LilSugar

Baby Bump: Coping With Pregnancy Acne

LilSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:00:03 PST

Stop seeing spots and start enjoying your pregnancy. It's upsetting for an expectant mama to find her once flawless skin covered in blemishes, but instead of committing to nine months of hats and big sunglasses, there are a few things a mommy-to-be can do to keep her skin (and her confidence level) in check.

Don't overwash your face - two times a day is plenty. Avoid scrubbing your face with a cloth; just use your hands to gently wash off the suds.
As always, avoid squeezing and popping your pimples. You may end up with some pregnancy scars, but I doubt you'll want them to be on your face.

There are other great tips so

DrSugar Answers: Acne Meds and Pregnancy?

DrSugar — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:30:35 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
I have acne and after several years of tinkering, I've found the right combination of several prescription products daily to control it - benzoyl peroxide 6%, Solodyn, dapsone, Retin-A, clindamycin, and the list goes on. While I'm not pregnant now, I'd like to try and conceive in the next three years or so and I understand I shouldn't be using these products while pregnant or breastfeeding. Do you have any recommendations on what I should do? I was considering trying Accutane (prior to trying to get pregnant, of course), but I know it has serious side effects.
-Worried About Spots

As someone who's been trying to get pregnant, I've thoroughly researched this topic and am so glad you asked this question so I can share some knowledge with you! I'm glad that you’ve found a system that works for you in terms of your acne now. But since you’re interested in conceiving in the next few years, I will share with you information on Accutane as well as what is considered safe for acne treatment while pregnant, so keep on reading.

DrSugar Discusses Birth Control: IUDs

DrSugar — Thu, 19 May 2011 10:35:43 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she explains the pros and cons of using IUDs for birth control.

To continue our ongoing series of gynecological topics, I have decided to write about intrauterine devices (IUDs) as a form of birth control. Even though I learned about IUDs through many outlets (sex ed in school, medical school), I decided to research them more thoroughly since the birth control pills I started taking after having my baby negatively affected my milk supply. I had to find an alternate mode of contraception so I could continue to have an abundant milk supply for my little one. I had a Paragard (copper) IUD inserted a couple of weeks ago and I'll share my experience as well as more information about two types of IUDs in today's column! Keep reading for more info.

What's Your Experience With New-Generation Birth Control Pills Like Yaz?

Annie Scudder — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:05:59 PDT

When it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancies, it's nice to have options - including nonhormonal methods like condoms or IUDs. And even though many women opt for the pill, there are tons of brands out there. New research, however, adds more evidence to the idea that some pills come with higher risk.

Papers published in the British Medical Journal show newer pills with the synthetic hormone drospirenone, including Yaz and Yasmin, have a higher chance of causing blood clots. One study found women who use pills with drospirenone have twice the risk of getting a blood clot, and a second put that rate at 2.7 times the risk. The occurrence is still relatively low, 30.8 blood clots per 100,000 women at its highest.

Yaz has become the nation's best-selling pill. Women who use it report better moods and decreased symptoms of PMDD, although the producer Bayer was forced to run ads in 2009 correcting over-promised benefits like a cure for acne and premenstrual syndrome. Of course, every woman's experience is different. So I'm curious, have you tried these new-generation pills? If so, share your experience in the comments.

DrSugar Answers: So Many Questions About Going Off the Pill

DrSugar — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 05:50:42 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's answering questions about going off of birth control.

OK, FitSugar readers, we’ve recently received lots and lots of messages asking about what happens when you stop birth control pills, with questions regarding acne, abdominal cramps, weight gain, and lack of menstruation in the months following discontinuation. Since the topic is so popular, I thought I would round up my answers to the myriad questions so the various bits of information are all in one place.

To learn how stopping the pill might affect you, keep on reading.

DrSugar Answers: What Will Going Off the Pill Do to My Body?

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:49 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's answering a question about going off of birth control.

