This is Food for Thought Thoughts, if it were
you. My name is Neogentrics. I am your host. And
we're back. Now, we've been talking about birth
control, the different types of birth control
that exist for the last couple of podcasts, okay?
This is the third one in this set. And, well,
let's see here. Last time, we managed to cover
the birth control shot, the IUD, the birth control
implant, and the vaginal ring. Today, we're going
to pick up where we left off with the birth control
patch in a few seconds. And then we're going
to cover the birth control pill. And depending
on how fast we can get into this, how fast I
cover them, I might cover more. This set is going
to go on for maybe another two or three podcast
episodes. So don't worry, I will be done with
it soon. And then we'll be moving on to the next
topic, okay? All right, everybody, and we're
back. So, like I said before, the next item in
the list is the Burr Control Patch, okay? This
item's effectiveness is 91%, and it costs up
to $150, but it can also be zero depending on
your insurance. It does also require a prescription,
so it's not something you can just straight up
buy. And much like the previous two that I covered,
unlike the IUD and the implant, it has to be
changed regularly, okay? This one is changed
once a week, okay? The patch, or transdermal
contraception patch as it's known, is basically,
it's fairly safe. It's simple and affordable
to use. Basically, you just wear it on your skin,
usually your upper belly, upper arm, in some
cases your butt or your back. You have to put
on a new patch every week for three weeks, okay?
and it releases hormones that prevent pregnancy
then you get off for a week before you repeat
the cycle so it's a three week cycle patch but
you change it every single week okay much like
the previous ones this patch prevents pregnancy
by preventing fertilization of the eggs it keeps
your body from ovulating and it prevents sperm
from reaching the egg okay And much like the
others also, this patch does not prevent STDs,
so you're still going to have to use condoms
and any other kind of protection you can use,
making sure yourself is clean so you can use
it. To get the full effects of the patch, you
have to use it correctly. Make sure you use an
app that tells you when it's time to change it.
Note the patch change days on your calendar.
Have friends or family remind you. If you have
a partner that can remind you, even better. and
keep the replacement patches where you can find
them. Keep in mind that these have to be stored
at room temperature and away from direct sunlight.
You can't put them in the fridge or freezer or
they'll expire. Excuse me. And you have to keep
each patch sealed in its pouch until it's time
to use it. Bottom line, do whatever works for
you. Just make sure you change your patch every
week and you don't put it anywhere it doesn't
need to be, okay? And its effectiveness will
be ensured. okay the birth control patch is easily
easy to put on okay basically you just stick
a new patch to a clean dry skin area usually
the belly upper arm your buttocks usually the
butt cheeks or your back but not your breasts
don't ever put it there because there's no way
for it to be effective in that spot For some
obvious reasons where the patch for a week seven
days take it off put on a new one you do this
for three weeks Then you go a week without it,
and then you repeat it this is to give the the
enzymes in the patch time to cycle through your
body and All the old ones to go out so that when
the new ones come in it's effective, okay? Make
sure you do it every week, okay? this will be
your patch change day, the same day every week
when you change them. So if you do it on Monday,
you change it on Monday, okay? Don't wear the
same patch much longer than a week anyway, okay?
Otherwise, it's not gonna be very effective,
okay? Open the pouch by tearing it along the
top or the side, peel back the foil to make it
flat, then take the patch and the plastic layer
off the foil. peel half of the clear layer of
the plastic away from the patch do not put your
fingers on any of the sticky parts and place
the patch on wherever you're going to place it
and then remove the other half of the plastic
and press the whole patch to your skin so basically
kind of like you peel off half press that side
down and then using your finger pull the other
half of the protection off of the patch and then
stick it completely okay um Put the patch on
a clean, dry area of your skin. Don't use lotions,
oil, powder, makeup, or anything. Don't put any
of that stuff anywhere near the patch, okay?
And while you're using the patch, do... How do
I put this? Put it in a safe spot on your body.
