Is the pill making you ill?
It's always been hailed as the hassle-free contraception, but serious side
effects are turning an increasing number of women off the Pill.
As the Pill celebrates its 50th birthday this year, it's still hitting the headlines - but for all the wrong reasons. Recent studies have shown that, in some cases, the contraceptive pill is actually playing havoc with our bodies, from increasing the risks of some cancers, stroke and headaches, to affecting our sex drive and even altering the kind of men we find attractive.
"It may seem like it's convenient, but the truth is we're playing with fire," warns Jane Bennett, co-author of The Pill: Are You Sure It's For You? (Orion, £7.99).
"Studies have shown that long-term Pill use is linked to all sorts of problems, including blood clots, stroke, breast and cervical cancer and depression. The reality is our whole lives can be twisted by taking the Pill," she says.
Although this may sound extreme, the science speaks for itself. The Pill contains huge doses of synthetic hormones - around four times stronger than your natural levels at their peak in your cycle - which prevent ovulation by fooling your body into thinking it's permanently pregnant.
Pharmaceutical companies list the side effects caused by the Pill, as required by law, but increasingly experts believe the combined effect of taking it over a number of years causes a toxic build-up of synthetic hormones. Many of us will remember the blood-clot scare back in 1995 but, more recently, experts have been discovering new problems associated with taking the Pill. In fact, internet forums are full of anecdotes - both negative and positive - of women's experiences of a whole range of brands, such as Dianette and Cilest.
When Holly Grigg-Spall, 27, a journalist from Canterbury, needed contraception, she chose the Pill.
"I asked for Yasmin because I'd heard it can help clear up skin problems," she says. And it did - although that wasn't the only change Holly noticed.
"I began to get spells of extreme rage. It was like I turned into a different person. If my husband Guy was working late, I'd have intense panic attacks, and feel deeply that something terrible had happened to him," she explains. "Gradually these feelings began to dominate, and I became depressed and confused. My work suffered, I couldn't concentrate and, looking back, it almost ended our marriage. There were a couple of really low points when I actually considered suicide."
After six months, Holly began to wonder if her symptoms could be connected to her contraceptive pill. "I'd been on it sporadically since I was 17, and I realised that I hadn't felt right every time I used it," she says. "I felt the effects were getting worse the longer I continued taking it. So about four months ago, I decided to stop. For the first couple of months, my emotions were still all over the place, but now I'm back to the balanced, happy me again.
"I didn't talk to a doctor, but in the few months since I've stopped taking the Pill, I've felt clearer, sharper and I'm no longer depressed. Guy has certainly noticed the difference."
Holly's experience comes as no surprise to menstrual health expert Alexandra Pope. "I've spoken to many women who have described similar symptoms to Holly's while on the Pill - they feel anxious, suffer panic attacks and intense low moods," says Alexandra. "There's an epidemic [cont over] of depression out there, and mood disorders are listed as a side effect in a lot of new research into the Pill."
In fact, an Australian study* found Pill users had a greater likelihood of developing depression compared to non-users.
So is it time to bin the pills? Definitely not, says fertility expert Dr Peter Bowen-Simpkins. "The Pill's safety record is incredibly good and it still deserves its place as the most popular contraceptive choice for young women," he says.
While some studies have made links to an increased risk of breast and cervical cancer, Dr Bowen-Simpkins points out that others have found the Pill reduces the chances of developing ovarian and womb cancers. "The fact is, every contraceptive method has some sort of risk - you need to talk to your doctor and think carefully about what method is suitable for you," he says.
But there are other factors to consider - you might not want a baby now, but what about in the future? A study in the journal Human Reproduction found it took women who'd been on the Pill long-term twice as long to get pregnant as those who'd used condoms.
So why is the Pill still being popped by 25 per cent of UK women under 50 - and 64 per cent of 20 to 24 year olds?
The advantages are clear. It's easy, discreet and reliable - there's less than a one per cent chance of pregnancy on it. It can also help with irregular or heavy periods and reduce acne.
But its popularity is also due to women not giving their contraception much thought.
"Around one in three UK women spends less than five minutes selecting her contraception," says Julie Bentley, chief executive of the Family Planning Association (FPA). "We spend days hunting for a perfect dress - we should put as much time into contraception."
