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Birth controll pills?

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Posted 4/30/2009 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
I was just curious if any of the other women on this forum take the pill. I was advised by my GI to stop taking the pill because she said it could make my Crohn's worse and harder to treat. Is this true? I did a bit of reading and all that I read is that people who are on the pill have a higher risk for getting Crohn's. Would I be able to start taking the pill again after I'm in remission? Thanks!
Posted 4/30/2009 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
actually feel worse without them...i take a lew estrogen one though (loestrin)
Posted 4/30/2009 2:15 AM (GMT 0)
I've been taking them for the 3/4 years I've had CD and haven't noticed any problems. No one has mentioned any of that to me either.
Posted 4/30/2009 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
I'm on loestrin at the moment and feel really terrible when I am not taking them.
Posted 4/30/2009 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't noticed any difference taking them either.
Jo
Posted 4/30/2009 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
That's the thing, I don't even notice a difference when I'm not on them. I'm not sure exactly why I was told to stop taking them :( I'm definitely going to ask my doctor next time I see her again, I think she must have been misinformed about it.
Posted 4/30/2009 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
I've heard it can exacerbate Crohn's symptoms, but I think it may just be another 'depends on the person' kind of thing.
Posted 4/30/2009 4:20 AM (GMT 0)
Oh good, my doctor wasn't crazy then! lol I haven't noticed any difference at all really, although I stopped my pills around the time I started my treatment, so it is really hard to tell if there has been any change because my symptoms would be improving either way I think. I guess I should probably stay off them until I go into proper remission to not risk getting even worse again. Thanks LMills!
Posted 4/30/2009 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
I'm just glad it isn't affecting how you feel!
Whenever I miss them for more than two days I feel really nauseated and my stomach gets upset. Blahhh...It's good to know your doctor is trying to look out for you though.
Aren't bc pills supposed to help prevent ovarian cysts on the other hand? Sounds nice anyway...I don't want any more surgeries than what this disease will give..
Posted 4/30/2009 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease were more common among women currently using oral contraceptives than among those not doing so. Incidences per 1000 woman years for ulcerative colitis were 0.26 in users and 0.11 in non-users; for Crohn's disease the incidences were 0.13 and 0.07 respectively. Though the association between the use of oral contraceptives and chronic inflammatory bowel disease cannot be regarded as established, the effects of smoking have been shown consistently in many studies. This observation provides an important clue to the aetiology of chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

The above is from this link...

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/292/6528/1101

BCP can exacerbate IBD symptoms because of the bacterial imbalance from taking birth control pill which is why it's so important to be sure you're taking a good probiotic daily and indefinitely...but also with BCP it cause hormonal fluctuations that can also interfere with IBD (exacerbating symptoms in this way as well).

Check out this link too...

http://www.womens-health.co.uk/pill-ibd.html

 

BCP made my symptoms worse.

 

:)

Posted 4/30/2009 5:37 AM (GMT 0)
I believe that my crohns came into full fruit, so to speak, because of birth control pills. I took them last year to control bleeding, and now I have these small bowel issues - (I think I had the propensity before) I'm old to be diagnosised - my GI told me I was probably right that taking the hormones made things worse.

(I know I always got diaherrea when I had my period from my first ever period)
Posted 4/30/2009 7:16 AM (GMT 0)
I have to be on BCP's because of risk of anemia and my cramps are horrible. I had a full straight month of bleeding after I had surgery, which apparently wasn't related to the surgery but how my body was reacting to the low estrogen birth control. I had to switch to a higher one and skip the placebo pills so I haven't actually had a period in over a year. It has helped a lot, but I still get times when I feel like I have cramps for no reason. And that sometimes comes on when my crohn's is at it's worst, but other than that I don't see it affecting my crohn's at all.
Posted 4/30/2009 7:16 AM (GMT 0)
I have to be on BCP's because of risk of anemia and my cramps are horrible. I had a full straight month of bleeding after I had surgery, which apparently wasn't related to the surgery but how my body was reacting to the low estrogen birth control. I had to switch to a higher one and skip the placebo pills so I haven't actually had a period in over a year. It has helped a lot, but I still get times when I feel like I have cramps for no reason. And that sometimes comes on when my crohn's is at it's worst, but other than that I don't see it affecting my crohn's at all.
Posted 4/30/2009 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm not on the pill but have the injection Depo provero every 12 weeks have been on it for over 17 years and had no probs with crohns until recently wonder if it may of helped in some way.as i was in remmision for 15 yrs. Bev x

Posted 4/30/2009 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Crohnielass i to am on Depo now for 15 years and had no problem with it and my Crohn's except some unwanted pounds that is but i never had a period since i was 19 now the DOC says it because my body is not well enough to lose the blood and its like a safety net for me well I'll tell you i still have PMS every month crave weird foods and get incredibly cranky but all and all the depo is great. Jenn still PMS-ing without my monthly friend.

Posted 4/30/2009 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on BCP for 15 years and have never noticed any difference on my Crohns symptoms. Didn't affect me when I got off the pill two years ago either. My GI has never had an issue with me being on birth control and has never asked me to stop. Got back on it last year because the idea of getting pregnant while in a flare or on heavy meds scares me to death. But everyone reacts differently.

Posted 4/30/2009 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
I'm one of the ones that bcp makes my crohns worse. I stopped them on my own, as an experiment....and could not believe how much better I was! I have never gone back!
Posted 5/1/2009 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
No difference here, though it helped PMS. I was on it before Dx, and since remission with no problems.
Posted 5/1/2009 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
I was on the bcp for anemia too. I'm older so I finally had an endometrial ablation. I think the hormones caused sort of a delayed reaction. Since pregnancy isn't something that would have been happening I had an endometrial ablation, and I'm glad. (Of course most women don't ever bleed again. But I am an over achiever.)
Posted 5/1/2009 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Interesting how varied the responses are! I will probably stay off them until I'm in remission to be safe, and then discuss it with her again. She said I could stay on them if I was willing to accept the possible consequences, so I guess she was just looking out for me in case I was one of the people who had a harder time with their symptoms while on the pill. I always question what doctors tell me though, so many of them seem so misinformed. My GI seems great, but I've only been seeing her for a few months and she doesn't specialize in IBD so I don't trust her completely yet! Thanks girls :)
Posted 5/1/2009 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
Do you guys worry about absorption of those birth control pills?  With all of the diarrhea that I have on a daily basis how could I ever be sure that my body is absorbing enough hormones to keep me from ovulating and getting pregnant?  I've presented this question to my OB/GYN and she said there is really no way to tell for sure, if you get pregnant you'll know you weren't absorbing the pill.  No thanks to that!!  The only other thing is if you continually have breakthrough bleeding, that might be a clue.  Am I the only one who worries about this?
Posted 5/1/2009 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
Wantrelief-- I worried about that. I switched to a low dose and had breakthrough. I think I absorb enough of the regular but not the low dose. Search through old posts. Sometime this fall someone posted a great link about IBD and contraception. I think it covered this issue too.
Posted 5/1/2009 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
Found the link:
http://www.ffprhc.org.uk/admin/uploads/IBD%20final%20pdf.pdf
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