Birth controll and Lupus

Hi Tink, It is "thought" that estrogen can increase the risk of a flare. Some women find that their Lupus symptoms decrease after menopause. I think Dr. Daniel Wallace talks about hormones in his book. If I can find an excerpt I'll try and give a link. I hope some of the others will respond to this as well . .. because I have limited knowledge on this subject myself. Blessings!

I belive for some of us artificial hormones pose more of a problem than for others. Any artificial hormones- BCP or Depo shot cause an autoimmune response in my body and make my lupus much worse. Others seem unaffected. I guess it depends on what your body can handle. You do have to weigh the risks. I know BC can increase the risk of blood clots and many with lupus are already at increased risk. I would have your lupus anticoglutent and anti-phospholipid/cardiolipid antibodies tested. If the any of tests is positive then BCP are very high risk for you, if they are all negative then you are not at such a high risk of blood clots. There is a doctor out there who has said all women thinking of taking BCP or Depo should have those tests run no matter what their health status because there have been enough cases of women on one or the other getting a blood clot that caused a stroke or even death. I am not trying to scare you just giving you what facts I have. There are some other options out there, but you would have to know 100% if you wanted kids/more kids EVER before even considering them. I had a rough time with my monthly until I tried an herbal supplement for a year. It is called vitex/chasteberry at the advice of my old gyn. 

HealthTouch.com ---- that site gives more information. Estrogen can increase the risk of a flare, so you want to consider a pill with either none or very low levels of it.

I hope this information helped.

(Post edited to shorten link so page width wouldn't be so long )

Post Edited By Moderator (AlwaysRosie) : 1/25/2008 12:55:08 PM (GMT-7)

Redrose I thing you finally told me how this all started. I was on the depo shot just before I got sick and one day my body just froze up. I use to work for walmart as a department manager of paint and hardware. I put every product on the shelf and one day I could not find where to put the nuts and bolts. I knew that 4 foot sections like the back of my hand. I could tell you the row and how many pegs to go to find what you wanted. That day I just stood there looking at them. I could hear what was going on around me but could not speak. That was in September the next June I was DX with Lupus. I now think that was the start of it. I am not a Dr but I think now it could have caused it. Now I find out all the stuff it can do to you.   

Ironic, I was ill before I took any BC but was on Depo for years and the sad truth is it made me tons worse.

I actually developed fibrocystic breast disease/syndrome on depo and my breasts just kept growing and growing. I had a reduction in June last year and suddenly I was in remission- something we never expected to happen. I know depo is stored in fat cells and other tissues and it does not all go away after 12-13 weeks or even after several years. It stays in the body for a very very long time. After I was off depo for about 6 months my breasts stopped growing and the FCBD/S went away- something it supposedly doesn't do.

Bump!! up you go for sheshe!!