Gynecologist Debunks Viral Birth Control LIES
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- Опубліковано 10 кві 2022
- This video started almost 2 hours long & took more time to edit than it would to create a $76 birth control detox e-book....please tell me you learned something. Follow me on Instagram where I regularly debunk this nonsense: / mamadoctorjones
01:36 Not a “Real” Period
03:09 Infertility/Unhealthy Pregnancy
04:19 Cancer Association
06:05 Ovulation is Required?
08:02 Medical Gaslighting
09:43 Birth Control Ruins Lives
14:18 Picking the “Wrong” Partner
15:30 Immediately Safe To Conceive?
18:37 Nutrient Deficiency
19:12 Suicide
21:20 Hormone Balancing
21:52 Iron Supplementation
23:21 PCOS/Hormonal Imbalance/Depression/Infertility
26:02 Sex On vs Off Contraceptive Pills
Citations:
Contraception & Suicide Risk, Danish Study: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29145...
Contraception & Suicide Risk, US Study: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24043...
Side Effects & Discontinuation Reasons: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17403...
Class 1 Carcinogen: www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-...
Conception after cessation of OCPs: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19701...
OCPs and Infertility: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Long-Term Safety of Ovulatory Suppression with OCPs: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16813...
Randomized Study of Continuous Ovulatory Suppression with OCPs: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12954...
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** The information in this video is intended to serve as educational information and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/advanced practice provider. **
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I feel like a lot of the "wondering why they can't conceive years later" comes from how little we talk about how hard it generally is to conceive for a large population of people and how common miscarraiges are (with or without previous birth control use).
agreed - how many who cant conceive later in life know if they were ever able to conceive BEFORE being on the pill? they could have always had fertility issues and just never tried so never knew
Not to mention that a lot of women with heavy or painful periods are put on BC without ever trying to find the source of the problems, and I would bet that a lot them have endometriosis, adenomyosis, or PCOS. Their symptoms were just controlled by the pill.
I totally see the benefit of BC for people with reproductive issues who want symptom relief, but there should always be an attempt to find the source so they can be educated.
Yes! We are all sold this idea that a normal woman can just get pregnant at the drop of a hat. But that is just simply not the case.
The fact that I'm alive is evidence that birth control doesn't affect fertility. My mom was on it for two years during the beginning of my parents' marriage. My mom went on to have me and my two siblings without any medical assistance.
@@sarahluchies1076 I had multiple friends who were Depo babies!
I'm dying. I can't believe that you had to clarify that birth control will not sever your connection to the moon. Thanks for making these videos entertaining in addition to being educational!
If it’s a cultural belief, that’s cool but like otherwise it’s not true
All the werewolves on birth control: total bs.
@@valap_ 😂😂😂
Real astrologers know that the moon wants what's best for the female body and she supports BC where indicated.
Ironically birth control makes my cycle regular enough that I probably could use the moon to track it now. Lmao
*Takes birth control to manage endometriosis*
Some people: "Birth control is unhealthy because it disrupts your natural hormones!!" 😡
Me: Umm....that is LITERALLY the point.
Right, your natural hormones need to be disrupted to live you freaking life. Mine too. I don't know if I have endo or anything like that but growing up my periods were blinding pain, nausea, vomiting, and bleeding through everything at an alarming rate for a 12 year old. Birth control saved my life. I don't know if I'd have made it through Jr high and highschool without it because my hormones were so screwy I'd be nauseous and puking the week before I started, the week of, and then for 3 or 4 days after. That was like 2.5 - 3 weeks a month I was missing at least half days of school. It was miserable.
I remember kneeling in the bathroom floor face in the toilet puke in my hair thinking I was bleeding to death crying asking my mom if anyone had ever bled to death from their period. I couldn't have weighed more than 80 or 90 lbs and stood just under 5 feet tall. I bet I didn't have as much blood in my veins as I was losing on my period.
@@Ali_D_Katt Thankfully my periods usually weren't super heavy. But during the few times they were, I remember thinking "How can my body physically contain this much...and how the FCK am I still alive?".
Even without my period, the other symptoms, like pain and fatigue...it boggles my mind that the human body can experience so much, without rending itself apart.
Currently in bed with both my heating pads turned up as high as possible, none of my pain meds seem to be doing anything. The stress from being so uncomfortable makes the pain even worse...It really does feel like an uphill battle much of the time.
fellow endo here... I've been thru it all: my periods were so painful I almost die of a ruptured appendicitis thinking 'it's nothing, it's just my period". BCP worsen endo long term in my experience. I treated it with other meds for 5 years and my life changed so much to the point where once my period came whilst I was running and the only thing I felt was the flush. Please seek help! With appropriate treatment there is hope!!!
Only recently got diagnosed with endo but I started constant birth control (ie no break for a monthly period) only a few months after I started my period. I was straight up unable to function when I wasn’t on birth control and my (what I now know is) PMDD was so terrible.
I also have mental health issues that I’m on medication for, and when on my (rare) period I will act 100% unmedicated even though I’m definitely still taking all my meds. When I first started my period I didn’t have that medication to stabilize me, and while I can’t remember that time of my life, I can only imagine how horrible it was.
That really should have been a sign that I should get checked out especially when my mom (who specifically works in reproductive healthcare) kept telling me all of that wasn’t normal but I was stubborn and ignored her until I got cramps so bad they made me pass out. I really shouldn’t have been a stubborn teen and listened to my mom about something that’s her job to know. 😂
“I don’t believe you’re on birth control without side effects” completely ignoring people w positive side effects 😂 when I went on birth control my acne got a lot better, my periods got shorter, and my cramps got less painful (and that was before I started skipping it all together). Hormonal BC doesn’t work for everyone but goddamn did it work for me! And I wasn’t even sexually active :p
Right? I got less homicidal/suicidal when I went back on the pill. I also had regular periods on the pill, which I never had without it (PCOS)
So true! My periods and pain completely went away and it was the best choice I ever made. I used to have to miss school and I’d throw up due to the pain. I love not having a period. I still take breaks, but nothing changes during them. No other symptoms occurred for me that were significant enough for me to notice. All positive!
Good luck in the long term . You may be getting the benefits you want to get now but birth control is not good for your health in the long term ! I won’t bother giving examples you can do your own real research but this doctor is young and not experienced enough to know what she’s talking about . She works for the pharmaceutical industry.
@@carolinelaronda4523 that’s a bold claim to make seeing as you don’t know her personally. How do you try to bring up ‘real facts’ while making up a conspiracy theory about a credible doctor with no evidence at all. She isn’t even convincing anyone to get on birth control and doesn’t even bring up a single specific brand to advertise, she is just trying to disprove misinformation. She literally says in the video that birth control is not for everyone.
Also, that great side effect of, ya know, not getting pregnant. That was pretty great. I was on BC successfully for 7ish years during my teen years and about 5 years in my 20's, first a combo pill (estrogen+progestin) and then just a mini pill (progestin only) before I stopped taking it to actively try to get pregnant. Once I did (it took less than a year) and had a successful pregnancy I went back on the mini pill, and it's continued to be successful in shortening my period, lightening it, reducing my cramps down to a functional level so I'm not useless for 2 days a month, as well as preventing me from getting pregnant when necessary. If you don't want to use birth control, that's amazing and I will cheer you on, and I hope you will do the same for me when I choose the mini pill because the combo gave me a plethora of shitty side effects. (And if it gives you side effects too then hell, let's talk about it, we'll figure something out.)
Edit: general you, not "you" personally.
I am in my 50’s. Completely uninformed. Had no sex Ed. Never used any kind of birth control and I’m so happy you are here educating women in a time so many ppl are fighting to keep women ignorant, bare foot and pregnant.
Yes this.
⬆️👋
So very YES!
And educating guys! Just because this does not directly affect me does not mean that it doesn’t affect those I care about around me. The more I know the more I can help in small ways
Can I ask what is wrong with being barefoot and pregnant? I get the ignorant part.
English isn’t my 1. Language and I’m sorry if I seem stupid, I would just really like to learn.
Hormonal Birth control is not for me. HOWEVER, Mama Doctor**Jones I respect you and I am grateful for you taking the time to educate me and breakdown false information so that I can make my decision(s) based on knowledge and not fear mongering. Thank you ♥️
Me too. Although I just started a shot of birth control bc my endometriosis was so bad. It’s shutting off my period. It’s been great not bleeding or cramping at all.
Same for me. But because of the damage I have from hormonal birth control, I am a strong believer that you need to go in office for a prescription with a follow-up at 3 and 6 months after starting BC for the first time. After that, I have no issues with going online for a prescription.
I love my IUD. It's great not bleeding and my cramps that were debilitating have calmed down to slight twinges. But HBC decisions need to come from an informed place and made with the help of your doctor or gynecologist. Thank you for hearing MDJ out!
Same for me, but because of migraines. Of course now that I am almost 60, it doesn't matter anymore 😂
I have terribly irregular periods as well. I am 22 currently and I started my period when I was 8 years old. I know everyone will say “Wow you’re still young do not worry about pregnancy” but the inability to become pregnant for years without using any protection combined with my periods has always brought concern to myself and my family who knows these things. When I say my period I mean: Terrible pain, sometimes missing for 50-60 days, bleeding for 7 days stopping 3 and bleeding randomly again. Also, I have such a heavy flow that at night I use an ultra tampon and two overnight maxi pads overlapped. Every single cycle. And god the pain… and the weakness… Again I also have unexplained infertility as well. But I have never tested positive for an STD and the only noted issue is that there is scar tissue on my lining due to sexual abuse from childhood… I’ve been to many gynecologists and urologists trying to figure out why I experience these things and all the while cannot even get pregnant. Numerous Birth control types never ever worked. Never even made an impact… The only answer anyone could ever give me is “It’s your weight Madison”… Okay then I got serious and lost 65 pounds. Now I’m healthy. Nothing- I MEAN NOTHING changed… I started my period at 8 years old and have searched and searched for answers… so in the meantime I’m just allowing my body to do what it does and I’ll try alternative methods for pregnancy and menstrual relief whenever I am ready again. I appreciate everyone giving their input on my comment.. thank you all.
I’m on stimulants for ADHD, and the week before my period caused them to be pretty much useless. Then, I was on my period for a week, which ended up with 2/4 weeks every month feeling hard to get through. Birth control helped regulate my hormones enough to give me a pretty consistent benefit from my stimulants. Plus, fewer periods! I am so grateful for birth control, and I feel lucky that they help me so much.
Ugh I totally get this!! It’s great that you found a solution that works for you!!!
Try cannabis if you ever want to get off the pills, it saved my life
HBC made my ADHD symptoms worse! Opposite effect. They increased my anxiety, paranoia, and intrusive thoughts so much that I was considering hospitalizing myself. That being said, it’s tough to know unless you try it if you’re gonna be helped, have no change, or have worse symptoms.
im autistic and periods for most young girls can be traumatic but mine were probably a little more brutal due to lack of family support and the overall pain after the first year. one a month i do kind of feel weird but other than that hbc has really helped me and my mental health
I’m on multiple mental health meds including non-stimulant adhd meds and oh my god I act 100% unmedicated during my periods even though I’m definitely still taking it. I can only imagine how bad it was before I got on medication because i certainly don’t remember it.
I think the biggest problem with birth control is not the birth control itself, it's that for some people it's prescribed at such a young age as a 'band-aid' for acne or irregular periods without the DR actually discussing what could be causing these issues.... which then leads to people being diagnosed with PCOS or other issues when they are trying to conceive or have come off of birth-control for other reasons. I believe that DR's shouldn't prescribe birth control before these issues are investigated
It’s amazing how many people don’t understand how DIFFERENT everyone’s bodies are, especially when it comes to medication. I had a horrible time on birth control causing my anxiety to sky rocket, so I opted out 1 year later. For my friend it literally saved them from having crippling cramps that caused them to miss school and later on work. Why would I tell them to not take it just because I couldn’t?! It baffles me.
