Managing side effects of birth control



Adverse effects associated with hormonal contraceptives (e.g. headache, breakthrough bleeding, etc) often diminished with continuous use (e.g. 3-6 months). Despite the transient course if these effects, studies found that about 65% of women who discontinued OCs did so because of ADRs.



Educating patients about common ADRs of hormonal contraceptives and when to expect alleviation from them helps to establish realistic expectations and improve compliance.



If a patient continues to experience ADRs despite continuous use for up to 6 months, changing the COC (e.g. increasing/decreasing EE, changing the progestin component, etc) may help.



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