|  | Family Health | Womens Health

Contraceptive Pills & Menopause

The symptoms of perimenopause can be quite intense: hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods and mood swings. Many gynecologists today are prescribing birth control pills to help perimenopausal women manage these symptoms. But the benefits go beyond regulating hormone levels.

  1. Beyond Birth Control

    • Scientific research has shown that, besides being an effective method of birth control, low-dose oral contraceptives can provide additional benefits for a woman's health, even during perimenopause. The estrogen in birth control pills can help delay the bone loss that occurs as a woman's body produces less estrogen. Some of the symptoms women may experience at the onset of perimenopause can also be relieved by using the pill. These can include: worsened PMS symptoms, erratic menstrual cycle and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, insomnia and irritability.

    Cancer Prevention

    • Long-term use of the pill can help protect against endometrial and ovarian cancer. The minimum amount of time for this protection to have any effect is two years for endometrial and three years for ovarian. Oral contraceptives can also protect against breast cancer, but only when the tissue is healthy. If a tumor is already present, the pill may actually speed up its growth. Research suggests that the pill may protect against colorectal cancer as well, but not enough data yet exist to prove this definitively.

    Side Effects

    • Side effects associated with oral contraceptive use are few, but they should be noted: breast tenderness, bloating, nausea and vomiting, headaches, decrease in sex drive, breakthrough bleeding and changes in your eyes that make wearing contact lenses more difficult. Not everyone experiences the same side effects, and some women don't notice any side effects at all. The good news is that recent research suggests that birth control pills do not cause weight gain.

    Eligibility

    • Women over the age of 35 who are not eligible for oral contraceptive use include those with the following contraindications: smoking, hypertension, history of thromboembolism (blood vessel clots), stroke, jaundice caused by blockage of the gallbladder's outlet, undiagnosed abnormal vaginal bleeding or estrogen-dependent tumor or cancer.

    Warning

    • If you experience migraines with aura or other neurological symptoms, you should check with a neurologist prior to starting birth control pills for relief of menopausal symptoms. Two case-controlled studies have been performed that suggest women with such migraines may have an increased risk of stroke.

Womens Health - Related Articles