Before starting birth control pills for the treatment of endometriosis (a topic for later), I had never tried the pill before. I don’t want to be a side-effect freak, but sometimes I am.

I remember thinking I had a blood clot, but it was only a sore vein, phlebitis. After that, I calmed down a bit.

I’ve been taking birth control pills continuously for almost four years now. I can’t remember exactly how long it took for my cycles to stop completely, but it was within a few months.

If I’m good about remembering to take the pill each day (at around the same time), then I rarely have any side effects. A few times I accidentally skipped a day, and that resulted in cramps and spotting. Annoying.

I also have to be extra careful to make sure I fill my prescription on time. I order my pills by mail, so it may take a few days for them to arrive.

But I don’t miss the cramps I used to experience, so taking a pill each day is working for me right now. I may look into other options in the future. Yes, there is a great freedom in not having to worry about periods, but there’s also that pill you have to take each day.

That’s what I think about it. Stay tuned for the poll results soon.

Image via flickr.

Post from: Blisstree

My Experience with Continuous Birth Control Pills

Since we talked about what it means to take continuous birth control pills, now it’s time for why?

There are both lifestyle and health reasons for choosing to skip your periods through the use of birth control pills. One health reason is for the treatment of endometriosis (this is why I do it). If your cycles make you sick, why have them anyway?

And if you have anemia, migraines or epilepsy, periods can worsen all those conditions.

An obvious reason to take continuous birth control pills is to avoid the symptoms of PMS – breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, mood swings and more.

Some women who have heavy, prolonged or painful periods will choose to take continuous birth control pills to make life easier. Others may chose this method because of a physical disability that makes periods very difficult to handle.

Many women choose to skip their periods because their cycles might interfere with their jobs. Other women do it just because.

All of those reasons to skip periods sound fine to me as long as you’re talking with your doctor about it.

If you’re interested in taking birth control pills continuously, you don’t need a special reason. Chances are, if you’re healthy enough to take the pill, you can take it continuously as well. Your doctor probably isn’t going to ask you if you want to do this, so you may have to initiate the conversation.

Learn more about birth control pills at Mayo Clinic.

Image via stock.xchng.

Post from: Blisstree

Reasons Some Women Choose Continuous Birth Control Pills

Unsure what they are?

We’ll talk about them more, and I’ll tell you about my experiences with them too. To put it simply, if you’re taking continuous birth control pills, you’re skipping the placebo (inactive) pill, or you’re taking bcps designed without the inactive pills.

That means you don’t have a period. Or you have fewer periods, depending on how you take the pill.

Please give me your thoughts here or in the sidebar poll. Or both! And happy Friday to you.

Image via stock.xchng.

Post from: Blisstree

Continuous Birth Control Pill Poll