There are many different types of Pill, and it's important you choose the one that's right for you. Contraceptive clinics, your GP, and the FPA helpline and website can all help you make the right decision. You should regularly visit your GP to check your current contraception is still the most suitable.
It's up to each one of us to decide whether the Pill is right for our needs, but Alexandra Pope thinks we should still be cautious. "Women need more information and to get more in touch with their bodies," she says. "If they know the risks and alternatives, and still decide to go on the Pill, at least they're likely to be more alert to any problems."
'A blood clot almost killed me'
"Shortly after breakfast one morning a really strange feeling came over me. It felt like my eyes were moving from side to side on their own, completely independently of my body. My chest tightened with fear and then everything went black.
When I woke up, I was in Southampton General Hospital. The doctors told me I'd had a life-threatening seizure. I was even more upset to discover that my family had arrived to see me having a second fit - one so bad that I bit through my tongue. The consultants ruled out epilepsy and, because I was otherwise healthy, they sent me for a CT scan. It showed I had a clot that was preventing blood flowing to my brain.
The doctors told me I could have died or been left badly brain-damaged. I later found out I have a blood condition called Prothrombin, which makes me more at risk of thrombosis. Taking the Pill further increased the danger and this then caused my blood clot.
I thought I was being responsible by going on the Pill, but I won't go near it again."
Dr Peter Bowen-Simpkins, spokesman for the Royal College Of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and women's reproductive health charity Wellbeing of Women, says: "If you take the Pill you are more at risk of getting a blood clot. So if you're going on a long-haul flight, for example, which is a risk factor in blood clots, you should get up and move around. But this is very rare, and affects mostly smokers, the very overweight and those with a family history of thrombosis."
A 2009 study in the Netherlands* found that women on the Pill were five times more at risk of blood clots - but the condition still affects less than one in 1,000 users.
The Pill: Highs and lows of 50 years
'60s: The Pill launches in 1960 in the US and 1961 in the UK. Users rise from 50,000 to 1 million between 1962-69.
'80s: The number of users plummets as research suggests links with breast cancer, stroke, heart attack and blood clots.
'90s: abortions and pregnancies. A number of deaths and illnesses are reported relating to Femodene, taken by 400,000 British women.
Noughties: Research suggests the Pill could be affecting which men we fancy, making us swoon over guys with more feminine faces rather than rugged hunks.
YOUR CONTRACEPTION: Should you stick or switch?
Answer these questions to see if you need a contraception overhaul:
Are you likely to be having new partners?
If you are, whatever form of contraception you choose, you should always use condoms too, in order to protect yourself from STIs and HIV.
Would you prefer to stop having periods?
It's worth thinking about the progesterone-only pill or three-monthly injection.
Would you like to control your periods?
Sticking with the Pill or contraceptive patch is your best bet for this. You will know exactly when you're due for a bleed and, if you want to skip a period, simply miss out your pill or patch-free week.
Do you keep forgetting to take your pill?
Why not consider a form of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), such as the IUS, IUD, implant or injection? Mirena (IUS) is becoming more popular. A small T-shaped plastic device is inserted into the womb by a doctor or nurse. It makes your periods lighter and pain-free while you're on it and fertility returns within a month or two. Alternatively, the Vaginal Ring is the latest contraceptive device on the market. A small, soft plastic ring is placed inside your vagina on the first day of your period. It releases synthetic hormones, which prevent ovulation. You then remove it 21 days later and leave it out for seven days while you have a period.
Would you prefer not to take hormones?
Opt for the IUD, diaphragms, caps or male and female condoms.
Do you want to get pregnant soon?
Go for a method that is easily reversible - steer clear of the injection, as it can take longer for your fertility to return. And doctors recommend waiting between one and three months after your first Pill-free period before trying to conceive, so your body can settle down - although many women say their bodies needed longer.
Are you absolutely sure you don't want any more children?
It may be time to consider sterilisation - the most effective form of contraception, along with Mirena. You don't have to worry about forgetting it.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MASTERFIL *BY RESEARCHERS AT LEIDEN UNIVERSITY
*A STUDY FROM MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA
This article has 13 comments
Hi, this is the Holly mentioned in the article and I'd like to point those who commented here to my blog - which is about my experience with the Pill and coming off the Pill:
www.sweeteningthepill.blogspot.com
Thanks for all your comments.
By Holly.. Posted April 1 2010 at 9:00 PM.
