Risks of birth control pills for 16-year old daughter if her mother (me) has osteoporosis

[WendyLNJ]

Hi, My question relates to long-term potential health risks of continuous hormonal birth control for my daughter, 16. She recently began Levlen to stop her painful periods and takes it continuously. Having read Laura’s books, I’m concerned, as her 52-yr old mum with osteoporosis, that continuous use of the pill—which stops her natural hormones and replaces them, might negatively impact her bone health later in life.

[EssBee]

Hi Wendy,

I can't answer your question, but I would like to share my experience with being on the Pill from a relatively young age, although not as young as your daughter (I am now in my mid-50's).

I went on the Pill at 21 for PCOS, so a completely different issue than your daughter, so none of this might be relevant for you/your daughter.

But being on the Pill for 14 years was the worst decision I ever made for my health and it only masked the underlying issues, doing nothing to actually resolve them. I came off the Pill in my mid-30's and started working with a naturopath to resolve the underlying issues. I felt much better (had a regular cycle and little in the way of PMS) it actually addressed the issues rather than masked them.

I now take a holistic approach to my hormones and am having a much easier time than my friends with perimenopause/menopause.

I don't like to say that I regret things, because I know I made the right decisions with what I knew at the time (mid 1980's), but knowing what I know now, I would never go on the Pill.

[Lara]

Unfortunately, there is research to suggest the combined pill is not good for long-term bone health. That's true for continuous dosing or monthly dosing because remember, pill-bleeds are not periods anyway.

Has your daughter tried the period pain protocol from period repair manual? (dairy-free plus zinc). For a review (and a discussion of possible endometriosis), see my period pain blog post.