So if you decide to go swimming, or you're sweating,
or you're in a jacuzzi, hot tub, or sauna, for
whatever random reason you may do so... Uh, it
doesn't get washed off and make sure you check
your patch every day to make sure it's still
sticking also When you take off the old patch
fold it in half so it sticks to itself Seal it
in a plastic bag and throw it away. Do not flush
this. Okay Uh, it'll help keep whatever hormones
is left in the patch in the patch and from what
getting in the soil or anything else or Affecting
someone else in a weird way. Okay Uh If you want
to get periods don't wear the patch during the
fourth week Okay? When you'll get your period.
After seven patch -free days, put on a new one.
Okay? Otherwise, you can wear it during your
period and you won't have it. It's really important
that you put on a new patch right after your
patch -free week, though. Otherwise, you risk
pregnancy. It's okay if you're still bleeding
or splotting during that time from when you do
it. Okay? And much like the other stuff, it is
safe to use. Okay? And your doctor will help
you figure out which patch to use. There's different
kinds. The chances are the patch will be totally
safe for you, but for some people, you know,
there may be some problems. The hormones in the
patch are the same ones in most of the other
birth control medicines, especially the pills,
okay? And those have been safe to use for over
50 years in the first place. Like any medication,
the patch isn't right for everybody. So if you're
over 35 and a smoker, you shouldn't use the patch
anyway. and any other brother kind of birth control
that contains the hormone estrogen in the first
place excuse me also avoid using the patch if
you've had any health problems such as migraines
migraine headaches with aura where you see like
flashing or zigzag lines breast cancer heart
attack stroke angina or any other serious heart
problems if you have very bad diabetes or liver
disease uncontrollable high blood pressure blood
clotting or an inherited blood clotting disorder
such as um um what was it called the uh oh man
it slipped my mind a sickle cell okay or vein
inflammation, okay? You have to always talk to
your doctor to make sure that the patch is right
for you so that you don't use it. There are risks,
like I mentioned before, with any of them. Even
though it's not as common, keep in mind that
the hormones that the birth control can release
into your body can cause certain health problems.
They're not common, but they can be serious,
including a heart attack, stroke, blood clot,
liver tumors. And while I'm saying this, it's
very rare, but in some cases... Some of these
can cause death, okay? I'm not going to lie to
you. When you talk to your doctor about it, make
sure you tell them about any medication that
you're on. You don't want to just take this and
be like, oh yeah, it'll work for me, but they
don't know that you're taking some other weird
medication like antibiotics. Antibiotics doesn't
help this. Actually, it fights these hormones
being placed in your body. And it can cause an
imbalance in your body. And that's something
you don't want. Especially for people who have
issues with seizures. Okay, and much like any
other birth control. There's always still a slight
chance that you'll still get pregnant regardless
of using it Okay, so don't get mad at your partner
if you end up pregnant it remember it takes two
of you to do this in the first place Okay, most
people won't on the patch won't have any problems
at all But just in case it's good to know the
signs of serious issue with the patch as well.
Okay If you have sudden back, jaw pain with nausea,
sweating, or trouble breathing. If you have chest
pains or discomfort, achy soreness in your leg,
trouble breathing, so people with asthma. Superior
pain in your belly or stomach area, sudden or
bad headaches. Headaches that are different or
constantly worsen or happen more often than they
should. If you're seeing flashing or zigzag lines,
or if your eyes start yellowing, you need to
let your doctor know. And of course, much like
the others, it's also safe for people who are
breastfeeding. So it's not a major issue, okay?
So with all that, I don't really need to cover
the negative side effects of this medication
because I've already covered most of them already.
