Birth control argument

[Evvie]

Me and the Man are in a discussion about how birth control works in the pill form.

He says that the reason they are ordered by day is because different days have different levels/kinds of medication, and they must be taken in order.

I say that the reason they are ordered by day is because women are stupid and we'll do it wrong unless it's that way.

Any educated weigh-ins?

 

[Rose]

According to my doctor and the package insert that came with mine, every day is the same dosage as the last. They have it ordered so you know if you skip a day. Some lower dosage hormonal birth control pills may have different dosages though, but I've never taken them and can't say for sure. I only know mine, the highest dosage legal that's currently on the market, does not have different dosages for every day.

 

[sweetiebatman]

I think, and I might be wrong on this its not necessarily the order taken, its the frequency to keep the levels of hormones consistent, which is why they are labelled, the dosage remains the same

 

[Rose]

I think, and I might be wrong on this its not necessarily the order taken, its the frequency to keep the levels of hormones consistent, which is why they are labelled, the dosage remains the same

Yes, that's also why doctors recommend you take them at the same time every day. They're most effective taken at the same time every day with perfect consistency.

 

[LilyPink]

Some of the less common types contain different things.

Either way, they all suck hairy balls.

 

[Bocefish]

I lol'd at the OP.

Methinks perhaps a little of both, but purely a guess. If they were all the same daily potency, why would there be individualized prescription packets? For instance, if you and another woman had the same brand prescribed but weren't synchronized menstrually, could you take each other's pills and feel totally protected?

 

[DevilishAnne]

I hated taking the pills.. i would always forget.. i tried the shot and that was just an awful experience.. i'm very happy i don't have to worry about anything like that anymore.. my baby factory is closed for good! Just remember to be careful if you are switching from one birth control to a new one there is a good risk you'll end up pregnant.. have a few friends of mine who are currently learning that the hard way.

 

[Rose]

I lol'd at the OP.

Methinks perhaps a little of both, but purely a guess. If they were all the same daily potency, why would there be individualized prescription packets? For instance, if you and another woman had the same brand prescribed but weren't synchronized menstrually, could you take each other's pills and feel totally protected?

That brand that my sister and I take, yes we can do that. We don't because it would confuse the other girl as to what day she was on, but theoretically we could. I only know this because I've talked with my doctor about it, (we have the same doctor and same health problems so we're currently on the same birth control.)

Theoretically, we could also swap with our mother too because she's on the same pill.

 

[SoTxBob]

The X worked for an OB/GYN back when.
As I remember it, there are 2 types of pills, combination pills which have estrogen and progestin, and single med pills that contain only progestin. Most women take the combination pills.
The hormones do 3 primary things, they prevent the ovaries from releasing the egg, it also thickens the cervical mucus which blocks the sperm from the egg and lastly thins the lining of the uterus some.
Constant hormone levels in the body are why they want you to take them approx. the same time daily. Different formulation [strength] are required by different women.

Hubby is the farthest off on this one...
The medication level remains constant throughout the 3 weeks and then the "red week" of 'reminder pills' are primarily so you don't break the rhythm of every day pill taking.

 

[RoxieRed]

I am a weirdo who reads all the info that comes with the birth control pills. From what I can remember, all of the ones I have taken had the same dosage per pill except for the week of inactive pills.

My guess is the reason they are set up that way is to make it easier to track if you have or haven't taken a pill. It also helped me figure out how much longer til the dreaded week.

 

[Evvie]

I am a weirdo who reads all the info that comes with the birth control pills. From what I can remember, all of the ones I have taken had the same dosage per pill except for the week of inactive pills.

My guess is the reason they are set up that way is to make it easier to track if you have or haven't taken a pill. It also helped me figure out how much longer til the dreaded week.

I skip the off pills, woot!

Now that I think about it, yeah, if ladies are going to take a week off and bleed out their vag, you can't really just hand a chick a bottle of 300 pills and expect them to figure it out. Most young women (you can start birth control at like 10 in some places) don't have the planning skills to keep track of those days and start and stop the pill properly to keep from getting pregnant.

 

[Rose]

How many women don't know you can skip your period with doctor's permission if you're on the pill? Maybe my siter, mother and I are weird but we take 3 months in a row (granted, this is also recommended because of our health problems) without any breaks.

 

[lordmagellan]

How many women don't know you can skip your period with doctor's permission if you're on the pill? Maybe my siter, mother and I are weird but we take 3 months in a row (granted, this is also recommended because of our health problems) without any breaks.

Are you sure that's not a different medicine? The wifey tried to skip her period once in an effort to not bleed on a certain day and ended up with a longer menstruation time. It was a mess. Actually any time she messed around with her timing threw off her "clock" and she'd start early or late and the symptoms would be worse.

I was thinking the pills were in order to basically regulate the period. But then now that she's off the pill, she's pretty regular.

And, Evvie, I think you're close but miss the mark a bit: it's not that women are too stupid to figure it out, it's that the men doctors who designed the system thought women were too stupid to figure it out.

