This is an introductory explanation of the different types of oral contraceptive pills which could help you to finally select the one which is best for your body. 50 years on, we have discovered that the oral contraceptive pill for women still prevents pregnancy when it is comprised of much lower doses of estrogen and progestin than in the first days. ‘The Pill’ used to contain 50-100 micrograms of estrogen and today it includes only 20-35 micrograms, with researchers trying to cut back this amount further to cut back side effects. Synthetic hormones (estrogen/ethinyl estradiol and progestin) utilized in contraceptive pills mimic the natural hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) made by the ovaries, adrenal gland and liver.
Estrogen’s main job in a contraceptive pill is to prevent ovulation (release of an egg from a woman’s ovary). Progestin in the pill, while it does possess some intermittent impact on ovulation (about 50% of the time) is relied on mainly to thicken the mucus across the cervix to avoid sperm from getting right through to an egg.
Contraceptive Pills can be found in two basic types: single hormone pills (progestin only) and combination hormone pills (estrogen + progestin) Pills are supplied in two basic packs- 28 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills +1 week placebo pills and 21 day pill packs= 3 weeks of active hormone pills without any placebo pills.
PROGESTIN only pills (the ‘mini pill’) don’t contain estrogen and only have a tiny amount of progestin in them. Breastfeeding women are often prescribed these ‘mini pills’ (estrogen might cause a decrease in milk supply) in addition to women who cannot take synthetic estrogen for medical reasons. Negative effects are significantly less than pills containing estrogen and they are not related to cardiovascular disease, however, irregular bleeding /spotting/mood swings may occur. Progestin only pills MUST be used at the same time every day and are influenced by vomiting or diarrhoea.This type of contraceptive pill isn’t suffering from antibiotics.
COMBINATION PILLS- contain estrogen and progestin and can be further categorized to be Monophasic, Biphasic or Triphasic- so what do these terms mean? Pills are put in these categories in accordance with whether or not the levels of hormones they contain stay exactly the same through the first three weeks of a woman’s menstrual cycle (in 28 day pill packs, the pills for the fourth week in the pack are placebo or ‘reminder pills’ which can be inactive and don’t contain any hormones)
MONOPHASIC Pill- is one which has exactly the same number of hormones in most ACTIVE pill so you are less inclined to have mood swings as your hormone levels don’t vary much through the month. Popular monophasic pills include:Alesse, Brevicon, Desogen, Levlen, Levlite, Loestrin, Modicon, Nelova, Nordette, Norinyl,Ortho-Cept, Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho-Novum, Ovcon, Yasmin. In 2003 the FDA approved a fresh packaging of a monophasic contraceptive pill called Seasonale. This pill is taken for 91 days buy ritalin online , during which no periods occur -so in 12 months, women taking this pill will only have 4 periods (for the first year though, expect exactly the same no. of menstrual days just like a normal contraceptive pill till the human body adjusts)
BIPHASIC PIll- is one which has different levels of hormones through the pack. These pills alter your hormone levels once through your cycle by increasing the dosage of progestin about halfway through your cycle and are thought to better match your body’s natural production of hormones- they contain smaller doses of hormones as a whole than monophasic pills. However, insufficient evidence has been gathered to favour these pills over monophasic ones, where a whole lot more reliable data is available so monophasic pills are preferred. Breakthrough bleeding has been reported as a complication with your pills. Popular biphasic pills include : Jenest, Mircette, Necon 10/11, Nelova 10/11, Ortho-Novum 10/11. Attempts to decrease side effects generated the three-phase pill in the 1980s.
TRIPHASE pill- is one which has 3 different levels of hormones in the ACTIVE pills over three weeks, i.e. a change in hormone levels within your body occurs every 7 days for the first 3 weeks.. The dose of estrogen is gradually increased and in certain pills, the dose of progestin can be increased. Whether three-phase pills lead to fewer pregnancies than two-phase pills is unknown. Nor is it known if the pills give better cycle control or have fewer side effects. Search for the ‘TRI’ on the label such as for example:Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Triphasil, Tri-Levlen, Trivora, Tri-Norinyl, other brands include: Cyclessa, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7.
The Best Pill to Take – All contraceptive pills are effective if taken correctly, with combination pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) being more effective compared to low dose ‘mini pill’ ;.Monophasic pills could be the best in the first place since they are cheaper and individuals with lower levels of estrogen might have fewer side effects (but more breakthrough bleeding)
Always use back up (a condom or diaphragm) for the remaining portion of the month if you miss a pill. Trial and error, side effects and talking to your doctor should help you to find a contraceptive pill that suits your body. Pregnancies occur mainly when women forget to have a pill or take them incorrectly, vomit, get diarrhoea or, in the event of the mini pill, don’t take pills at the same time each day. It’s quite simple to start a pill packet late if you simply forget or if you don’t have the following new packet on hand. Probably the most dangerous time for you to miss a pill is at the end or beginning of a supply because it lengthens the pill free gap beyond seven days which means that you may not have absorbed sufficient synthetic hormones to prevent you from ovulating within the next month.