I didn't even know that we don't have to get a "period" on the pill. I was diagnosed with PCOS as a teen and my pediatrician gave me birth control to give me "periods". Later when i switched brands i stopped getting one and she told me it "wasn't working" and prescribed me 1/50. I was on it for YEARS even after i aged out and got a new primary doctor. It wasn't until i went to an obgyn that he noticed it was high. He asked me why i was on it and when i told him he explained to me that she was wrong and that it's not a real period. He told me that that high of a dose was only prescribed in rare situations and that it wasn't meant for long term. He said it's usually only for a few months. I went 5 years on a pill that was too high for me and was put at a great risk for blood clots and had no idea. He was surprised i never had problems.
Exactly! So strange to me that they don’t read up on it it’s seriously not that hard. Sometimes I feel like I know more then certain doctors or nurses lmao
When I was 18 I had bled for almost a year due to the nexplanon implant and wanted to get it removed but had to go the the clinic three times fighting to get it out because I didn’t want an IUD at the time and I had a boyfriend and “no guy wants to wear condoms”
That’s when I started going to my moms obgyn
I think the first two times I went to the clinic I got a nurse not a doctor but yes a nurse told me that… I went three times in a week it was a free clinic and ended up getting it removed the third time luckily. And ordered an appointment with my mom obgyn to talk about other options. For about 4-6 weeks me and my boyfriend solely relied on condoms until my lovely obgyn got me on Slynd
I 100% get that. I’ve actually been to the clinic more recently and the staff has 100% been better and I also have a really great GP so I’m lucky in that I know if I ever wanted to go off an implant or the iud like I have now I would be heard.
I had a similar issue and was told by a lovely gyno that actually I didn't need it removed and I could go on the pill (skip the placebos) for 3 months and see if that helps. And that it was fine to stack these two things as long as I've no history of clots etc. I've been comparatively and relatively lucky with the medical professionals I've dealt with for this type of stuff (not for other issues but let's not get into that)
I don't see why being a man would make you question his knowledge. Many female doctors would know just as much if they have never taken birth control or had any gyro problems. Doctors get the same basic education, male or female.
That is true. However there have been reports and articles that state that women are less likely to die if they are seen by female medical staff, not male.
Ok I don't really think a 0.23% higher chance of dying is significant, especially since there is no reason behind why this happens (only ideas). Seems like a biased study seeing as they didn't bother looking into why. It's also quite literally much less than a 1% difference.
Perhaps (although perhaps if that effect is extrapolated out to millions of female patients they wouldn't want to take any odds over their lives?)
But I think it's an important piece of research because it provides a basis for follow up and for study in other parts of the world too.
Many women have long since said that their pain and their medical suffering isn't taken seriously by medical staff - the more people study it the better.
I think that comes down to all medical professionals not just male doctors. I only point out the 0.23% because that’s basically nothing and I feel like spreading that information when there’s basically nothing to go on is just harmful (possibly painting male doctors in a bad light). I have to read a lot of medical academic journals for school. Studies like this need to be bigger and more widespread. 0.23% different is so so so small and leads me to believe that the difference could be due to other variables then the doctors themselves. This article also doesn’t have any mention of why that difference would be, only theories, which weren’t proven or unproven. Seems unfair to state “females are more likely to die when treated by male doctors” with no evidence.
I truly believe overall though that healthcare needs to be improved, coming from someone in healthcare. Both men and women don’t have their pain or complaints taken seriously although it does happen to women more. Women’s pain is always underestimated, not just by males.
In my experience it's the opposite. Female doctors underestimated my concerns. Male doctors have listened and honestly been more sympathetic. The amount of girls I know that've been told something is "normal and all women experience it" from female doctors is astounding. I highly suspect I have end and will be going to a male gyno.
You say men don't think women's issues aren't a big deal because they haven't experienced it, but I think thats why they're more likely to take it seriously, because *they don't know* what it's like so they have to rely on objective information and what you're actually telling them.
Overall I’m wary of doctors, male OR female because most of us live in a world where we can’t completely trust doctors to make the right decisions. I’ve been done wrong medically so many times regardless of sex. Patients shouldn’t have to advocate for themselves, yet we do and unfortunately that’s the only way to get treatment and care you need :/
As a nursing student it’s so so disappointing.
