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Low Dose Birth Contol Pills for Menopause

When a woman reaches a certain age, she will go through menopause. It can be a welcomed event for some women, but for others, there are plenty of side effects of menopause that can make going through it an uncomfortable and unnerving experience. There are, however, several means of treatment on the market today for menopause to help ease the effects of the body and hormones changing. One form of treatment that has been implemented to help some women ease into menopause is a low dose of birth control pills. It can help keep hormone balances stay a little more balanced.

  1. What Is Menopause?

    • Menopause is the cessation of a woman's menstrual cycles. It starts with perimenopause, the slow and gradual cessation of menstrual cycles, then finally menopause, which is the end to menstrual cycles. A woman is considered in menopause once she has stopped having her cycle for 12 consecutive months. Menopause is the end of a woman's reproductive years. There are no more eggs being released from the ovaries, and estrogen is no longer being produced.

    Low Dose of Birth Control Pills

    • Doctors may prescribe a low dose of birth control pills for some women during menopause. This is especially true during the perimenopause phase, during which a woman is still getting a period, but perhaps sporadically. Birth control pills are prescribed for two reasons: They help prevent pregnancy, since this can still be a concern during perimenopause, and they provide hormones, particularly estrogen, which can help alleviate menopausal symptoms.

    How Low Doses of Birth Control Helps

    • The pill can help maintain a normal level of hormones. The pill can either be estrogen based, progesterone based, or they can be both. When hormone levels change and become imbalanced, this can confuse the body and the body may think it is time for a period. Many women going through perimenopausal stages will have breakthrough bleeding or irregular periods because of this transition. The birth control pills can help keep hormone levels balanced to eliminate irregular periods.

    Other Symptoms Birth Control Pills Alleviate

    • Hot flashes are another symptom of menopause. It is believed that the imbalance of hormone levels also creates this problem. Although it is not clearly understood yet what causes hot flashes, low doses of hormones, or birth control pills, seem to help with this problem as well. Another side effect of hormone levels fluctuating due to perimenopause and menopause is skin outbreaks. Women often experience acne problems again during menopause. Keeping hormone levels up and balanced with birth control pills can help keep the skin clear.

    Considerations With Taking the Pill for Menopause

    • The pill does come with concerns and warnings, and all of them should be discussed with your physician. Women who smoke and are over the age of 35 should not take the pill. Smoking and the pill can increase your blood pressure. This can make taking the two together a dangerous situation. Your doctor should be able to go over all the benefits of taking a low-dose birth control to help alleviate perimenopausal symptoms, as well as the concerns.

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