Birth Control Pill for RA? | Arthritis Information

I am newly diagnosed with RA, and am in the process of trying to educate myself about it. This forum has been a godsend. My question is about birth control pills.

Websites that discuss different birth control pills state that combination pills "improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis". However, I find no discussion of this on this forum or on RA sites/books.

Has anyone heard of this, used it for this purpose, or had improved symptoms as a side effect of being on the pill?

Thanks!

Hi macmat and Welcome!!

Sorry you got the diagnosis, but I hope you will find a lot of answers for you on here.

I have never heard of the birth control pills helping with RA .... doesn't mean much though.

Good luck and don't hessitate to ask any question you have. There are a lot of very bright people on here who are willing to help you out!
Hi and welcome to AI! I was in the hospital w/ a ruputured ovarian cyst and the GYN that saw me said that she has seen in some of her patients w/ RA have their symptoms improve while being on birth control. I didnt see much of an improvement while on it but each person is different. Maybe sit down w/ your GYN and see what he/she thinks about it.I take Microgynon 30 - did before I was diagnosed - and haven't noticed that it does anything for my RA. All the RD who diagnosed me said was that I will have to stay on it for as long I take DMARD's, as here, if you are of a child-bearing age, you must be on some sort of birth control to be prescibed DMARD's.

Thanks for the help! Nice to know others have heard of it.

Actually, we're had a lot of discussion on HRT and even some on BCP's. The hormone connection is HUGE! Try doing a search on HRT and see what pops up here. And hormones.

Hugs,

Pip

Hi Macmat...welcome! Welcome to the board MacMat, ask any questions you can think of. There will be someone come along that has been there and done that! pills as I have no other risk factors!

Sure you do Michelle - you have an AI disease. We tend to ALL have clotting issues. I got blood clots from pregnancy - just something that happens they said - but - when this PRA hit and I looked into it - darn if that's not a clue - especially in infertility. I'll see if I can find some of my articles I saved on it. It's surprising how some of the new AP docs want us on anti-coagulation meds so the ABX can get to the myco's.

Pip

P.S. Please - nobody jump on me for saying "All" - truly, I have research to back this up, when I get 2 seconds to find it. LOL