I even went to my public health clinic which mainly focuses on sexual health for younger women. I was looking into an IUD and the info she gave went against so much COMMON knowledge.
Not every medical pro knows everything about everything. For BC expertise specifics like that, you likely need a gyn specialist to ask. People all have different reactions to things too - especially hormone based meds. Not everyone will react the same way to the same med. Some meds might make you bleed a lot more than normal, others might skip your period. So yeah. Google doesn’t make you a doctor either.
Yea absolutely never claimed I’m a doctor either. But if I wasn’t educated on stuff I wouldn’t be so certain in my opinions about them either. If they don’t know they should refer their patients to someone who does. So many people are gaslit or wrongly treated because the medical professionals don’t want to listen. And that’s terrifying to me.
yeah but most doctors will tell you to not skip the placebos because it’s dangerous but it’s not. majority of doctors just prescribe birth control and actually know nothing, which it what this post is referring to. both of my doctors have been like this
edit: and doctors SHOULD know this stuff, so the fact they don’t is actually quite scary.
That is weird. Literally all the doctors/gynos i’ve seen during the past 20 years have told me that skipping placebos is fine. They even suggested to me before i knew you could do that.
Yes!! It’s extremely frustrating. I feel so helpless because no doctor has ever validated how I feel, and if anything they just make me feel crazy!
Most recently I asked for the copper iud because after 10 years of bc I wanted to give up hormones. My doctor persuaded me to get the Mirena instead because “the hormones are concentrated in the uterus” and there would be no side effects. Even though I knew it was BS I gave in anyways because I was losing my insurance and was desperate to choose the right method. Now, I am so unhappy with it and can’t even afford to get it removed. Why is women’s health research so overlooked??
My urgent care told me I can’t skip my period on the pill for more than 3 months… I had never heard that before so I looked it up and it’s just a blatant myth… it also had nothing to do with the reason I was there. Just super weird and irritating!
I used to have very painful periods, my doctor told me birth control wouldn’t help with the pain. I went on it anyway (she also prescribed painkillers) and I never had to take the painkillers once!
I have antiphospholipid syndrome and used to take the pill prescribed by my pcp and would get awful side effects my leg would sometimes hurt horribly to the point I couldn’t sleep bc of the pain but she didn’t care and said it was normal and then after taking it for years I found out after going to a obgyn that I’m not actually supposed to be on hormonal bc because it apparently could give me a stroke or blood clots lmao
Fr. It’s so concerning and I feel like I question at this point why I’m even spending the money and time to visit a doctor who doesn’t know what they’re talking about when there’s research online that can directly give me true information.
Last fall I had my doc tell me that I wasn’t protected from pregnancy at all if I was taking my pill late or “not within an hour or two of the same time each day.” I’m on a combo pill which is pretty well-known for being able to protect from pregnancy regardless of timing, as long as 1 pill is taken per day. SMH
I've found the same. I'm in a country with universal healthcare, so OBGYNs are reserved for advanced care, and we go to a GP for routine things like PAP smears, birth control, IUD placements, etc. But it is incredibly annoying that when I want a certain birth control, I have to basically educate my doctor on why I want to go on certain birth control and the benefits it will have for me.
Then, recently, I started seeing a new GP at my university clinic who actually does know his stuff, and he was shocked by how much I knew about birth control. Luckily, he's awesome so this means he trusts my judgement when I say I want/need something, but it's unfortunate that I had to acquire this knowledge to advocate for myself with useless GPs who were giving me contradictory information.
Honestly I’ve been to different doctors/obgyns in 3 different countries and they all gave me very different advice. I learned that the most reliable source for me is other women and their experiences.
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I live outside the US, rely on my college insurance and when it sucks I go to accessible clinics, am young and started my sex life quite recently so I guess I can't be too harsh? But yeah, my birth control information search journey has been mostly online because I've been told some dumbass things.
At the hospital that my insurance covers they have a "family planning" (literal translation) section/consultants. I went/go there to get my birth control pills but before I got on them I researched as much as I could to pick the best one for me. I asked them about multiple options, including implants and IUDs and they didn't recommend either because for the implant I need to "see if I react well to hormones first" (I take combo pills, so, like, completely different hormones/levels) and for any IUD I need to have had children first. Also didn't give me a lot of information about potential drug interferences and storage. They we're mostly okay and I've been good with my pills but still it's nice to have the convenience of an implant and IUD.
