here, even though some
>> are, you never know which psycho will answer.
>
> Rather than simply asking if the cholesterol will go up or will it go
> down, I would suggest one simply measure it and find out.

She's measured, but ...

> One goes by the actual measured value and not by the perceived one.

Wife's been exercising & dieting during the same period she's
been on the Continous BCP. She's lost 15 lbs & also lowered
her cholesterol by 20% - though it's still very high.

Because of the multiple factors - weight loss & bcp, it's difficult
to isolate what caused what.
i.e. did the bcp help or hurt?

> Women on birth control pills and pregnant women are not "normal" when
> it comes to coagulation studies. They may be normal for their
> respective groups.

I don't understand what you are saying above - can you
explain?

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Robert - 26 Mar 2006 23:45 GMT

> >> Please ask your doctor and not pseudo-doc here, even though some
> >> are, you never know which psycho will answer.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> been on the Continous BCP. She's lost 15 lbs & also lowered
> her cholesterol by 20% - though it's still very high.

Well sometimes one has to be honest with oneself. Has exercise been a factor
in her life before is it something she just recently picked up? Exercise is
good and dieting is good but how long will she keep it up? One has to go by
what a person does normally and get a baseline.
Percent reduction is good but there are goals that are set.

> Because of the multiple factors - weight loss & bcp, it's difficult
> to isolate what caused what.
> i.e. did the bcp help or hurt?

In life one has to make choices of competing interests. Which is worse?
Obviosly cholesterol is controversial on an individual basis. Estrogens are
thought to be protective in women especially in ones with high HDL's. As
women age then that protection and estrogen loss yields a males risk which
is more LDL reflective.
Dependency on LDL target goals can thus be problematic given the fact that
statins do not increase HDL but lower LDL.
It all has to do with what the levels are and what fractions are low and
high and then make a judgement on clinical grounds.
Smoking is a no no as the heart risk is greatly increased.
The doctor is the one who has all the information in front of him and should
be able to answer all the questions specifically.

> > Women on birth control pills and pregnant women are not "normal" when
> > it comes to coagulation studies. They may be normal for their
> > respective groups.
>
> I don't understand what you are saying above - can you
> explain?

There is one lethal complication to birth controll pills and that is blood
clots. It is best to avoid venous stasis by getting up and moving around
such as in long ariplane flights. Not to over react, just a cautious
safeguard.

Women on bill control pills may appear normal but laboratory markers may say
otherwise.

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