Long-Term Birth Control Side Effects

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Joshua Vogel of Carolina ObGyn, Wilmington Health Associates and I'd like to talk to you today about long term birth control side effects. There is a common perception out there that a long term use of birth control, especially birth control pills overtime can lead to adverse consequences for a woman. This rarely actually turns out to be the case. For the most part long term use of birth control pills is quite safe and there is no specific time limit. There certainly are risks of birth control pills, but they are not dependent on the duration of use. The only significant or common problem that a woman encounters with extended use of birth control pills is, as everyone knows whose ever used birth control pills, overtime your periods become much lighter. Eventually, this can sometimes progress to an actual absence of menstruation and eventually can lead to irregular and breakthrough bleeding. If this occurs, it is fairly easy to correct with simple hormonal treatments that your doctor can provide for you. So in summary, long term use of birth control is generally not associated with very much in the way of problems and is generally safe. But if you do encounter problems, discuss it with your physician. And those are some of the long term side effects of birth control pill use."