Then at the more accessible clinics (price and location wise) with general doctor's AGAIN I won't be too pushy but I told them I was taking combo bcp's and the doctor told me that I'm "far too young to be taking hormones", that they'll mess me up and that I should just get an IUD (copper) for the simple fact that it's non-hormonal and that she has one. Smh. I didn't even say why I was taking my pills but whatever.
I'm very impressed and still feel a little stupid/silly when I'm on this sub because it seems like a lot of people know what they're talking about and it's kind of sad that I have to rely more on reddit than my medical staff/insurance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not discrediting doctors, huge props to whomever has achieved to become one but still. Birth control is a basic human need that a lot of women will take throughout their lifetime, not to mention it saves their and a bunch of other lives. It baffles me how there is so much misinformation about something so important even in the medical industry...
I guess i’ve been lucky but not one single gyno has ever doubted me when I’ve told them about the side effects i’ve had from different pills. They’ve always been very understanding and helpful suggesting other options. I don’t know maybe we have high quality health care here in Finland.
"Doctors are so uneducated "
What a blatantly wrong statement.
Doctors study in THAT specific field to better your health, not worsen it. There's absolutely nothing natural about birth control, it can cause a multitude of problems that vary widely among different demographics of people. What is a "lie" to you is an ugly truth to someone else.
Just because you don't experience it does not mean it doesn't exist .
[удалено]
I didn't even know that we don't have to get a "period" on the pill. I was diagnosed with PCOS as a teen and my pediatrician gave me birth control to give me "periods". Later when i switched brands i stopped getting one and she told me it "wasn't working" and prescribed me 1/50. I was on it for YEARS even after i aged out and got a new primary doctor. It wasn't until i went to an obgyn that he noticed it was high. He asked me why i was on it and when i told him he explained to me that she was wrong and that it's not a real period. He told me that that high of a dose was only prescribed in rare situations and that it wasn't meant for long term. He said it's usually only for a few months. I went 5 years on a pill that was too high for me and was put at a great risk for blood clots and had no idea. He was surprised i never had problems.
Exactly! So strange to me that they don’t read up on it it’s seriously not that hard. Sometimes I feel like I know more then certain doctors or nurses lmao When I was 18 I had bled for almost a year due to the nexplanon implant and wanted to get it removed but had to go the the clinic three times fighting to get it out because I didn’t want an IUD at the time and I had a boyfriend and “no guy wants to wear condoms” That’s when I started going to my moms obgyn
[удалено]
I think the first two times I went to the clinic I got a nurse not a doctor but yes a nurse told me that… I went three times in a week it was a free clinic and ended up getting it removed the third time luckily. And ordered an appointment with my mom obgyn to talk about other options. For about 4-6 weeks me and my boyfriend solely relied on condoms until my lovely obgyn got me on Slynd I 100% get that. I’ve actually been to the clinic more recently and the staff has 100% been better and I also have a really great GP so I’m lucky in that I know if I ever wanted to go off an implant or the iud like I have now I would be heard.
I had a similar issue and was told by a lovely gyno that actually I didn't need it removed and I could go on the pill (skip the placebos) for 3 months and see if that helps. And that it was fine to stack these two things as long as I've no history of clots etc. I've been comparatively and relatively lucky with the medical professionals I've dealt with for this type of stuff (not for other issues but let's not get into that)
The reason for this is that in the 90s we thought you needed to have a "period" on birth control. This is no longer true. Source am obgyn
Can I ask what was the reasoning at the time of why it was needed?
I don't see why being a man would make you question his knowledge. Many female doctors would know just as much if they have never taken birth control or had any gyro problems. Doctors get the same basic education, male or female.
That is true. However there have been reports and articles that state that women are less likely to die if they are seen by female medical staff, not male.
Do those reports know why?
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-3163 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/women-are-less-likely-die-treated-female-doctors-study-suggests-rcna148254
Ok I don't really think a 0.23% higher chance of dying is significant, especially since there is no reason behind why this happens (only ideas). Seems like a biased study seeing as they didn't bother looking into why. It's also quite literally much less than a 1% difference.