THIS. I have epilepsy and the pill caused me to have a seizure because of the extra estrogen in the pills. it made me completely change my view on birth control
Exactly! I'm against it personally because I've never been comfortable with the potential side effects (Doctor tried to put me on them when I was 14 for acne but I point blank refused after researching the side effects I would have to deal with). But my personal stance on saying no to any form of hormonal birth control shouldn't have any influence on someone else's decision. Like really people?
@@Asharra12 You should try at least tho. My acne cleared after 5-6 months on the pill. I have no side effects and I have less cramps and flow on my period. It was for the better for me.
@@tiarezavaleta8850 I'm glad it's worked for you, but considering my family and medical history I don't even want to try it. Besides, this was about 10 years ago. My acne cleared up when I stopped being a hormonal teenager 😅 so problem solved by nothing more than time! 😋
For real though
Years ago, I asked my doctor about hormonal birth control. He started to just write a prescription, but stopped suddenly and asked me "Wait, don't you have migraines?" I responded in the affirmative, and he then explained why he prefers not to put women with migraine issues on hormonal birth control. We then proceeded to have a (I felt) informative conversation on the risks and side effects of ANY birth control. I tell this to people all the time, you have to find the right doctor for you, they're not cookie cutter cookies, they're human.
Yup, HBC is contraindicated if you have migraine with visual aura. Thankfully I don’t, AND I’ve tracked that I’m more prone to migraines when I go off the active pills. Definitely a YMMV scenario.
My frustration is, why is it so darn hard to find these doctors?! Even outside of OBGYN, my husband has various health issues, and has repeatedly been prescribed something with little to no discussion of possible side effects and interactions, to the point where there has been a couple times where he's been suicidal, because they never bothered to tell us that two of his medications together can have that effect on some people. I am completely pro Western medicine, and at the same time, our system does seem to screw people over at a rate that is frankly criminal. I am extremely grateful for OBGYNs like Mama Dr Jones who do want to help people get to the root of their issues, but the reality is there are way too many out there who do use birth control as a band-aid, plus the fact that Western medicine in general tends to just prescribe things to fix problems instead of looking at whether diet changes or other factors could help with less potential side effects.
Really? I was never told any of this about Migraines. I was just told that if you take migraine medication that it makes the BC pills less effective against pregnancy. Not that I was using them for that issue anyways. But now that I think about it since I have stopped the BC almost three months ago and now have an IUD I have been getting less frequent Migraines. I still get them but not almost everyday.
You found a good one! Mine forgot about my migraines (it was specified in my file) and I had to remind him twice that the regular pill was not a safe option for me.
From everything I've heard and read it's only estrogen based birth control that's risky with migraines (especially migraine with aura) because it increases clot and stroke risk. Progesterone based should be ok. I've been on depo for 10 years and have thankfully had no problems from it (I know everyone is different and many people hate depo) . My doctor knows my history of aura migraines and said estrogen isn't a safe option but progesterone is.
Only major concern is bone density so my gyno orders scans to keep an eye on bone density and I take a calcium supplement (and I try to do more weight bearing exercises) . I do have some minor side effects from depo but nothing worth going off of it cause without it my periods are horrendous. I did try a progesterone based pill too but I think other meds interacted cause the side effects were wonky and way more severe. Plus it gave me constant light bleeding.
I love that you specified what “triple” means by breaking down the numbers in the danish study. My biggest pet peeve is when people thrown around stats without giving even a brief description of what the stats represent. For me if someone says 80% I want to know if they mean 8/10 people or 800/1000 people. It makes a difference.
80% = 8/10 = 80/100 = 800/1000
% = “percent” = “per centum” = “per one hundred”
That said, I absolutely agree that when you hear/read “statistically … your risk of X doubles/triples if you do/take Y” your first response should be to wonder “what are you not telling me?” or “what context are you saying something doubles?”
If the risk was 1 in 10 and that doubles or triples… that’s something to think about.
If the risk is one in a million, and triples to three in a million? … that’s not so much a concern.
No because 800/1000 is the same at 8/10… it would be the same amount of people. 80% is still 80%.
@@Missmurder8905I think what this person is trying to say is that a smaller sample size could potentially skew your results. When trying to confirm something the larger the sample size the more confident you can be in the findings. Because maybe we're just lucky with the 10 people you picked that eight of them had this thing. As the national institute of health says " A sample that is larger than necessary will be better representative of the population and will hence provide more accurate results". Just a small sample size doesn't always necessarily show us a full picture for a general population.
@@JennaRhuffman exactly, you can find 8 people who have lots of things related or not to the matter at hand.
Women DO menstruate with the moon….. in the sense that there is a moon…. And Menstrual cycles happen….. so the moon exists at the same time as Menstruation….. that’s about it.
I am the AP Language and Composition teacher at my school. I teach students rhetoric and the construction and analysis of arguments. I am going to show this video to my students. It serves the dual purpose of analyzing arguments and birth control education. Any boys who object will be reminded that knowledge of birth control is the responsibility of all parties involved. I love your videos.
So you're going to chastise people based on their sex? Vile misandrist.
If I had access to this info when I was younger I would have been in such a better place... my parents happened to become “conservative” right around the time I should have gone to the obgyn. Health shouldn’t be political!
Women are pro life nuts just as much as men. Boys love birth control.
Just be careful of the extremist parents! I think this is a great video and I encourage my kids to watch it too!!❤
I'm almost 49, in 1988 our health ed teacher got our co-ed class to all unwrap a condom showed us how to put them over our heads to just pass the nose and blow them up using our noses which we all thought was strange but hilarious, she then said "ok now you've seen how big they can go, don't ever let a male talk you into having sex without a condom because they're 'too big to wear one'" 😂😂 a bit extreme maybe but it was the 80's, so the height of the AIDS epidemic
My doctor gave me the option to go on birth control because of my extremely painful periods. She tested me for everything under the sun and it all came back negative… PCOS, endometriosis, hormone imbalance… But my periods kept getting worse the older I got. I feel like I have my life back! I can now work through my period instead of spending three days curled up in bed from the pain and nausea! Birth control has revolutionized my life!!!
Same except I bled so much even the chairs were covered in red at school 😩 fun times
thankfully there’s sex education here so the kids who saw weren’t terrible about it more like 😬 shocked so much blood could appear despite my frequent visits to the bathroom. Doubt most even noticed 🤷♀️
I got on HBC and no such incident ever happened again
Same
Saaame. I literally had to take a day or two off of school or work each month the pain was so bad. Nothing was wrong... I just had insanely bad periods. Honestly, I would have like 95% of my flow on the first day so I just attributed it to my uterus being too eager to yeet the egg out of my vagina.
I got my IUD and MIND BLOWN. My side effects were on the worser side too in terms of cramps (took nearly two months after the insertion to stop getting intense cramping), but after those months... my periods quickly went away except for the occasional spotting, and no. More. Pain. I could live again. The best part was how getting the reinsert was so much better an experience too. My cramping ended after the first day. I could kiss whoever invented IUDs.
BS! No pill can fix the cause, it just numbs the symptoms. I don´t know if you´re a bot or a genuine numpty. But you will get a sht ton of additional problems with birth control. Very often the cause for painful periods is malfunctioning of the nervous system due to stress
@@94DeathAngel yeah. taking artificial hormones to cure anything is like trying to cure a headache with an axe.
In my experience hormonal birth control REMOVED the suicide risk. When I was a teenager my hormones were insane. I essentially had PMS mood swings for 3 out of 5 weeks. It was HELL. I was absolutely suicidal. I insisted with my mom on birth control and two months later, my period snuck up on me. Mood swings went down to being a bit grumpy, severe acne (still worth it!) and craving a weird food for a few days. And guess what? ZERO suicidal thoughts. It was groundbreaking for me. My mom was amazed.
BC is a medicine, just like blood pressure medicine and pain medicine and allergy medicine.
Risk and reward, ALWAYS.
My mood swings were so bad I also felt the same as you during my cycle. I was wearing depends due to such heavy flow, had horrible migraines and nausea. I finally had enough and saw my Dr who inserted a BC implant and it changed everything!
Have you heard of PMDD (basically PMS on steroids)? Normal PMS should not cause such severe emotional distress. I have PMDD and I’m excited to try the pill to manage my symptoms! I’m currently on antidepressants for it but that is not working enough
It's wild how differently people are affected. All I could do was think about dying and the only time I had relief was the week I was bleeding! Lol as soon as I figured out it was the pills, into the trash they went!
I had the same experience as a teen and found out the crazy spikes in anxiety and depression was caused by ovarian cysts and going on the pill helped manage them and my hormones soooooo much!!
Honestly same, when I was in my late teens I got on birth control and it really helped my mood swings (not as much as you but helped a bit!) and also with my acne. Unfortunately recently I had to switch to a progesterone pill as I was getting migraines, and that pill was AWFUL for me... I was suicidal and withing a month I felt like a completely different person! I stopped taking it because I was honestly afraid for myself. Birth control is so personal and I never, ever thought I'd react so badly to another type of pill, I wish there was more research into women's health honestly 🙄
i have extreme pregnancy anxiety. i’m terrified of getting accidentally pregnant and getting on hormonal birth control has eased this anxiety. i use both condoms and pills and i truly feel so much better and safer when it pertains to my period. i cant tell you how many times i’ve experienced fear mongering about periods “not being real” on birth control pills. it’s scared me to death because now i worry i’m getting a “period” but could be really pregnant (NOT talking about implantation bleeding). thank you for debunking this myth! i’ve heard this lie repeated so many times.
Obviously use whatever treatment works well for you, but since it sounds like you might not be getting brilliant information on the ground level, I thought I'd drop by with a little. There are longer acting birth controls than the pills. I use a ring which lasts for a month (or 3 if I do it right) but stops working just as fast as the pills if I don't want it. There are patches, for a week or a month. There are IUDs and an implant that goes in your arm that all last for years but are harder to remove. And just don't forget that Plan B is OTC; it's certainly not anything to make plans on, but it is there.
Ummm... as someone with pregnancy anxiety myself, I keep lots of tests on hand. I test every month after my period. I've heard too many "I didn't know I was pregnant" horror stories (even after tubal ligations and vasectomies) to trust any birth control method so I use 2 BC methods and test anyway.
If you are on hormonal BC then you do not have real periods/menses, that is literally just withdrawal bleeding. This is not fear mongering, any gynecologist will tell you that if you ask them and you can also look it up. Hormonal BC literally stops your body from ovulating so there is no egg that gets released which is what an actual period/menses is.
The more you know 🌈.
I had this anxiety too, eben with condoms plus IUD... I used to have nightmares of being pregnant where I would wake up soaked in sweat.
I got a hysterectomy a few years ago (wanted to be sterilized and get a thermal ablation of the uterus because very heavy periods without hormonal BC)
I had the nightmare exactly only shortly after the surgery and then never again so far.
I absolutely LOVE that not only are you educating people on HBC, but you are also educating people on how to identify and avoid misinformation. Being able to identify misinformation is a very important skill in the internet age, and far too few people have been taught how to identify it. Thank you so much for what you do!
I always feel really targeted and hurt I see these types of posts on Instagram. I have PCOS and endometriosis and hormonal birth control pills or something that I found does a pretty good job managing my symptoms. I spent years working with my medical team to find the best options for me. Even though I know that the benefits I receive from hormonal birth control far outweighs any of the actual scientifically known side effects, I feel like these people trying to convince me that my health problems are my fault because I chose hormonal birth control as opposed to the fact that it's genetics and bad luck.
Yeah these people fail to understand that not everyone's biology works out like it's supposed to. In their deranged little minds everyone's body is perfectly fine and has no problems at all.
And those people are incredibly dumb because something being genetics and bad luck does not mean you have to put up with it. That's like telling a person that was born without legs that they're not allowed to use prosthetics because that's not how they were born. It is absolutely ridiculous thinking and very ableist.
