matas – Page 2 – Birth Control Methods

Seasonal birth control pill

Let’s face it – menstrual periods and especially a week before it comes (PMS ) aren’t the time we are waiting for. Except for the fact of proving that you are not pregnant. But in other ways bleeding once a month and what usually happens – on your life’s special occasions might become a burden. Nowadays there is the way to make your menstrual period appear once in every season that is to say four times a year. Applauds for that belongs to the birth control pill named Seasonale.

Seasonal birth control pill

Seasonal birth control pill is a combined pill of estrogen and progestin preventing you from getting pregnant. The main difference is that instead of taking active pills 21 day plus 7 days for the placebo pills you do take Seasonal without any free interval for 84 days and then a week of “inactive” pills. In this way your uterine line is prevented from getting thick enough to produce a full menstrual cycle . You should know that you may get a breakthrough bleeding or start spotting because of low dose (30 mg) of the hormone estrogen. This is natural and will fade in time.

The risks of using Seasonal are mostly the same as any other regular oral pills. That is to say the pills increase the risk for blood clots, stroke or heart attack. More over if you smoke the risks are even higher. So if you are a smoke and especially older than 35 then Seasonal is not recommended for your birth protection.

If you missed the pill

The main concerns regarding Seasonal is its effectiveness and the way for woman to know if she is pregnant when her periods are not monthly. Well the effectiveness if used correctly is 99%. So you need to be aware of the fact to take a pill everyday. If you still miss a pill you make the chances of getting pregnant higher. In this case you need to drink the missed pill immediately and take another pill as usual. If you do miss two pills take two pills the day you remember and also two pills the next day then continue one pill a day till you finish a pack. On the seven days period when you are consuming a non active pills it would be better if you used an additional way of birth protection. The same is if you miss three or more pills. In this case just behave normally – forget the unused pills as they will not be consumed and take one pill a day.

Seasonal birth control pill, weight and periods

Lot’s of women also want to know if the contraceptive can change their weight. The recent scientific research shows that there is no link between a contraceptive and getting weight. So it is hard to say. As every woman is different there is a possibility that some body will react and you will start to gain weight. But mostly gaining weight depends on your eating habits and physical activity.

Speaking about the four periods you will experience good news is that they are suppose to be lighter and in the same length as using any other oral pills. Of course Seasonal birth control pill doesn’t protect from any sexually transmitted disease .

So Seasonal birth control pill is an effective and you must admit an attractive way not only prevent from getting pregnant but also for suppressing your menstrual cycle . If you are interested in trying Seasonal of course it is better first of all to consult with your doctor, let him know any issues you will have during the consumption of the birth control . In this way it will be easier for the doctor to decide if you are a candidate.

Yasmin birth control pill

There are many ways of birth control . Oral contraceptives in general are the most reliable way to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Today’s market can offer you more than fifty oral contraceptives which can be prescribed by your physician according to your age, weight, menstrual cycle and other factors. Yasmin birth control pills are the introduction in contraceptives market. It is the most recent birth control pill approved by Food and Drug Administration in May 2001. Its effectiveness is 99% if used in the right way and it has many the same features as other combined birth control pills .

Yasmin birth control pill

Yasmin is a pack of 28 pills whearas there’s 21 of the which combine the same amount of two women hormones progestin and estrogen. The last seven one have no active ingredients and just helps you keep the habit of taking pills regularly. Used in three weeks it results in a period and no pregnancy. What is so special about Yasmin? Basically it is the only known birth control pill to contain 3mg of synthetic progestin named drospirenone. Drospirenone regulates water retention in the body and also has anti-male hormone features. Progestin is usually derived from testosterone while drospirenone is not.

How does it work?

While using contraceptives the body “thinks” it is pregnant and in such way the egg is prevented from being released. Also the cervical mucus get thicker and in such way becomes an obstacle for the spermatozoon to get toward the egg and fertilize it.

Benefits of Yasmin birth control pill

The benefits of this birth control method are as follows. First of all it helps to treat a premenstrual disorder (PMS ) from which suffer many women in the whole world. Your menstrual period will become milder that is to say they will not take long and the blood flow will be less than ever. It will not let you gain the additional weight. Yasmin birth control pill is a good prevention of acne. Also it might prevent you from various forms of cysts. As during the time you take Yasmin pills you are not ovulating this makes less risk to gain ovarian cysts. The good thing about these pills is that they prevent from ectopic pregnancy. There is also a reduced risk for endometrial cancer. The longer you use the pills the stronger protection is and it lasts for a period of time even when you stop using pills.

