At all times, it was believed that the destiny of women is the birth of children and care for them. But today, everything has changed. Representatives of the fair sex run companies, serve in the army, and actively participate in the country's public life. However, they remain wives and mothers. And this becomes possible thanks to a competent approach to family planning and the use of modern drugs for contraception. There are so many of them today that your eyes just run up. Today we’ll talk about how to choose birth control pills.
Health conscious
Of course, every woman thinks about him. Today, there is enough awareness to understand well the effects of hormonal imbalance. Accordingly, you need to choose contraceptives very carefully so that they are ideal for you, complementing what is missing. But this is ideal. It is clear that the tablets are not made on an individual order, which means that it will still be an average formula that will suit one and not others.
Often, women come to the pharmacy asking how to choose birth control pills. In this case, the pharmacist offers them drugs in a fairly simple way:
- Microdosed - for young girls who have no children.
- Medications with an average hormone content. For women aged 30 years.
- High hormone pills for women giving birth over the age of 30.
This is an approximate scheme that cannot take into account individual characteristics. In each of these categories there may be a woman with painful periods, oily hair, acne, too profuse or meager periods. Properly selected drugs can solve these problems, and acquired at random, on the contrary, enhance undesirable effects. Therefore, today we decided to talk about how to choose birth control pills. This is an urgent problem.
Visit to the doctor
It would seem that here is a long time to think. We are going to the clinic and go through a consultation with a gynecologist. The specialist will definitely choose what suits you best. But not so simple. How does this consultation usually take place? A woman comes to the reception and reports that she wants to start taking contraceptives. The doctor agrees, performs a routine examination, takes a smear and prescribes 2-3 drugs, of which he suggests that the woman choose what she should take on her own. Usually these are the most popular pills that he will offer to drink to the next patient. "Jeanine", "Jess", "Logest" and several others.
It seems that everything is correct, but the thought remains that the doctor did not take into account something. And indeed, how to choose birth control pills if you do not know the hormonal background. In fact, this is the work of an endocrinologist, who should be part-time and gynecologist. It saves that modern drugs are mostly low-dose drugs that do not affect the body's work too much. The delayed effect is not excluded, but it will all be later, and not now.
Why tablets?
After all, there are so many things on the market today. These are condoms and rings, spirals and creams, plasters, wipes, injections. Of course, only a lack of sex gives a 100% guarantee, but still. Why do most women prefer using pills? Because they have the highest percentage of protection against unwanted pregnancy. But that's not all. It is very convenient to drink one tablet at a certain time of the day, and that's all, nothing more is required of you. Unlike creams and suppositories, which need to be administered not at your convenience, namely 10 minutes before sexual intercourse.
What else can be said in favor of modern oral contraceptives?
- There are no age restrictions. Both young girls and mature women can take them.
- Pain during menstruation is reduced.
- Skin condition improves.
And yet, how to choose birth control pills yourself? What do you need to pay attention to?
Bit of theory
You need to be guided by what they are. There are two main types of contraceptives:
- Combined oral contraceptives. Monophasic, two-phase and three-phase. They contain two types of female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone.
- Contraceptives containing only progesterone. They are called mini-drank. Most often, they are prescribed to nursing mothers to reduce the percentage of excretion in breast milk.
This is the grossest division, since there are still many subclasses. Therefore, speaking about how to choose birth control pills on my own, I want to note the need to visit the clinic and undergo an examination. Of course, this is necessary if you want the drug to be ideal for you and not lead to deplorable changes in a few years.
Medical history
Now let's briefly about what data you need to have on hand to prescribe a contraceptive. First of all, the patient should be examined on a gynecological chair. In parallel, the doctor collects an anamnesis, including family history. Everything matters, so try to remember as many details as possible. The presence of chronic diseases, recent viral infections, bad habits, physiological and lifestyle features - all this should find its place in the big picture.
That is, only with full information, even an experienced doctor can write the right prescription. It turns out how to choose birth control pills correctly, most local gynecologists do not know. Or does not have enough time to receive one patient.
Necessary examination
The consultation at the place of residence is usually free, but the number of procedures that you can go through is also limited. In order to correctly choose a drug, you need:
- Undergo a gynecological examination and pass a smear.
- Take a biochemical blood test.
- Get a pelvic ultrasound.
