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Oftentimes people come in requesting birth control because they have acne. The point is that acne can actually be improved with birth control pills specifically. The nice thing is that it helps to stabilize the hormonal fluctuations that most women experience in their reproductive cycle.
Birth control in general doesn't necessarily cause depression. However, some people have reported some mood instabilities when they're on various forms of birth control. This is not a common side effect, but if it does occur when you try birth control, you may need to try a different dosage and/or a different method of birth control that may not give you these same symptoms.
If the pill makes you nauseous, one thing is that you can try to eat before you actually take the pill and/or take it at bedtime. In addition, sometimes the birth control pill may not be the best option for you. You may want to consider the NuvaRing that doesn't have to be digested.
In general, all forms of birth control (essentially that is all forms of hormonal birth control) have a risk of about a 5 pound weight gain. The only birth control that has a larger risk than that typically is the Depo-Provera shot as it is an appetite stimulant, and people have been known to gain a significant amount of weight with this form of birth control.
Other than the inconvenience of coming in every 3 months, you also have to consider that Depo-Provera is an appetite stimulant, meaning that it can make people hungry and some people can gain weight on it. In addition, even when you stop the shot, it can last in your system for up to a year, meaning if you decide that you'd the shot to get pregnant, your fertility may take a while to resume. Also, you may have irregular bleeding with the Depo-Provera shot. Sometimes people have persistent bleeding with each injection and/or sometimes you may have no period at all.
The major side effect of the Nexplanon is that some people can have irregular bleeding. Now, that doesn't happen with everyone, but some people will have bleeding where they bleed for a couple of days and then they don't bleed for 15-20, then they bleed a couple of days and so on. Or: they may have persistent bleeding for several weeks. Oftentimes if it happens for more than 3 weeks, your provider can give you a sample of birth control pills and then you take it for one month and that will help to resolve the irregular bleeding. Some people have just regular periods and also you may get amenorrhea or no bleeding at all.
The side effects of using the ring are: number one - some people (although rare) have some discomfort with the placement if they're not comfortable with their body and comfortable actually placing it. Some people do not have the comfort level of actually inserting something in their vagina. In addition, they also can have irregular bleeding - as any form of birth control can do that occasionally. Most people do not have the problem of it falling out and it does not have to be removed with intercourse. However, on occasion there are people that have some difficulty due to their elasticity in their vagina in maintaining the vaginal ring.
There are various side effects from the birth control pill. Sometimes people can have a slight breast tenderness and/or cramping and bloating, but that typically resolves after the first few months of taking the pill. Some also may experience menstrual headaches with the birth control pill and this may require you to see your provider and consider a different form of birth control as an option. Also, the dosage of medication in the birth control pill may need to be adjusted depending on your response - that is if you have irregular bleeding that is not resolved with initial efforts of a birth control pill, as there are various different dosages.
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