Yess exactly. The argument against birth control always struck me as the words of people who (luckily) don't have much experience with health conditions and who don't seem to realize everyone else on the planet doesn't have it the same. Just because you don't experience something doesn't mean it isn't a thing for someone else.
Right!! I’ve tried many different diets that “help endometriosis”. But nothing has helped until I started getting Lupron shots. Now no period. And my iron levels are better. No cramps.
@@elix1133 i was off of them for years bc of many bad ones I used. Finally on a shot
I truly believe HBC came close to ruining my life. I was put on it at 14 for vomit-inducing period pain along with little to no education on what it would do to my body, and what symptoms I should look out for. I started dealing with horrific mental illness and suicidality, and was in the process of being diagnosed with PMDD. After one too many psych wards trips, I was taken off the pill. The difference was unbelievable. It hasn't even been a year and I went from active suicidality, inability to leave my bed, and self harm, to holding down a job and finishing school. I feel like a different person. I believe that if I wasn't taken off of HBC, I wouldn't be here.
Here's the thing though, that's not a normal reaction. What I dealt with was extreme and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, but the onus lies with my doctor for not educating me, my parents for not educating themselves and looking out for me, my other health care providers for not investigating a connection, and as I grew older, myself for not considering the side effects I now knew were possible could be happening to me. I am simply not someone who can handle being on these medications, it's just my biochemistry (or whatever lol) and my predisposition for mental health issues. There are lots of people like me, but that does not and should not demonize HBC. Education is the answer, not misinformation and fear mongering.
Trust me! This also happened to me. I always tell people with underlying health issues especially mental health to always discuss hormonal birth control with their therapist if they have one, and their gynecologist. I have clinical depression and being on hormonal birth control cause so many mood swings/Was just the worst four months of my life.
So sorry you went through that for so long. Glad it FINALLY got figured out. Peace to you.
@@sheilavillamil2193 thank you so much
I feel like Dr. Jones would remind you not to blame yourself for not realizing the connection sooner. I really like it when she reminds us that you do the best you can with the information available to you at the time. I’m glad you’re much better now!
@@memyselfi2005 Thank you so much!! It's definitely difficult to think about how much of my life I lost and not blame myself for not making the connection sooner, but I'm doing the best I can for myself now. I really appreciate the support :)
As a person who is diagnosed with clinical depression, I had to be put on hormonal birth control for a multitude of reasons. And I feel like for me personally, the risks/side effects were never really discussed? I feel like surely my gynecologist should’ve had some kind of discussion with me especially since she knew that I was clinically diagnosed with depression? But I just feel like my concerns were just brought under the bus. So anyone reading this, absolutely talk to your gynecologist and please make sure to talk with your therapist if you have one.
I think what these influencers are doing is a symptom of the "education good" situation, and needing more of it. There seems to be a prevailing culture in OBGYN that birth control is no biggie, no different than what you choose to eat on any given day for lunch. I think there needs to be a little more balance in discussing some side effects and pre-screening for certain things before starting HBC. For example, a friend of mine ended up with life-threatening blood clots from the pill, and later learned she has a genetic predisposition to forming them that HBC was the catalyst for. If we were to adequately educate patients on this risk, and offer the option for screening for these conditions BEFORE starting HBC (and get the insurance companies on board for actually covering the screenings), I think that could go a long way. For me, I ended up so severely depressed on the pill that I knew I would not survive the rest of the week if I continued taking it. I wish I had been screened for mental health history and adequately educated on the fact that some people can end up with exacerbated mental health symptoms from it. A HUGE difference could be made by a small change in the conversation:
Currently:
Patient: I want the birth control pill, please.
Provider: Okay, here you go! writes script
Proposed change:
Patient: I want the birth control pill, please.
Provider: Okay, before I prescribe it, let's discuss your family health history as well as your health and mental health history. In a small number of people, HBC can cause some notable side effects. Let's screen you to get a better idea if you're at a greater risk for any of these before you get started.
I believe with everything in me that would make a HUGE difference in making this conversation more balanced. Because those who have had terrible experiences with HBC, in my experience, feel really written off by the OBGYN community because of how safe or neutral HBC is for MOST patients.
Yes. When your concerns are ignored by your doctor what else will someone do except some research, and then land in a pit of partly true and partly false information. I really think the "healthcare profession" has no one but themselves to blame for misinformation flourishing, they should have stuck to informed consent and they sold themselves out to big pharma and now you can't trust anything anyone says anymore.
@@Kait2478 Honestly surprised the Dr didn't mention blood clots. Also maybe for new patients to hormonal BC maybe a pamphlet would be good for all the different one's or at least for the one they decide to go on.
@@jclyntoledo The risks of blood clots varies due to MANY different factors. There are many different types of hormonal birth control, and the risk varies with all of them. The risk also varies with the individual's health status and lifestyle factors. No credible doctor is going to make a blanket statement about blood clots and hormonal birth control.
Oufff same here, I was put on a hormonal treatment "to dissolve fibroids" and that plummeted me into a horrid depression. My gynecologist knew I had had depression a year before that. It was horrible. I stopped the treatment 2 weeks after starting it and went directly to a specialist clinic where they gave me a different diagnosis and agreed with my decision to leave the hormones. Been on therapy since December last year and it took me a few months to start feeling "normal" again but this, together with some stuff from my private life, just sunk me into misery from which I am struggling now to get out of.
I went back to my gynecologist and told her what happened, she seemed taken aback about the consequences of her treatment, but did not apologize.
Gosh I'm so glad you made this video. Hormonal birth control freaking SAVED me from my endometriosis. It made me functional again during my periods. I have been so sick of people telling me all these bad things when they are just not accurate. Just like ANY other medication, birth control works for some and not for others and may require tweaking until the right one is found for your body. I'm just gunna start leaving this video link for people instead of wasting my time lol!
hey hun I have period pain issues and I might have this illness too and Im scared of taking the pill because i've read so many things about it but i feel like it could help me a ton. TYSM for ur comment
I, too, am outraged about the anti-abortion groups telling women to get off their birth control. What!? WHY? 🤬☠
Because it's not about preventing unwanted pregnancies for them. If you're having sex and you're not married, they WANT you to get pregnant as a punishment.
@@sarajuvey And if you *are* married its your duty to bear and raise children. Basically if you can get pregnant then you better be pregnant.
@@sarajuvey ... thus punishing the children they claim they want to protect.
If hypocrisy hurt, these people would be *screaming* . All. Day.
@@evolvingboard That's the exact reason married people get tax breaks from the government.
The recent attempts to ban abortions of ectopic pregnancies (you know, the ones which are non-viable and a death sentence for the mother if not aborted) make it really clear they just want to punish women for sex, full stop.
That's all it is. That's all it's ever been. The pregnancy and resulting unwanted child or death is just the punishment they want to inflict upon woman for having a sexuality.
That's the only way to square the sum of policy positions. They oppose everything that would actually lower abortion rates while trying to ban abortions without any concern to things like viability. When they pretend it's out of concern for the fetus, they're lying (often to themselves as well, but lying just the same).
I heard a lot growing up that it's harder to get pregnant when you have been on birth control for a long period of time. I was taking the pill for about 10 years. When my husband and I decided we were ready for children, we did have trouble getting pregnant with our first. Our second was conceived very quickly. After we had our second child, my husband went for a vasectomy, and the doctor discovered that one of my husband's testicles was completely dead and there was other damage that had resulted from an injury my husband experienced when he was a pre- teen. The doctor even asked my husband if the kids look like him. So that explained why it took so long to get pregnant with my first, and I guess would also speak to how fertile I was at that time. While I prefer to not be on medication if I don't have to, I think it was better to be on birth control than have an unplanned pregnancy.
Kinda rude that the doctor implied you cheated without having any evidence. But other than that it's kinda cool how you were able to get two little miracles out of it!
There is a theory that the "gay" gene causes women who carry it to be more fertile than average.
My grandmother is 1 of 7 (5girls/2boys). She had 3 boys. One of her sisters had 5 kids. The other 3 sisters had only 2 each because they took birth control while married.
My uncle is gay. My cousin is a lesbian, I'm ace-spike (I explored sex between the age of 20-22 and miscarried once before giving birth - I was in the military at the time so taking my pill consistently at the same time was not always possible) and my daughter is a lesbian.
And that isn't talking about my father's cousins
I was on hormonal birth control for over ten years too, and it did take a looong time to get back to a normal cycle. I didn't have a period at all for the first six months and then it took another year or two to have a regular cycle again. Fortunately I stopped years before trying to conceive, and when we started trying I got pregnant straight away with my first.
our family friends had trouble conceivieng for several years, also blamed hormonal contraception. but it turns out they both have something against them: the woman had something that makes her not have periods for months, also random times lengts and so on (worked like that from teens) and the man has sperm quality problem. they took like 5 years to conceive with help from a clinic. clinic was not especially effective too...
My other friends had a woman declared infertile (irregular cycles and something else) and when they were deciding on ivf clinic she got pregnant :D Many monies saved, because that was not covered by health insurance like it is now in my country :) they just had very low probablity to get pregnant I guess.
I was on hormonal birth control for 10+ years and when I was ttc it took maybe 3 months to conceive my twins. I think it just depends on your body.
When I told my gynaecologist that I thought I was having severe depression caused by the breastfeeding pill (zero history of depression at any moment of my life except the two separate times I took that pill) I thought she was going to tell me it was silly. She actually said that it was a rare but known side effect. That felt so good...
I had no problem with other pills I had taken before and when I got off them I got pregnant in two months time on both occasions, which was the goal, but I was still surprised by how quick it was, considering I'd taken the pill for 12 years and SO MANY PEOPLE told me it was going to be a problem when I wanted to conceive 🤷♀️
Moral of my story: Good doctors are great and ignore all the other people 😂
I grew up being told that birth control is bad for you and many people told me not to get on it. But now that I am on it I love talking it. Not only do I have little to no symptoms but it regulates my period and makes my cramps less painful. I know it don't work for everyone but it was the best thing for me.
I was denied all forms of birth control by my abusive mother even as I struggled to have a regular period (as it had stopped for multiple years at that point and I had cried myself to sleep multiple times due to fears that something was horrifically wrong or that I was infertile) even though a doctor explained to her that it could help me get regular.
When I finally got the chance to take my health into my own hands after running away from her and get my hands on dual hormone bc, I couldn't be happier. I felt so free and happy when I held that blister pack in my hands and began taking them that very Sunday, and when my period came after years of being absent I was over the moon. It freed me of my worries and alleviated my sorrows, especially when my period came back during my first dose of placebos.
I understand that hormonal bc is not for everyone, but at least to me, it's helped me in more ways than one and I couldn't be more grateful that the option exists.
That suonds tough, i hope that you are a safe place now
My mom doesn't let me even go to a gynecologist and i have been about 2 months without a period (last ended one at the 16th of feb). What can i do? (14 y.o with no other parental guardians)
@@ireneqq2300 i'm not sure how healthcare in your country works but can't you just go to a gynecologist yourself? that's a genuine question
@@ireneqq2300 if in the USA you can go to the health department or planned parent health. Both can treat you free. But as a mom of a teenager. From my understanding if is common to miss periods until 15. Good lunch.
@@elswayr4525 i live in europe and although i can get free visits to the gynecologist via public healthcare, i only have the pin for my healthcare card, not the card itself (my mom has it) and my local clinic says its not enough unless its an emergency. Also, public healthcare will take 1 month to get me a visist since gynecologists are at the bottom for the funding / priority list and this, again, isn't an emergency. Im still having period-like pain, randomly and at a very high intensity. I have been trying to get help for the last couple days since i haven't had a normal period cycle in 1 year and when i do, the pain is even worse.
love this video! i have pcos and other chronic illnesses that make periods unbearable and they worsen my other health symtoms. being on a 3 month type birth control pill (4 periods a year) makes my quality of life MUCH better. people should understand this.
Awesome. Which one are you on. I just started 3 months ago Lupron shot. No period no cramps. It’s amazing. Only downside was migraines but it’s gone away and I had migraines with my periods.