- Ultrasound of the mammary glands and consultation of a mammologist.
- The doctor should take into account the condition of the skin and the constitutional features of the woman.
And how does a doctor choose birth control pills in practice? For the most part, approximately. If the drug does not fit, it will be possible to adjust the appointment and choose another, focusing already on the patient’s complaints. There is a reasonable explanation for this. Examination is always long and expensive. And patients need an appointment today, because tomorrow, on the first day of the cycle, they need to start drinking. And its cost is such that many will refuse, especially since the likelihood of side effects is quite low.
Laboratory examination
The ultrasounds and examinations listed above are very important. But still, blood tests speak much more about the state of internal homeostasis. Therefore, it is important to discuss with the doctor the need for their delivery. To complete the picture, it is recommended to do the following:
- Pass at least two times tests for hormones, which will allow a more competent judge of hormonal changes in the body.
- Take a blood coagulation test.
- Donate blood for sugar to determine your predisposition to diabetes.
This is the question of what tests to pass in order to pick up birth control pills. This, of course, is quite expensive, but your health is worth it. So feel free to shift the material costs onto the shoulders of your partner.
Three female phenotypes
There is a summary table that tells you how to choose birth control pills without a doctor. This does not eliminate the need for attending a consultation, but gives women additional information. Today it is customary to distinguish three female phenotypes, each of which has its own group of oral contraceptives:
- Estrogen type. These are women of short stature, with pronounced mammary glands, very feminine. Hair and skin are usually dry. For them, drugs like "Minisiston", "Regididone" are recommended.
- Balanced type. The physique is normal, of medium height, hair and skin are normal. Logest, Novinet, Marvelon, Tri-Regol can be appointed.
- Progesterone type. Usually they are tall women with a physique, like boys. Skin and hair are oily. Assigned to "Jess", "Yarina", "Midian", "Jeanine."
If you want to know how to choose the right birth control pill yourself, then you need to carefully study this table. But again we are faced with the fact that drugs containing different amounts of hormones fall into one group. For example, "Jess", "Yarina" and "Diane-35" are very different from each other. If the patient chooses based on his intuition, then he will most likely make a mistake.
What threatens the wrong choice
You need to understand that the incoming hormones will disrupt the natural hormonal background. And the extent to which these changes will be significant depends on your state of health, as well as the ability to reproduce offspring in the future. Usually, doctors distinguish the period of adaptation to the drug. It lasts from a couple of weeks to several months.
At this time, the patient may suffer a headache, spotting discharge throughout the cycle. But if one package is over, but there are no positive changes, then the drug needs to be changed. Since it is quite difficult to choose birth control pills yourself, women often encounter such symptoms.
Price error
If the drug taken seriously shakes the hormonal background of a woman, then this threatens problems in the future.
- Infertility may develop. Since the ovaries receive information that they do not need to produce an egg, they stop doing this after a while.
- Complex birth. Doctors confirm that those women who take birth control pills for a long time, often go over, face placental abruption.
- Violation of the circulatory system.
- Birth of children with disabilities.
Not in vain, even if we assume that the contraceptive is selected correctly, it is recommended to cancel it about 6 months before the planned pregnancy. During this time, it is recommended to protect yourself with condoms or other means.
Contraindications
As with all medications, they also exist in oral contraceptives. These are not vitamins at all, as is commonly thought. Therefore, if you are looking for information on how to choose birth control pills yourself without a doctor, you should also evaluate the degree of risk. If at least one point coincides, then it is worth considering or, even better, visiting a doctor:
- If there was an attack of depression or severe stress less than three months ago.
- For a woman who smokes, taking birth control pills becomes a risk factor for thromboembolic complications.
- Increased pressure while taking hormonal contraceptives may become regular, so another reason to think is hypertension.
- Severe toxicosis during a previous pregnancy.
- Lack of menstruation for several cycles.
Instead of a conclusion
Today, many do the choice of hormonal contraceptives myself, after consulting with a pharmacist. Whether it is right or wrong is up to you. Today we examined the main points on which the choice should be based, as well as what may cause the intake of improperly selected contraceptives. The experience of friends is one thing, and your health is a completely different matter. Therefore, do not spare time in order to undergo a consultation with a doctor and pass the necessary tests. This is the only way to make the right choice.