Yasmin birth control pill side effects

Speaking about side effects they are common to many birth control pills . For example while using Yasmin you can suffer from headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, abdominal cramps or bloating or have Melasma (a blotchy darkening of the skin) There are some factors which can not allow woman have these contraceptives, that is why you always need to consult with your doctor. Special precautions should be taken to women who suffer from kidney or liver disease as drospirenone can increase potassium level in the blood, also for those individuals who have any kind of heart disease or have a history of blood clots in the legs, lungs or in the eyes. Visiting a doctor is also necessary in order to get Yasmin as it is a prescription medicine.

Birth control methods and alcohol

There have been made lots of scientific reports on the reaction of alcohol and drugs, on the alcohol influence on human body overall. Also many people especially youngsters are wondering how alcohol affect birth control . Good to know that people care about that. In most cases it is concentrated on the pills interaction with alcohol. But there is also another side of other contraceptives and alcohol.

To begin with alcohol does not decrease the effect of the birth control pills . The 99% effectiveness stays the same using alcohol or not together with the pills. But on the other hand it makes you get drunk much more quick. Also it might be that alcohol can make you sick and by vomiting the pill will be thrown together. Of course in this case it will not have any protection.

Second thing to discuss is the indirect influence of alcohol on the birth control . What does alcohol make you feel? Probably more relaxed, happier, not so concentrated as being sober. It has been determined that women even agree to have sex with the accidental partner rather than not being drunk. As a rule condoms or other types of contraceptives are forgotten. As a result in many cases it appears that woman gets pregnant. In such kind of situations people risk to catch the sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Of course every situation is individual and those who really care about themselves and the person they are interacting with will not blame alcohol for not preventing from the gestation. Actually there has been a study on alcohol and birth control which showed that alcohol had no affect on condom or any other type of contraceptive use. And it also appeared that women were more likely to discuss birth control and STD prevention .

So take care of yourself, respect your body. Even if it happens that you decide to have sex being drunk, try to remember to use the condoms or any other kind of birth control methods .

Rhythm birth control method

Birth control is still a very live theme in our modern society. Especially it concerns countries where there are too many youngsters not managing to control birth. There exist many ways to do that one of them is using rhythm birth control method. Actually this is one of the oldest methods of all. As most of things in the world rhythm birth control method has two sides: negative and positive. If the way this method works seems the salvation for you then you are welcome to try it.

Rhythm birth control method

If you look for the information regarding rhythm birth control you would find its synonyms such as calendar method or the Knaus-Ogino method. On the whole it means avoiding sexual intercourse on particular days of the woman’s menstrual cycle. An important thing to mention is that you have to know the length of your period and the day you are ovulating. As you understand you will be obliged to count the days of your menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy.

To find out the day you are ovulating is easy if your cycle is regular. Just count back 14 days from the first day of your course plus measure your temperature daily because it rises during ovulation. Also have in mind that the sperm can survive inside a woman from 5 to 7 days while woman’s egg can just be fecundated within 24 hours from being separated from the ovaries. So approximately this period woman has to restrain having sex or use one of contraceptive methods like condoms .

Disadvantages of rhythm birth control method

The bad thing about such birth control method is that it has no protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STD) such as HIV and AIDS. Also the statistics tells that there is still quite big possibility to get pregnant. The percentage varies from 9% till 25%. After all it is not strongly reliable. Its failure reasons lies in the presumption that future cycles are the same as cycles in past. In most cases such presumption can stand up but you have to have in mind that many lifestyle changes can also affect your cycle. So the main disadvantages of rhythm birth control method that it is absolutely not suitable for woman with irregular menstrual cycle is, a pair can not have sex for couple of weeks also it includes attentive planning and counting. Also it can not be practiced the same day you thought of this. It requires at least half year of your cycle charts.

Advantages of rhythm birth control method

Good things to mention would be first of all you will not have high expenses. Method is natural and what is very important it has to be the decision of both man and woman in other way it is jus impossible. In the future when you plan to have a baby it will be easier for you because you will know the exact time you would need to pick up.

Before you decide to use this method it is better to consult the physician. You will get an advice how to you method right as there are several ways to get to know the days you are most fertile. As mentioned before you can keep track of your cycle, measure temperature, or combine both of them as well as use ovulation predictor kits which can be found out at any drug store.

Progestin-only pills

Progestin-only pills or mini-pills have a very low dose of progestin and do not contain estrogen, so women should take them daily in the same time without making a break. More to say, progestin-only pills is a good choice for breast-feeding women and for those, who can’t use combined pills.

How progestin-only pills work

Progestin-only pills prevent ovulation in about half the cycles, therefore, they are not as reliable as combined pills. Also progestin-only pills cause a thickening of the mucus between uterus and vagina and it prevents sperm from reaching the egg.

Advantages of progestin-only pills

Firstly, progestin-only pills are better and safer for those women, who are over 35 years old, also for breast-feeding women, because these birth control pills don not change milk production. Additionally, progestin-only pills are the perfect choice for smokers, also for women who have a high blood pressure or are overweight. Moreover, mini-pill can be an ideal choice for women, who suffer from migraine, diabetes, thromboembolism, cardiovascular disease, sickle cell disease.

