RA & Birth Control

Arthritis Foundation Forum

Home

Welcome Guest ( Login | Register )

RA & Birth Control

Rate Topic

Display Mode

Topic Options

Author

Message

Anna Guimaraes

Posted Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:04 PM

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 5:49 PM
Posts: 1, Visits: 4

Hi there, everyone. I'm pretty new to the place and have been searching for a few days for an answer to my question and haven't been able to find anything, so hopefully you guys will be able to give me a hand.

I have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, have had had since I was 8 (I'm 20 now) and I was doing quite well. After going through several courses of treatment, right now the only thing I'm on is Nimesulide for handling the pain and the ocasional very small dose of Prednisone for when things get a bit too rough - luckily, it rarely ever happens anymore. (:

However, lately my little JRA buddy has been acting up quite severely. I noticed a huge increase on the pain ever since I started taking birth controls pills (a very low-dose combined oral pill). My doctors had cleared me to use it and it isn't said to have any effect on RA, but I fear it might.

Of course, we all know that stress and emotions all have a great impact on RA, so it's plausible that possible moodswings (a very common side-effect of the pill) could be responsible for some pain. And I should say that I've only been taking them for a month and most symptoms are said to clear up by the third month, but I honestly don't know if I can (or should!) handle 2 more months of this amount of pain again, after having been doing so well for so long.

So my question for you guys is
Have you ever used contraceptive pills and what was you experience with it? Did it have an effect on your RA or none whatsoever?

I find there is rarely anything about this on textbooks or elsewhere, so we should rely on each others experiences. This may be taboo for some, but it is something that should be addressed. It is as relevant to quality of life as anything else, after all.

Thank you for your help in advance! I look forward to any replies!

Post #4232769

Top

Kelly Finamore

Posted Sunday, September 27, 2009 10:47 PM

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Sunday, September 27, 2009 10:42 PM
Posts: 3, Visits: 2

I have been on birth control for almost 4 years now, it has never effected me throughout the whole 4 years. I never had an increase in pain or anything. I hope that somewhat helps.

Post #4238147

Top

Becca2

Posted Monday, October 05, 2009 7:06 PM

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Monday, October 05, 2009 7:04 PM
Posts: 5, Visits: 3

Birthcontrol shouldn't make your arthritis act up. When you take birth control, your body thinks it's pregnant. When you're pregnant with RA, your RA is much better. I never could remember to take the pill so I've done both the patch and Nuva Ring which both have done great with my RA and I've had RA since I was 2 years old and I'm 26 now.

Post #4241391

Top

Keli in Florida

Posted Tuesday, October 06, 2009 4:24 AM

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:06 AM
Posts: 480, Visits: 234

I've been on the pill since I was 19, I'm now 31. There have been a couple of the pills that gave me migraines but I switched other than that I have had no real problems besides forgetting to take it at times.

Post #4241481

Top

« Prev Topic | Next Topic »

All times are GMT -5:00, Time now is 5:45pm

Execution: 0.374. 54 queries. Compression Disabled.