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Sickle Cell and Birth Control

Posted , 4 users are following.

maya44441
maya44441

Hello everyone, I am a 20 year old African American female seeking advice on different birth control options. I have Sickle Cell Disease (SC) and my doctor has deined me birth control because of my condition. I am wondering what birth control options I may have? Is there any pill/shot that works well for any women with sickle cell?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • kay89968
    kay89968 maya44441

    Posted

    not a dcotor but depro-provera mey be prefered sincce it reduces the frequency of painful crisis in women with sickle cell. why not use a diaphram, vaginal ring. they might be some for reason of denial of other forms of brithcontrol medications.
  • shev43830
    shev43830 maya44441

    Posted

    I would strngly recommend not taking any form of birth control. I took birth control for several years and developed a second autoimmune disease due to them. 
    • anitalou
      anitalou shev43830

      Posted

      Dear Shev43830, I am not sure what you mean, "a second autoimmune disease." Sickle cell is NOT an autoimmune disease at all, but an inherited abnormal form of hemoglobin. And there are plenty of forms of birth control besides "the pill" that might cause no problems for you, so keep an open mind. Choosing "not any form of birth control" may result in unintentional preganacies or sexually-transmitted diseases that birth control could prevent.
  • anitalou
    anitalou maya44441

    Posted

    Maya - I can't imagine your doc has "denied you birth control" but rather has refused to write a prescription for a specific form of b.c. (likely "the pill") that he/she believes would be medically not good for you. This is probably because of concerns over a rare side effect of The Pill, blood clots, which might (or might not) be more common in women with SC. However, there's actually little or no evidence that this is a specific problem in SC patients. Your doc (and you) might want to review the actual evidence for this - a lot of it is available online to patients. He/She should have given you alternative forms of b.c. that could work for you. If not, maybe you need another doc rolleyes
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