Contraception

I ummed and ahhed a little bit before writing this post as I wasn't sure how much information is TOO much information when it comes to Crohns and how it affects the rest of my life. I also wouldn't want to embarrass anyone (parents, siblings, *cough* anyone else that is affected by my choice of contraception *cough*) but after doing a little bit of research I think its important.

As Crohns is commonly diagnosed from the ages 15-35 it is a time when women are sexually active and most girls I know have used some form of contraception before that isn't a condom. I have been on the same pill since just before I was 16, it was called microgynon now its changed to rigevidon and I have never had a single problem with it. I'm good with pills, its not often I forget to take it and there have been no side effects at all. I take my packets back to back as I HATE periods, they are a waste of time on the pill and I've read a lot about it being beneficial to keep taking them as it means your hormone levels don't peak and dip as much. It did cross my mind that the pill might not be as effective especially when I was being sick after every meal as surely it wasn't being absorbed but now that i'm not being sick its just the toilet stuff to worry about. If the pill isn't given enough time to absorb it will just go straight through and be less/ineffective. My nurse mentioned this to me at my last appointment and tonight I thought I would look it up.

A few things shocked me when doing some research, the first being a lot of people on the Crohns forums didn't know that the pill is less effective if your using the toilet more. I was made aware of that way before Crohns came into my life which is why it surprised and also worried me. Should there not be a lot more babies wondering around because of that?! The second thing was the research that the contraceptive pill can make you 3 times more likely to develop Crohns if you have been on it for 5 years or more. This was the part that caught my attention as when I first started to get symptoms it was 3 1/2 years since I had started the pill.

'ORAL contraceptives have been associated with the risk of developing Crohn’s disease (CD), while a link between the pill and ulcerative colitis (UC) is confined to people with a history of smoking, according to a US study.

In a prospective cohort study of 232,452 women, 315 cases of CD and 392 cases of UC were recorded. 

Compared to women who never used the pill, current users had nearly a three-fold increased risk, and past users had a 39% increased risk, of CD. A higher but not statistically significant risk of developing UC was also recorded.'

This is a quote from http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/news/oral-contraceptive-pill-linked-to-increased-risk-of-crohns-disease.
Another website I also found interesting was  http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/05/21/birth-control-pills-hrt-tied-to-digestive-ills

This has really made me consider whether it is time to come off the pill now and find a different form of contraception. Clearly its too late to stop me developing Crohns (if the evidence is right and there is a link) but could it play a part in reducing my symptoms? Its a shame that I found one that worked well for me pre-Crohns but now its another thing that I will have to adjust. I'm hoping that the next option maybe be the injection and that the hormonal side effects of that outweigh the ineffectiveness of the pill!

How do you manage contraception? Had anyone else ever heard of this study?!