@@mermaiddiyartist8119 i am taking a generic of seasonique! so an extended cycle pill. i would love to do a shot or implant, but they aren’t as effective at controlling ovarian cysts for me.
Yep same! Tried the IUD and it just made everything worse for me, so I'm on the pill and it makes life manageable.
I’m sorry!!! I honestly can’t imagine, but I can easily guess it hasn’t been an easy ride for you!! My daughter would have to book off sick due to “period pain”! It was horrendous!!! Once she began taking “the pill”, for her pain, it all became quite bearable!! She’s a happy human each day of the month, and now she can work a proper job!!!
I hope you’re doing better and I wish you the best!!
I had bad PMDD. I would get incredibly angry and didn’t even recognize myself and how I was acting. My period would also always last 8 days and would be 18-31 days apart. I never knew when it was coming until I was told that I was starting to act angry (usually by my mom). The symptoms would start up to 2 weeks before I even got it. I get 4 months of oral contraceptives at a time and skip the placebos so that I only get like 4 periods a year as well. I don’t act like I used to when it happens, though and it’s changed my life for the better in that area.
THANK GOD. I was so, soooooooo worried abour this. I am on hormonal birth control and felt a weight being lifted off my chest when you said misinformation. I had heard about these claims but was unaware of where exactly they were coming from. Even a year later it is difficult to find articles or studies I can actually understand disproving this. The most I could find were all of these scary and weird claims and a small note saying "some experts refute this" with little to no exclamation. I am very grateful to have someone breaking down this information in a way I can understand and with all relvent information including the sources.
its artificial so it will cause cancer sooner or later
My main concern was not being able to get pregnant ever since I started BC at 15. (Periods that made me pass out) and I was on it until I was 19 1/2. My now fiancé and I have been pregnant twice in a year and a half (once while still on it, ending in miscarriage, and one now at 21). They’re just trying to scare women which is so sad. Especially these days.
I was put on hormonal birth control for mood swings (literally feeling numb/suicidal every month) and I had a really bad reaction to it. I tried to tell my OB that it was making it worse, but she didn't listen. Eventually, I went to a new OBGYN. He listened to me a lot more and concluded that 1. I had PMDD and 2. It was specifically the estrogen that I was sensitive to. He gave me one that had no estrogen in it, and so far, I feel fine! I haven't been on long enough to know if it's helped the PMDD, but I have hope!
What I find the most frustrating about all this mis-information is it drowns out the actual conversation about demonstrated side effects of hormonal birth control, and directs people away from the lovely variety of birth contol options out there
Yes! I know lots of people on the pill, and several who have side effects (like anxiety and weight gain). For some people, it has positive side effects. Yes, we should do more research to find methods which have fewer side effects to increase options (I like condoms!), but as Dr Jones points out most people who want to convince you to go off your BC are trying to either sell you something or control your fertility/sexuality (as mentioned... anti-abortion groups talking about birth control aren't worried about your health, they are worried about pre-marital sex)
I think something that is too downplayed with birth control is that it IS a medication and WILL have negative side effects. Sure, you most likely won't DIE, but side effects exist. There are plenty of women who just generally feel "crappy" while on the pill, and that's a valid reason to not take it.
I find that, at least culturally, con/doms are seen as.. sort of a temporary birth control. And then once you date for a long time there's the expectation to "graduate" to birth control, which is extremely unfair. Because cond/doms are momentary, only in effect during the act, while birth control pills are constant.
Sure, con/doms make it slightly less enjoyable, but while in a comitted relationship there are things you can do without the con/dom and be relatively safe from getting pregnant (namely oral acts).
But if a woman has mild birth control side effects that make her feel bad, those bad feelings are constant, not exclusively during the act, and they can't be worked around.
Birth control pills are great, but they aren't for everyone.
It also hurts having actually discussions with prescribers
Exactly
Exactly!! Sometimes I feel like I’m speaking a completely different language when I talk about how having access to the pill is really not the same as having access to birth control (like some groups claim). There are so many options out there, and the same method won’t work for everyone. It’s not one-size-fits-all because the field of medicine doesn’t work that way.
Many, many years ago (back in college) I was on the depo shot for like two or three years because there was just no way that I could reasonably expect myself to be successful taking a pill every single day at the same time every single day. But in my experience, being on the depo shot was awful. I gained a ton of weight, and I completely lost interest in having a social life. So the pill and the shot were just not good options for me (even though I’m sure they’re great options for other people).
Fast forward to now, and I’ve had my Mirena IUD for almost 4 years. I absolutely *love* it!! 10/10 would recommend.
If I was only ever given the option for taking the pill (as happened to a friend of mine whose insurance would only cover the pill), I would have a very different life. I also have another friend who prefers hormone free options, so she has the copper IUD.
The discussion of “practical effectiveness” vs “clinical effectiveness” is totally lost in these discussions due to the fear mongering snake oil scammers.
Having had 3 kids in her teens and early 20s, my step mother was having trouble conceiving with my dad, her 3rd marriage, his second. Her doctor blamed it on her many years of using birth control pills. Even then I wondered if it might have more to do with the fact she was approaching 40 and dad was approaching 50.
Total side note, so I don’t want this to sound like I’m suggesting anything about your family at all, but my aunts situation was eerily identical to your step mom, except she had 4 kids already and he was her second husband. The doctor kept saying it was the birth control and then when she was in her 80s dying from cancer, she confessed that her doctor was giving her contraceptives and abortions (at her request) and lying to her husband so he wouldn’t know. She didn’t want more children and felt pressured to have more, and she was really dependent on her husband for money because she didn’t have an education or career, so she needed to keep him happy and make sure he cared for her 4 kids, so my cousins wouldn’t have to go back to the poverty they were in before she married the second husband. He was long gone by the time she confessed about it, but what a story it was. Again not saying this is at all the situation in your family but your comment reminded me so much of my own!
@@Lau3464l that's so sad. I'm sorry she had to go through that
@@Lau3464l she’s a strong woman who did her best to protect her family
I’m sorry your aunt was financially trapped but I admire her resourcefulness
My mum’s family was large and poor, even now my aunts/uncles still face class/wealth issues
Being 40 does not cause infertility. That’s another set of myths. Age allows a person more time to have problems come up that may cause or contribute to infertility but half of 40 year old women trying for a year will become pregnant. Age can’t be a diagnosis because the doctors need to find out why in each woman, no matter her age. Doctors who just decide age is why a woman isn’t conceiving are either lazy or ageist. Even hypnosis has proven to raise fertility rates. There is more to the story than age.
Thank you seriously so much for making this video. As a woman on birth control (who is not in the medical field & therefore doesn’t know *that* much about it all) I have been feeling very confused & overwhelmed by some of these social media posts & videos i have seen lately. You really addressed the concerns those villifying posts raised for me in a clear and direct way & I feel so much more informed & really empowered by this knowledge. Thank you!!!
I've been on birth control three times in my life always with minimal side effects and some positive side effects. That being said, I'm in the minority among my friends. Most women I know who have been on hormonal birth control have had terrible side effects, everything from brain fog to strokes. So, I think we can have a nuanced conversation and understand that MANY women are choosing to get off of birth control because they truly feel better. Most of the women benefitting from getting off have been on it for a decade or more since they were teenagers. I do think there was a time when doctors were giving it out too liberally as a cure-all for any female issue. The girls who were victims of that era are part of the reason we're seeing so many people getting off and having such a life-changing experience now. I think we can learn a lot by listening to women on every side of this issue. Lots are benefiting from getting off, so good for them!
I had one of those “contact your doctor immediately” side effects from doxycycline that cause permanent damage to my vision and took more than 6 months to treat. But just because I personally had a rare side effect doesn’t mean I go around telling people that doxycycline is dangerous or bad (it isn’t) and although I won’t/can’t take doxycycline myself anymore, I still take other antibiotics.
People can be so damn dramatic and unreasonable.
Thank you for that mindset
I'm curious. Did you have another health condition that affected how the medication worked? Or was it just a one in a million thing?
You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable.
This is how every one should have Great mindset
Ok but clearly there is a risk you are living proof of it. It's something people should know
@@animeloveer97 there’s risk of taking any medication but there’s benefit too. I suspect you might recognize that when you’re dying from anthrax or malaria and need doxycycline. And the information is freely available if people bother to read the information pamphlet that comes with the medication. It’s clearly stated right in there that it’s a possible side effect.
I had a chiropractor 15 years ago give me an aggressive lecture about how my birth control was not a real period but every month I was having a miscarrage every month because it tricks the body into being pregnant. It was extremely shameful and she mentioned it at every session, and it made me stop going to her because it was so bothersome to her that I put this on my medical form. I wish I had the gull to correct her at the time.
Just for those who don't know-No EGG , no PREGNANCY No MISCARRAGE. Her chiropracter was a nut, or selling something.
why was a chiropractor lecturing you on birth control? That's not your department ma'am lol just do what you're paid to do and crack my joints til i feel better
Wow 😯🤣🤣 she’s so wrong
This just reinforces why chiropractors aren't MDs. Imagine thinking your body can be pregnant with out an egg or sperm a bloody 13 year old knows this. Can't misscarry what doesn't exist
This is almost as bad as the one that told
Me I didn’t need antibiotics for my Lyme disease because he’d cure it 🤦🏻♀️
They're not "against abortion" in a rational way. They're against female body autonomy that is upheld by birth control AND abortion. You really have to understand that. They are being consistent. They want pregnancies, and what the pregnancy holder wants is irrelevant to them.
They are nuts. Obsessed with fetuses . They view women as disposable
I have to say that is almost entirely a misconception as it pertains to the vast majority of people advocating for no birth control and no abortions. While I'm sure there's some bad people that is true of there's so much more to it than "all of these people are evil and hate women".
@@bethanyjordan1371 sweetie, if you want the circumstances of law to forbid women from having bodily autonomy, from having safe intercourse when they wish, and if you want pregnancy to punish them for being promiscuous, you hate women.
@@bethanyjordan1371. Uh. Trying to deny birth control to women, women’s reproductive freedom, controlling what other women do isn’t evil? I mean you do you but once you start denying all women birth control is wrong. Even if those people have “benign” justifications.
@@stellashepherd3229 Ma'am, while I find it interesting that you've chosen to completely ignore any part of what I said referring to the fact that this is not my belief and I'm simply stating facts of the matter for those that care to educate themselves on the way that others may understand the world; I see that you are simply interested in yelling and getting angry at others for having opinions for the sole purpose of starting an argument. I'd like to make it abundantly clear that while I do not agree with you I respect your point of view as a personal opinion and we are all allowed to have those. I'd like to know what exactly you mean when you say "benign" if you care to explain further.
I'm not anti HBC at all, I just wish my doctors would've discussed potential side effects with me beforehand (it made me suicidal) and I wish they would have listened when I told them it affected me too much. It wasn't until I called them sobbing and hyperventilating and begging for help when they finally believed me. I know I probably had an abnormally bad experience and most doctors are better than that, but it's super hard for me to trust what doctors prescribe anymore just because of my trauma with it.
What did you end up doing? Mine gave me severe anxiety and went away when I stopped
So, I am one of those women who has SERIOUS emotional side effects from hormonal birth control. No joke, absolutely changes my personality and I become deeply depressed and suicidal within a matter of about 2-3 weeks and it gets worse and worse the longer I stay on it. The problem is that when I’m in that mental state, I don’t realize how bad it is and how much I’ve changed. Thankfully, my family and friends have been good about telling me and I’ve been able to stop the pills before I hurt myself.
Now, do I think that hormonal birth control is bad?? No, of course not. It’s a drug with side effects. Those side effects vary from person to person and I have had severe emotional responses and nightmares as a side effect on other medications, so clearly it’s a “me” problem. (Hi! I’m Camille and I get weird side effects to medications!)
