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We want to talk about all things periods and how they affect our daily lives as chemists at Oxford. We would love to here your views and opinions:
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Periodically, the podcast that covers all things periods and chemistry!
Each week, over this series of six episodes, we here at the University of Oxford will be taking a deep-dive into just how periods have affected us in tutorials, exams, labs and just generally studying at undergrad. We want to talk about how periods can sometimes just get in the bloody way!
Periodically is funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry Equality and Diversity fund.
Elba
Periodically, the podcast that covers all things periods in chemistry. How did the two overlap? Well, here at the University of Oxford, we've been looking into just that. How does having periods have an impact on studying an undergraduate chemistry degree? Over this series of six episodes, we'll be taking a deep dive into just how periods have affected us in tutorials, exams, labs, and just generally studying at undergrad. We want to talk about how periods can sometimes just get in the bloody way. We'd like to give a huge thanks to the RSC Equality and Diversity Fund for supporting this podcast. Your hosts today are…
Manami
Hi I'm Manami and I am a second-year undergraduate student at Oxford.
Felicity
Hi I'm Felicity and I'm also a second-year undergraduate studying chemistry at Oxford.
Charlie
And hi I'm Charlie I'm a postgraduate student studying chemistry at Oxford. And today we're going to be talking to you about the pill and just how the pill affects periods and how we found it to affect our experience of periods while studying at Oxford. I think the two things can come hand in hand. A lot of the time people that have periods also take the pill, whether that is for contraception or to deal with period pain. So I think something that we talked a lot about in our focus group that we would like to bring up today and talk to you about a bit more.
Felicity
So although the pill is widely regarded as a contraceptive, it's also commonly used as a way to treat period pains or regulate our menstrual cycles. And a study has found that 58% of pill users rely on the method at least in part for purposes other than pregnancy prevention, with 31% of these people using it for cramps or menstrual pain and 28% for menstrual regulation. The pill is now so commonplace that it's estimated that 70% of all menstruators in Britain have used the pill at some stage in their lives, according to the latest prescribing review. So when we're talking about the effects that periods have on undergraduate it's really important that we consider the impact that the pill has as well, since the two have become so intertwined.
Charlie
The pill itself is an umbrella term for a range of contraceptive pills, all which differ in both brand and formulas by their active ingredients. The most common active ingredients are Progesterone and Eastgen, and the combined pill is a therapy that contains both. There is also the mini pill, which is a Progesterone-only pill and usually prescribed if a patient can't take Eastgen. Research conducted at the University of Oxford by Eleanor Smith in her master's thesis talks about the social implications of the pill and concluded that the pill is not a social drug but rather a highly individual drug with social consequences. Essentially every person that takes the pill can have very different experiences and side effects because a person's reaction to the pill depends on their body's natural physiological levels of hormones. So although the pill was initially introduced in the hopes of being a universal drug we found that it's actually far from it.
Manami
Eleanor Smith actually argues in her thesis that referring to all formulations as "the pill" creates a false sense of unity between the different combinations of synthetic hormones which made up oral contraception and that it is only when these differences are recognised that the extent of the individuality of experience on the pill can be fully appreciated. As chemists, we are not just interested in the pill's social implications but how it affects the chemistry of our bodies?
Felicity
So the pill is a form of hormonal contraception that prevents pregnancy by modulating the amount of progesterone and oestrogen in our bodies. Although there are many different brands of pill, there are three main types, the most common being the monophasic 21-day pills, which you have to take once a day at the same time each day for 21 days, and then no pill for seven days, during which most people get a bleed like a period. Not taking your pill for one day or not taking them at a specific time can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the pill as a contraceptive and can also cause really bad side effects for the person like vomiting or diarrhoea. So being on the pill is a pretty big commitment and responsibility. Asides from periods, the pill is often seen as a symbol of women's liberation, as before its introduction in the 50s, the forms of contraception were much less reliable and also relied on male cooperation. The introduction of the pill meant women had access to reproductive autonomy, and could also take the pill discreetly potentially without their partner even knowing. Many felt a greater sense of equality, as in theory both sexes could now enjoy sex without having to worry about the reproductive consequences. The pill has also transformed the lives of those who menstruate, as if the right pill is found it can really alleviate period pains and regulate people's cycles, which can completely change people's lives for the better. So Charlie and Manami, in which ways has the pill had a positive impact in your life?
Manami
So for me personally it has allowed me to time my period so they don't clash with things that are really important to me or when I just can't be having the bad symptoms. In terms of chemistry I had a bad experience with my exams last year where my period clashed with my exams and I had really bad cramps and painkillers just didn't do enough for me and that really reflected on how I did in the exam and so it's really good that I get to time that now and it was really good that I could just go to the GP and have a very quick conversation and I could get it from the pharmacy on that day for free and it's also a relief knowing that I have more freedom and safety in terms of contraception and the side effects of my periods. I think I
Charlie
kind of had a similar experience but a bit earlier on when I was doing my A-level exams I had a situation where basically I started my period right in the middle of exams and as you can imagine I was actually sat in the exam hall and I was worried about blood going everywhere I was very nervous very anxious and yeah basically I just completely lost focus on my exam and was so worried about what was going on like if I was like getting blood everywhere and if my friends were seeing it that I just stopped concentrating and I found it really hard to finish the exam and it was actually again like as Manami said it was reflected in my exam grades. So I think this is something that at the time I was very worried about and I had also I had the opportunity with the pill to be able to at least kind of regulate this experience a bit more because with certain pills you're able to kind of track what days you're on your period and which days you're not bleeding and you can kind of get a bit more of a grasp on it. So I really appreciated that and especially at the time when I was quite young having access to the pill quite freely without questions asked by the doctors was something that was really great to me. It was also something that I really found going through university. One of the kind of I would say main experiences I had when I came to university is like I was having like more sex, I was like more worried about the possibility of getting pregnant, especially with the fact that I was going to be doing quite an intense chemistry degree and the kind of worry about getting pregnant is something that is like the anxiety is really offset by having access to the pill and I found that myself quite liberating and quite securing and so yeah, I was really happy with these kind of two aspects, the ability to be able to monitor and track my period and also be able to plan around it. Also then the security that it gave me that I could go out and I could do kind of what I wanted and it would probably be okay.