Reading this I'm quite worried about Yasmin... I was on it for about 4 months and ended up with a blood clot, despite the previous 4/5 years on Dianette without any problems.. But it's not just the combined pill which causes problems, I took Cerazette for about a year which gave me quite severe hair loss!
By Elle B.. Posted March 20 2010 at 10:12 PM.
I'm so glad you featured this article - I no longer feel as though I am suffering alone and have spoken to my boyfriend about the it already! I was on minulet for years and had no problems but then the manufacturer stopped producing it and I was changed to femodene - which I don't like as the bleed in my pill free week can last 7 days! In the year I have been taking it I either feel on top of the world or very down (never suicidal though). I have made an appointment with my doctor next week to discuss your article and contraception and have agreed with my boyfriend to stop taking the pill for 3 months to see if I feel better - and if I do I will never take it again! Thank you fabulous!
By Suzie.. Posted March 18 2010 at 1:17 PM.
When I saw this article I had to read it. I am going to my 31 year old friends funeral next week, she died mysteriously of a pulmonary embolism (a type of blood clot i believe) while asleep in her bed a couple of weeks ago. The day before, she apparently experienced the signs of fainting, feeling generally not good, lower body pains etc. Now, she had recently been put on the pill for the first time to try and control heavy periods, and she had tried a couple of different ones I understand. Was her loss just a coincidence or something more?
By Lisa Palmer.. Posted March 17 2010 at 10:44 AM.
Hiya. Im so glad I read all your comments, i have been on the Pill since I was 16 im now 19, i started on microgen 30 and am now on yasmin, this is my 5th change of the pill. Ive been with my boyfrend nearly 4 years and we argue constantly coz i get rele bad mood swingsm i get paranoid all the time and live in fear that hes goin to leave me becuase no normal person would put up with the crap iv put him through. Iv tried commiting suicide and i dont get on with my parents as well as i used to. Iv lost all my energy I used to dance but gave up as I constantly feel drained. I know im rele a happy bubbly person becuase it shows wen im on my period in my 7 day break.I went to the doctors the other day becuase I though I was depressed and am now being referred to a councillor when now I know its all to do with that poxy pill. Im coming off it sraight away, thank you!! :)
By Sam L.. Posted March 17 2010 at 9:56 AM.
I was interested to read your advice if you don't like taking hormones. I was profoundly depressed, and gained a lot of weight when I tried the pill (both symptoms ended immediately after I went off it) and have very sensitive reactions to hormones, was very ill during pregnancy etc. The IUD, your first recommendation, is usually a hormone containing device.
BUT, the diaphragm is almost impossible to get in the UK. Most chemists do not stock them, even if your GP prescribes one, and my family planning clinic tried to talk me out of getting one even though I explained that I did not want the pill, or condoms, and was a married 30 year old who was not terrified of getting pregnant .
Furthermore, the best spermicide, Gynol II, was discontinued in the UK and I now have to get it sent from the US. I am allergic to the ONLY spermicide sold in the UK, but there is no alternative, because no one is promoting the diaphragm.
But the diaphragm is a great contraceptive method. I had no trouble using it and did not get pregnant while using it. On stopping using it to try to get pregnant, I conceived the first month both times, so I think it is pretty effective. Ask your GP if you're really determined not to have hormones, and maybe ask him why he doesn't want you to have it.
By Vicky.. Posted March 17 2010 at 3:48 AM.
Im 28 now and have only just stopped taking the pill 3 months ago. I started when I was 16 and was perscribed Microgynon 30 by my GP. This made me feel sick so I was then given Yasmin. This caused on and off dizzy spells but the GP asked me to try it for 6 months and see if it improved. It didnt and I was then moved to Dianete. I was on Dianete for many years and it really helped with my spots which at the time was a god send! But then I suffered the same thing as Sarah from leeds describes. One night sat at home I lost total feeling in my left foot, the numbness crept up my leg into my hip, up my side, into my shoulder and down my arm. At this point an ambulance was called. By the time they arrived my face had dropped on the left side & I was finding it hard to speak. (I didn't expect this at 23!) The hospital said it was like I had suffered a stroke but caused by an extreme migrane. I had began to notice during my pill break I would get extremely bad headache's/migrane but didnt think anything of it at the time.
I spoke to my GP about this & was taken off the combined pill through the risk of a stroke & put onto the progesterone-only pill to help stop the headaches. This did work but recently Ive noticed the rage moodswings, slight depression, IBS & BAD skin again!
