Re: BIRTH CONTROL PILL and how it ties in with v.pain....

September 19, 2007

Hi all,

I used this article below to show the reproductive endocrinologist

that bc can cause damage to the estrogen receptors, and she said that

this isn't true because it says " Bouchard thinks " and is not

supported by hard data.

" Bouchard said that she thinks the hormones in OCs may " act on

receptors " in the vulvar tissue, causing the tissue to become " more

sensitive to irritating chemicals " and eventually painful to the

touch. "

What's the date on this? So my doctor said that this article is just

an opinion. IS there more?

SHannon

>

> 1.

> Contraception & Family Planning

>

> Researchers Find Possible Association Between Birth Control Pill,

Condition Causing Painful Sex

>

> Oral contraceptive use may be associated with vulvar

vestibulitis, a condition in which the tissue around the opening of

the vagina is inflamed, making sexual intercourse painful, Reuters

Health reports. The condition is most common in young women, and

medical treatment is " rarely " successful; most women must have the

sensitive tissue surgically removed in order to be free of pain

during intercourse. In a study appearing in the Aug. 1 issue of the

American Journal of Epidemiology. Dr. Celine Bouchard of the

Hopital du Saint-Sacrement in Quebec and colleagues interviewed 138

women with the condition and 309 women without it.

>

> The researchers found that women who had taken oral

contraceptives were almost 'seven times' as likely as women who had

never taken oral contraceptives to have vulvar vestibulitis.

Women who began using OCs before the age of 16 were more than nine

times as likely to develop the condition as women who had not taken

the pills by that age, and the chance of developing vulvar

vestibulitis increased further in women who had used OCs for up to

two to four years. Pills that contained higher doses of androgen

and progestin and lower amounts of estrogen were found to have the

highest correlation with the condition. Bouchard said that she

thinks the hormones in OCs may " act on receptors " in the vulvar

tissue, causing the tissue to become " more sensitive to irritating

chemicals " and eventually painful to the touch. However, Bouchard

noted that not all cases of vulvar vestibulitis are associated with

OC use, and she added that doctors should not stop prescribing

> birth control pills to young women.

>

> " Until our results are validated by another similar study with a

larger cohort of patients, I would be reluctant to suggest to

physicians to inform young girls about this association, " she said,

noting that oral contraceptives are " still the best method of

contraception to prevent undesired pregnancies. " However, she

said that doctors may want to discuss the link with young women

taking OCs for 'non'-contraceptive reasons

>

> (McCook, Reuters Health, 8/7).

>

> ==================================================

> 2. MEDSCAPE Article

> Use of oral contraceptive pills and vulvar vestibulitis: a case-

control

> study.

>

> When OCs were first used before age 16 years, the relative risk of

vulvar vestibulitis reached 9.3 (95 percent confidence interval: 3.2,

27.2) and increased with duration of OC use up to 2-4 years.

>

> The relative risk was higher when the pill used was of 'high'

progestogenic, high androgenic, and 'low' estrogenic potency.

>

> The possibility that OC use may contribute to the occurrence of

> vulvar vestibulitis needs to be evaluated carefully.

>

> =======================================

> 3. LIBIDO

>

> <CLIPPED> BY JOE GRAEDON (A PHARMACOLOGIST)

>

> Q: I am convinced that birth control pills have a negative

impact on sexual desire. When I asked my pharmacist, she insisted

that the levels of hormones are too low to interfere with libido. Is

that true? A friend who has had a similar problem suggested I try

DHEA: She said it helped her, but I am reluctant to take anything

without knowing much about it.

>

> A: According to Dr. Irwin Goldstein, one of the country's leading

experts on sexual issues, birth control pills can 'indeed' depress

desire.

>

> The dietary supplement DHEA is a precursor to both estrogen and

testosterone. While testosterone can be helpful for improving libido,

there is a risk that taking DHEA in combination with oral

contraceptives could result in excessive estrogen. "

> (Dee's note* 'because' DHEA does convert to E & E. and T converts

to estrogen. Also if one adds 'only' an estrogen as in HRT

replacement (without adding T) .. that will 'diminish' the T we do

have even further and even more of a cause for lack of libido.

>

> I do have that one study (can't find it right now) that showed

less T. with those w. vulvodynia as well as LS and why T can be added

topically for it's benefit as well as estrogen cream. AND..... by the

way they know that those with LS (lichen sclerosis) also have less or

no T. receptors shown via biopsy's and why T was used for so many

years previous to the steroids becoming a favorite.

>

> Our hormones MUST be balanced if one is taking any for HRT and

it's a delicate one and why those blood levels are SO important and

to be tested over and over until it's just right for the person

individually not collectively. (I mean for HRT here) not so much

topically because a younger persons blood levels may be fine but it

doesn't mean their hormone 'receptors' are ok. As both E & T are

quite beneficial for the V. skin used topically & regardless of the

hormone blood serum levels. DT

>

> ===============================

>

September 19, 2007