Disadvantages of progestin-only pills

One of the most common side effects is irregular menses, especially more frequent bleeding between periods for several months. Of course, it may be inconvenient, but it does not have any influence on woman health. However, if bleeding is heavy, it is recommended to consult your doctor.

Another common side effect is a weight gain. Many women, who use mini-pills, feel hungry more often and eat more; of course, it may results in a weight gain. But woman will come back to normal when they stop using this birth control method.

Progestin-only pills will protect from pregnancy only after one month of using. It means, that for the first month women have to use an additional method of birth control (for ex., condoms) along with the progestin-only pills. In addition, if woman forgets to take a pill for even one day, she has to use a second birth control method until the next period, because it is forbidden to take two pills the next day.

Cautions

A woman should not use progestin-only birth control pills if she:

Know or suspect pregnancy;
Know or suspect breast cancer;
Has undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding, which could indicate a reproductive tract cancer.

The reliability of birth control methods

This information will let you know which method of birth control has the highest reliability and efficiency and which one you should avoid to use.

Birth control methods	Reliability/Efficiency
Tubal ligation /vasectomy	99.6 – 100%
IUD "Mirena"	99.8 – 100%
Copper IUD	98 – 99.7%
Injectables	99.4 – 99.9%
Birth control pills	99.8 – 100%
Contraceptive patch	92 – 99.7%
Contraceptive ring	92 – 99.1%
Progestin-only pills	92 – 98%
Cervical cap	90 – 95%
Male condom	88 – 95.8%
Female condom	79 – 95%
Natural family planning	80 – 86.6%
Spermicides	79 – 99.7%
Emergency contraception	75 – 80% (onetime)
No birth control	15 – 56.9%

Contraceptive patch vs. Birth control pills

The contraceptive patch has his one big advantage – once you placed it, you don not need to do anything for the whole week. However, women really have unlimited fantasy about the contraceptive patch – they think if you take a birth control pill, it means that you use a drug, but if you stick contraceptive patch, it does not mean that you use drugs, because we do not stick drugs directly on the skin. In addition, there is a disinformation that the patch is non-hormone birth control method , because it contains something like “special non-hormone substance”. That’s why many women think that contraceptive patch is “something special” and is safer then birth control pills. However, it is not true.

The similarity between contraceptive patch and birth control pills

It is not difficult to list the similarity between contraceptive patch and birth control pill . Firstly, they contain the same hormones in the same doses – estrogen and progestin. Also both of them work in the same way – prevent ovulation, the liver turns both hormones in inactive form and they are eliminated from organism through kidney and intestine. In addition, both of them have the same side effects and similar reliability.

Difference between contraceptive patch and birth control pills

You can see a clear-cut distinction between these birth control methods when the contraceptive patch is compared with new generation of birth control pills. Birth control pills can treat acne, while contraceptive patch can cause it; birth control pills treat or reduce PMS symptoms, while contraceptive patch doesn’t have such effect. New progestin, which is used in birth control pills, does not have any influence on metabolism, so you can use pills as long as you would like to do it, while the patch contains progestin, which splits in liver into a substance that have strong androgenic effect.

Birth control pills and weight gain

It would be wrong to state, that birth control pills do not have any influence on weight gain. It was noticed that women, who take a combine pill, especially an old one, which contains high dose of estrogen, have put on weight. But the weight may increase because of some another reasons.

What are the reasons of weight gain?

Firstly, your organism may store unnecessary liquid and salt in your organism and then you may gain not only some pounds, but also feel some discomfort – tummy blowing, pain in your breast and etc. In addition, you may gain weight because of unhealthy eating and if you do not exercise.

Hormone and weight

Even if you don’t take any hormone contraception, your weight may vary during the natural cycle (especially during PMS ).

Female hormones estrogens stimulate the storage of salt and water in your organism and do not let them to flow out through kidney. Another natural female hormone is progesterone, which ovarian produce during the second stage of cycle, but it eliminates an excess of salt and water from your organism. If there is a balance of both these hormones, women can keep a desirable weight off.

Birth control pills and weight

Taking hormone contraception, which contains estrogen and progestin (birth control pills, contraceptive patch , and the vaginal contraceptive ring ), the ovarian produce less estrogen and practically don’t produce natural progesterone. The estrogen in birth control pills is similar to natural estrogen, but progestin is not similar to natural progesterone and cannot regulate the liquid balance in your organism. Because of this reason some women, who prefer hormone method of birth control , may put on weight.

However, today there is a new progestin, which has the same feature as natural progesterone.

