Artificial Contraception (Not Your Average Question...)

[Drew-Memphis]

Hey Pham!

Quick question from my phone. So bear with me.

Of course, we all know about the Church's stance on artificial contraception, namely "The Pill".

My question stems from my own situation.

My fiancée and I are getting married in October and she has unfortunately been diagnosed with PCOS. For you all that are unfamiliar, this is Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. For this, she was prescribed Yaz, to regulate her cycle, which was every 2-3 months and very irregular.

She has to stay on this unless she were to have her ovaries removed.

What is the church's position on this?

[Autumn Dusk]

Actually, it's not an unusual question at all.

Until your marriage in October, her use of these pills is licit.

However, the pills come with grave consequences like cancer and other really scarry problems. They actually are masking the problem if they aren't making it worse. She's not really having a period. It's a mock period, wich is more like pospartum fluid than anything else. I know, eww gross. I have friends with this disease, so I know more than I'd like to.

There is a catholic insitute in Kansas or some western state that deals with women's (and men's) reproductive health issues. PCOS can also be helped by strict changes in diet.

The really scarry thing is that post-marriage the pill can cause birth defects and isn't all that reliable ANYWAY. Out of my 5 closest friends in college 4 of us were bc babies. Of the four of us 3 were BC AND condom babies.

Find a doctor who does more than offer the pill, or don't have sex at all. That's the real answer.

[Archaeology cat]

I second Autumn. Some find that using drugs commonly used for diabetes actually helps PCOS. The pill doesn't fix the problem, but masks it by trying to shut down the ovaries. One of the problems lies in the side effects. For example, Prof. Erik Odeblad found that the cervix is aged prematurely due to the artificial hormones, which can make conception more difficult later (conception may already be difficult with PCOS), so something to consider. I'm know I'm not touching on the moral side of things. I get rather irritated with prescribing the pill as medicine, to be honest. I prefer when doctors test hormone levels and administer the hormones needed in the doses needed, in a bioidentical form. Personally, I'd look up the Pope Paul VI Institute and/or a Creighton doctor. Believe me, I do know how scary it is to go off the pill, especially if the doc is saying she could lose the ovary. But I'm not saying to go off it and leave it untreated, but to look at the other options. I've heard that Dr Hilgers is confident in effectively treating such things without the pill. I am not a Creighton instructor, but if I can help in any way, let me know. I can try to find one or get the contact info or whatever.

God bless

[Drew-Memphis]

Well we're not having premarital sex anyway and I hardly think that not having sex after we're married is the answer.

[Drew-Memphis]

I'm of the personal opinion that God judges your intent. We aren't using it to avoid pregnancy but due to her irregular cycles and medical condition.

If we were using it for birth control, that would be different. Additionally, NFP would be next to impossible with an irregular cycle.

[Archaeology cat]

Added: I was writing as someone who was put on the pill for medical reasons (not PCOS, though), and was on it for several years. I was afraid to go off, afraid of the pain and heavy bleeding again. I did talk to my doc about an alternative,but she refused to consider it because the pill was "working". I was on it when we got married. Our priest told me since the intention was not contraceptive, it was ok, though not ideal. I don't know how accurate that is or not. I do know that I kept looking, and finally went to another doctor. I found an alternative treatment on my own and asked e doctor for it specifically, so she gave it to me. And it helped. I personally no longer have that problem after having my children, so it doesn't matter now. I still get irritated with the docs who prescribed the pill in the first place without even looking at alternatives, though. That is something with which I struggle. I guess I just want others to avoid that, too.

God bless.

[Archaeology cat]

Drew - I've never had a regular cycle in my life. NFP is definitely possible, even so.

[Drew-Memphis]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1334247596' post='2416413']
Added: I was writing as someone who was put on the pill for medical reasons (not PCOS, though), and was on it for several years. I was afraid to go off, afraid of the pain and heavy bleeding again. I did talk to my doc about an alternative,but she refused to consider it because the pill was "working". I was on it when we got married. Our priest told me since the intention was not contraceptive, it was ok, though not ideal. I don't know how accurate that is or not. I do know that I kept looking, and finally went to another doctor. I found an alternative treatment on my own and asked e doctor for it specifically, so she gave it to me. And it helped. I personally no longer have that problem after having my children, so it doesn't matter now. I still get irritated with the docs who prescribed the pill in the first place without even looking at alternatives, though. That is something with which I struggle. I guess I just want others to avoid that, too.

God bless.
[/quote]

I should have used the quote feature.

My first reply was responding to Autumn. She suggested that we just not have sex at all which I believe was because she assumed we currently were.

Premarital sex is not occurring and hasn't occurred in our 3 year relationship. That's not an issue.

[Archaeology cat]

Oh, I know! I was just wanting to clarify what I meant. I was going to write that clarification regardless.

God bless

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Drew-Memphis' timestamp='1334247365' post='2416410']
I'm of the personal opinion that God judges your intent. We aren't using it to avoid pregnancy but due to her irregular cycles and medical condition.

