# BC pills and ibs



## megflyin (Jun 16, 2007)

Hello all,I started birth control pills (loestrin 24 fe) about 3 years ago because my periods were making me anemic. After ~3 months on the pill, I lost 20 pounds (went from 110 -> 90 and I'm 5'8''!). Went to GI and got diagnosed with IBS-C, fat malabsorption, bacterial overgrowth and gastroparesis. The bacterial overgrowth is gone now but I still have all the other problems and my diet is ridiculously limited. I really think that all of these problems were caused by the birth control pills but I can't seem to find any evidence of that in journals or online. I recently switched to Levlite bc pills, but it made my IBS much much worse to the point that I felt like I had been poisoned, so I switched back to the Loestrin. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Should I try progestin only pills? Or maybe Nuvaring? I'd greatly appreciate any advice or prior experience with this since it isn't well researched and doctor's don't seem to know too much about it.Thanks so much!


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Hormones do effect the GI tract (most women see a change in bowel habit around their period).However it is hard to predict how any given women will react to BCP or other hormone treatments. Some get better, some get worse, sometimes it depends on the brand.I don't know if other ways of delivering hormones are any better or worse than you take them in a pill.


----------