Felicity
So yeah, we've talked about some great things that have come from the introduction of the pill. So now we're going to talk about a few issues that have arisen from the pill. As previously discussed, it was made in the hopes of being a universal drug with few side effects. But it's not that for most people, as we've said before, every person experiences the pill really differently. But despite that, the perception of the pill being this universal drug still lingers and that can mean that many people, even those taking it, don't fully understand the side effects and the complications that can arise from it. So side effects vary from person to person but can include migraines, changes to your body, mental health, skin and your periods, i.e. increased cramps or continual bleeding. So it's really important that we're able to explore some complications that have arisen since the introduction of the pill, despite the good that has come from it.
Manami
Firstly, because the pill is so easily accessible, it is now common for the responsibility of contraception to fall onto the woman. Although some women find it liberating to have the option to have autonomy over their bodies and sex lives, some feel an increased pressure to take it from their partners who have become unwilling to be involved in contraceptive decisions. The pill can have many negative side effects yet there is often an expectation that women will take on the responsibility of contraception and take this drug every day so that men do not have to use condoms.
Charlie
Because different side effects are associated with different formulations of the pill and depend on a person's natural hormone levels, it can be a long process for those looking to find a pill that works for them. This is a process that many people undertake during their studies, either starting at a level but normally carrying on through university, as they start to have a more active sex life or they can no longer juggle painful periods with their academic pressures. This may particularly be the case at Oxford, where terms are very short and taking a few days off per term for period pains becomes much more inconvenient.
Felicity
So, Manami and Charlie, what are some negative experiences that you have found with going on the pill?
Charlie
I was on the progesterone-only pill for about seven years, mostly while I was doing my undergraduate and my A-levels, pretty much because of that experience that I had said earlier with my period starting during the middle of my exams and also starting to have a more active sex life. So I basically found that that was a great initial thing but I went to the doctors and they first said you know you can't have estrogen because you have migraines so that cut out the combined pill and a lot of other different contraceptives. So then I had to go on the progesterone-only pill and basically, I found that at first I really liked it because it's a very quick answer but after being on it for a very long time I found that it was actually really affecting my mental health. I also had problems at the start when I was finding the right progesterone-only pill. I went through a phase of going on a pill that made me bleed continuously for like six weeks before the doctors were like "oh yeah maybe we shouldn't put you on that one because you're anaemic and bleeding out is not good for you". So we moved away from that one and then I found one that actually worked really well and it actually completely stopped my periods which at the time I was really chuffed about because I was like "great this means I don't need to worry about exams, this means I don't need to worry about revision it doesn't mean I means I don't need to worry about any of the things in my life that makes me anxious about starting my period so I was really happy about that but as I said as I kind of continued onwards and I was on it for a very long time I was finding that my mental health was really deteriorating on it the progesterone only pill for me I found kind of creates a very level feeling of mood so there are not much ups and downs but it's just very constant and for a while I actually thought that made me very productive because I felt like quite unnerved by a lot of other things that are going on but as I started to get towards the end of my degree I was really struggling with it and the main reason I decided to come off the pill was because of mental health implications. So yeah I think it's one of those things that at the start I thought it was really good but long term I started to suffer some more long-term side effects that I didn't really enjoy and that's originally why I decided to come off the pill.
Manami
So it can often take around three to four months to settle into the pill and before you settle in you can have irregular bleeding or just not stop bleeding like Charlie mentioned earlier and it can be very inconsistent. Personally, I've been on it for over nine months and I still have irregular bleeds which come with the bad symptoms and if they come at times when it's unexpected it kind of defeats the object of me being on the pill, especially because my main reason is so it doesn't clash with exams and other important things in my life and these inconsistencies obviously make me question my choice of being on it and with the risk of having other side effects like headaches and feeling sick and having quite a lot of mood swings throughout the day which can be quite uncontrollable which can affect your life and the people around you which is never good. It is really hard to find the pill that works for you because there are so many different pills out there. Everyone's hormone levels are different as mentioned earlier and it is just very difficult to find one that works perfectly for you without going through all the bad side effects that can come with all of the ones that don't work for you.
Charlie
So one of the things that we've also talked about in our focus session and it was brought up quite a lot was unsolicited advice from people that aren't medically trained in basically saying oh you're having problems with your period have you tried the pill. We discussed this and we think this is quite a drastic thing to just suggest to people but for some reason with the pill it's kind of made normal place. You wouldn't necessarily suggest this for like other medical and physical conditions so I think what we would kind of like if anyone was to take something from the period podcast today is not just only understanding of how the pill affects our periods and affects how we study but also that sometimes this unsolicited advice can be quite stressful and it's something that we're already having to deal with without having to worry about what other people think.
Felicity
Yeah so I really hope you enjoyed our conversation on the pill and can understand that although great things have come since this introduction there are some complications that can arise and it's really important that we can appreciate those as well.
Elba
Thank you so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed our discussion and hopefully it was relatable for those studying with periods. And for those listening that don't experience periods, we hope you can understand a bit more about the day-to-day issues they can cause. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts and opinions. You can find us on Twitter and Instagram @periodically_ox. Again, we would like to give a huge thanks to the RSC Equality and Diversity Fund for supporting this podcast.