Side Effects of the Pill?

Dear Dr. Meinig: My wife has been using the pill for birth control for several years. She is happy enough. but I’m concerned about reports of side effects that I have heard occur in some women. I’m not anxious to change birth control methods, but if you can tell me there is any basis for my fear, I’ll consider vasectomy or something else. – S.L.

Dear S.L.: Sufficient evidence has piled up to warrant questioning whether the disadvantages don’t overshadow the advantages. On the nutritional side the pill’s effect on vitamins B12, C, Folic Acid, A and B6 have produced serious problems. One of our protein amino acids, Tryptophane is not properly utilized in 75% of women because of B6 derangement. This creates depression, a rather common observation. Neurasthenia is an emotional response that appears in the form of lethargy, restlessness of sleep, insomnia, and fatigue.

Blood serum tests on vitamin B12 show about half of pill takers to be low. Vitamin C levels normally tend to rise during the time of month ovulation (female egg) is released. Contraceptives have been shown to depress C levels and prevent this rise from taking place.

Oral contraceptives may cause a significant increase in blood sugar, antagonize cholesterol-lowering agents, decrease action of anticoagulants. Control of high blood pressure with lsmelin is difficult and a number of other drug actions are either depressed or stimulated.

Further investigation and testing may disprove some of these findings but in my experience many new problems will be discovered, compounding an already difficult situation.

Your question is a difficult one, but you can see my advice would be to make a change.