My issue is that many, many doctors have wanted to put me on birth control for some of my female issues and DON’T LISTEN when I tell them the severity of my reactions to birth control. They assume that I’m exaggerating or “just need to try this type”. When I’ve been there, done that already. I refuse to take hormonal birth control now because I know that even on the lowest dose of the lightest hormonal pills on the market, I go to a scary, scary place. Frankly, I’d like a doctor who trusts, understands, and believes me when I tell them about this. It’s frustrating and I’m still searching for an OB-Gyn…
Same... I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my boyfriend who saved me from my IUD killing me. Meanwhile my doctors at the time (all women btw) literally lied to me about the bad ultrasound results to force me to keep in my IUD. And I'm in Europe, so I can't sue their asses off. I obviously filed every complaint that's possible to file, but it's just useless.
Also the side-effects experienced are NOT listed in the leaflet. So people do NOT know what they get into when getting that IUD, they cannot make an informed choice.
The system just sucks.
@@andij605 I’ve grown weary of the idea that we should seek out women doctors to care for our womanly parts (or the rest of our parts for that matter)
I have had some wonderfully caring and compassionate male doctors during my baby making years.
Then my daughter had a female OB/Gyn who had such an arrogant attitude of “I’m the doctor, you’re not” when she walked into the room, that she (my daughter) contacted her previous OB who had supervised her previous, higher risk, pregnancy.
Keep asking.
Same! Just so many negative effects rhat outweighed any postive. A male doctor told me how bad they can be for women and i agree. For some they are likely great but for me and some other women they are awful
I've been in the extract same boat.
I don't know how to politely tell you this, but ob-gynos both big pharma and homeopathic, just want to pump you full of hormones to manage your issues. If not that, they want to do surgery on you. And it's not like they are wrong, in reality it's your only 2 options.
Might as well practice self-care and not even bother finding an OB.
Maybe look for a midwife! So much more attentive.
As someone who has an extremely negative relationship with B.C., thank you for posting this. Because although when watching this video it was obvious how nonsensical most of these posts were, because of my bias against B.C. I would’ve probably read, liked, maybe shared some of these without a second thought. And the last thing I would want to do is scare someone away from doing what’s right for their body. It’s a great reminder that even me, a person who loves evidence based information, can let biases overshadow research and skew opinion. Thank you for being a trusted doctor who is easily accessible for those without proper resources. You and your content are appreciated.
And this is why I love MDJ community! It's great to know you can be of different minds and still be science and evidence driven, and have a respectful discussion about whatever! :)
Curious why you hate bc? I can understand not using it if it doesn’t work for YOUR body, but what’s your issue with it beyond that?
@@edvh88 I don’t hate it for others. I have an extremely negative relationship with it. That’s what I was referring too when I said my “bias against BC”. If you’re referring to why I would be apt to like or share some of the content she discusses it’s because I would have more of a thought process of “this might help keep others informed of possible negative effects” not so much as a bashing of the product. And I would’ve done less research on it because the emotional charge they’re going for I definitely would’ve played into. However from this video and now your comment I can definitely see how that could be perceived as hating BC I’m general, which is never what I would want to do. And this video helped me identify that bias and change my mindset to make sure I’m not pushing anything that could keep people from getting the medical help they deserve.
@@carlamgraca yes, agreed! So glad I found this community. Open to discussion and a safe, trustworthy space ☺️
Same for me as well! I really appreciated this video and the info in it!
I really love how balanced your videos are, you tell us the good the bad and the ugly to make sure we have all the facts to make informed decisions (including to talk to our doctors about our specific needs)
Okay, but let’s not ignore the fact that some of us truly do have horrible side effects. Birth control makes me suicidal when I take it. I’ve taken it two separate occasions for about 9-18 months. The second time I didn’t make it long because I don’t do well on it. Not everyone is going to feel like it’s rainbows and butterflies man.
yes because its not natural
When my family found out I was on birth control, they told me “I was a sinner”. I wasn’t messing around with guys, I needed it for my period. 🙃 and so what, I didn’t want kids.
That is like when people got the HPV vaccine and were looked down on even though they weren't sexually active lol
More power to you ✊
I'm a virgin, probably always will be. I take it for my periods. No sex is my birth control.
I would love to have seen their faces after you said you don't want kids😂
@@lillyceee they spent a good chunk of my life avoiding me for it 😂 now they “overlook my fault” whatever that means. Still havnt seen them in forever though.
Social media person: “doctors are lying to you so you need to believe me and buy my stuff”
My doctor: totally not offended if I go for a second opinion or see another doctor, just asks how they can help me get the care I need
Social media person: misrepresents studies
My doctor: looks up a study I have questions on and discusses it with me
Social media person: credentials are anecdotes
Doctors and pharmacists: study for YEARS and keep studying throughout their careers and can prove it
🎯
lol yeah, have you noticed how this has been happening with everything the vet the past 5-7 years? like ppl think they are virologists, scientists, climatologists, economists, etc. NO, social media does not equal EXPERT
I've never met a doctor in my country who welcomes questions without getting offended
@@ND-lw6qk sad, I have always had good doctors who treat me with respect.
I had awful cystic acne starting at age 11 and going into my early teens. It was mostly on my face and back and shoulders. My dermatologist tried a lot of things from antibiotics to prescription face washes and creams. But as soon as I got my first period at 14 (I know I was a late bloomer) she recommended I try birth control; thinking my acne might be hormone related. I immediately saw a difference! It took about 3 months for my acne to completely clear up but once it did I felt amazing and much more confident. I’m 18 now and I get a couple tiny pimples now and then but overall I’ve had no negative side effects from birth control, only positive. However, this may not be the case for everyone. Keep in mind I’m not trying to push birth control on anyone. It is certainly not an across the board treatment for acne, and it won’t work for everyone. All I’m saying is that it worked wonders for me and might have even changed the way I see myself. I’m also saying that I’m glad I listened to my doctor 4 years ago and not any of these extremist posts online.
I just want to say I'm thankful for you and your videos. The internet is great for sharing information, but for a layman, it's exhausting sifting through what's correct or false, but your explanations help us all learn and get better at being skeptical.
“There are some situations where masking the symptoms makes people able to live their lives.” So true, so we’ll said.
My thyroid is broken and it’s not coming back. The only thing I can do is take the replacement hormones that allow me to live an active life. And yet I’ve had people demonise them because “they’re not treating the root issue, they’re just making you dependent on pills.”
Like no, my immune system going bonkers is what’s making me depend on the pills but thanks?
My mum had hers taken out completely after years of doctors trying to get her back in the green zone even though she never stayed there long after trying to reduce the meds. It was riddled with graves disease. The change after a week was instant. She has so much more energy, less mood swings, better sleep. Yeah she's gotta take hormone replacements but for the first time in years her body has returned to some sort of normalcy.
Alle my GP's denied me T4 because they think I want it to loose weight. No, I'd just like to get out of bed ! As if Major depression wasn't enough. And the old lab numbers aren't correct anymore, also for Hashimoto , as long as you have severe symptoms, the lab means nothing and the normal numbers of the and t4 and TSH don't fit for us. Aren't "Hashis" supposed to aim for a TSH ~ 1 ? Ugh it's so frustrating.
@@janedoex1398 Try seeing a specialist. I have subclinical hypothyroidism, but my endocrinologist prescribed levothyroxine at my request. I hoped it would help with my low energy and clinical depression (it didn't), but by her clinical judgment there was no harm in trying. A specialist can make that call, but a GP would be more likely to err on the side of caution since they don't have the same level of training, and are reliant on existing protocols.
I absolutely hate this. You wouldn't tell someone with type 1 diabetes to "treat the underlying cause instead of continuing treatment". This dismissal happens so often in GYN, obesity, and mental health situations it's maddening.
@@janedoex1398 idk what is recommended for hashis in general, but I feel much better with my current dose of t4, which dropped my TSH down to 0.2 (my highest was 8.3, which isn’t that high but I‘m only 24)! My doc simply told me to watch out for unexplained weightloss and sleep troubles. I haven’t lost much weight despite the low TSH so I‘m not sure what that’s all about! You deserve to see a doctor that takes your well-being seriously.
I've been on birth control since I was 15. I literally couldn't go to school my cramps were so bad. If I moved, I would puke. That's how bad the pain was. I'm 23 now and I can't imagine not being on it as I couldn't even function on my period without it. Obviously it's not for everyone but I'm glad you're correcting this shit because I'm a perfect example of just how helpful it can really be.
I also couldn’t function without birth control had horrendous cramps if I did too much I would feel like I was going to pass out! My cramps were the same as labor cramps as I found out when I had my daughter! The nurse was like you’re handling this pretty well. I’m like I used to have cramps exactly like this for 8 years u til my mom let me go on birthday control!!
I was like you with missing two weeks of every month with severe cramps and bleeding. My lovely Dr. gave me a drug called Daprisol which is essentially speed. He was of the ‘work it out’ mentality. Oral contraceptives made my periods even worse. Yeah, that’s why I have four children. Luckily they discovered all the ovarian cysts (orange sized) and offered a hysterectomy at 28. I am now willing to fight you for my Premarin at 65 years of age. I finally found a female gyn and never looked back.
Same here! I got an IUD at 15 due to severe cramps where I would puke and not be able to move, very heavy bleeding (like two or three tampons in one hour type of thing), painful ovarian cysts, constant pelvic pain, and even scar tissue binding both my ovaries together (I had to have surgery for that). Without birth control I would not be able to live a normal life!
@@echo_20_ I got an IUD in ‘76 before I was married and promptly gave birth to it a few months later. It made the cramps even worse and I literally pushed it out.
Similar situation. I remember being in my physics GCSE in secondary and being in such agony that, once it was over and we left, I had to call a taxi to get home because I collapsed after a few steps. I could not walk and this happened at varying levels ("can walk for a short time, down the stairs and to the bathroom" to "crawling just to get to the bathroom when needed, pausing during as I cannot even crawl the short distance in one") every month. I just put up with it because, well, it's a period! It's supposed to hurt! Until people at college got concerned, started saying that wasn't right, and even then it took me months because... well, BC is to stop pregnancy, maybe it will help me a bit, but it doesn't just fix it all, I'll be fine!
Finally I got sick of it, now I have the contraceptive patch (non invasive and forgettable most of the time? SIGN ME UP). I never plan to get an IUD (you do you squad, but I am good without that nightmare myself) and don't like needles, so the shot was out, and I know I am not good enough with memory to take a pill daily. I was considering the implant, but as this was COVID and I didn't want to wait for ages, I went with the patch. Now I wear a little sticker that I switch out weekly and it works perfectly for me. But this is not the same for everyone, each person has their own needs and issues. For some people the IUD or implant is perfect, for others the combined or mini pill, for some BC is not the best option, but for everyone it is different.
I’m not saying birth control is bad. What I think is bad is how hard it is to find a good doctor who actually listens and cares about you and treats you as an individual with some level of understanding of what is going on in your body(you are living in it after all). I have been very disappointed by doctors that don’t ask the right questions and mock you for asking questions, doctors who put you through unnecessary tests while missing the tests that would actually help you figure out what is going on. Birth control may be great for a lot of women but if someone wants to go off hormones or any other medication, don’t just automatically try to dissuade them.
I love my birth control. The first few months I had a few mild symptoms (nausea mostly) but 6 years later I have no side effects and get to live my life without periods. It’s among the best things that ever happened to me.
I've always been super confused by people who are like "Birth control prevents you from having a Period!" because I've always been like, "Good?" Because while my periods aren't as bad as some people I've known, my periods still aren't pleasant. Thank you for explaining more of their arguments so I can understand what they are going on about
Mine are like, an 8 on the pain scale.
Saaaame ! It's one of the main reason I'm taking hbc : no periods anymore ! (I'm part of the lucky people with super good hormone tolerance, so hbc works extremely well for me). I haven't had a period in like 10 years and it's absolutely wonderful.
Right?! I have the Mirena IUD, and I haven't had a period for about 6 years. It's the best part of the whole deal.
Same, my periods were awful and I got the implant and I'm not 4 months period free!
