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

[Guest guest]

Chelle wrote: HI all, I myself wouldn't doubt it for a minute that the birth control pills play a big 'part' in the problem of V pain. Being they are mostly progestins.... and P 'blocks'

the needed estrogen indeed. It's like a woman has been pregnant for years and years. (Let alone the increase risk of breast cancer from the darn progestins (not the estrogen) *sigh* but that's another story) and worst of all 'in my opinion' are those Depo Provera shots!!! arghhhhh And it's not only estrogen 'receptors' that get blocked by the progestins/progesterone but the (T) Testosterone receptors as well. BIG TIME, so talk about the loss of libido as well (that is very well known in the medical field by the way) and T is also beneficial for that genital tissue. Latest studies say it may take 'years' to bring that libido back and in some cases may not come back. 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-controlstudy. 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 ofvulvar 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 ===============================