Recent comments in /f/science

mom_with_an_attitude t1_jdreuhv wrote

I am a 57 yo woman. Trends in birth control come and go. When I was a young woman, barrier methods were much more common. In the decades since, they have fallen out of fashion, as hormonal birth control was found to be more effective. But I have grave reservations about the long-term effects of hormonal birth control and it really bothers me that an entire generation of young women are now using it. There are many things we are still learning about the endocrine system; and I am concerned about what we are going to discover once this generation has been on hormonal BC for two or three decades.

There are good forms of BC that do not involve hormones. The diaphragm. The cervical cap (which used to be available in the US but is no longer. It is still available in Europe. It was my favorite form of BC and I am really pissed that it is no longer available here.) The female condom, which you don't see much at drug stores, but which is available on Amazon. (It should be available everywhere; and the fact that it isn't is another thing that pisses me off.) The Today sponge is another very awesome form of non-hormonal BC. It was on the market; then it was discontinued in the 90s; then it came back on the market (I bought some on Amazon a few years back) and now they are unavailable once again. There are good alternatives to hormonal birth control and THEY ARE BEING KEPT FROM US! This is not okay. We should be protesting about this, along with the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

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ERRNmomof2 t1_jdrcxqi wrote

Oh I’m keeping that puppy in. I took it out for 6 months and I will never do that again until menopause. I’m almost 44 so it can’t be too far off. Maternal and paternal grandmothers had breast cancer, maternal died from it. Estrogen secreting so no one can use HRT.

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marilern1987 t1_jdrcjy4 wrote

Don’t let it sadden you. You might not even have a high risk of breast cancer if you don’t have a family history of that, or prostate cancer (they have genetic links).

Birth control can also prevent endometrial cancer or ovarian cancer. So it’s not all doom and gloom - I am reading about how endometriosis is thought to slightly increase risk of ovarian cancer, so if that’s the case, the birth control could conceivably be benefitting you there.

I think what people need to understand, is that just because something is a carcinogen, doesn’t mean that ALL exposure is risky exposure. Birth control is an example of a carcinogen, that doesn’t necessarily place all people at risk

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ERRNmomof2 t1_jdrbngk wrote

I have endometriosis. Without an IUD with hormones I would bleed, have vertigo, extreme migraines for 2+ weeks a month. The copper IUD would make that even worse. The newstory saddens me.

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dkysh t1_jdr6zli wrote

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marilern1987 t1_jdr6oex wrote

No, they didn’t. you’re the first person to bring up weight loss. Yes, weight loss can help with the symptoms, but it won’t just get rid of the problem. That’s why we … prescribe meds

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Blunderhorse t1_jdr511n wrote

Not sure what the Danes’ excuse is, but the answer should be pretty obvious in the US. If it’s not worth the risk of losing your house to debt, it’ll probably get better on its own.

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toss_it_out_tomorrow t1_jdr4izn wrote

Besides what studies like these say, even if Doctors know about it, they have to weigh the risks with what is more important. Your PCOS treatment is priority because that can lead to other issues itself.

Look at PPIs as an example. A lot of PPIs (think Nexium for GERD) can lead to stomach cancers. But, if untreated, GERD can lead to esophageal cancer

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