If we were using it for birth control, that would be different. Additionally, NFP would be next to impossible with an irregular cycle.
[/quote]

there's a lot of people here using NFP with irregular cycles. It can be done, it requires sacrifice on the part of both partners. hopefully one of them will chime in

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1334248244' post='2416420']


there's a lot of people here using NFP with irregular cycles. It can be done, it requires sacrifice on the part of both partners. hopefully one of them will chime in
[/quote]I think the majority of modern methods of NFP allow for irregular cycles. I use Billings, which assesses fertility on a daily basis instead of making an assumption on cycle length. I imagine Creighton is similar. Sympto-Thermal uses an algorithm, but I think does make some allowances for irregularities I don't know enough about that one, though. Marquette uses a fertility monitor. There are lots of options.

[Autumn Dusk]

[quote name='Drew-Memphis' timestamp='1334247798' post='2416416']
I should have used the quote feature.

My first reply was responding to Autumn. She suggested that we just not have sex at all which I believe was because she assumed we currently were.

Premarital sex is not occurring and hasn't occurred in our 3 year relationship. That's not an issue.
[/quote]


Sorry if you took it as you were having premarital sex. You're not which is why I said until October the pills are Licit.

Because of their contraceptive properties, after marriage they become illicit. PCOS, while not firmly understood, is not a hopless disease and CAN be managed and treated outside of birth control.

The truly frightening thing with birthcontrol is the damage that it can do the the unborn (inculding death) or to your future wife. I understand you're not using it for birthcontrol purposes but I would never, ever be comfortable having sex and using birth control for what it can do to the developing fetus....since it's not as perfect as studies suggest it is.

[Papist]

Most medical approaches today bypass the woman's problem or simply override her natural processes altogether. With NaPro Technology, they find out why the body isn't functioning correctly, then apply treatments that work cooperatively with the body.

[url="http://www.naprotechnology.com/"]http://www.naprotechnology.com/[/url]

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1334246849' post='2416405']
I second Autumn. Some find that using drugs commonly used for diabetes actually helps PCOS. The pill doesn't fix the problem, but masks it by trying to shut down the ovaries. One of the problems lies in the side effects. For example, Prof. Erik Odeblad found that the cervix is aged prematurely due to the artificial hormones, which can make conception more difficult later (conception may already be difficult with PCOS), so something to consider. I'm know I'm not touching on the moral side of things. I get rather irritated with prescribing the pill as medicine, to be honest. I prefer when doctors test hormone levels and administer the hormones needed in the doses needed, in a bioidentical form. Personally, I'd look up the Pope Paul VI Institute and/or a Creighton doctor. Believe me, I do know how scary it is to go off the pill, especially if the doc is saying she could lose the ovary. But I'm not saying to go off it and leave it untreated, but to look at the other options. I've heard that Dr Hilgers is confident in effectively treating such things without the pill. I am not a Creighton instructor, but if I can help in any way, let me know. I can try to find one or get the contact info or whatever.

God bless
[/quote]
[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1334247596' post='2416413']
Added: I was writing as someone who was put on the pill for medical reasons (not PCOS, though), and was on it for several years. I was afraid to go off, afraid of the pain and heavy bleeding again. I did talk to my doc about an alternative,but she refused to consider it because the pill was "working". I was on it when we got married. Our priest told me since the intention was not contraceptive, it was ok, though not ideal. I don't know how accurate that is or not. I do know that I kept looking, and finally went to another doctor. I found an alternative treatment on my own and asked e doctor for it specifically, so she gave it to me. And it helped. I personally no longer have that problem after having my children, so it doesn't matter now. I still get irritated with the docs who prescribed the pill in the first place without even looking at alternatives, though. That is something with which I struggle. I guess I just want others to avoid that, too.

God bless.
[/quote]
[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1334247662' post='2416415']
Drew - I've never had a regular cycle in my life. NFP is definitely possible, even so.
[/quote]
[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1334252621' post='2416444']
Most medical approaches today bypass the woman's problem or simply override her natural processes altogether. With NaPro Technology, they find out why the body isn't functioning correctly, then apply treatments that work cooperatively with the body.

[url="http://www.naprotechnology.com/"]http://www.naprotechnology.com/[/url]
[/quote]


What these people said! I would give props, but I don't have any left.
I was actually instructed by my doctor, long before I was married, to learn NFP to determine why my cycles were wonky, so it is definitely able to be used with irregular cycles. Knowledgeable doctors can get a lot of information from a woman's chart. And like AC said, there are a lot of physical side effects of oral contraceptives that can be devastating. Looking into an alternative treatment wouldn't be a bad idea for health sake, even if it's okay morally.

[Archaeology cat]

Yeah, it's really amazing what you can learn from a chart. An experienced instructor or doctor can determine the approximate oestrogen, progesterone, LH, and FSH levels from the chart. It's pretty razzle dazzle.