Periods and Hormones (men you've been warned lol)

[Sheanie]

@DianaCox , could you please talk about if the hormonal birth control methods are a good choice for us after DS? I am not up on the topic, nor will I ever be, I am past that stage in my life.

@DuodenalSwitchaRoo , weight loss makes hormones go crazy. Rapid weight loss makes women fertile with no warning. You should now consider yourself Extra Fertile, kind of as a super power. Recently another Michigan DSer popped up pregnant under a year out. It's not smart to purposely get pregnant that soon, especially if you still are losing weight rapidly. This particular person is rumored to have sought fertility treatments as well. When I learned that, I do believe I lost some brain cells due to over-heating. Talk about not being the brightest bulb on the string......

 

[DuodenalSwitchaRoo]

yeah, I don't get it either. Why try when you are so soon post op....I dunno...different folks, different strokes.

 

[JackieOnLine]

You should now consider yourself Extra Fertile, kind of as a super power

omg, be careful!

 

[Jbandmmomma]

@Sheanie ,

I'm not @DianaCox , but do also have a PhD in reproductive physiology. The debate about hormonal birth control is on-going. I have asked for objective evidence that "the pill" is not absorbed after the DS, and I have not found any. I have spent some time searching the scientific literature, as recently as 3 weeks ago, and that confirmed the lack of data supporting the theory.

My personal anecdote: I have been taking hormonal BC pills for 7 weeks now, and based on symptomology and clinical signs, I have no reason to suspect that they are malabsorbed - for me.

I am not using them as primary birth control, though, since I had a tubal ligation in 2011. This is merely my pharmaceutical attempt to manage out-of-control periods and cramping, in an effort to avoid an endometrial ablation. So far, so good. I on on week 5 of constant use (will take for 3 months/12 weeks, then 1 week off) and have no signs of break-through bleeding.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

@Sheanie ,

I'm not @DianaCox , but do also have a PhD in reproductive physiology. The debate about hormonal birth control is on-going. I have asked for objective evidence that "the pill" is not absorbed after the DS, and I have not found any. I have spent some time searching the scientific literature, as recently as 3 weeks ago, and that confirmed the lack of data supporting the theory.

My personal anecdote: I have been taking hormonal BC pills for 7 weeks now, and based on symptomology and clinical signs, I have no reason to suspect that they are malabsorbed - for me.

I am not using them as primary birth control, though, since I had a tubal ligation in 2011. This is merely my pharmaceutical attempt to manage out-of-control periods and cramping, in an effort to avoid an endometrial ablation. So far, so good. I on on week 5 of constant use (will take for 3 months/12 weeks, then 1 week off) and have no signs of break-through bleeding.

I'm not naming names because some of our geniuses here are on the down low, but...sometimes...reading on DS sites vs sites dedicated to other weight loss schemes is like the difference between observing Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune contestants/questions/fans.

 

[brooklyngirl]

@Jbandmmomma ooooh! An expert for me to ask questions to

The debate I've seen about hormonal birth control and its effectiveness after WLS stems from 2 things:
1- the malabsorption thing that you mentioned that may or may not play a factor, but then again there are other ways to do hormonal birth control besides orally.
2- the other is whether or not the hormones are effective in preventing ovulation when there are massive hormonal changes happening during rapid weight loss.

I have no idea about either, except what I've read in forum discussions. I made the decision to stop hormonal BC (nuvaring) not because I was concerned about malabsorption (since it obviously isn't absorbed through the digestive tract) but because I was afraid of #2^^^ and also because I want to start a family ASAP and I've just entered the "advanced maternal age" category. I, literally, just got back from my appt with my new OBGYN and she agreed, but I know lots of women are interested in the debate/conversation regarding this issue!

 

[Jbandmmomma]

Clinical stuff is not my specialty, but I will put my google and medical literature mining abilities up against most anyone.

The best I could find is that more research is needed to definitively understand the metabolism of oral birth control in post-bariatric surgery women of childbearing age. This was from a review article published in 2008.

I've not really considered #2 in any sort of detail, but it could be an interesting thing to think about. It's hard to parse out a lot of this, given that metabolically our bodies are going through such transformations. Overall, I think the bottom still must be that women are advised to use 2 reliable forms of birth control, 1 of which is a barrier method for the first 18 months to 2 years post-bariatric surgery. This is to protect the health of the woman and the fetus.

