Birth control and lupus

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   sandra rinckposted 16 years ago

   Recent studies suggest that the long debated... do oral contraceptives cause lupus? is indeed linked to lupus.
   
   I actually did not know that birth control was linked to lupus.  This is not something they tell you about when giving you the run down about the pill.
   
   http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&r … p;resnum=1
   
   Now the studies shows that women taking bcp's are at a 1.5fold risk of developing lupus which in an autoimmune disease. 
   
   It doesn't seem so far fetched to suggest that synthetic hormone replacements contribute to the likely hood of your bodies own natural defenses being confused enough to attack itself after all bcp's trick the body into believing it is pregnant and not allowing the egg to attach to the uterine wall.
   
   Once off the pill, it might also be noted that when a woman becomes pregnant she is far more likely to miscarriage because a real pregnancy is now foreign.
   
   So while not all women will develop lupus and not all women will experience and increased risk of miscarriages... is it worth it?
   
   I myself had been on bcp for a long time but decided a few years back out of "intuition" that something wasn't feeling right with it. 
   
   I have experienced miscarriage and don't know that it is linked to having been on bcp however the question I am asking now is;
   
   In the future if women continue to use bcp will it ultimately become a threat to humanity in that we may be passing on our newly found "synthetic genetic evolution" to our kids? 
   
   Also, could religions have gotten it right to suggest that having sex only for pleasure is a sin "sin being death" in that because we need to fulfill our natural instincts but not fulfill what naturally comes with it via babies, then we are doing more damage than good?

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2. 64

   RKHenryposted 16 years ago

   Hey, Sandra- very interesting subject matter.  But what does it have to do with religion?  I just read what you have to say so far, is the link based around religion?  I'm just curious.

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      sandra rinckposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Hey RK, I just updated the post because I left out the reason why I posted it in a religion forum.  Sorry.

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         RKHenryposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         AW!  There we go!!

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3. 66

   Make Moneyposted 16 years ago

   Holy man that is scary Sandra.  Lupus is not a nice disease in severe cases at all.  Here's a couple of sites that list the symptoms.
   http://vaxxine.com/lupus/symptoms.htm
   http://arthritis.about.com/od/lupus/a/g … upus_2.htm
   
   I've also read that estrogen in birth control pills can have an effect on a woman's health.  So I did a Google search and found it can in many ways.  This is scary too.  http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&c … mp;spell=1
   
   Maybe religion had it right with the rhythm method?
   
   Mike

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      sandra rinckposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      The rhythm method is something I have never heard of before.  Though I was reading it and I couldn't help but think of First Response Ovulation indicators.
      It was interesting to read.  That method works better than birth control.  I guess it doesn't gut used much because there is too much thinking involved. lol
      
      Yeah, I have read about estrogen and other effects on womens health.  Another one they don't usually tell you is that bc increases you risk of cervical cancer... but they do tell you it decreases your chance do ovarian cancer. 
      
      It probably is better not to use them all together... what happened to the good ole fashioned condom?

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4. 98

   Rochelle Frankposted 16 years ago

   My mom had lupus, but she never took birth control pills.

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      sandra rinckposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Well I am certainly not suggesting that you can only get lupus from bcp's or anything like that.   How did your mother handle it?  I have never met anyone with lupus or really ever talked to anyone who knew someone with it.

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5. 66

   Make Moneyposted 16 years ago

   Yeah the rhythm method requires commitment from both partners and a period of abstinence each month.  It seems like the safest natural form.  Some Catholics still use it.

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   Colebabieposted 16 years ago

   I have a condition that is kept under control by being on birth control pills. So for women like me, it is necessary and a good thing. I have read many studies linking birth control pills to a variety of diseases because synthetic estrogen is a known carcinogen. However, knowing the information I still know, I have to keep my condition under control. The rhythm method, calendar method, if it works for you, great... but not a high rate of effectiveness. Basal body temp method, same thing.
   
   I think that birth control pills and synthetic estrogen/progesterone can help many women with certain conditions as well as for birth control purposes. As far as disease developing as a form of punishment from having sex for pleasure, I personally don't think so. 
   
   My condition can be passed on to my daughters. Cell change due to taking birth control pills, not likely. People can be predisposed to CA, but it is not genetic.

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