Dear DocSugar,
I have been taking birth control pills for 10 years and things have shifted in my personal life and I no longer need to worry about getting pregnant. I want to go off this pill, but am worried what will happen to my body and my cycle. Can you tell me what I should expect when I stop taking the pill? Will I gain weight? Will I break out? Will my period be just awful? Also, how long will it take for my hormone levels return to normal?
- No More Pill For Me

Let me take off my lady doctor cap for a moment and share with all of you that I went through this very same issue last year. After years on the pill, I stopped taking it, and will give both some professional and personal advice on this matter when you

read more. To begin, the birth control pill works by preventing ovulation. Once you stop taking the pill, the hormones are out of your body quickly, usually within a couple of days (this is why women who miss a couple days of pills on birth control have a chance of ovulating and getting pregnant!). Another important point to make is that it does not matter how long you were on the pill, from 10 weeks to 10 months to more than 15 years, your body will still be rid of the hormones within a couple of days! Once the hormones are out of your system, your body will begin to start producing hormones to initiate menstrual cycles. Some women will begin to ovulate in a couple of weeks, whereas it may take several months for other women to begin to ovulate. Generally speaking, your body should be back to "normal menstruation mode" within two to three months after stopping the pill. It is important to emphasize that if you had problems with ovulation prior to starting the pill, you may continue to have irregular ovulation/periods after stopping the pill. Most women with normal ovulation/periods prior to starting the pill will continue to have normal ovulation/periods after stopping the pill. But, some women who had regular periods prior to starting the pill may have irregular ovulation after stopping the pill. The key point here is that everyone’s experience with ovulation/periods after stopping the pill is different! There is a condition called post-pill amenorrhea (or lack of menstruation) that can occur after stopping the birth control pill. According to the Mayo Clinic, the reason for lack of menstruation in these women is that the body is just taking longer to produce the hormones necessary for ovulation and menstruation. If you still haven’t had a period after three months, they recommend taking a pregnancy test. It would be prudent to also schedule an appointment with either your primary care physician or gynecologist for evaluation. Some women never get a period after they stop taking the pill because they ovulate and conceive right away after the discontinuation. If you do not want to become pregnant, use another form of contraception such as condoms or a diaphragm. Many women take certain birth control pills to regulate their acne. Once you stop using birth control, you may notice an increase in acne on your face or on other parts of your body. When your body’s hormone levels regulate again, the acne can subside in some cases. As far as weight fluctuation is concerned, it has been shown that birth control pills that are higher in estrogen may cause weight gain and water retention. Therefore, your body may adjust after stopping the pill and some weight loss may occur due to a decrease in water retention. Again, each woman’s experience may be different. Case in point, I did gain some weight after I stopped the pill, but it may have been because of other factors due to the stress of trying to conceive, which is why I stopped taking the pill. Many birth control pills are designed especially to help treat exaggerated premenstrual syndromes or in certain women, premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Thus, some women will notice increased breast tenderness and other premenstrual symptoms such as nausea, headaches and fluctuating emotions. I'll finish by telling you more about my experience with stopping birth control. I had regular menstrual cycles before I started the pill, but this was not the case after I stopped the pill. It took approximately two months to get my first period off the pill and they were very irregular after that (ranging from 5 weeks to 12 weeks between periods). After seeking consultation with my gynecologist after one year of irregular cycles, I was diagnosed with oligo-ovulation, which basically means I ovulate very infrequently. They could not find any medical cause for this problem after an extensive workup. At first, I felt like something was wrong with me or that I had done something in my lifetime to cause this. But, I now realize I am not alone and that there are many women out there going through the same problems I am going through! Hopefully, if any of my readers are going through the same problem as me, they can feel better knowing that there are many women out there (including myself) that are going through it as well! Have a question for DrSugar? You can send to me via private message here, and I will forward it to the good doctor.

DrSugar's posts are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Click here for more details.