How To Combat Bloating From Birth Control

In addition to helping prevent unwanted pregnancy, going on hormonal nativity command pills can come with myriad side effects — from weight proceeds to nausea to irregular bleeding. Some of them are just abrasive, but others can exist downright debilitating. Finding the right oral contraceptive pill usually means sticking with the option with the fewest of these pesky occurrences. Unfortunately, finding i with no side furnishings at all is a rarity, specially considering everybody responds to hormones differently. Thankfully, there are some lifestyle changes yous can make to make things easier to bargain with.

To understand how to cope with your pill's side effects, it's of import to understand why they happen in the offset place.

"The combined pills generally work by raising the levels of those hormones in a adult female'due south blood to levels that are much higher than normal and that sort of in a way tricks the brain into thinking that the woman is pregnant and and so stops her from ovulating," Dr. Jonathan Schaffir, OB-GYN at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SheKnows. "In some ways, the side effects can exist similar to those of being pregnant."

The skilful news is, if the side effects of your detail pill get unbearable, there are other options on the market. "The beauty of the pill is finding the right one, because at that place are many, and depending on those annoying side furnishings, you can find a better pill," OB-GYN Dr. Sherry Ross tells SheKnows.

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According to Ross, the No. 1 reason people change their birth command is because of the side furnishings. "And now that we have so many options for contraception and options of dissimilar types of pills, yous don't accept to be miserable. Y'all don't have to endure," she adds.

Keep in listen that when you offset on a new pill, yous'll likely feel some side furnishings while your body is adjusting to the hormones, Ross notes. They should become away afterwards two to three months, but if they don't, it may be time to switch up your pill.

Read on for some of the most common side effects of hormonal birth command pills and what you can do to make them more manageable, whether with a few like shooting fish in a barrel changes to your lifestyle or introducing a new pill altogether.

Bloating

If yous're feeling bloated a lot, before yous blame the pill, kickoff consider what you lot're eating.

"Look more closely at your diet and pull in foods that might not cause as much bloating effect," says Ross. She suggests steering clear of vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower, which can cause bloating. She besides notes that dairy products can be culprits, so going lactose-free might assist residuum things out.

Look for foods that have a diuretic quality in them, because swelling and bloating get hand in paw," she says. "If you experience more bloated or swollen, you lot might want to eat more cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, asparagus or celery… [They] help get rid of that swelling effect — or fifty-fifty green tea." And of class, remember to exercise regularly to assistance sweat out whatever water memory.

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Chest tenderness

If your boobs are feeling sore, Ross suggests calculation some vitamins into your daily regimen. "I'one thousand a large fan of vitamins," she says. "I think sure vitamins, like calcium, vitamin B, vitamin E and omega-3s are really good for bloating, swelling and breast tenderness… those are really helpful."

Irregular bleeding

Spotting between periods is more than likely related to when you're taking the pill than the bodily pill itself. "I think yous take to exist very disciplined when you lot have it," Ross says. "Yous don't take to accept information technology at the same time every 24-hour interval, but I practise remember y'all take to be within a couple of hours of taking it daily."

Schaffir notes that the lower the dose of hormones yous're taking, the more than probable yous are to spot in between cycles, so switching to a higher dose might likewise help.

Nausea

Nausea is kind of the worst, and unfortunately, information technology tin happen when y'all're taking nascence control pills.

"Nausea is a subtle and mutual side effect of the pill… I commonly recommend women taking [the pill] at night or later on dinner if they're having a lot of nausea or sometimes starting with a lower dose of hormones or using something similar the NuvaRing that goes into the vagina to bypass the tum altogether so you don't get that nauseous feeling," Ross explains.

Headaches

If your head is pounding every and then slightly every time y'all pop a pill, first endeavour switching to an evening dose so the pain doesn't get in the way of your daily life, Ross suggests. If it's a existent trouble though, more significant measures may need to be taken.

"If somebody is really having astringent headaches or migraines, then they probably need to stop that nascence command and find a dissimilar method of preventing pregnancy," says Schaffir. "If it'southward something very mild, Tylenol or ibuprofen may exist helpful, but otherwise, often just reducing the dose of estrogen or changing to a different formula of pill may be helpful."

Emotional issues

As anyone who has always experienced a PMS meltdown knows, hormones and emotions go hand in manus. "If yous get really depressed or you're not sleeping well or you're miserable, information technology tin be difficult to stay on a pill and put upwardly with information technology unless you lot continue antidepressants, which sometimes that might be needed," Ross says. In these situations, it may exist easier to try a different formulation than adding a new medication to the mix.

As with anything you put in your trunk, nativity control pills touch dissimilar people in unlike ways. Just because your friend has a certain side effect when taking a detail make of pill doesn't mean you will too. So discuss your options with your doctor, and if yous're experiencing any side effects, it'due south best to mention it to determine if it'southward something you can handle yourself with some lifestyle changes or if information technology's best to switch to a different pill or method of birth command all together.