 

[Rose]

How many women don't know you can skip your period with doctor's permission if you're on the pill? Maybe my siter, mother and I are weird but we take 3 months in a row (granted, this is also recommended because of our health problems) without any breaks.

Are you sure that's not a different medicine? The wifey tried to skip her period once in an effort to not bleed on a certain day and ended up with a longer menstruation time. It was a mess. Actually any time she messed around with her timing threw off her "clock" and she'd start early or late and the symptoms would be worse.

I was thinking the pills were in order to basically regulate the period. But then now that she's off the pill, she's pretty regular.

And, Evvie, I think you're close but miss the mark a bit: it's not that women are too stupid to figure it out, it's that the men doctors who designed the system thought women were too stupid to figure it out.

Nope, it's regular birth control. Almost all higher dose birth controls you can take continuously (like for a few packs in a row) without having to stop to have a period. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have talked to your doctor and/or have weirdo hormones like mine.

Disclaimer: my sister, mother and I all have health problems that we treat through period suppression with our doctor's supervision. Don't just start taking your pill for 3 months in a row without getting it oked. Not all brands and doses are the same.

 

[LadyLuna]

I was on orthotricyclin low during college. There were four different colors of pills, one for each week. What I was told was that each week had a different level of hormones in it, so if I accidentally skipped a day, it was important to leave that pill there. And that it was important that I take them at the same time each day because each one had enough in it for one day, but that since levels were approximate, it was not important that it be within the same few minutes, just within the right hour or so.

I should also note that I was in an area where it was well known that the doctors had been kicked out of practicing medicine elsewhere, so I can't verify the truthfulness of the information I was given. When I saw real doctors after college, for example, they were horrified that I'd never had a pap smear despite being on birth control.

 

[Rose]

I've been on orthotricyclin low before but mine weren't multi colored every week. They were all green. Hmm. I've never heard of a pill where if you miss a day they tell you to not take it the next day either. Seems off.

 

[Shaun__]

I wonder how many kids or stupid boyfriends eat these thinking they are candy.

 

[Rose]

Lol if you think those look like candy, you should see mine. They look like pink pez. :lol:

 

[AmberCutie]

Tri-cyclen (three-cycle) has 3 levels of hormones, so each week you take may be a different color, then the off week may be tan/brown color.

There may be other prescriptions that are multiple levels of hormones, but this is the only one I know for sure. All others I have been on were the same dosage all through the month.

Also, I never take the brown pills, even though some prescriptions include Iron in those to at least to something. After so very many years of taking BC, I've finally got the routine down enough that I can remember when to start the new pack.

 

[SweetGeekGirl]

I actually spent a year educating students about birth control, STIs, and safer sex.

There are multiple kinds of birth control pills. In some, it's the same dose for every active pill. In others, it varies based on the week (not day), which is supposed to mimic a woman's more natural hormone fluctuations. To me, they're packaged the way they are for the some reason people who take multiple pills a day sometimes put them in the cases marked with the day of the week - to make sure one doesn't forget that they did or did not take their dose for that day.

Also, since I saw this mentioned - there's nothing unhealthy for anyone about skipping your period through birth control use (with the possible exception of if someone has something different going on with them, YMMV). Skipping the inactive pills and starting the next pack doesn't work (or doesn't work well) with the pills that have a different hormone level each week, though. I'm on Implanon, which is a small plastic rod in my arm that stays there and releases a steady dose of hormones for three years. Some women don't have a period at all while on it. Similarly, there are pills meant to be taken every day so that there is never a period.

Ahem. And I could probably talk about this stuff all day, so I'll stop building my Wall o' Text now.

 

[Anonymous]

Lol if you think those look like candy, you should see mine. They look like pink pez. :lol:

Hey, no fair! I wish mine were pink...lol. Mine are yellow, and the 7 inactive pills at the very bottom are white.

 

[Evvie]

How many women don't know you can skip your period with doctor's permission if you're on the pill? Maybe my siter, mother and I are weird but we take 3 months in a row (granted, this is also recommended because of our health problems) without any breaks.

Are you sure that's not a different medicine? The wifey tried to skip her period once in an effort to not bleed on a certain day and ended up with a longer menstruation time. It was a mess. Actually any time she messed around with her timing threw off her "clock" and she'd start early or late and the symptoms would be worse.

I was thinking the pills were in order to basically regulate the period. But then now that she's off the pill, she's pretty regular.

And, Evvie, I think you're close but miss the mark a bit: it's not that women are too stupid to figure it out, it's that the men doctors who designed the system thought women were too stupid to figure it out.

When I first started BC when I was 18ish, I got like 3 periods in 7 weeks, things were wonky, yo. Controlling menstruation is a big thing to do to a body, and you can't expect things to go smoothly the first time around.

I still hold my ground, however, that the pills being organized by day are for the benefit of women. There are female doctors too, you know.