There are some side effects of the patch, but
like I mentioned, for most of them, within two
to three months, they do disappear. They don't
stay, okay? But like I said, it can cause bleeding
between periods. Tender breasts, so they're tender
to the touch. Headaches, nausea. For some people,
there'll be a little soreness where the patch
is. But other than that, there's really not any
major level risks except for the stuff that I
just mentioned. and we're back so in the last
section I did cover birth control patches and
the next one is the birth control pill Much like
the effectiveness of the previous one, it has
a 91 % effectiveness rate, and it does cost between
$0 to $50. This one has to be taken once a day,
and it can only be received and or prescribed
by doctors. You can't just go to the store and
say, hey, I want birth control pills, because
not all of them are going to work for you. Much
like all the others, like I said before, it works
the same way as the hormonal pills. sorry hormonal
patches the ring and other things as well by
stopping the sperm from reaching the egg and
of course preventing you from ovulating especially
during your period okay same thing with the with
this one much like the others as well keep track
of when you take it have someone help you remind
you if you can keep the pills in your bag always
with you do not refrigerate these i can't say
that i can't stress that enough um Have your
partner remind you if you can. If you have a
pill buddy, someone else who's also taking it,
help each other remember. Keep in mind, this
doesn't does not protect you from STDs as much
like all of the other ones as well. So you're
still going to need to use the condoms as well.
I will go over the different types in the first
place. There's two different ones. But like I
said, we'll get to that shortly. The effectiveness
of it is. I guess the best way to put it is it's
a 9 out of 100 chance. It's not 100%. It's never
going to be 100%. The IUD implants are closer
to 100%, which makes them better, like I mentioned
before. But much like the ones before this one,
even though this one existed the longest. There's
still a chance that you'll get pregnant and or
catch an STD so make sure you keep yourself clean
Make sure your partner is clean Make sure you
let your doctor know if you're taking any medication
before you get this in the first place Keep this
in mind that once you take this pill it will
take a minimum depending on your body type and
its size and or weight a minimum of 12 to 24
hours to take effect So you're still gonna need
to use a condom on the first day that you take
start taking them as well. There's a couple of
medicines and supplements that may cause the
pill not to work. And like I mentioned before,
you don't want to take antibiotics with any of
these birth control contraception. What's the
word I'm looking for here? Planned Parenthood
suggestions. One of which is the antibiotic rifapin.
I've seen this one before. I've been on it. Once
before, it didn't help me, actually. The reason
I was taking it was because of seizures. And
I had tooth pain. The problem was, it was making
me nauseous. It was making me tired. So, if it
was doing that to me, and I have no need to even
be on birth control, I can imagine what this
would do to you if you were on birth control.
Okay? The antifungal medicine supplement, Griseo
Fulvin. And of course, certain HIV medicines
will not work, uh, will cause this pill to definitely
not work as the whole point of HIV medicines
is to, well, freeze the cells and help isolate,
you know, the infection so they can help get
rid of it. And like I mentioned before, obviously
anti -seizure medications will definitely stop
this from working. Um, the other one would be
the herb, the St. John's, uh, what, uh, wart.
Good grief. Can't talk today. I will cover that.
I keep saying that, but I'm definitely going
to cover what this is. If I get a chance to,
I might cover it in this set too. But right now
it's not as important as what I'm covering at
the moment. Okay. The pills, however, some people
have asked me this already. Do you know how long
the birth control pills work? how do i put this
they will start working from the time you start
taking them uh you can take the the birth control
pills any day of the month but depending on when
you start and the kind of pill you're using it
may need some to use some other kind of uh backup
birth control method like i mentioned before
uh for the up to seven days for the first time
you start off taking it like i mentioned before
for the condoms There are two types of birth
control pills. This is something that most people
don't even know is a thing. One is the progestin
-only pills, or what they call the mini pills.
You can take them any day of the month. You'll
be protected from pregnancy after 48 hours, so
two days. So you'll still need to use, again,
some other kind of birth control backup plan.
especially if you have intercourse. The other
one would be combination pills or COCs. If you
start combination pills within five days after
the first day of your period, you'll be protected
from pregnancy immediately. So this has to be
taken during that period. For example, if you
start your period on Monday morning, you should
probably start taking the pill anytime until
Saturday morning and you'll be protected from
pregnancy that same day. But it has to be five
days after your period starts, not before. as
it can also stop your period from occurring and
or cause complications. If you start the combination
pills at any other time, however, you'll need
to take the pill for seven days before you'll
be fully protected, like I mentioned before,
much like some of the others. As to how to use
the pill, it's pretty freaking simple. You just
swallow it once every day. Try to do it at the
same time every single day, and you'll be good.
