GynoFiles

We urge women with heavy menstrual bleeding to seek answers, get therapies and if interested, participate in a clinical research trial . Uterine fibroids, uterine polyps, and hormonal imbalance get so much talk on gyno blog, if we have a heavy menstrual period we assume it's one of those conditions. And it would be smart for your gyno to rule out that cause. But there are other, less common, and more hidden causes of bleeding. If you have had a normal pelvic exam, a normal endometrial biopsy, you seem to have hormones in balance considering you have regular periods, there may be other, actually medical conditions as the cause. Could it be a deficiency of Factor VIII needed for clotting? Von Willebrand factor which carries Factor VIII can be low. When this factor is low, it leads to Factor VIII to be low which can cause bleeding. It check for on a blood test about 1 percent of women will have this. Bleeding Bleeding Bleeding on your Period? Yes, VWF deficiency can be a ca...

Women have had more and more choices when it comes to contraception, and the new news is that many women can successfully use their contraception even past the FDA approved duration with continued great success. We have found that both the Nexplanon implant, and the IUDs are both very effective, and a 2015 study published in OBSTETRICS and GYNECOLOGY  they have been shown to be effective for two extra years after their expiration date. The data is very good for longer effectiveness, but questions remain before actually recommending that our patients depart from standard recommendations! And... if the condom breaks, or you have not yet gotten effective longer term contraction and have had unprotected sex and want to prevent pregnancy it is important to know that you can use either of the approved medications for up to 5 days after having sex, and that a ParaGard IUD insertion is a viable method of emergency contraception as well.  But even the WHO  says that about 1/...

Each year we re-discuss the risks and benefits of contraceptive pills and hormonal contraception. Vaginal rings produce slightly higher levels of hormone and there have been questions about the cardiovascular effects of the extra hormone levels. The newest study, including the Transatlantic Active Surveillance on Cardiovascular Safety of Nuvaring study proved that vaginal rings and combined oral contraceptive pills have about the same cardiovascular risks. The newest contraceptive revolution is to customize your contraception to your lifestyle, your physiology, and your pregnancy plans. More Birth Control pills are on the market today than ever before, and new ones are coming. In fact at Women's Health Practice we are recruiting for a contraceptive ring contraception study, if you are interested call 217-356-3736 for a free consultation appointment. So what do you think, has the contraception revolution changed again? We can think back to the start of the revolution. Russell...

Uterine fbiroids are non-cancerous muscle knots. They are common, but it is also uncommon for them to need treatment. Only 25% of all women who have fibroids will need medical treatment. However, they can be a source of significant medical problems for many women. The question is why so many women have fibroids, and truthfully we do not know.  Testosterone may be the reason some women, and some families have more uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are not congenital, and they don't occur with puberty, but they definitely have a hormonal link. What exactly that link is has been speculated on for many years. It has been argued that birth control pills cause fibroids, and counter arguments say that birth control pills prevent uterine fibroids. Menopause is usually accompanied by resolution of fibroids. This is coming out of the SWAN study data base which has brought forward many hormonal insight and is specifically designed to look at different ethnicity and differences between...

Oral contraceptive birth control pills have been implicated as a cause of depression and anxiety and mood changes. Depression is listed as a possible adverse reaction in the package insert materials on oral contraception.. If we fundamentally understood all the reasons for depression, researchers could more reliably understand the links between oral contraception and depression. Deficiencies in the chemicals in our brain serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, γ-aminobutyric acid and peptides , probably cause most all of these reactions and some women may have lower levels due to stress or genetics. Few studies have been done to try to link depression, levels of these brain chemicals, and steroid hormones given as contraception. As the dosage of hormones is very low in the modern contraceptive pills, it's possible that we have little to no effect on the natural brain levels of these molecules from taking the currently available contraceptive pills. The CDC currently states there is n...

Birth control risks vary according to your age. If you were safely using your pill, and now you have your 35th birthday, you may be surprised to know your gyno may view your risks in a whole different category. For most all women on oral contraception the risks are low, and it is acceptable to use your pills until menopause, and even into early menopause for some. If you smoke, if you become ill with a medical condition that is a contraindication to pill use , or have special considerations from your gynecologist, you may indeed have to be taken off the pill prior to the time of menopause, but women in their late 30s and 40s can most likely stay on a contraceptive pill that is working for them. Smokers should not be on the pill after the age of 35. The CDC talks about contraceptives and their risks in benefits in their publications, the last being in 2013 . If you have migraines you may also need to come off your combination oral contraceptive pills if you are over the age of 35. It...

Starting a new medication? Don't forget to google it... or Yahoo, or wherever you normally look... but what you really want to do is always check the actual website for your medication, virtually all branded products have a webpage! Pharmaceutical branded websites offer excellent patient information about your medication, and many also offer coupons to lower co-pays and medication costs. Patients forget that if they want excellent information, their gyno , their pharmacist, the package insert, are all excellent sources of accurate risks and benefits for your medications. However for cost savings, and updates on your particular medication, and should be checked when you are on medication. Many women are currently on oral contraception LoLoestrin or Minastrin , and here are their links as just two examples. And remember, if you think you read something that contradicts or confuses you about your personal gyno's advice, be sure to check with her to clarify; and always make your ...

How we select a pill for a patient. Virtually all oral contraceptives have been thought to have  identical effectiveness. If you take the pills faithfully, ovulation is suppressed, and failure rates are quite rare. Based on published data, about 2-3 women out of a hundred taking the pill for a year will become pregnant. Pills from the 70s and 80s that have published rates of only 1 person in a hundred getting pregnant is based on old studies. We have had a bit of pregnancy rate drift in the past few years, and women today have higher pregnancy rates than we used to in the past (obesity?). So, in truth gynos don’t assign pills based on effectiveness, they will all work for you! Since the 1970s safety has driven most of the dosing and type of hormone changes in the pill, and safety is always the first concern. Again, all birth control pills are extraordinarily safe and few women cannot take OCs. But safety is enhanced by selecting the lower doses. Non-contraceptive benefits dri...

Most efforts at weight control involve exercise or appetite suppression, and the most successful involve both. Common wisdom would have you believe oral contraceptive pills cause weight gain and promote obesity.In humans the studies of birth control pills and weight gain or loss are conflicting. In the actual studies some women lose weight, some gain and most actually remain about the same. It is thought some water retention may occur over the first few months, but beyond that, which resolves, it is still debated as to what happens with ones metabolism and fat deposits.  In female rhesus monkeys oral contraceptive pills promoted weight loss and body fat loss. This was more true for heavier animals, which didn't achieve the weight of the normal weight animals, but trended down. Specifically the hormone of fat modulation, adiponectin, which controls the rate of fat deposit decrease. The more adiponectin, the slimmer the monkeys got. Insulin levels rose overall as well. And we huma...