Table of contents:
- What are birth control injections and how effective are they at preventing pregnancy?
- Irregular menstruation since birth control injection
- How to deal with irregular menstruation due to birth control injections
- 1. Taking pain relievers
- 2. Use and carry spare pads
- 3. Stopping birth control injections
- 4. See a doctor
To prevent pregnancy, there are various ways you can do, for example with birth control injections. In principle, contraceptive injections work the same as birth control pills which affect the body's hormones. So, but is it true that using birth control injections can make menstrual cycles irregular or not smooth? If so, what should be done about it? Check out the reviews below.
What are birth control injections and how effective are they at preventing pregnancy?
Before you find out if it is true that birth control injections cause irregular menstrual cycles, you may need to briefly understand what birth control injections are.
The birth control injection, also known as Depo-Provera, is a hormone injection to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. By using this type of injection, you don't have to bother taking birth control pills every day.
As long as the hormones from injectable birth control are still working effectively in the body (for about 3 months), you don't need to worry. In addition, the positive effects of birth control injections are to reduce menstrual pain and help relieve PMS symptoms. Birth control injections are also a suitable method for those of you who cannot use birth control pills that contain estrogen.
Birth control injections are 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Progesterone, a hormone found in injectable birth control, affects it. These birth control injections can effectively prevent pregnancy for the next 3 months. The efficacy of these birth control injections in preventing pregnancy ranges from 99.3 to 100 percent.
Every 12 weeks or three months, you will need to have another birth control injection. If you are late for injections, avoid having sex without other contraceptives if you want to prevent pregnancy.
Then, is it true that one of the side effects of using birth control injections is irregular menstruation?
Irregular menstruation since birth control injection
According to the American Pregnancy Association, one of the side effects of using birth control injections is that the menstrual cycle becomes irregular. In fact, injectable birth control can cause you to miss your period for several months until heavy bleeding occurs. Irregular menstruation can occur due to hormonal changes after birth control injections.
In fact, if you experience irregular menstrual cycles after the birth control injection, you don't need to worry. The reason is, menstruation that is not smooth is considered normal for users of this contraceptive device. After all, this condition will get better with time. You may not even have another menstrual cycle after using birth control injections for 12 months or more.
In addition, for those of you who experience menstrual cycles that are irregular or not smooth, this cycle will return to normal after you stop using injectable birth control. Those of you who stop having menstruation will usually experience bleeding only with spots that come out suddenly.
If you experience irregular menstrual cycles after using this tool, you can try several ways you can choose to treat this condition.
How to deal with irregular menstruation due to birth control injections
If you are worried that your menstrual cycle is not smooth due to the use of birth control injections, you can follow some tips for overcoming it as follows.
1. Taking pain relievers
One way you can do if your menstrual cycle is not smooth due to the use of injectable birth control is to take pain relievers, for example, ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is a type of NSAID or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which serves to reduce the occurrence of inflammation and pain that may arise due to irregular bleeding.
However, you need to know that using this drug is not necessarily suitable for you. The reason is, each individual has a different response to drug use. Therefore, if you want to use drugs to treat irregular menstrual cycles due to birth control injections, you should first discuss with your doctor the dosage of pain relievers that you will be taking.
2. Use and carry spare pads
Irregular menstrual cycles can stain the clothes you use. Moreover, if you are not prepared for this condition. Therefore, always provide sanitary napkins every time you travel.
Not only that, you also need to regularly check in the bathroom for blood or spots on your underwear. That way, you can immediately put on the bandage if there are spots or stains.
Not only that, having sanitary pads ready can help you be safer and more calm while traveling. You don't want blood spots or stains to ruin the clothes you wear, right?
3. Stopping birth control injections
Even though irregular menstrual cycles are one of the normal symptoms experienced by injection contraceptive users, this does not mean that you should tolerate excessive symptoms. This means, if the messy menstrual cycle makes you experience various other health problems, it is better to immediately consult a doctor.
When you use injectable birth control, its effectiveness will slowly decrease after three months of use. If you want to stop after three months of use, you can stop using it by not giving injections anymore. Even so, you may need advice from your doctor about when your fertility will return again.
4. See a doctor
Those of you who may have never experienced irregular menstrual cycles will certainly be surprised by the side effects of using this injectable birth control. However, you need to understand that these are normal symptoms that will be experienced by most users of this contraceptive. So, try to try to accept the fact that you are experiencing this condition.
The thing that is actually important for you to do is get your condition checked by a doctor. This may also help you calm down. You should also try to understand that this irregular menstrual cycle is a sign that your body is adapting to birth control injections.
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