My 53-year-old girlfriend takes the pill month after month without taking a break, so as to roll through the menopause without any problems. I’m in the middle of it myself and don’t like it, but it’s part of it. What she does doesn’t seem healthy to me, but she says that according to her doctor it can’t hurt. What is your opinion?
a woman
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
You can indeed use the contraceptive pill to delay menopausal symptoms. But it’s kind of sloppy medicine. Special preparations have been developed with lower doses for the treatment of menopausal complaints hormones than the contraceptive pill. These preparations have been prescribed less and less in recent years because it has become clear that they give a somewhat increased risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer and thrombosis legs. That extra risk is small, so you can use them for a while. But I wouldn’t take it until you’re 70. The extra risk is probably a bit higher if you use a contraceptive pill instead of a lower-dose ‘transitional pill’.
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