How to Stop Birth Control Pills During Pre-Menopause

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Joshua Vogel with Carolina Ob-Gyn, a division of Wilmington Health Associates. I'd like to talk to you today about how to stop your birth control pills during pre-menopause; often commonly referred to as peri-menopause. All women at some point usually in the mid to late forty's or early fifty's will begin to transition into their menopausal time of life. A lot of these women are on birth control pills and wonder when should I stop them. Being on birth control pills is actually an excellent way to make the transition into menopause much smoother. They are very effective treatments for the two most common disturbing symptoms of the peri-menopause which include hot flashes and abnormal menses. Staying on your birth control pills during this time can help to mitigate or completely relieve these symptoms; often to the point that you may not even notice that you're going into menopause. The question of when to stop them; the best time to stop them is when you have completely ceased having any menstrual flow for a period of six to twelve months. It's probably a safe time to go ahead and talk to your doctor about transitioning off of the birth control pills and the consideration of moving on to menopausal hormone replacement therapy. This has been a discussion today of how to stop your birth control pills during pre-menopause."