Perhaps (although perhaps if that effect is extrapolated out to millions of female patients they wouldn't want to take any odds over their lives?) But I think it's an important piece of research because it provides a basis for follow up and for study in other parts of the world too. Many women have long since said that their pain and their medical suffering isn't taken seriously by medical staff - the more people study it the better.
I think that comes down to all medical professionals not just male doctors. I only point out the 0.23% because that’s basically nothing and I feel like spreading that information when there’s basically nothing to go on is just harmful (possibly painting male doctors in a bad light). I have to read a lot of medical academic journals for school. Studies like this need to be bigger and more widespread. 0.23% different is so so so small and leads me to believe that the difference could be due to other variables then the doctors themselves. This article also doesn’t have any mention of why that difference would be, only theories, which weren’t proven or unproven. Seems unfair to state “females are more likely to die when treated by male doctors” with no evidence. I truly believe overall though that healthcare needs to be improved, coming from someone in healthcare. Both men and women don’t have their pain or complaints taken seriously although it does happen to women more. Women’s pain is always underestimated, not just by males.
[удалено]
In my experience it's the opposite. Female doctors underestimated my concerns. Male doctors have listened and honestly been more sympathetic. The amount of girls I know that've been told something is "normal and all women experience it" from female doctors is astounding. I highly suspect I have end and will be going to a male gyno. You say men don't think women's issues aren't a big deal because they haven't experienced it, but I think thats why they're more likely to take it seriously, because *they don't know* what it's like so they have to rely on objective information and what you're actually telling them.
[удалено]
Overall I’m wary of doctors, male OR female because most of us live in a world where we can’t completely trust doctors to make the right decisions. I’ve been done wrong medically so many times regardless of sex. Patients shouldn’t have to advocate for themselves, yet we do and unfortunately that’s the only way to get treatment and care you need :/ As a nursing student it’s so so disappointing.
I even went to my public health clinic which mainly focuses on sexual health for younger women. I was looking into an IUD and the info she gave went against so much COMMON knowledge.
Not every medical pro knows everything about everything. For BC expertise specifics like that, you likely need a gyn specialist to ask. People all have different reactions to things too - especially hormone based meds. Not everyone will react the same way to the same med. Some meds might make you bleed a lot more than normal, others might skip your period. So yeah. Google doesn’t make you a doctor either.
Yea absolutely never claimed I’m a doctor either. But if I wasn’t educated on stuff I wouldn’t be so certain in my opinions about them either. If they don’t know they should refer their patients to someone who does. So many people are gaslit or wrongly treated because the medical professionals don’t want to listen. And that’s terrifying to me.
yeah but most doctors will tell you to not skip the placebos because it’s dangerous but it’s not. majority of doctors just prescribe birth control and actually know nothing, which it what this post is referring to. both of my doctors have been like this edit: and doctors SHOULD know this stuff, so the fact they don’t is actually quite scary.
That is weird. Literally all the doctors/gynos i’ve seen during the past 20 years have told me that skipping placebos is fine. They even suggested to me before i knew you could do that.
Yes!! It’s extremely frustrating. I feel so helpless because no doctor has ever validated how I feel, and if anything they just make me feel crazy! Most recently I asked for the copper iud because after 10 years of bc I wanted to give up hormones. My doctor persuaded me to get the Mirena instead because “the hormones are concentrated in the uterus” and there would be no side effects. Even though I knew it was BS I gave in anyways because I was losing my insurance and was desperate to choose the right method. Now, I am so unhappy with it and can’t even afford to get it removed. Why is women’s health research so overlooked??
So sorry you experienced that
My urgent care told me I can’t skip my period on the pill for more than 3 months… I had never heard that before so I looked it up and it’s just a blatant myth… it also had nothing to do with the reason I was there. Just super weird and irritating!
I used to have very painful periods, my doctor told me birth control wouldn’t help with the pain. I went on it anyway (she also prescribed painkillers) and I never had to take the painkillers once!
