Birth Control

Is it safe for women with Beta Thalassemia Minor to take birth control pills?

 All 7 of my aunts on my father's side ,who also have Beta Thalassemia Minor, were on the pill at one point or another without problems. One of my cousins (with Beta Thal Minor, of course) died from her liver shutting down shortly after starting birth control pills.

I started taking birth control pills 6 weeks ago. I have been feeling more sick than usual and have a pain in the upper left section of my belly. I think it may be a coincidence but I would like to know if taking the pill is maybe not such a good idea for Beta Thal Minors.




 

Hi
Personally i dont think its such a good idea to take birth control pills.  I have taken pills for 7 years and had issues with breast lumps.  Its not necessarily the case for everyone but its not advisable. Try to look for other methods if you are not sure, ask your pharmacist and gynaecologist.

Jade

Hey Hannah!
Birth control pills are a tough choice for birth control.Most of the women have hormonal problems with them. Also one fact that has not been well documented is that prolonged and continuous use of ocp leads to blocked fallopian tubes further leading to infertility.
If at all you find suitable pills, which do not cause many side effects, then it is better to use them for 6 months take a 3 month break from them and so on and so forth...
These days there are many low dose pills and they are better since they have lesser side effects.
Madhavi

I'm a beta thal minor who was given the pill on several occasions for period irregularities, but it was a bad idea. I have suffered breast cysts etc and now avoid them totally. It didn't solve the period problems either, and i suffered side effects.

Also anyone who has had a family history of breast cancer should avoid them.

There are so many different birth control pills. I took mine for 15 years without any problems. There are no studies about thal.minors who have troubels with these pills. More that some women take them and have troubles with the hormonal changes. But that has nothing to do with thal.minor.
When you smoke, have problems with your veins or have a high risk in breastcancer (it's genetic in your family) you should avoid any medication with hormones. Otherwise you shouldn't have any more problems with these pills then any other woman.
If the pills you're taking now don't suit you, feel free to ask your docter another brand. Most of the times, the oldest brands have the least problems.
And you can always consider a different kind of birth control, like IUD or Nuva ring or Implanon.

For myself, I hate having a period, so I changed from pills to a Mirena spiral (IUD with hormones). After my pregnancy I will choose this type of birth control again. I won't have a period at all!!! 

Hahahahaha!Imkem...I was always waiting to get someone like me who hated her periods so much...
I have been ridiculed and scorned at when I wish I could have had a hysterectomy for the same cause!
Good for you that you have the IUD to do it for you!
In my case, during  my second caesarean section, I had the tubal ligation done at the same time so no botheration about OCP or anything else any more!
How about you, Hannah...did you get your answer yet...?

Lol Madhavi,

I can't imagine a woman who really likes that time of the month. Tubal ligitation is the most reliable kind of birth control, but you still have you period. So that's why I choose my IUD again. 
Another option is always sterilization of your husband. 

Thanks everyone!
I didn't know anyone had replied. I thought it would send a notification to my email. haha.
Well I decided to get on the pill. I was on it two weeks and I started to get very weak. I thought I would get over it but after two months of not having any energy, I decided to get off the pill. I really don't know what it was doing to me but obviously it is just not a very good idea for me to stay on it.

Hannah

Hi Hannah,

I've changed the notifications settings in your profile so you will receive notifications. This can be done in your profile under Notifications and Email.

One note about birth control and b-thal minor: birth control pills inhibit absorption of folate, which is so crucial to people with b-thal, so this is a negative side effect of the pill that affects us in particular.  I was on birth control pills for 15 years for irregular periods, and when I finally got off of them, my hemoglobin level went up even though I changed nothing else.

Sara

Thanks Sara, this is a very important note that should be considered
Manal

Birth control is the reason I'm searching on the internet this morning, so I was glad to see this thread here!

I'm 40 (well, in a couple of weeks), and I have thal minor. I recently started having wonky periods. I had 3 tests done, and for the first time in my adult life, we have met our high deductible!  I can go to the doctor for $7 for the rest of the year!  It would be exciting were it not for all that expense...

Anyway, after confirming that I don't have polyps or fibroids or anything that could be causing the wonkiness, the doctor suggested I take birth control. In addition to making my periods consistent, he told me it would reduce risk of cancer later because it would allow my ovaries to take a break. I don't want to take a pill every day because it's a hassle, so we finally decided on Nuva Ring.  I was worried because of the increased risk of stroke for people over 35 who smoke, but he assured me I'm not at risk because even though I'm over 35, I don't smoke.

So, it's still worried me. Yesterday, I reviewed my CBC from April, and I was looking at all the values that were out of normal range. My RBC was a little high.  I looked into that further and saw that having a higher than normal RBC could lead to increased risk for clotting since all those little cells want to stick together.  It was only a little high at 5.5.  Still, it seems if I'm at increased risk for clots because of the thal minor, I don't need to exacerbate that by using the NuvaRing.

Any thoughts?  I have sent a note to my doctor, and I've pretty much made up my mind it's not worth the risk to use the NuvaRing any more.

Also, is an elevated RBC even a symptom of thal minor? I read that your marrow makes more red blood cells to to compensate for low oxygen.  I'm guessing I have low oxygen because of my goofy shaped and small RBC. 

(Also, when I was pregnant, I was seeing a hematologist, and I think he did confirm that I have the thal trait, but I can't remember what tests were done. I think he must have done more than confirm based on a CBC.)

Hi Tricia,

You can see normal vs thal minor and IDA blood values at our post at http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php/topic,3480.msg35538.html#msg35538

Your RBC is completely normal for a thal minor (5.4 is average for thal minor), and is higher than what is expected from a non-carrier. You are right. This does create more clotting issues. I generally recommend natural vitamin E for its mild blood thinning properties and also for its antioxidant value, as the excess bone marrow activity in thal minor produces more of the defective red blood cells that clutter the blood and lead to oxidation.

Irregular periods are often mentioned by thal minor women and the clotting issues may be a factor, so it may be wise to avoid any meds that are known to add to clotting.

Thanks, Andy.