@@melindac2758 Do you mind sharing if you had any side effects at the beginning. I am thinking of getting and IUD and I always hear too extremist opinions
Once again, do NOT harass these people. I am addressing what is, in my opinion, bad info & tactics for educational purposes & have no ill-will towards any individuals. :) What else do you want to see videos on?
Perhaps a bit out of your purview (collab?), but ways to enjoy sex and such after trauma, especially SA.
A lot of my friends who've ask me questions are/were trying to figure out their bodies after (esp childhood) SA, and I find myself in the same boat myself now.
Therapy might help on the cognitive and emotional side, but it doesn't mean the connection to the body itself is addressed (esp as a female bodied person with a cismale therapist)
EDS and pregnancy. None of the obgyns I've been to seem to know anything about what to expect. I am that zebra they tell you not to look for in medical school and EDS is typically only discussed for 5 minutes or less in medical school sometimes nothing more than one slide on a power point it's horrible for people like me with EDS
Fibroids. Myths about fibroids, what can be done about fibroids, or do we just have to grin and bear it for years before something can be done.
Endometriosis! ☺️
@@charlybryer9544 I have a friend with EDS & yes this is a topic that needs to be adressed.
I’ve never been on BC, I’m only 23 but my doctor mentioned the possibility I might have PMDD because of the intense shift in mood I get around a week before my period starts. I’ve finally had enough and am looking into going on BC in hopes of stabilizing my mood. Thank you MDJ for all that you do, I’ve learned more from your videos than I ever did in school!
please keep us updated on how it went! good luck
I get depressed 1-2 weeks before my period and that's why I'm looking into it to. all the possible side effects seem super scary but I don't wanna keep going up and down like this
Love love love this. Thank you for taking the time to educate. People blatantly make up conclusions based on one observation and then stand strong with their opinion without ever learning the background/science. Thank you.
As a woman that has to live with endometriosis, I worship HBC! I take dienogest 2mg, everyday, no stopping, no period at all.
I will greet any side effect with open arms if I don't have to suffer another day. And I don't suffer anymore, I can finally live.
HBC is a choice that an individual has to make, based on real evidence and what is best for their life and body.
Brilliant video ❤❤
Same here!!! Totally understand. Continuous bcp gave me a normal life free of fear and sickness. Life changing! I stand with you! (But that was after a nasty endo surgery.)
At first I read your comment and was like what does Helena Bonham Carter have to do with your periods 🤣
I’m with you, I took dienogest for almost 3 years before stopping so I could get pregnant, it has been a life-saver for me and my endo too. I believe it’s why I was able to even get pregnant at all. I’m about to start it again after having my second baby, so grateful to have access to something like this!!
Same! I also take dienogest everyday! I was in so much pain before the treatment, it's way better now. The only thing is that it messed a bit with my libido, but I heard there are some natural ways to increase it, like some foods and exercize
Yesss. I have suspected endometriosis though was never on birth control until after I had my son. I had a decrease in libido but otherwise my life was 10000x better. I came off it recently to try for another and I have hated every minute.
My "side-effects" were the entire reason for being given them at 16 years old. My period and emotional spiritually regulated and my cramps were greatly decreased. My doctor told me all about what to expect and gave me literature for reference. I took it for many, many years with out any problems. I am now 71 yrs old, no cancer of any kind.
my wife had to stop taking them, because they were messing with her emotions and she did not get used to that :D
wish it would have worked better for her.
I had the opposite effect. Severe mood swings. It gave me chronic nausea too. I tried 12 different kinds. After finally throwing in the towel and just stopping them, I have no more issues. My period is more regulated not on birth control then it ever was on it. I support anyone who uses it and wants to try it as it really works great for many many people. I am just not one of those. I would love to try it again but I cannot stand to put myself through the mood swings and then the six months for it to rework its way out of my body. I have multiple doctors preaching for me to go back on it. It is a difficult situation.
thanks so much for sharing
Same here! Birth control pills saved me from excrutiating pain and helped stabalize my mood. As an unexpected plus I also stopped having acne so that was nice. I took pills for 6 years no problem and recently switched to hormonal IUD (I got it placed while I was sedated so it was no issues there)
I've tried only a few, as my small town gyno was too scared I might get an allergic reaction. Each time I would bleed all the time, the subjective pain (that I feel) gets even worse, except that pain isn't real (according to the gyno), so I couldn't convince her that the pill is worse than no pill.
Can you do a video on the potential severe side effects of birth control and what to do if you have them? Also, if there is any literature on who is more likely to experience those side effects? I ask because I have tried birth control multiple times (the pill - different ones multiple times, and an IUD). Every time I have become suicidal. I am autistic, and do wonder if that contributed to it. I also had anemia due to heavy periods and doctors were trying to use these as a way to decrease the amount of blood flow. Ultimately, I had to have a hysterectomy because of the heavy flow (I was done having kids, so I am ok with that), but several doctors were dismissive of me saying that hormonal birth control caused me to become suicidal and I’d rather not try it again. Bad doctors? Lack of awareness of side effects? Lack of literature? What is your view on this type of thing?
I’m so sorry you had to go through this and have doctors not believe what you were telling them.
I was in a situation similar to yours. As a rule, I am sensitive to medication and struggle with anxiety, so I wanted to try a copper IUD. Long story short, it couldn’t be inserted due to complications from my emergency c-section, so I decided to go with the Nexplanon implant. For a while it was fine. Somewhere around the one year mark I started having a lot of mental health issues. I began to have extreme flight or fight responses to slightly stressful situations - either I would get super ragey (I am generally mild mannered as they come) or I would get extremely anxious and my heart would race so quickly it felt like it would beat out of my chest and I would breathe as if I had been sprinting for a mile. It was terrifying.
Thankfully this occurred right around the time my husband and I were already going to start trying to get for baby #2, so I had it removed, but that thing would have been gone one way or another.
I really like how you never belittle the people who see these ads and posts and may fall for them and instead explain what language is being used and the tactics that are trying to manipulate the audience.
The only thing I will say negatively about birth control is that it's used as a bandaid in women's health. I got prescribed birth control to manage my pain and horrible periods at a very young age. I later found out I had stage 4 endometriosis.
Exactly, BC really is used like candy and just thrown at every problem, without exploring women's health further.
@@allisonscanlan4144 but that’s not birth controls fault, the the medical profession in general for not caring about patients and really not giving a shit regarding womens pain, especially around their cycle.
I had amenorrhea for a year and painful sex and was told it was anxiety. Offered bcp to fix my period except I was wanting to start a family soon. Finally got the courage to go to someone else and my pituitary gland was fucked up. But it took actual time to figure that out, and most doctors can’t be bothered.
@@Ash-op2ql I never said it was birth controls fault. The issue is that women's health isn't explored enough. I don't think it's fair to say the medical profession doesn't care about women's heath. A lot of doctors and nurses and researchers do care, but their is a lack of knowledge and solutions right now
@@Ash-op2ql neither of them said it’s the birth controls fault
@@Ash-op2ql it sounds like you're agreeing with my comment then...😅no?
Hormonal birth control was a life saver for me, I used to have such heavy and painful periods, and birth control regulated them (and now I'm on it continuously so don't get a period at all).
Same! It's seriously a life saver for some of us.
Also same here! I suffered for years and was always afraid of birth control. I finally agreed to try a pill (after a thorough discussion with a doc, addressing my worries, to pick the best option for me) and I love it! I have my life back for the first time since I was eleven. I wish I'd done it years ago. My life would have been different: better, less stress, less pain, less disability.
No offense but I feel that denying your body its natural period is dangerous because your uterus *needs* to shed its lining each month. That's how nature intended it to be. I feel it'll just build and build inside of you if you never bleed out.
After my second baby, my PMS was out of control, tears and hysterics the two days leading up to my period, and a heavy, heavy flow that had me wearing a cup, an overnight pad, AND overnight period sleep shorts and still staining my sheets. The pill has been a lifesaver. My emotions are back in balance and my flow is back to its normal self. I’m dreading going off the pill again when we decide we’re ready to try for baby number three.
@@RedRoseSeptember22 I can't speak for how all BC pills work, and I'm not a scientist or a doctor. My doc explained that the BC variety I am on thins the uterine lining and keeps it thin. Because of that, I occasionally have a bit of breakthrough bleeding, but it's very light. If my doc is correct the lining doesn't build up at all. I agree completely we have evolved to have a natural monthly cycle (except when pregnant or breastfeeding, when it stops). If we're going to be really natural, we pairbond once our bodies sexually mature, and begin breeding and breastfeeding, resulting in only a few dozen menstrual cycles as we produce child after child over a couple decades--unless a person is infertile, like me, in my case from endometriosis. I can't breed, plus the condition creates extreme pain. I suffered through around 360 menstrual cycles until I finally got on a BC to control the pain. I fully support every woman making the choice that's right for her, but no offense, I have done my share of menstruating. I suffered for three decades, and all the painkillers I took might have been worse for me than the BC I'm taking now.
claims like these predatory sites and accounts make are another big reason i'm of the opinion that critical thinking should be taught in primary school, like you used to analyze their posts. everyone should be able to recognize misleading information like this, at least when pointed out. thank you for sharing your expertise like this. the medical system isnt perfect but it can be made better with transparency for the benefit of patients.
The only "side effects" of my birth control pills I've experienced are reduced acne (which is actually the main reason I started taking it) and shorter periods. Both pretty good, in my opinion
As a doctor, BC has long term adverse effects to worry about. Mostly liver damage (focal nodular hyperplasia and adenomas with a risk of cancer). This doctor has ulterior motives because during our studies in medicine we learn about so many long term health issues BC gives you it’s crazy and our more experienced colleagues advise against long term use. Unless you have health issues that have no other way to be resolved of course.
@@sanxxxx Everybody dies in the end, and even people who are not on the pill get cancer, so I see no problems
@@dianab9134 since people who do not smoke get cancer then smoking is not a problem?
The “not a real period” stuff freaked me out really bad when I saw it in the wild. I choose to continue to have a period every month while on birth control, it helps to give me extra reassurance that I’m not pregnant (I tend to get paranoid about that). When I saw that “not a real period” stuff, I took it to mean that, since it wasn’t a “real period”, it wasn’t a reliable indicator that I wasn’t pregnant, and really made me freak out.
when i went on bc, my doctor suggested i take a pregnancy test every month that i engage in inter course. bought a box off amazon with like 50 tests and it helps the anxiety for sure! then again i bleed 3 weeks out of the month on the birth control im on 😅
@@imrichrach i wanted to suggest the same or ovulation tests, but those you would have to do more regularly to pick out if you ovulate at all.
It's amazing how cheap those individually packed test strips are compared to ones you get in the shop, and what the hell do i need the whole plastic thing for anyway?
Yes I came to say the thing as Rachel & Ana, I take my pill straight through, no placebo and I just keep a box of pregnancy tests and a some biodegradable cups to dip the test strips in and take one when I'm feeling anxious. I have a period/breakthrough bleeding about quarterly still
@@Yamichou i use the packaging it comes in, i rip it so there is like a small pocket. And thus no extra waste at all. Cause even biodegradable cup needs to be produced.
The not a real period thing freaked me out cause I got prescribed it to take after my period went missing for a year. If it isn't real, than the sign that your body has recovered is false, so the benefit would only be placebo.
Every man should watch this channel. Everyone in general should watch this channel. People don’t know enough about how womens bodies work.
Thank you for the video. This is the down side of social media where everyone is an "expert" and the scary thing is so many people don't have the critical thinking skills to sort through the BS
Thank you for filming these videos, they are really informative. I am also glad that you like New Zealand, we are happy to have you here.
The amount of false information that is allowed to circulate and actively confuse or decieve women is disgusting
Take note of what is censored and labeled “misinformation” and what isn’t.
@@icecreamcake1457 what do you mean?
@@icecreamcake1457 translation: "I'm triggered because my bullshit got called out"
They just want us to be afraid of sex. A tale as ols as time.
