What's the scoop?
You educated medical types: I'm talking to you.
My doctor is recommending that I stop using the patch. Warnings have been released lately which link the patch to a number of serious health issues. While the warnings are based mostly on theory rather than documented evidence at this point, she would still feel more comfortable if I chose another form of birth control My weight is fine. I have perfect blood pressure. I don't smoke. However, I'm 45-years-old (did I just put that in WRITING??) and we OLD people face a greater level of risk than our 20-something counterparts. Another advantage those younger, leaner women with their perfect skin, perky breasts and 20/20 eyesight have going for them is a functional memory. While the pill seems an obvious alternative and would continue to provide me with the added benefit of a slightly larger bust size (and trust me, I NEED that), I would never remember to take a pill every day. When my mind first began failing me a couple of years ago, I decided to try that gingko stuff that is supposed improve memory. What good is a memory-enhancing drug if you can't ever remember to take it??
Thoughts? Concerns? Educated opinions? Let me hear from you.
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Note to Vegas Bloggers: While they are not selling tickets for April yet, fares on Southwest to Vegas are extremely reasonable. Kira, don't know what airport is closest to you, but looks like about $120 each way from the southeast.
posted by WordWhiz at 11/29/2005
22 Comments:
Twenty somethings have functional memories?? Dang, I knew I was missing something!
Like you, I can't remember to take the pill everyday. I've done some research on the patch, and there is no consistency to the findings of these studies. So, our guess our options are 1) take a chance with the patch and possibly end up with some weird medical condition or 2) switch to the pill and possibly end up with a weird kid. Lovely choices, aren't they?
11:27 AM
Listen, kid. Get yourself one of those pill boxes that have days of the week on them (7 slots). Keep this thing right close to where you do something "every day," like next to your toothbrush, or right by your coffee pot, something like that. Get ANOTHER ONE and put it in whatever you ALWAYS take with you on trips/long weekends. Now you're all set, and you WILL remember -- without having to remember.
12:18 PM
Set a timer on your computer or on your phone so that you remember to take it every day. Also, enlist the help of friends. I remind ACWF, but she's usually already taken the pill by that point.
12:33 PM
My pills are kept next to my toothbrush, so Hoss has a good suggestion there. It's how I remember to take them. I always brush my teeth in the morning first thing (daughter of an orthodontist, you see), so then the pill case is right there as a reminder. My memory is for SHIT, too. I believe that children more than age reduces brain capacity. I think that with each child one has, the brain leaves the skull even more...
2:04 PM
I have called Paul at least once every day for the past four months and I still check the number before dialing. While good suggestions, I don't really want to leave my birth control pills on the kitchen counter where my 12-year-old son will ask me what they are. Even if I did, I could see getting side-tracked and forgetting. I have gone to work without any make-up, because the dog or something distracted me during my morning routine, causing me to miss something. I just know I would find a way to forget. I'm considering a 5-year IUD. Those contraptions have always scared me. Something about the idea of having a mechanism implanted in my body. I feel the same way about the Norplant. I did the shots at one time, but my body took the hormones very seriously and took the shape of a woman 6-7 months pregnant. My ex finally got "fixed" because he couldn't stand me being so "fat". I've had my tubes tied, then reconnected. Going under the knife a third time in the name of contraception is not something I'm just itching to do. And yes, I could ask Paul, but remember this is the guy who is living with chronic back pain because he doesn't like doctors and fears surgery. He'd do it if I asked him to, but I'd rather not ask if I can easily take care of it myself. I'm not the sort to force people to face down their fears.
COME ON MENOPAUSE!!!
2:59 PM
birth-control is gods gift...that and cocoa puffs.. i had a girlfriend once who used this little ring that she put in... well ask your doctor, it's the most reliable i hear, and send any 20 year old girls with perky breasts and 20/20 vision my way please? <3
4:44 PM
everything has risks.....as long as you have not been having any issues with it, stick with it!!!
6:17 PM
Well, I think that it might be due to flying out of Greenville/Spartanburg airport that the rates are about $155 each way instead of $120...but if I can get one of those Northwest certificates, it'll be more like $110 each way. Or there are better places to look for airplane prices, and I just haven't found them yet, too...
6:54 PM
When I was 23, I worked in a hospital. A Pathologist there, a woman 37 years old, had a stroke and died. They said she died because of hormones from the pill. There were no patches back then. It can happen, and the older you get the better the chance is.
