This really is an introductory explanation of the various kinds of oral contraceptive pills that could allow you to finally select one that is most beneficial for your body. 50 years on, we have found 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 first days. ‘The Pill’ used to contain 50-100 micrograms of estrogen and today it has only 20-35 micrograms, with researchers trying to cut back this amount further to cut back side effects. Synthetic hormones (estrogen/ethinyl estradiol and progestin) used in contraceptive pills mimic the natural hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) made by the ovaries, adrenal gland and liver.
Estrogen’s main job in a contraceptive pill is to stop ovulation (release of an egg from a woman’s ovary). Progestin in the pill, while it does have some buy demerol online intermittent impact on ovulation (about 50% of the time) is relied on mainly to thicken the mucus across the cervix to avoid sperm from getting to an egg.
Contraceptive Pills come in two basic types: single hormone pills (progestin only) and combination hormone pills (estrogen + progestin) Pills are given in two basic packs- 28 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills +1 week placebo pills and 21 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills without placebo pills.
PROGESTIN only pills (the ‘mini pill’) don’t contain estrogen and only have a tiny amount of progestin in them. Breastfeeding women in many cases are prescribed these ‘mini pills’ (estrogen might cause a lowering of milk supply) as well as women who cannot take synthetic estrogen for medical reasons. Unwanted effects are significantly less than pills containing estrogen and they are not connected with heart problems, however, irregular bleeding /spotting/mood swings may occur. Progestin only pills MUST be studied at the same time frame each day and are affected by vomiting or diarrhoea.This form of contraceptive pill is not suffering from antibiotics.
COMBINATION PILLS- contain estrogen and progestin and may be further categorized to be Monophasic, Biphasic or Triphasic- just what exactly do these terms mean? Pills are put into these categories in accordance with if the levels of hormones they contain stay the same through the first three weeks of a woman’s menstrual cycle (in 28 day pill packs, the pills for the fourth week in the pack are placebo or ‘reminder pills’ which are inactive and don’t contain any hormones)
MONOPHASIC Pill- is one which has the same number of hormones in most ACTIVE pill so you are less likely to have mood swings as your hormone levels don’t vary much through the month. Popular monophasic pills include:Alesse, Brevicon, Desogen, Levlen, Levlite, Loestrin, Modicon, Nelova, Nordette, Norinyl,Ortho-Cept, Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho-Novum, Ovcon, Yasmin. In 2003 the FDA approved a brand new packaging of a monophasic contraceptive pill called Seasonale. This pill is taken for 91 days, during which no periods occur -so in 12 months, women taking this pill will only have 4 periods (for the first year though, expect the same no. of menstrual days just like a conventional contraceptive pill till your system adjusts)
BIPHASIC PIll- is one which has different levels of hormones through the pack. These pills alter your hormone levels once through your cycle by increasing the dosage of progestin about halfway during your cycle and are considered to better match your body’s natural production of hormones- they contain smaller doses of hormones in total than monophasic pills. However, insufficient evidence has been gathered to favour these pills over monophasic ones, where a whole lot more reliable data can be obtained so monophasic pills are preferred. Breakthrough bleeding has been reported as a side-effect with one of these pills. Popular biphasic pills include : Jenest, Mircette, Necon 10/11, Nelova 10/11, Ortho-Novum 10/11. Attempts to decrease unwanted effects generated the three-phase pill in the 1980s.
TRIPHASE pill- is one which has 3 different levels of hormones in the ACTIVE pills over three weeks, i.e. a change in hormone levels within the body occurs every 7 days for the first 3 weeks.. The dose of estrogen is gradually increased and in some pills, the dose of progestin is also increased. Whether three-phase pills result in fewer pregnancies than two-phase pills is unknown. Nor can it be known if the pills give better cycle control or have fewer side effects. Try to find the ‘TRI’ on the label such as:Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Triphasil, Tri-Levlen, Trivora, Tri-Norinyl, other brands include: Cyclessa, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7.
The Best Pill to Take – All contraceptive pills are effective if taken correctly, with combination pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) being far better than the low dose ‘mini pill’ ;.Monophasic pills could be the best in the first place because they are cheaper and those with lower levels of estrogen may have fewer unwanted effects (but more breakthrough bleeding)
Always use back up (a condom or diaphragm) for the remaining portion of the month if you miss a pill. Trial and error, unwanted effects and talking to your doctor should allow you to locate a contraceptive pill that suits your body. Pregnancies occur mainly when women forget to have a pill or bring them incorrectly, vomit, get diarrhoea or, in the event of the mini pill, don’t take pills at the same time frame each day. It’s super easy to take up a pill packet late if you only forget or if you don’t have another new packet on hand. The most dangerous time for you to miss a pill is at the conclusion or beginning of a supply as it lengthens the pill free gap beyond 7 days meaning you might not have absorbed sufficient synthetic hormones to stop you from ovulating next month.
