Medical Questions & Answers » contraceptive pill

Contraceptive Pills

medicalquestions — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:00:14 +0000

Question: I have not had a period for 5 months after stopping the pill. Is this normal?
About 10% of women who use the contraceptive pill have a delay in the return of their periods after stopping it. It is nothing to be overly concerned about, and can occur just as easily after one month on the pill as after ten years on it. Unless you are very eager to fall pregnant, doctors will wait for about six months before prescribing hormone tablets to start your cycle again. The vast majority of women will restart their periods within six months.
Some women have a tendency to miss periods for emotional, hormonal and other reasons. These women are the ones most likely to develop this problem. The pill has no effect on the long-term fertility of a couple, but is often blamed for difficulty in falling pregnancy because 15% of all couples have a delay of over a year in conceiving.

Question: I have just had an appendix operation. The doctor examined my ovaries during the operation, and he says they are very small. Is this serious?
Some people have small noses, others big noses. Some people have small feet, others big feet. Some people have small ovaries, others big ovaries. The actual size of the ovary has no effect upon your fertility or femininity, unless their size is due to fibrosis or disease. If this was the case, the surgeon would probably have commented about it, and referred you to a gynecologist for a further opinion and treatment.
The ovaries are responsible for producing an egg every month that has the potential to be fertilized and implant in the womb in pregnancy. The ovaries also produce hormones that give you your appearance as a woman. The breasts, for example, develop in the first place and continue their firm shape because of the hormones produced in the ovary. If you are concerned, you should contact the surgeon again and ask him if the small size of your ovaries was due to disease.

Difference between mini-pill & oral contraceptives

medicalquestions — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:00:36 +0000

Question: What is the difference between the mini-pill and other oral contraceptives?
Most oral contraceptives (known as combined pills) contain two different hormones that roughly correspond to the two types of hormone produced by your ovaries. They may be given as a stead}’ dose of hormone throughout the month, or may have two or three different levels of hormone to correspond with the natural changes in your body. After 21 days, you stop the pill or start taking sugar pills. This drop in hormone levels allows you to have a period.
The mini-pill has only one hormone in it, and this in a very low dose. It is taken constantly, with no break for periods, and must be taken at the same time every day. Periods will still occur, but they may be irregular and are usually light. It is not as reliable as the combined form of pill, and is normally only given to older women, those who cannot tolerate the combined pill, smokers, or those who are breast feeding.

Contraceptive pill

medicalquestions — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:00:48 +0000

Question: How does the contraceptive pill work?
The pill contains two hormones, an estrogen and a progesterone, that are artificial equivalents of the two sex hormones that all women possess. These are combined in a manner which mimics the hormonal balance of pregnancy. The body is fooled into thinking that it is already pregnant, and will not allow the release of a further egg from the ovary.
The side effects of the pill are therefore the side effects of early pregnancy, but usually on a much milder scale. In addition, the pill prevents pregnancy by thickening the fluid in the neck of the womb so that there is a natural barrier to sperm, and it also alters the lining of the womb, making it more difficult for an egg to implant itself and develop.

Miss of Pill

medicalquestions — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:00:27 +0000

Question: What should I do if I forget a contraceptive pill?
It is essential to take the pill properly for it to work. Forgetting even one pill could result in a very productive event nine months later!
With most types of the pill, if you forget one and then take it within eight hours, you will still be protected. With higher dose pills you have twelve hours grace, but with the single hormone mini-pills, you must take it within three hours of the same time every day for it to be effective.
If u miss a pill by more than these times, you should take the missed pill, and continue taking the rest of the pills at your usual time until the end of the pack but take other contraceptive precautions until after you have taken at least seven of tne active pills (do not count the sugar pills that you take at the end of each month).
If you miss more than one pill, stop the pill, use other contraceptive precautions (eg- condoms) until your next period starts, and then start a new pack of the pill. Do not rely on it until you have taken seven active hormone pills.
Remember, that if you have any vomiting or diarrhoea, you are effectively missing taking the pill, and must take appropriate precautions. After all precautions is better than cure.