can birth control affect your digestive system?
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Of course, for most women the signs that the pill is messing with gut health are more subtle and not as easy to pin down. Irritable bowel syndrome, gas, bloating, and constipation can all be signs of “dysbiosis,” or a microbial imbalance within the digestive tract, says Dr. Berzin.
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Oral contraceptives cause symptoms of PMS in some women. However, in some women, symptoms improve or disappear while using birth control pills.
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The progestin and estrogen hormones used in birth control pills can affect you mood, causing you to experience mood swings. Like other uncommon birth control side effects, this tends to only affect a small percentage of women who use birth control.
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The hormones in birth control pills stop ovulation, which prevents the release of an egg and thickens the mucus surrounding the cervix. By stopping the release of an egg, birth control pills usually make your period more predictable, and can affect the flow and side effects associated with your period each month.
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As with any other medication, the birth control pill can cause side effects. Some women may find that their hair thins or falls out while they're taking the pill. Other women may lose their hair after they stop taking it.
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Missed Pills Birth control pills work effectively only if they are taken at the same time each day. If you are on birth control pills but miss taking 1 or 2 pills, your body's hormonal balance will be disturbed and result in brown discharge. This happens because the endometrium starts thinning again.
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Can birth control help women lose weight? Birth control pills won't decrease appetite or improve a woman's metabolism. However, some birth control options can prevent water retention and also act as a diuretic, which can give women who would otherwise retain water a slimmer appearance.
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Use of estrogen-containing oral contraceptives (“the pill”) increases the risk of breast cancer and cervical cancer, but the risk of these cancers is still very low among pill users. The pill decreases the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer.
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Birth control pills work by balancing hormone levels, which stops your menstrual cycle and prevents ovulation, making pregnancy very unlikely. Hormone fluctuations are more often responsible for food cravings. A lot of people experience these hormone induced cravings during pregnancy, when hormones shift a lot.
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Many forms of birth control use progestin and/or estrogen hormones to prevent ovulation and/or implantation. These hormones also affect the uterine lining, and can lead to some spotting in between periods, and they do reduce your menstrual bleeding.
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Hormonal birth control Using these types of birth control, including the birth control pill, can lead to more discharge, because hormone levels may be affected. The increase is not usually a cause for concern unless there are any other symptoms.
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As soon as you stop taking birth control, your body will begin to rely on its natural hormone levels once more. As Brighten explains, this is “a significant hormonal shift for which we'd expect to see some issues arise.” Everything from skin to the menstrual cycle can be affected.
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Hormonal birth control has not been shown to cause these infections, but for some women, it can change the pH balance of the vagina and make them more prone to overgrowth of yeast or Bacterial Vaginosis (BV.) Both of these can cause dryness, irritation and itching.
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The queasiness is the result of estrogen, which can irritate the stomach. Pills that contain a high dose of estrogen, especially emergency contraceptive pills, are more likely to cause stomach upset than pills that have a lower dose of this hormone. Nausea is more common when you first start taking the pill.
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Taking the pill with food cuts down on nausea and stomach upset, so if you experience these side effects you can coordinate a regular meal with taking your pill — additionally, if you eat regular meals, this may help you to take the pill at the same time every day.
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Help With Cramps, PMS, and Anemia If you have PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), birth control pills may ease symptoms like mood swings, breast soreness, weight gain, bloating, and acne by evening out hormone levels during your cycle.
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After stopping birth control, women will often see a return of these symptoms, such as increased acne, cramps, and PMS. But in some cases, birth control can cause symptoms such as headaches, bloating, or even weight gain.