Pregnancy test

Sometimes it happens that women forget to take a birth control pill or to use another birth control method or just family decided to have a baby. The result is the same in both situations – no menstruations and nausea. Well, it looks you may be pregnant! How to check it without going to gynecologist? Home pregnancy test (HPT) will help to test the presence of a pregnancy after 2-3 weeks after ovulation.

The history of pregnancy test

Women tried to test the presence of pregnancy even in Antiquity – the ancient Egyptians watered bags of wheat and barley with the urine of possibly pregnant woman. In the beginning of XX century, there were used so-called “rabbit tests” – it was discovered that it is possible to test pregnancy if you inject the urine possibly pregnant woman into a rabbit. There would be corpora hemorrhagica in the ovaries of the rabbit. To see bulging masses on the ovaries, it was necessary to kill the rabbit, so even if woman was not pregnant, poor rabbit would die.

Fortunately, today we don’t have to kill any rabbits to find out the pregnancy. Pregnancy tests today look for Human Chorionic Gonadtropin (hCG) – a hormone produced during pregnancy and to tests are easier to perform – all you need is blood or urine.

Home pregnancy test – how to take it?

New home pregnancy tests can find out the presence of pregnancy even after 2-3 weeks after ovulation. These pregnancy tests are sensitive to measure the hCG hormone in woman urine. Testing kit is very easy to use. First what you have to do – check the expiration date and make sure that testing kit is still valid to use. Read the directions carefully, because they can vary from brand to brand, for ex., some brands recommend to value results after 5 min, another after 10 min. In addition, some tests vary in the displaying results – one show pink lines on the test strip, another reveal a red plus or minus sign. Next step – make a pee and drop as many urine drops to indicator as it’s written in directions and wait 5-10 min (as it is recommended in directions). Usually for better and more accurate results, it’s recommended to use morning urine. Remember, do not read results after 10 minutes!

Now you can value the result – positive pregnancy test result – two coloured lines on the test strip, negative pregnancy test result – one coloured line on the test strip. The result is invalid if no red line appears on control window or if a line appears only in test window.

False positive result

A false positive result – when test shows the presence of pregnancy, but woman is not pregnant. It may happen when woman have so-called “chemical pregnancy”. It means, that a fertilized egg implanted into woman’s uterus and developed enough to start producing hCG, but then stopped developing. If it happens, woman will go on having menstruation. Whereas new generation of pregnancy tests is sensitive to measure pregnancy in an initial stage, it’s recommended to wait for about a week after period is due.

So, if you pregnancy test result is positive, you have to immediately consult with your gynecologist about your pregnancy. Even if your pregnancy test result is negative, but you feel being pregnant, you should take another test some days later and consult with gynecologist.

Male menopause

It was discovered that males are suffering from the menopause as well as women do. They even share the same symptoms. Men can experience it even at the age of 30; however, usually it appears when he is between 45 and 60 years. After the years of 40, the male hormone testosterone produces noticeably less than before. Testosterone motivates the sexual drive, and is responsible for bone and muscle development in male and sexual development while he is still a boy. However, even the healthiest man by the age of 80 will have amount of testosterone at the level of pre-puberty.

Male menopause causes

There are some factors, which can have an affect on the man’s heath and can cause male menopause. These include smoking, intensive consumption of alcohol, obesity, hypertension, poor or incorrect diet, lack of exercise, psychological problems and, eventually, a mid-life crisis. But all mentioned causes are treatable.

Male menopause symptoms

As it was mentioned before, the symptoms are very similar to those that women have. However, the difference is that not all the men experience it. Only 40 % out of all men that are between 40 and 60 will suffer for stress, depression, mood swing, irritability, sleep disturbances, reduced libido and potency. Even 51 % of healthy man can experience certain degree of impotence. Age is not the problem – 40 % of man can perform normal erection up to 70 years or more. It can happen by combination of other diseases. Total impotence and sexual frustration can become a problem because of the lack of understanding of the partner.

Male menopause treatment

First of all, it is very important for a man to admit the chance that he might be suffering from male menopause . Moreover, he should realize that it is a simple disease and is treatable. Man should choose the effective way to reduce stress as much as possible. Spend more time for pleasure and get enough hours to sleep. They also should change their diet into healthy one – eat more nutritious, low-fat, high-fiber products. It can also cured by reducing the amount of alcohol and caffeine and start drinking more water, exercising. Finally, this is extremely important, to find people to talk to, have a friendly chat about the concerning problems.

Male menopause risks

The male menopause should be treated very carefully. Otherwise, it can result in diseases that are worse than this one. Increasing level of testosterone might result even in prostate cancer. By increasing androgen level male might also start suffering from heart diseases or liver diseases. Therefore, it is very important to start treating male menopause carefully.

Recommended e-books:

How to conquer menopause
Menopause relief secrets