Gallstones can appear in the bile duct in the liver, at the junction of the bile duct and gallbladder; or in the common bile duct or gallbladder. After a checkup and diagnosis, doctors may prescribe many different types of drugs for patients. However, many women wonder, "Should I take birth control pills if I have gallstones?"
1. Commonly used drugs to treat gallstones
To treat gallstones, doctors often prescribe the following drugs: Pain relievers, stone-dissolving drugs, and remedies for complications.
- Pain relievers: Patients with gallstones are prone to pain due to stones causing spasms in the bile ducts and gallbladder: muscle-targeting pain relievers such as Alverin, Atropine, Visceralgin (Tiemonium);
- Stone-dissolving drugs: Ursodeoxycholic acid (Ursodiol) or Chenodesoxycholic acid;
- Remedies for complications: bile duct stones often cause some complications: bile leakage, bile stasis, bile duct infection, acute cholecystitis, bile leakage into the viscera, gallbladder necrosis... All of those are very dangerous, leading to severe consequences. Drugs to treat complications are usually antibiotics ( Aminoglycosides and Quinolones); choleretic drugs are chemicals or herbs (artichoke).
Gallstones often cause dangerous complications, significantly affecting the patient's health. Patients should go for a checkup to determine if they have gallstones and their severity, then the doctor will indicate medication or surgical intervention. Do not overlook this condition, delay or arbitrarily use drugs
2. Should women with gallstones take birth control pills?
Nowadays, birth control pills are considered the simplest and optimal method for women who are planning to prevent pregnancy. However, like any other drug, birth control pills also have some contraindications that users may not notice. Therefore, before dosing, you should see a doctor to rule out the risk of disease, in order to avoid side effects from taking the wrong drug.
For women with acute and chronic hepatitis and nephritis, it is absolutely forbidden to use birth control pills because in the body, this drug will be metabolized in the liver and excreted through the kidneys; increasing the "burden" on both the liver and kidneys, thereby causing severe damage to the process of excreting waste products from the body. Over time, hepatitis and nephritis will be more and more aggravated and difficult to treat.
Compared to men, women face a greater risk of developing gallstones. It is because estrogen stimulates the liver to increase the production of cholesterol and excrete it into bile, forming stones. In addition, some drugs, including birth control pills, lipid-lowering drugs (such as Clofibrate, Fenofibrate)... if used for a long time, will increase the risk of gallstones. Women with a history of bile stasis while using birth control pills should also avoid reusing this type of drug.
Therefore, women with gallstones should not use birth control pills. For safe and effective family planning, women should go to medical facilities to be advised on the most suitable contraceptive method for their health condition. Additionally, you also need to monitor and completely treat gallstones, avoid delaying, which can lead to dangerous complications.
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