Birth Control Pills and RA | Arthritis Information

I've decided to stop taking birth control pills and I'm worried it might exacerbate my RA. I started taking them about 6 months before my DX because my doctor thought they might help with some fibroid cyst problems I was having. They haven't really helped and I can't even rely on them for birth control because the Minocin I take for RA reduces their effectiveness.

My question is has anyone noticed starting or stopping birth control pills affecting their RA? I asked my GP, RD, and gynecologist and they all said to ask my other doctors (???). So I never got any definitive answers.

I was using Tri-Cyclen, which according to my gynecologist is quite a "weak" pill. I started birth control I don't take a pill though I have what is called the nuvaring. Anyway I didn't notice much is any difference in my JRA. Anyway I had to start because of cycst too, it helped me a lot! Anyway hope that helps!Good question. I'd like to know myself. I'd love to stop taking the pill, but I use it for what it's prescribed for...and I'm not planning on anymore children. (My oldest is 13 today!)

Anyway, I would love to have tubes tied. I just haven't "made the dreded appointment" yet. Kinda nervous going under the knife.

I can't take birth control pills because the amount of estrogen (not sure if spelled right) is too high for my system, my RA goes into flair attacks.

I get the deprovera shot that is a different hormone and it is what works for me.

I took the shot when I was married to ex, and I loved it! Make a long story short, we separated and I didn't need it anymore, so I stopped. Met my current hubby and decided since it worked so well for me the first time, I'd try again. Wrong move. By the time I was about 2 weeks away from my next shot, I'd bleed until I got it. It was horrible. Each time, I thought it would get better. Wishful thinking I guess, because I loved it so much before.

I had to go on the quest for a pill that didn't make me nauseaus. I would get so sick I had to take them at night (during the day was horrible) and pray I didn't loose them in the middle of the night, which I often did. I found one called Avian and so far so good. I've been on it for about 3 years now. Longest I've lasted on any birthcontrol, ever. Low estrogen is what I need apparently.

I stopped it and don't think it made much difference....but I could be wrong. Hard to tell sometimes what causes what.

I did go into menopause about a year later....but who knows what caused that. Maybe the MTX. I'm now on HRT.

My hubby and I have talked about it, but honestly some men are not open to it. I actually got yelled at by the woman who did my wellcare exams when I mentioned that we were looking into it. She said it was wrong for me to ask him to think about it. Its my body and his isn't mine so I shouldn't ask, I should just take control of my own body and get my own tubes tied. I don't know! I don't think I agree with her, but my hubby does not wanna do that, he hasn't quite coped with the fact that I can't have kids, he still feels that one day I will wake up and be healed and we can have babies. So Oh well! _popupControl();Wow! Look, you and hubby are a team, you are both responsible - and hubby can always wear condoms if taking excess female hormones is making you sick.

Gimpy, I'll get back to you in early June. I'm going on the pill to shrink a tennis ball sized cyst. I just came across an interesting article... http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1005076

"Evidence is accumulating that low androgen concentrations are a cause of rheumatoid arthritis. This would explain a number of established features of the epidemiology of the disease. These include: (a) the variation of disease activity with pregnancy; (b) the variation of age at onset by sex; (c) the variation by sex with HLA-B15; (d) the association with bone mineral density; and (e) the differing time trends in incidence rates by sex. It is argued, moreover, that if one makes a plausible assumption--namely, that women who choose oral contraceptives have high androgen concentrations at the time they first make this choice--then an explanation becomes available for the confusion about the relation between rheumatoid arthritis and oral contraception. Grounds are adduced for that assumption. If this line of reasoning is substantially correct it also has implications for the relations between rheumatoid arthritis and smoking and consumption of alcohol."
_popupControl(); paperdoll2008-04-10 09:43:06VERY INTERESTING, paperdoll! I wonder what would happen if I switched to a pill with higher androgen content? I've often wondered if going on the pill and soon after developing RA weren't, you know, related. I'll definitely be reading more about this.
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