Birth Control Pill Side Effects

When birth control pills, also known as oral contraceptives, were first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over 45 years ago, high-dosage pills coupled with sometimes severe side-effects were commonplace. Today, however, low-dosage pills with few adverse health effects are the norm. That said, the potential for serious side effects exists any time hormonal therapy is used to manipulate the reproductive system.

In clinical trials, common birth control pill side effects included:

• acne - although in certain cases, birth control pills can help reduce acne as well
• nausea
• vomiting
• tenderness or enlarging of the breasts
• bloating
• severe headaches
• decrease in sex drive

Interestingly enough, weight gain was found not to be a common side effect of birth control pills despite widespread belief to the contrary.

Other side effects, while occurring very infrequently, are potentially quite serious and should be monitored for. They include:

• depression
• migraine headaches
• lumps on the breasts
• heavy bleeding
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• high cholesterol
• blood clots
• chest pains
• liver damage
• allergic reactions

Many of these more severe side effects are mainly the result of your body's inability to cope with the estrogen hormone. If that is the case, switching to a progestin-only pill, also known as the "mini-pill," could be a solution. Progestin-only pills, if used properly, tend to be every bit as effective as combined estrogen/progestin pills. If you experience any of the above serious symptoms or think you may be prone to them, consult your doctor before taking any sort of hormonal birth control. In the meantime, you can use non-hormonal barrier options such as condoms combined with a diaphragm and spermicidal lotion. While perhaps not quite as effective as hormone-based oral contraceptives, barrier forms such as condoms have the positive advantage of also protecting against sexually transmitted diseases.

Finally, there may be times when a certain birth control method just "doesn't feel right." If that is the case, be sure to consult your doctor. While it may not be a medical side-effect, per say, there may be some other related problem your doctor can help diagnose and treat