 

[Sheanie]

Yeah, @Jbandmmomma , taking the pill for your purpose is wonderful. I did that for a while before I was mentally ready for my hysterectomy. But that was before my DS, so I cannot speak personally about how well it works post. Also for excessive bleeding, Ibuprofen is wildly therapeutic. An OB-GYN told me it was an anti-prostaglandin, whatever the hell that is. I took it for 13 years after the BC made me emotional. It kept my hemorrhaging under control (from intramural fibroids) during that time.

My understanding is that BC pills are fat soluble, and so are not a good BC option for a DSer.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Ooh, ooh, @Sheanie I know what anti prostaglandins do! I don't know if I'm explaining it properly but prostaglandins cause muscle contractions, and the reason women get menstrual cramps is because those prostaglandins are causing the uterus to contract to push everything out (even though, apparently, gravity will do most of the work). So anti prostaglandins, like ibuprofen, don't just relieve the pain of cramps, but they help stop the muscle contractions that cause the pain in the first place. I was told that taking ibuprofen before cramping starts will help just ask much, but I haven't had luck with that

 

[Spiky Bugger]

This shit is scary! Impressive, but scary.

I'm kinda glad that I was neutered 37 years ago when nobody was so smart. (I didn't even know what "wings" were on pads when it was time to take my kid shopping for such things.)

I'm from THIS era... http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/3f/b5/6b3fb5b7e3cab7ed5fddf39728abad45.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21wthpLrB5L._SL160_.jpg

And yes, those f'ers are serrated and yes, those f'ers went between the butt cheeks, and no, the only other option was safety pins, included in the box when you used the dispenser in the ladies room.

 

[brooklyngirl]

This shit is scary! Impressive, but scary.

I'm kinda glad that I was neutered 37 years ago when nobody was so smart. (I didn't even know what "wings" were on pads when it was time to take my kid shopping for such things.)

I'm from THIS era... http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/3f/b5/6b3fb5b7e3cab7ed5fddf39728abad45.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21wthpLrB5L._SL160_.jpg

And yes, those f'ers are serrated and yes, those f'ers went between the butt cheeks, and no, the only other option was safety pins, included in the box when you used the dispenser in the ladies room.

Haha! I distinctly remember reading Are You a There God? It's Me Margaret in somewhere around the 5th grade and wondering what the hell they were talking about when referring to those belts!

 

[JackieOnLine]

OMG - one size fits all!

 

[newanatomy]

This shit is scary! Impressive, but scary.

I'm kinda glad that I was neutered 37 years ago when nobody was so smart. (I didn't even know what "wings" were on pads when it was time to take my kid shopping for such things.)

I'm from THIS era... http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/3f/b5/6b3fb5b7e3cab7ed5fddf39728abad45.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21wthpLrB5L._SL160_.jpg

And yes, those f'ers are serrated and yes, those f'ers went between the butt cheeks, and no, the only other option was safety pins, included in the box when you used the dispenser in the ladies room.

Ha, it says that it is the ultimate in securtiy and comfort, what are you complaining about?

 

[Sheanie]

I was just today reminiscing with my 26 year old daughter how much she missed. We had no tampons, only those archaic belts and skateboard pads. Self stick wasn't even invented yet. "On the rag" was a literal term. In the 80's, I actually serged flannel sanitary pads out of red flannel on top of flowery flannel print for a bunch of hippie throw back mothers I knew. They were "going green" before that was a fad. I can't tell you how many of those flannel pads were accidentally flushed. The RN who lived across the street when I was little came over one day to show my mother these new-fangled devices called tampons. She cautioned her not to let us girls use them, or we wouldn't be virgins anymore. Ever the eavesdripper, I later asked what a virgin was during dinner. (That, looking back, is HILARIOUS, but at the time I was made to feel dirty for asking).

And whoever invented the self-adhesive pads must have also foreseen females shaving themselves clean as well. Because if you've ever had one of those pads flip over on you during, say, step aerobics class? You shave that shit off so it never happens again.

Ah, the memories.

 

[KathyF]

I remember those belts, and panties with hooks inside for securing a pad. Fortunately tampons were also available and that was what I usually used.

There was a time that I was having extremely heavy bleeding and the way I controlled it was with large, regular doses of ibuprofen. The reason for the heavy flow and probably the reason for the larges doses of ibuprofen was because of a ovarian cyst. Don't know how I would of managed without the ibuprofen, but it was definitely doing a number on my stomach. Had those ovaries out and haven't missed them since!