Oral Contraceptives for Perimenopausal Symptoms
- Very low dose oral contraceptives can relieve a number of perimenopause symptoms such as heavy periods, irregular periods, insomnia, mild hot flashes and irritability, and may protect a woman from ovarian and endometrial cancers if taken long enough, at least for a couple of years. The use of low-dose birth control pills will also help fight osteoporosis and the growth of uterine fibroid tumors.
- Typically, the oral contraceptives prescribed to relieve perimenopause symptoms are at such low doses that side effects are unusual. However, should side effects appear, they would likely be such things as breast tenderness, nausea, higher blood pressure and headaches.
- While low-dose oral contraceptives are usually considered safe even for women over 35 years of age, certain women should not take low-dose birth control pills for perimenopause symptoms. Women who are smokers should not take birth control pills. Neither should women with a history of high blood pressure, blood clots, breast cancer, heart disease or complications from diabetes.
- Women often begin experiencing perimenopause in their 40s, and usually have completed menopause in their 50s. How long a women continues to take low-dose oral contraceptives is a decision to be made with her physician. The average time to stop the birth control pill to manage perimenopause is near 50 years of age. At that point, tests can be done to see if menopause is complete. If symptoms of menopause become problematic, hormone replacement therapy may be an option.
- Migraine sufferers need to speak with their physician prior to beginning oral contraceptives for perimenopause symptom relief. It is suspected that birth control pills, even low-dose ones, might significantly raise the risk of stroke in some women who have migraines. It appears the variable is if a woman has auras prior to the onset of a migraine, she is more likely to have a stroke.
