If you think there are no longer any side effects of birth control pills, then you are partly right, but not entirely so. In the early days of the pill, certain disturbing side effects began to show up within the first three or four years of its introduction. There were some relatively mild ones, such as nausea or weight gain, or the more disconcerting effect of blurred vision. But the most disturbing side effects of all were blood clots and even strokes. This prompted a great deal of research into what was going on, with one silver lining being much better knowledge about women’s health as the research progressed.
The first thing the extra research uncovered about the side effects of birth control pills was that the dosage of progesterone should be lowered to a fraction of what it currently was. It could also be exchanged for progestin, a hormone that caused much less drastic side effects. And then a connection was made between other elements of women’s health and adverse side effects. For example, women who smoked had a much higher risk than those who didn’t, and even high blood pressure could be a risk.
Today when you do a birth control pill comparison, you see not just differences from the original pill, but differences in content and dosage even between pills now available. The risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke still exist, but the instances are rare. Because doctors know the risk factors, they can prescribe pills that will still provide good birth control, but may have slightly different hormone compositions.
Even so, certain side effects of the pill remain pretty constant even in most of today’s pills, with things like nausea, headaches, irregular bleeding and mood changes.
Side effects of birth control pills may still exist, but they are much better understood now, and much more easily alleviated. Certain health concerns may still require that some women not take the pill, but other health information suggests that some conditions triggered by hormone fluctuations, like some migraines, might actually be alleviated by the pill for some women. The pill should always be taken in consultation with a doctor, but research and new developments have now made it generally very safe.
Kim has written extensively on health and beauty issues of interest to women. If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in her recent posts on stretch mark surgery and laser surgery for stretch marks.