Hi,
I am not an official "Google Answers" representative, but I do have an
M.D. and am finishing my firther study PhD in haematology,
microbiology and immunology. I finished my MD at Melbourne University
in Australia, am a member of AIMS and finishing my fellowship at the
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. I'll give you some advice
based on my knowledge in pharmacology, but bear in mind this should
never replace a physician's consultation.
Lutera (Ethinyl Estradiol/Levonorgestrel mixture) is a drug which acts
as birth control by releasing the hormones Estrogen and Progesterone
into your body at concentrations which block ovulations. Put simply,
they "trick" your body into thinking it's pregnant already and so you
don't ovulate, therefore won't get pregnant after unprotetced sex.
Of course, as probably explained to you by your doctor,
pharmacologically messing about with hormone levels comes with obvious
risks, especially in women, whose major autonomic and peripheral
functions are bound to hormone action. Lutera does come severe and
mild side-effects with FDA approval. The more severe effects include:
- an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of your
throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
- a blood clot in the lung (shortness of breath or pain in the chest);
- a blood clot in an arm or leg (pain, redness, swelling, or
numbness of an arm or leg);
- high blood pressure (severe headache, flushing, blurred vision); or
- liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal
pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue).
And the mild, non-threatening effects include:
· depression,
· changes in weight or appetite,
· vaginal yeast infection,
· changes in your menstrual cycle,
· oily skin or acné,
· changes in your sex drive,
· lethargy or fatigue,
· bloating,
· changes in your skin color, or
· changes in your blood sugar.
Of those you experienced, depression, is the most common and shouldn't
be enormously detremental to your body. It mainly pops up in women who
already have a tendancy to be emotional, but regularly in those who
have been long-time veterans of the pill. If your doctor knows about
this, and it doesn't effect you all too much, you should be able to
continue the drug course. But if you feel that it is interrupting your
life, then other alternatives should be sought.
Many alternatives exist, but unfortunately if you don't search outside
of the BC umbrealla, you will have these recurring symptoms. Birth
control pills work pretty much the same way accross the board with a
few exceptions and so depression is a side-effect of 99% of them.
Alternatives to BC pills you could try include the diaphragm, the
morning after pill, condoms, male birth control (if your partner is
willing). More radical options are of course an IUD, hysterectomy,
withdrawal and others.
In conclusion, what your doctor has instructed you to do is, in my
opinion, the correct course of action if the depression has really
gotten to you. There are however some journals I've read discussing
new-generation Progesterone-Only contraceptives. These are
considerably less reliable, but mood changes are rarer in these.
Discuss it with your doctor, to weigh up the pros and cons. You might
have to just suck it up and go with mechanical contraception.
Hope this helps,
Baz :) |