The combination pills contain estrogen and progestin
in that one, but the other one is progestin only.
Keep in mind that they both do the same thing
together, but their combination pill may have
more effect on some people than the other, or
some people may be allergic to the other one
and will have to use the progestin only one,
okay? And they come in different packs, okay?
Usually when the doctor prescribes them. They
come in 28 -day packs, 21 -day packs, 91 -day
packs. That's the combination pill. The progestin
pill, though, only comes in 28 packs, to my knowledge,
at the moment, okay? Which is basically a four
-week pack, okay? If you're planning to skip
your period using the pill, and I know this is
a question that a lot of people are going to
ask anyway, so I'm going to cover it. Basically,
you just take the pill with hormones every day.
This is assuming you're taking the hormone pill
and you skip your hormone free reminder pills.
You can do this in two ways. You can use a brand
of pills that has a three months of hormone pills
in a row. So you can get your period four times
a year. You can skip the hormone free reminder
pills in your pack and just jump right to the
next pack. And you can do this every month or
just whenever you want to skip your period. and
that's basically the simplest way I can explain
that. If you missed a birth control pill, since
you take them every day, if you missed a day,
just start taking it immediately the next day.
It's not going to matter too much as the chemical
is still in your body. However... If you've missed
more than five days and you start taking it again,
you will need to use another backup source of
protection when you plan to do anything of that
sort. And much like everything else, there's
still a chance that you'll get pregnant, so it's
not 100%, okay? The only way you're going to
be able to get a hold of this is through prescription.
Like I said before, so make sure you have good
insurance. Your doctor prescribed it to you or
such of that nature because you can only get
them from Planned Parenthood centers, hospital,
certain pharmacies like CVS and such of that
nature as well. And again, like everything else,
there are some disadvantages. There can be negative
side effects from taking it. And, you know, That's
pretty much everything. Most of the side effects
that you get from taking this medication or any
of the others, like I mentioned before, does
go away between two to three months. But some
people can still have some issues with them,
okay? You may also notice spotting, bleeding
between periods. And again, that's common, especially
for the progestin pills only. For some, you may
experience sore breasts, nausea, or even headaches.
And like I said, these usually disappear between
two to three months. If you feel sick or uncomfortable
while you're taking it, stop taking it and talk
to your doctor immediately. It could be the brand
of the pill you're taking or the specific method,
and you'll have to switch to something else.
There can be more serious risks, but again, like
the others, they are rare. It depends on the
person. I want to stop there, but for some reason,
I feel I need to give a little more insight.
um what i mean by disadvantages here there are
side effects of just straight up stopping the
pills also uh just like the side effects of using
them okay the hormones in the in the pill leave
your body leave your body in a few days that
means that any side effects you experience while
using it will go away pretty quickly yes this
includes the positive ones like clearer skin
and lighter periods however It can usually take
a few weeks to several months before your regular
menstrual cycle actually returns. So some side
effects of stopping could include PMS symptoms
coming back, moods, changes, including a change
in your sex drive, whether it goes up or down
depends on the person. Change in vaginal discharge,
change in your periods, skin changes between
acne, whether you had it or not had it or had
a lot of it. And in some cases, your skin color
can also change as well. And that would be about
it for the burr control pill. Alright everybody,
that's pretty much it. That is all for the basic
burr control. effects that there are for the
low maintenance and the ones you have to use
on a certain schedule. Next episode, I'm going
to cover the ones you have to use every single
time. And if I can get all of that into one episode,
there's no promises, but I will definitely make
an effort to make them as short as possible.
I will cover on the final episode, hopefully
the final episode for this, the lifestyle change,
birth control methods, and then the most The
ones that I don't like the most, the most permanent
ones. Okay. And honestly, just simply thinking
about them is kind of, it's creepy to me. So,
but. Putting that aside, again, this is Food
for Thought Thoughts. If it were you, this is
your host, Neogentrix. If you have any comments,
concerns, or anything that you would suggest
that you want me to cover in the future, hit
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slash neogentrix website. Until next time, enjoy
the rest of your day.