Breast Effects of Contraceptive Methods

When making a contraceptive choice everyone has a set of important factors. Women will come in and say: I want the choice that is least likely to make me have periods, or they will say I want the choice that is least likely to make me gain weight or be moody, others will talk about how soon they want to minimize risks of ovarian cancer. And realistically, the choice of best contraceptive method is individual, and is best made with the help of your gyno. Among the most important of questions and most common questions we face is whether the breast will be effected. The risk of breast cancer often is talked about but other breast effects from all the hormonal methods: such as the production of breast pain, the treatment of breast pain, the size effect on your breast of the hormones, the production of breast discharge or milk, the effects on FCBC and effects on breast sensitivity and nipple sensitivity, skin color changes, are also important potential effects of contraceptives. All hormones can produce new breast pain, but DepoProvera, Nexplanon, Mirena users have a low rate of new breast pain: about 3% of patients report this with Depo and slightly lower for the other two progesterone only methods. The hormone estrogen stimulates the breast tissue, and that can lead to increased growth and tenderness. So more estrogen in the pill theoretically would increase breast size, but less hormone, like the 10 or 20 mcg pills would be less likely to cause breast tenderness. For women seeking to treat breast pain, we give similar advice. B
reast pain is lessened with lower estrogen dosage, and with the newest progesterones, also there is more breast pain during hormone-free intervals. So consider using longer cycle pills when you want to treat breast pain. Breast cancer rates and the rates from the use of the birth control pill probably don't change, or don't change much. One study looking at over 50 other studies showed lots of conflicting information regarding breast cancer and birth control pill use. New diagnosis increases very slightly for women on the pill, but after pill use, the rates of breast cancer for pill users is no different than for women who didn't use the pill. Skin pigmentation issues are common with hormonal methods, and in fact there can be a darkening of the nipples from hormonal contraception. Breast cysts are a bit less likely if you are on birth control. And in fact some women can have success in treating breast cysts with the right contraceptive method. Whether you need a pap, or are changing your contraception, it's a good thing to spend time with your gyno discussing breast heath concerns at your visit this year!

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously. It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...

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