7:18 PM
WHAT??? There are warnings on the patch?? I love the patch! I must know more, please. I hated the pill because I too would forget.
The ring that another commenter mentioned is called NuvaRing. Not to get too technical, but you insert for 3 weeks then remove for 1 week. Even less to remember than the patch. But I like the patch because I like being able to physically see that it is in place. I also hear that the newest IUDs on the market are very safe and very effective.
10:00 PM
Monique: I hope no one medically savvy laughs at the errors I'm sure to include here, but I'll try to get it right. The patch, because it delivers the hormones directly into your blood stream, supplies a much higher does of estrogen than the pill. If I remember correctly, most people take about a 30mg pill. The patch delivers 50mg. The doctor said she typically moves older women using the pill down to a 20mg dosage. Too much estrogen can cause blood clots and heart problems. While the aren't saying that the patch is proven to cause these problems in greater levels than the pill, they do know that higher estrogen level pills are more risky and therefore the patch would theoretically also be more risky. The direct delivery method may increase that risk even more. If not for my age, I don't think the doctor would have been quite as concerned. I have no other risk factors, although I don't know my family medical history in regard to blood clots or heart disease. (I was adopted as an infant.) She did not insist I switch, but she recommended it pretty strongly. I'm leaning toward that 5-year IUD at this point, but I'll have to research it further.
10:20 PM
Whiz: be careful of any hormone altering stuff, pill, patch, whatever. Over 40 and the risk of all kinds of stuff goes up. What about an IUD? The new ones (there's one with hormones, and one without: I use the one without) are much less risky that the bad old Dalkon Shield. Have to practice safe sex, your more sensitive to infection/whatever. There's also the "if you really loved me, you'd get a vasectomy" but I think that only works for relationships of a year or more.
10:08 AM
I used to take Gingko Biloba, but decided I didn't need it. It's all in your mind.
So what's this about Vegas? I don't remember you posting about this before? Oh, this is only for certain bloggers, isn't it.
12:28 PM
I say if you still need the patch to keep you from smoking, then go for it.
...What?...not that kind of patch?
um...nevermind.
3:16 PM
nice as the patch sounds, when I got back on bc I want that stuff that is 3 months in a row so that I only have my period 4 times a year. Oh the bliss! Switch to those!
3:32 PM
Just move to a lower dose patch.
From my doc, the story is that the patch is in fact safer because it goes to blood directly, by-passing the liver and portal vein and doesn't get broken down into the stuff that causes blood clots in the first place.
But, because it is direct you really should be on a lower dose than what you would take orally. They have this all figured out for hormone replacement therapy (lower dose on the patch than what you would take with estrogen pills).
3:51 PM
I don't think there is more than one dosage in the patch. Only the pill comes in different levels. (Am I wrong??) I think I'll avoid the hormones altogether at this point. Next thing I know, menopause will be kicking in and my hormones will get all screwed up anyway.
CC: I used those shots and it's even better than you think from that perspective. My cycles stopped ENTIRELY - NO PERIODS. I loved that!! The downside: my body thought I was pregnant and reproportioned itself accordingly. I blew up like a balloon and truly looked like I was 6-7 months pregnant.
4:02 PM
Big Dave: Will email you later or tomorrow about Vegas. I'm at work right now and I have a really good-looking plumber coming by tonight to work in my kitchen renovation.
4:03 PM
I don't know if there are different doses for bc purposes. There are at least two doses if hrt is the goal. Look up climara if you want to take a look at what is available there. I know I also took a low dose bc pill for the year when my period became irregular during perimenopause and that was considered to be adequate for bc as well.
2:35 PM
There are "possible" side effects to any drug on the market. I think the patch is the perfect birth control ( my daughter uses it ) and since you are not high risk, there is not difference in that and the pill. Luckily, I don't have to worry about it anymore!
4:51 PM
Word Whiz--Sorry, I was going for a joke with my comment about Vegas. I made nearly the identical comment yesterday here. Hence, my comment about not needing Gingko Biloba.
Well, anyway, you don't have to e-mail me any Vegas information (though if you do, that's okay too--I want to get there some day). Supervising your kitchen renovation is much more important. And probably fun too.
5:16 PM
My MD has also taken me off the path due to the recent studies. Apparetnly more hormone than is reccomended goes into the bloodstream using this transdermal method. I'd been usning the path happily for 2 years with no side effects, but caved in to my MD's insistence. I am back on the pill, argh...
Not as convenient but better safe than sorry, right?
3:04 PM
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