I decided 3 months ago to stop the pill altogether & I am so glad I have. My skin is so much better & I feel alot happier than I have in a long long time. I will not be going back on the pill anytime soon.
By Rebecca from Reading.. Posted March 16 2010 at 11:48 PM.
I had been taking the Contraceptive Pill from the age of 17 up until last October when I turned 25. I started on Microgynon 30 and switched to Yasmin at around 19/20 as it was praised very highly by my GP/Nurse. I hadn’t noticed myself changing until 2008/2009. I had a very short temper, was very snappy, I suffered with panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, IBS and terrible migraines but the worst symptom of all was my hairloss! I’d stopped Yasmin for a month back in 2007 which seemed to triggered my hairloss and since it’s just got worse. I stopped Yasmin in October last year and a lot of the above symptoms have now resolved apart from my hairloss. It’s still shedding and not improved and I’m just hoping with time it will grow back to what it was.
By Cassie Harrison.. Posted March 16 2010 at 9:59 PM.
I am 19 and i was taking the pill for 2 years, I stopped taking it a month ago. i was taking loestrin. As i was on the pill my mum had been saying that i had changed and i didn't seem like myself. I was feeling emotional most of the time. Last year i was having a few drinks with my friends and having a good time, i ended up feeling down for no apparent reason. I ended up taking an overdose of different tablets and was rushed to hospital and nearly suffered brain damage. Before taking the pill i had never felt depressed before and i was unaware that the pill could have been the reason of this untill i read this artical. Now i have stopped taking the pill i feel alot better in myself.
By Terri.. Posted March 15 2010 at 11:36 AM.
I have been on different types of pills in the last 7 years being Celest, micro... (can't think of what the name is) and Yasmin. I also tried the Injection out for a year... but neither pill or Injection worked well for me. Injection bloated me out and is now very hard to shift the weight. I then switched to pill... as i suffer from terrible period pains i needed something to make the pain more bearable so doctor precribed me pill. I am now on Yasmin... reading this article in the mag and reading the story by Holly. I also have terrible out bursts of rage! I always used to be happy and out going... but since taking the yasmin... i have no energy, i am always moody... i feel very depressed and think of terrible things. Me and my boyfriend have had a tough time since i have been on it... it seems that he is always the one i take it out on but also him being a man doesnt understand any of this... men! But our rows would get so bad that i would end up attacking him. Again i have never experienced this before... and is out of character. I am still taking Yasmin now, 10 minutes ago... i have planned book appointment at my doctors to talk about a suitable contraception. I am swaying more to the IUD as the mag says it doesn't produce any hormones... I am so glad i read Fabulous tonight...
By Frankie A.. Posted March 14 2010 at 10:09 PM.
I have just recently come of yasmin as i was constantly feeling dizzy, headaches,sickness and bellyache so my doctor has now put me onto to a different contaceptive pill and since i have been on this pill i have had nothing but bad panik attacks, dizzyness,headaches,feeling tierd all the time adn constantly arguing with my partner over the most stupid things! I really wish that someone could help me to find a pill that will balance my hormones instead of constantly abusing my body by trying different pill's.
By kelly V.. Posted March 14 2010 at 5:46 PM.
i was on the pill from the age of 18 then last year aged 32 i was told i had a 20cm tumor on my liver and that it was caused by the pill i had no symptons. i was told it could turn to cancer or i might need a transplant luckley for me ive had it removed and im now left with about 1/4 of my liver left and a BIG scar.
By yolanda davies.. Posted March 14 2010 at 5:00 PM.
I had been taking the pill for a while and was due to have a review. In August 2006 I started to become ill and feeling sick and tired all the time but but this down to doing a degree course and also being a single mum and working full time. In March 2007 i had arranged a family meal for my parents Ruby wedding and we had a lovely meal and the day was great. Whilst sat with my family i became unwell in the resturant. I explained to my Auntie i was feeling unwell and then i then the next thing i couldnt move my right foot and then my leg and continued to travel up the right hand side of my body. I went to hospital and after tests it was discovered that i had a stroke caused by my contraception pill. I was off work for a total of 3 months feeling well to return I havent taken the pill since and i am now fit and health again.
By Sarah p from Leeds.. Posted March 14 2010 at 4:58 PM.