osteoporosis and the pill

[hellosunshine]

dr prescribed me the pill as i dont have periods.(the reckoning is i need the hormones for bone strength.)therefore i dont get PMT and life is pretty tickety boo..........well if i do get all crotchety its my character rather than "time of the month"


so,if i get these periods how will it affect the bike,moods etc,hes given me something called microgy..sometheringor other.

when i was on it before i didnt ride a bike and the bleeding part only lasted 1/2 a day.the issue really is how it affects bike performance.


WILL IT GIVE ME BIGGER TITS?

[mimitabby]

pregnancy is the best thing for breast enhancement

[bcipam]

dr prescribed me the pill as i dont have periods.(the reckoning is i need the hormones for bone strength.)therefore i dont get PMT and life is pretty tickety boo..........well if i do get all crotchety its my character rather than "time of the month"


so,if i get these periods how will it affect the bike,moods etc,hes given me something called microgy..sometheringor other.

when i was on it before i didnt ride a bike and the bleeding part only lasted 1/2 a day.the issue really is how it affects bike performance.


WILL IT GIVE ME BIGGER TITS?

Do you don't have a period because you are menopausal or do you have some other problem? If the pills are for estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) because you are menopausal it might cause mood swings etc, but primarily that's it.

I am not a fan of ERT as it can cause other problems such as cervical cancer etc. If you are not getting hot flashes and don't really need ERT I wouldn't take it. In order to treat osteoporosis there are other medicationthat are not hormone based. Since I ride, have strong muscles, etc., I have dense bones and do not have or will have osteoporosis.

And be happy with the chest you have - contrary to what some women believe - men don't really care if you are big or large - they just care that willing and able!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't think it's going to effect your biking much. And it won't give you big boobs either. You don't say how old you are or why you don't have periods,, whether you are going to be using it as birth control, etc, so not much to comment on there.
I don't think being on the pill is going to give you PMS and mood swings if you don't suffer them normally. You might experience a mild sense of nausea for a minute once or twice the first month or so as your body adjusts to the different hormone levels, but that only happens to some people.

[Kimmyt]

Different pills effect each person differently.

I have been on bc for some time. Switched to a different brand about a year ago and had HORRIBLE mood problems. I don't know if it was the pill (the mood swings lasted for the first 2-3 months) or the fact that this was around the 6 month mark with the Boy when all the fights usually happen, so maybe it wasn'tjust the pill.

Anywho, I have been on bc for almost 10 yrs.... and still have A-B cups. Alas, if the bc=bigger boobs, I'd be a FFF by now, but I'm still just as small. Anyways, little boobs make it easier to be active!

Some people noted that bc may make them gain some weight, but I never noticed that and if you exercise that probably won't be a problem.

I switched to a new pill just last month, b/c i had decreased libido and had lost my period. the new pill was supposed to help the libido but probably wouldn't do anythign about the period (it was probably due to high stress/increased exercise etc) but it actually increased the period and haven't noticed a libido change.

Anyway, just to say that pay attention to your body. if you notice bad effects from this pill, see if there's an option of changing, let your doctor know that you'd like to switch due to seeing X effects since you went on the pill. Most docs are good about things like that.

p.s. it shouldn't effect your biking at all unless it gives you bad cramps or something during menstruation and you don't want to ride through it... the likelihood of this is very little, as you don't get a period now. i wouldn't worry about it!

K.

[Offthegrid]

If you're worried about bone strength, the best thing would be to take calcium supplements (twice a day so it can be absorbed) and do weight-bearing exercises such as weight training and walking or jogging.

[Wahine]

If you are not having periods because you're post menopausal, the following does not apply.

Normally, during child bearing years hormones produced by the ovaries (primarily) regulate menstruation. The ovaries are in turn regulated by hormones produced in the pituitary gland of the brain. An alteration of these hormone outputs will change your menses.

My concern here is WHY are you not getting your periods. It's all well and good that your Doc wants you to take hormones to protect your bones and depending on the situation, this could be completely appropriate. But the source of the problem should be investigated. In athletes, it's often nutritional and due to a lower than healthy body fat level. If this is the case, you may need to make dietary changes. If this isn't true, other causes should be checked out. Some of the underlying causes can be quite serious. Your Doc is the best person to talk to about this.

My advice is:

Don't be satisfied with a quick fix and figure out what is causing the problem and do something about it. I have seen many athletes in their 40s with serious health problems, such as recurrent stress fractures because they were too skinny for too long and did not have good nutrition. These athletes often have to give up endurance exercise all together.

I also want to reiterate what OTG said. The best way to protect bone mass is through weight bearing exercise. Second - there is very good research out that shows that elite cyclists that do not cross train with weight bearing exercises (walking, jogging, weights) have abnormally low bone density at younger ages and are at risk for osteoporosis. SO CYCLING IS NOT ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOUR BONES.

Take care and don't let this slide.

PS - I went from an A to a B on the pill and then went right back to an A when I went off.