@@icecreamcake1457 Dont like whats being said? Share some scientific evidence proving it wrong. But you wont, because it doesnt exist
I was on the pill for over 10 years. When my husband and I started trying for a baby, I got off it and got pregnant a month later with zero issues and now we have a happy healthy toddler with another baby on the way. My mother in law seemed very surprised by this for some reason. *eye roll*
My mom was on the bc implant between me and my younger brother (4 years), and her Dr told her when she got it out that it will probably take a long time to get pregnant because of it and she was back within like 3-4 months iirc with a positive test and he was all surprised.
They like telling that story
These 2 stories are lucky stories. Most people have complications. Sharon Osbourne had several miscarriages due to birth control and abortion and had to have a stitch put in her cervix.
I was on hormonal birth control for 19 years. I stopped taking my pill in June and was pregnant by October. I took the pill again for a few months until we started to try for another baby; I was pregnant within two months of stopping the pill. He’s 10 months old and I’m back on the pill until we decide if/when we’re ready to try for baby number three.
My OBGYN said that coming off the pill actually increases your chances of getting pregnant almost right away. I had fertility issues when I came off of it, but that was mostly because I was going through peri menopause and had endometriosis all at the age of 29. Those issues were easily solved with the help of anti estrogen pills and I was pregnant after my second ovulation cycle.
@@LEADERCHICKADEE
Try not lying
Neither HBC or abortions increase the chance of or cause miscarriages.
Saying her miscarriages are DUE TO having a history of both, aka they were caused by, is patently FALSE. There is no medical evidence to prove a connection.
Her, or anyone, "believing" one caused the other is not a FACT
Thank you! I came across a documentary called "the business of birth control" through a podcast and it terrified me at first. I smelled bs when they mentioned the pheromones issue that you also addressed here. It was very helpful for me to watch this video and confirm my suspicions, a lot of the things you talked about were mentioned by the authors of this documentary and it did cross my mind to stop birth control. Luckily I didn't.
After my most recent cyst rupture, I have PCOS and my first cyst rupture was at age 12 my most recent at age 25, these people can pry my HBC from my cold dead hands. It brought ruptures down from multiple a year to one in the last six
I grew up Fundie, and was a teen mom... twice. From my experience, Anti Abortion and Anti Birth Control are about controlling women. When I had my kids the common rhetoric was that they were going to be soldiers in the church, the army for Jesus. Several of the girls who found themselves with child, did hunker down into religion, married young to "hide their discretion" no matter how they were impregnated. The guilt and shame is devastating and it makes if very easy to be controlled.
Oh definitely, it's all about controlling women. I'm sorry you had such an...intense experience.
also about forcing low income moms (specially teen moms) to have babies and pressure them to give them up for adoption so rich white couples can buy their babies.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sorry your community has been so unkind to you.
I think the “anti-abortion” people who also want women off birth control really just want women pregnant, without a career and under control. There’s no other explanation in my mind
You are absolutely right!
Anti abortion movement is not about controlling women all over maybe for your circles but not for everyone
I was a 90's kid, one of the things I remember, now that I think about it, was that we were explicitly taught HOW to evaluate internet sources for validity and reliability because they were relatively new. Then, I had a college professor who ONLY allowed primary sources for all of our research papers. Minor inconvenience then, but you best believe it's become second nature for me since. I don't think those who have grown up with the internet at their fingertips have been taught the same, and that's terrifying.
I remember being taught to check sources because we had to cite sources for any project and something like Wikipedia or a blog wouldn’t be accepted, you had to actually go back to primary source to cite. I still do that today if anything smells fishy. Reputable sites and blogs will cite their own sources for you to check, if they don’t, take anything they say with a hefty grain of salt.
I'm studying to be a high school physics teacher, this semester I'm having a course on reliable sources, we are supposed to teach kids how to screen and decide, and when primary sources are needed as a reform to the programs. There's a whole unit on how and when to use wikipedia, that's very useful even as a science researcher.
We were also taught to to have multiple sources for any information, because you could always come across something somewhere that had different information. I would always come across websites that had totally wrong facts, like specific dates when doing a history paper, or an incorrect name, or even a suspicious spin on the narrative. Especially when doing a history paper. LOL
I had a laparoscopy almost 6 years to the day that confirmed I had endometriosis (followed by excision surgery), and after a few tries of medication, I’m on Visanne (progesterone pill) and Kyleena IUD. Only had one period in 2 years, which is a blessing bc periods had always been terrible for me because of endometriosis. That also is good for my mental health because no more constant chronic pain that never ends…
Thank you so much for this video. I struggle with hormone related issues and it makes you feel so crazy with all the misinformation out there. This was very helpful.
I had severe side effects to birth control. I hemorrhaged and had to be hospitalized. But when my daughter started her period and had horrible cramps just like I did, I put her on birth control. I told the doctor everything that happened to me so we were very careful to keep an eye out for any side effects. Luckily she is not allergic like I am and she’s been on birth control for 7 years and it massively decreased her cramps and the length of her period. My daughter is terrified of needles so she went with the pill. I believe it just needs to be an open conversation with your doctor. If one doesn’t work there are many options. I hope you have a wonderful day.
BCP made me feel better and cleared up my skin! but the IUD had to be removed in 10 mins, I couldn't stop the severe nausea, so who knows. the docs told me that never happens to any women, so who knows
@@jmdenison well speaking of side effects, my friend had medication for smoking cessation, worked like a charm for the intended purpose, but he could not remember anything while on it, like his address or date of birth. Basically the "less than 1 in 100,000" side effect
@@tatiana4050 That's a good one thanks for sharing next time he might want to try hypnosis and or meditation for that
@@jmdenison well he was perscibed medication as that was seen as a best fit for him. Other methods were considered and not seen as suitable for him. Also hypnosis is not available on NHS.
That was a while ago.
But currently he uses is as a form of self medication, so unless he finds less stressful job, quitting whichever way will make his everyday life worse
You put her on birth control? How about her deciding?
I just had my gynecologist appointment a few days ago and while I’ve been on birth control for years I don’t want to have to take a pill every day anymore. I told my Dr this and you know what he did? He went into a detailed explanation of all of my options and then explained the process of how those other forms of birth control worked. We even have a plan for if I find this new form of birth control doesn’t work for me.
The way I see it, there are good doctors out there who want to help you. If you’re getting shut down by your dr, find another one.
i'm so glad you have a doctor like that!! mine is similar and the birth control she helped me choose is perfect for me:)
As someone with PMDD, hormonal birth control quite literally changed my life. I tried many types over the years that didn’t work for me, even a non hormonal version that was anecdotally horrendous, but I am now using one that is wonderful. These blanket statements are dangerous.
What kind helped the most?
Love this!! So important and necessary. Thanks for articulating this so clearly and talking about the full picture.
I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 14 years old. My OBGYN sat me down and discussed options for treatment if I wanted any since I was having so many problems. I decided birth control would be the best option for me. And it has worked. I tried 3 different types before finally at the age of now 25, I'm on the one I love. It's the birth control patch. I get regular periods still but they are regular and monitored by my doctor's and it makes sense for my lifestyle and my health to be on it. It's by no means the answer for everyone, but I firmly believe that it should be an option for everyone to have access to and explore if they need it.
I liked the patch. I had trouble remembering to take a pill at the same time everyday. But the patch was easy to use
One of my friends has endometriosis and nothing works for her. one of the docs suggested to get pregnant... She has two children, one is grown up now, that had nothing to do with pregnancy, it worked while she was preggers though!
I was on "the Pill" from when I was 16 until 35 when my GP thought I should stop taking it because of another condition I had. I can say I really had no problems. I did gain some weight but that was about 3 years after I started taking it so I really can't lay the blame at it's door! I used other birth control until I was 40 and then got pregnant a month after stopping using it! Everything has risks, do your research & listen to Dr Jones!
Yup! I was on the pill for 19 year and was pregnant within 6 months of stopping. No noticeable side affects during that time. In fact, after my second pregnancy, my pms and my period were out of control and going back on the pill was a lifesaver.
Thank you for mentioning the mental health side. So important again to communicate things as the care provider as well as the patient. My sister had a lot of really bad mood swings on various bc options to the point where she had to stop as she felt so out of control. I have done the same and it was important that o felt comfy with my doc to talk about that with her. After having my kids, I feel like my current choice, depo , is my best option. This is another great video from MDJ!
I just shared the section about birth control and cancer with someone. Thank you so much for this resource!
When I went to my OBGYN, I really wasn't given any info on the possible side effects. Even if it's only 5%, that's a lot of people if you consider thousands of women use it. I hope we can bridge this gap in info soon, since that kind of miscommunication would definitely push people towards scams like those instagram "period experts"
Exactly! I made a comment along similar lines, though much less concise haha. A huge part of the problem is that a market is created for this misinfo and grifting because people have developed mistrust in the medical system for some valid reasons -- like having very real side effects dismissed by doctors, not having docs bother to inform on possible effects (good and bad) beforehand, and a lack of research funding going towards these issues
I think its likely this will get some flak but I think this is significantly due to feigned /purposeful ignorance. We have developed this sort of ‘I’m an anti-intellectual’ vibe in our culture /don’t need to read/don’t really want to understand…,and it just seems to be more prevalent in the younger generations. We live in an age with more information at our fingertips than ever. An informational packet about your drug literally comes with the drug, there are a plethora of easy websites to teach you any terms/concepts you don’t understand in the packet. At some point you really have no one to blame except yourself for the level of ignorance. As an adult you clearly should recognize you don’t just go .. oh a doctor gave me a medication and pop it in your mouth. That’s profoundly stupid, lazy and immature and a failure of adulting on every level.
Now should our medical systems be doing a better job and not assuming what should be completely common sense… actually is?!? Yes they absolutely should ….but there is this devoid space in our culture of well I wasn’t handed it on a magical plate with alll the answers up front etc etc
People should be showing up as adults in their own lives and participating at a profoundly basic level like reading the inserts so you understand potential side effects.
@@lijohnyoutube101 a big part of the problem is that there has been an incredible deficit of research into these issues for a long time, so it's not even information that would have been available to many of us had we very diligently searched through scientific journals after getting the prescription. And a lot of people are prescribed hormonal birth control as teenagers. It is also the literal job of medical professionals to inform patients accurately and thoroughly; many patients don't necessarily have the expertise to interpret all of the available data on their own, even in cases where that data actually exists
Every single woman in my family from my generation and the one before have had a partial or full hysterectomy by the time they were 25 because of issues like uterine/cervical/ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and PCOS. My mom had a full hysterectomy just a year after she had me at 21.
These problems started for me when I was only 14 and I was diagnosed with PCOS, my doctor put me on the pill and told me that if I stayed on it it would lower my chances of not needing to have a hysterectomy later. I've been on it for 15 years and I'm literally the only woman in my family that is of "childbearing age" with a uterus.
Thank you for addressing this blatant misinformation!
As someone with PMDD, having hormonal birth control made all of my symptoms dissapear, and I've had no negative side effects.
Thankyou for acknowledging that there is a vast spectrum of different side effects for people who takes this and it's not for everyone. I'm sick of healthcare professionals trying to convince me that "it might not be that bad this time" when I try to discuss non hormonal options for birth control.
Fell pregnant while on the combined pill so... yep, I call BS on the whole "it will leave you infertile" line.
Huh. i wonder what the chances of that happening are. Did you miss a day or something? Just bad luck? I'm genuinely asking
@@mafic3351 it's not a huge chance but there is a small failure rate when taken properly. Never missed one, had no stomach upsets and didn't have any other medication (some, esp anti-biotics, can reduce effectiveness). I even took it at the same time everyday (within a 10 min window). I am also a child who was conceived while the mother was on the combined pill, and we were both the same age when it happened!
