Menopause on the Pill - Stay On, Stay Young and no HRT?

In my previous article I discussed how you would know if you went into menopause on the pill, but here I would like to discuss the benefits - and concerns  of using the pill as a menopause treatment and staying on it too long after menopause.

 As I said, if you're on the pill you may not notice when you are in menopause and when it's safe to go off the pill. A friend once told me to stay on the pill for as long as possible because it'll help keep me young, but then I wondered what the advantages and disadvantages of doing so might be.

The first benefit of course, is to know for sure that you won't accidently get pregnant. The second is that you may not need menopause treatment because the pill is suppling estrogen already. Let me explain:

Menopause on the pill can be like having no menopause at all because the pill is giving menopause hot flash relief and reducing night sweats because you are getting still getting the hormones (estrogen or progesterone) even though your ovaries have stopped producing them.

You will also have to worry less about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) because you are already getting your estrogen and progesterone through the pill. In fact, a low dose birth control pill is giving you five to seven times more estrogen than HRT. So why worry about "menopause on the pill"?  Because there are both good and bad things associated with getting hormones when you no longer need them.

First the good things. Research has found that taking low dose birth control pills does seem to reduce bone loss, and if you do weight bearing exercises and make sure you get enough calcium you may even be able to build up bone density. You may also be less prone to anemia from an iron deficiency, and according to some studies, the pill may protect against benign breast disease, endometrial cancer and epithelial ovarian cancer. That all sounds good to me! But further studies are still being done by The Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study.

The bad side effect of menopause on the pill is the same as you are aware of by just being on the pill. Birth control pills increase the risk of blood clots which can lead to a stroke.  But if you don't smoke or have high blood pressure this risk is practically eliminated.

Another thing to consider about menopause on the pill as treatment of menopause is just what I stated above.  Your body no longer needs the estrogen and progesterone hormones if you are in menopause because you have stopped ovulating. But you are getting quite a lot of an unneeded hormone if you stay on the pill.

If you're worried about menopause on the pill, you should talk to your GYN about the test that measures your FSH levels (follicle stimulating hormone).  You may have to take the test more than once to be sure you are indeed in full menopause, but after you have confirmed this you can stop the pill and will not need HRT. All of your menopause symptoms will be a thing of the past, and you can get on with a menopause symptom free life.

Home Test Kit:

See also:

Menopause on the Pill

Reduce Menopause Weight Gain

Natural Menopause Treatment

Books on Menopause