Changing from one oral contraceptives to another is not uncommon. Some women find they gain weight with one pill and hope to reduce this risk by changing brands or formulations and others with bleeding between periods or heavy menstrual periods will change to decrease these problems. In addition, many women decide to change to a pill that offers them the opportunity to have only four menstrual periods each year. Changing birth control pills is best done at the end of a pill cycle, to keep hormone levels nearly constant.
Step 1
Visit your gynecologist, nurse practitioner, family practitioner or nurse-midwife to obtain a new birth control prescription. You can also access family planning care at the health departments in many cities or through Planned Parenthood. If you have a medical condition that will make birth control pill selection complex including diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, polycystic ovarian disease or asthma seek a consultation with an gynecological endocrinologist to insure that your total health condition is considered. In advance of the visit make a written list of any complications you have been experiencing, physically or emotionally and note the approximate date the symptom began. This will allow your health care provider to advise you, most accurately, about your medically-appropriate oral contraceptive choices.
Step 2
Purchase and consistently use condoms for the first three to four months as a backup to the pill if your body mass index is 25 or greater, which indicates you are overweight or in a state of obesity. Women who are at these elevated weight levels can use birth control pills with the same confidence as women of a healthy weight according to researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital led by Carolyn Westhoff,M.D. published in the August 2010 issue of "Obstetrics and Gynecology." But Westhoff's team waited until the women in their study had used the pill for three or four months before testing to see whether they had stopped ovulating. Gynecologist Alison B Edelman, M.D., and a multi-center team from Oregon and Colorado tested women in the first two months of pill use found that women who were overweight or obese took a longer time to achieve infertility after starting a new prescription of the pill. They also noted in this article, published in the August 2008 issue of "Contraception" that the heavier women studied had an increased risk of ovulation in the first 10 days of each month's cycle both because they ovulated earlier in their menstrual cycles and it took longer for them to reach a therapeutic level of the pill's hormones.
Step 3
Start taking the new form of birth control pills the day after the last placebo pill from you old pill's pack. This will allow your body to start the new hormone concentrations at the proper time. If you had to stop the old form of birth control pills before the end of a pill-pack due to a medical condition begin the new pill form on the Sunday after your next menstrual period unless your pharmacist advises otherwise. Be sure to discuss this with your pharmacist and also discuss what to do if you miss a pill or if you become ill and vomit after taking a pill. The pharmacist's advise will vary depending on the type of pill you are taking. The package insert can also provide this information and many drug manufacturers maintains hot-lines staffed by information specialists. Call them if you have a question about their company's birth control pill.
Things You'll Need
- Old birth control pills
- New birth control pills
- Condoms (if recommended by the pharmacist)
References
- "Obstetrics and Gynecology"; Ovarian Suppression in Normal-Weight and Obese Women During Oral Contraceptive Use; Carolyn Westhoff, M.D. et al; August 2010
- "Contraception"; Impact of Obesity on Oral Contraceptive Pharmacokinetics and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian Activity; A. Edelman, M.D. et al; August 2009