My daughter was a pill baby too 😂
@@mafic3351 There are so many things that can make the combined pill stop working! Things that often aren't covered by the doctors, so unless you actively seek them out or squint to read the leaflet, you won't know what they are. Temperature changes, herbal remedies such as St John's Wort, detox teas, antibiotics and antifungals, epilepsy medications, stomach upsets that make you vomit or have the runs. There are others, too, but I forget!
You are not everyone
I was on the pill for like 6 years when i was a teenager-young woman. At some point I got tired of it and stoped using them. I felt like a grey veil had come off, and at that point I felt hormonal contraceptives contributed to my depression. A couple of years ago I went to the doctor cause I had horrible inhabilitating period pain, and he told me I had endometriosis and the best option, and the less invasive one, was hormonal contraceptives. I told him how I felt last time and he said, well, lets try a different one (the ring) and if you feel any changes in your mood come see me. I had a check up a few months later and I was feeling ok (also, cero pain, finally!), and have been feeling pretty ok since. I wish more studies were made about contraceptives and depression (and also endometriosis), but i feel like we also have to be open minded, talk our apprehensions with our doctors and make a decision based on the evidence and information they provide us. Thanks mama dr jones for helping us know the evidence
It's definitely not a one size fits all thing. Communicating with your doctor is important because they can't fix what they don't know is wrong, and unlike physical changes, emotional changes aren't as easily discerned. I feel like that should be a talk you have when you're prescribed one.
I'm pretty sure there must have been studies on birth control and depression. I remember when I went on the pill 20 years ago the doctor asked me if I'd been diagnosed with depression.
I love the ring! It’s my fave!
I felt just like you when I was on birth control pills but didn't realize until I stopped taking them. After my second child I asked for a copper IUD but my doctor talked me into getting a Mirena instead. It made me extremely suicidal, but those thoughts stopped as soon as I had it removed. I wish there was a way to have these conversations without sounding like I'm anti birth control. I wish my doctor would have followed up with me and not looked at me like I'm crazy for thinking that the IUD caused it.
I feel like progesterone (which is in "mini-pills", IUDs and the ring) tend to be better for depression than pills with estrogen-like hormones. It certainly isn't always the case, as another commenter here talks about getting depressed from an IUD (Kyleena and later Mirena I assume). But I have the same experience as you in that normal pills made me very depressed, but the IUD and mini-pills work (I take both not to get periods at all becasue of presumed endo. Haven't had one for 3 years yaaay!)
Birth control failed me......TWICE.
I now have two beautiful children. Don't tell someone you cannot get pregnant after HBC because I fell pregnant WHILST ON IT
lucky you tho cause the point of it is to sterilize
@@Chizzboss If birth control sterilize people, then why do people still go and get actual surgical sterilization done? And how is it posible for women to stop taking the pill and become pregnant? Sterilization would be permanent.
You are my favorite UA-camr doctor. Your videos are always informative and I see that they are full of helpful information even as a husband.
Hormonal birth control changed my life. I'm asexual so have no need of contraception but I had immensely painful periods and the hormonal IUD basically just... stopped my pain. Thank you for this, absolutely insane people would try and spread misinformation like this. I wish I was surprised :(
heyyyyy another ace on hormonal birth control! My situation was similar, periods were super long and heavy, impeding my ability to do regular activities, so I'm now on the depo shot and I no longer have that issue. Much love to you!
I found that the pills I'm taking help me so much, because when I had my periods I kept have terrible pain feeling like I was about to die. Now I am on Desogestrel, I feel almost no pain still a tiny bit but I can live with that. :)
Same- I'm asexual and taking the progesterone-only pill for endometriosis symptom management. It's changed my life. I was missing work due to my horrible periods but now I haven't had one in a year and I feel so much better. Every time I see this kind of misinformation it makes me so angry and I'm immensely grateful to Mama Doctor Jones for helping to correct it.
Hormonal BC also transformed my intolerable periods! I was on the pill and the patch for years and had manageable menses, and now with my hormonal IUD I'm lucky enough to have no period. I'm also ace:)
Same with my daughter, ace and on the pill. She got leg shakes and so much pain. And since she has EDS, she doesn’t need more physical issues.
Omg this is such a scary amount of misinformation. Paired with limited healthcare access and rushed appointments - I feel bad for young women trying to navigate their options and making an informed decision. Thank you MDJ for clarifying. They have to be stopped.
I had pms problems when I was around 8-9 years old while my acne was awful and it look painful according to my mom. She and I went to the doctor in order to make sure if I want to be on birth control or just wait until I was 13, which it was a bad decision from my mom; therefore, it was getting worse when I got older and my mom was concerned about me having these problems while going through puberty and we decided to let me go on hormonal birth control before and after I went to highschool along with it being changed due to my outbursts, and after that, I feel fine and my my acne problems had gotten better when I've been taking it everyday. Also my mom watches your content and we both love it so much, keep it up.
I'm studying to be a (male) gynecologist. Thank you for educating people on these topics and how bodies and medication work, and thanks for being an inspiration with your inclusivity, thoroughness, and kindness! 💜
Thank you for going into this field!!
Thank you for being the kind of (future) doctor who will be aware of how vital it is to have an open discussion about side effects and various options for birth control!! 💜
please dont tell you patients that getting an IUD is painless, you do not have our anatomy and you can never know that. i've had a male dr tell me that on multiple occasions. the last time i told him getting kicked in the nuts doesnt hurt that bad. i'm hoping he understood my point.
@@gobosMommy so true! Worst pain ever!
@@gobosMommy like the military Doctor, who told me that a colposcopy couldn't possibly hurt. There's a lot of nerve endings on that cervix
I had heard all these before and also before I started taking hormonal birth control. So, I was originally a little worried about taking them when I got married. Then I started taking them and it turns out my body responds very well to them and I have few side effects. The only one I'm convinced of is that it took a month or two to start ovulating again after going off them. So, I have been on them except to try to conceive twice for the past 15 years. Few side effects. I am doing great. And I have two gorgeous, healthy children. And I got to decide when I was ready to have the children. Birth control is the power to decide when ready. No surprises. I'm a fan. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but I thought it might be helpful for people to hear a positive experience.
Idk, i would be worried about that moon connection. You might go warewolf outside fullmoon
Haha, the only "connection" to the moon that our periods have is that they typically have the same number of days in the full cycle (about 28 days). And even that is an average and the range can be 25-35 for healthy regular periods.
Your werewolf joke made me giggle, thank you.
I got on Nexplanon due to getting married and I’m super happy with my birth control! I too have a positive experience with BC but I do know BC good can affect some women negatively
Thank you for this video. I was put on birth control about a week ago for the first time in my life because I haven’t had a period in almost a year. By the way I am 33 years old so no menopause. They have done so much bloodwork and medical testing to make sure that everything else is fine and all but one test came back normal. As a result of not having a period I am at a higher risk of cancer along with other risks. The birth control is designed to mitigate those risks and prevent serious complications like cancer as you mentioned in this video. I’m not thrilled about being on the birth control, but me and my doctor both believe that this is the best and safest way to deal with what’s been going on and keep me safe. To hear people shaming others for using birth control bothers me quite a bit so thank you for posting some accurate information right when I needed it most.
Why was this only suggested to me NOW!?? Such an important video, thank you Doctor Jones!
"How can they tell you to go off hormonal birth control, and have unprotected sex and be anti abortion? They should be pro birth control to reduce the need for abortions!" I'm sorry MDJ, that's the point. They want you to get pregnant and have no choice but to have a baby. I don't know why, but that's what they want. Babies for days.
Yes! I've never understood that!
The original purpose was (in all abrahamic religions) to continue the faith itself by creating more people.
It's simple, you see. First off, it puts more impressionable children in the care of religious families who will prime and indoctrinate them while they're at their most vulnerable. Easy to force them into it for life when it's all they know. Secondly, getting a woman pregnant when she has no assets, higher education or income, basically guarantees she won't ever be able to leave even if she's abused. After all, she can't. She has kids to feed who would suffer dearly if she did.
The whole point is to throw woman who can’t afford to be pregnant and/or to raise a child into poverty/financial insecurity so they have no choice but to relay on the men who got them pregnant or to essentially starve.
They don't like the idea of women having agency over themselves and their bodies.
Would love to hear you talk about the push for anesthesia/pain control during IUD Insertion and removal!
Yes! I would love to hear her take on this!
I didn't even know that was a potential option. I tried to get an IUD, the brief pinch I was warned about lasted for a really long time, I was so relived when it stopped and that I got through it, but then I was told the doctor didn't get it in and was going to try again, and again. I told the nurse I was going to be sick from the pain and they gave up. She said I almost fainted so I asked to get the shot instead. Never going to try that again but maybe if some pain control options were available it would be different. And in the end I got charged for the IUD!
I would like to see this too. I had little discomfort when I got my IUD out. I heard it's worse coming out. Is this true? I got mine in 2021, and it comes out in 2027. And I actually love my IUD.
@@ASK2286 oh wow! I’m so sorry!! Yeah more and more women are coming out with stories like this! My daughter got her first one 6 weeks after her baby. No problem. But when it was time to remove it and get a new one. She has the same experience trying to get a new one. It was very traumatic!
@@annwilmot6858 depends on the person. But I hear a lot about the insertion mainly.
You are my favorite influencer and a real life one considering what you do really does influence people in a positive way. It definitely influences me! And the Teddy Fresh in the background is everything. Thank you for being on the internet and also doing your daily jobs. I hope one day I can juggle life the way you do. You seriously do so much and make SUCH a difference. Thank you for tackling the misinformation that runs rampant in this social media age. I can only imagine the exhaustive research that you must do, and I so appreciate it. Okay, I'm done blubbering lol
I feel I have to thank you for making all the videos you do. It was actually thanks to you I found out how sick I had gotten while thinking nothing was wrong. So thank you very very much. I know I’m late to this but I would like to be one of those people who vouch for hormonal birth control. Not because I needed it per say, but because it helped balance things out while I was in high school and playing hormonal catch up. Without it I felt very off and, it was nice being able to focus.
I would like to say a big thank you to you. After watching your videos I finally found my voice in advocating for my menstrual health and talked to my doctor and asked to be tested for PCOS after having my concerns brushed off for years. After bloodwork and an ultrasound my doctor finally did diagnose me with PCOS, but along the way we also found that I had a mass on one of my ovaries, after having it removed it turned out that it wasn't actually a mass on my ovary but just my ovary was massive itself, 7cmx4cmx7cm is the estimated size on the MRI. I haven't gotten the results back to see if it's cancerous but my doctor has said numerous times that she doesn't think it is so I'm hoping its nothing too serious. The fallopian tube was also super mangled and twisted around itself so my doctor thinks that it was an overian torsion that possibly caused the enlarged ovary. It's a long story as to why the ovarian torsion wasn't found earlier, but that's the downside to Canadian healthcare I guess. Anyway, thank you!! It was your video on PCOS that started me on this road and I finally have a diagnosis. Not feeling so lost anymore.
Yeah, being able to afford medical care is wonderful, but finding a doctor who will listen and take you seriously can be difficult. Canadian system is why i could afford 8 years of testing, but is also why i needed 8 years of testing lol. Congrats on you successes!
It’s an unfortunate truth that you have to be a vocal advocate for yourself in our healthcare system. I feel such sympathy for those who don’t know any better and don’t question and don’t ask and end up suffering for years when something could have been done so much sooner. This is of course especially true in our most vulnerable populations: low income, women, immigrants, seniors, the disabled.
Oh I didn't know she did a video about pcos. I gotta look that up
So happy you found the one in a million doctor to take your menstrual health seriously! Happy you found your voice too! Been trying to get in to see a gyno for 12 years. Told "have a baby, it'll fix all your problems". Fine, had a baby, but still not allowed to see a gyno. Got to keep fighting for my health!
@@kickitwithkateg honestly, The only reason I finally saw the gyno was because of the mass because I was going to end up needing surgery.
I saw a nurse practitioner, but she just retired in December. She didn’t take on as many patients and she took on student NP’s so I think that’s why she was more attentive. Good luck in your search!