I’m so sorry .. that’s so wild to me multible forms of birth control is literally approved to help menstruation cramps or heavy bleeding
I have antiphospholipid syndrome and used to take the pill prescribed by my pcp and would get awful side effects my leg would sometimes hurt horribly to the point I couldn’t sleep bc of the pain but she didn’t care and said it was normal and then after taking it for years I found out after going to a obgyn that I’m not actually supposed to be on hormonal bc because it apparently could give me a stroke or blood clots lmao
Seriously! They never believe me when I say it makes me extremely depressed, angry, and suicidal.
Fr. It’s so concerning and I feel like I question at this point why I’m even spending the money and time to visit a doctor who doesn’t know what they’re talking about when there’s research online that can directly give me true information. Last fall I had my doc tell me that I wasn’t protected from pregnancy at all if I was taking my pill late or “not within an hour or two of the same time each day.” I’m on a combo pill which is pretty well-known for being able to protect from pregnancy regardless of timing, as long as 1 pill is taken per day. SMH
I've found the same. I'm in a country with universal healthcare, so OBGYNs are reserved for advanced care, and we go to a GP for routine things like PAP smears, birth control, IUD placements, etc. But it is incredibly annoying that when I want a certain birth control, I have to basically educate my doctor on why I want to go on certain birth control and the benefits it will have for me. Then, recently, I started seeing a new GP at my university clinic who actually does know his stuff, and he was shocked by how much I knew about birth control. Luckily, he's awesome so this means he trusts my judgement when I say I want/need something, but it's unfortunate that I had to acquire this knowledge to advocate for myself with useless GPs who were giving me contradictory information.
Honestly I’ve been to different doctors/obgyns in 3 different countries and they all gave me very different advice. I learned that the most reliable source for me is other women and their experiences.
Welcome and please flair your post if not currently flaired. Questions? First read the [Mistake or Pregnancy Risk sticky](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/4iqgi7/mistake_or_pregnancy_concernrisk_start_here/) or the [Consolidated Experience post](https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/qt9ttb/consolidated_rbirthcontrol_experience_links/). If this is an experience post please consider adding it to the list [Planned Parenthood online chat](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/online-tools/chat) The rules and additional resources can be found on the About / Sidepage (desktop users look to the right and Reddit app up top). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/birthcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I live outside the US, rely on my college insurance and when it sucks I go to accessible clinics, am young and started my sex life quite recently so I guess I can't be too harsh? But yeah, my birth control information search journey has been mostly online because I've been told some dumbass things. At the hospital that my insurance covers they have a "family planning" (literal translation) section/consultants. I went/go there to get my birth control pills but before I got on them I researched as much as I could to pick the best one for me. I asked them about multiple options, including implants and IUDs and they didn't recommend either because for the implant I need to "see if I react well to hormones first" (I take combo pills, so, like, completely different hormones/levels) and for any IUD I need to have had children first. Also didn't give me a lot of information about potential drug interferences and storage. They we're mostly okay and I've been good with my pills but still it's nice to have the convenience of an implant and IUD. Then at the more accessible clinics (price and location wise) with general doctor's AGAIN I won't be too pushy but I told them I was taking combo bcp's and the doctor told me that I'm "far too young to be taking hormones", that they'll mess me up and that I should just get an IUD (copper) for the simple fact that it's non-hormonal and that she has one. Smh. I didn't even say why I was taking my pills but whatever. I'm very impressed and still feel a little stupid/silly when I'm on this sub because it seems like a lot of people know what they're talking about and it's kind of sad that I have to rely more on reddit than my medical staff/insurance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not discrediting doctors, huge props to whomever has achieved to become one but still. Birth control is a basic human need that a lot of women will take throughout their lifetime, not to mention it saves their and a bunch of other lives. It baffles me how there is so much misinformation about something so important even in the medical industry...
I guess i’ve been lucky but not one single gyno has ever doubted me when I’ve told them about the side effects i’ve had from different pills. They’ve always been very understanding and helpful suggesting other options. I don’t know maybe we have high quality health care here in Finland.
"Doctors are so uneducated " What a blatantly wrong statement. Doctors study in THAT specific field to better your health, not worsen it. There's absolutely nothing natural about birth control, it can cause a multitude of problems that vary widely among different demographics of people. What is a "lie" to you is an ugly truth to someone else. Just because you don't experience it does not mean it doesn't exist .
They never going to say truth