Birth Control and Copper
Hi all, back with another slightly abnormal question that I think this community would have some good insight on (since the ladies here tend to get more labs done than the average woman, and a substantial fraction of us are on BC),
The short version - anyone else had problems with abnormal copper retention caused by pill-based BC? What'd you end up doing (if anything)? Advice?
The long version -
Over the past six or so months I've had a repeated cycle of metal testing on my blood - cobalt, nickel, etc. Initially this was because I work with organometallic powders; for kicks (actually, for vague worries based on how much tuna I eat) I asked them to also test mercury/cadmium/copper/etc.
Copper came back elevated, but not direly so - I was told to come back in 3 months and try again. I did such, and lo and behold, copper is even higher. After some brief internet searches and panicking, I determined I have no genetic likelihood of having wilson's disease. After convincing my roommate to go get his copper tested (his levels came back normal) I was able to rule out anything in the household (we both drink tap and use the same electric kettle). A lot more reading turned up a few studies (one linked at the end) on hormone-based contraceptive methods and copper levels - apparently the drug combo in yaz (ethinylestradiol and drospirenone) can cause serum copper levels to rise rather drastically(1).
I'm rather worried about this because my levels keep going up on every test; I'm going to do another in a few weeks and see if its still rising. I'm wondering if anyone else has had/noticed this problem (due to the large amounts of labs/tests some of the ladies here tend to get) and figured out a solution besides 'go off BC' and 'avoid all copper ever' (very difficult in my location; the water is high in copper and all of my favorite veggies are high in copper). I'm tempted to switch to a non-hormonal/copper IUD if I can't fix this (with the amusing side-effect of the solution to my copper issue being to literally insert more copper into my body).
Thoughts? Help?
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May I assume that you are using yaz?
I ve had my metal levels tested over the years, not so much as of late, and didn't have any significant amounts of copper even though I have the mirena iud .... which interestingly enough completely shut down my production of test, estrogen, and progesterone... one of the sides they don't tell you about. I have and am still considering using a copper iud but to be honest, I looked into the side effects and I'm not so crazy about putting some more metal into my body. ( I have plates and screws in both legs) ...
have you considered switching bc other than to a copper iud?
are you experiencing and side effects from the copper to date or just taking note of the rising levels?
what did the doc say about it?
Thanks for the speedy reply!
I'm on the generic form of Yaz; I assume it should have the same effects as 'name-brand' Yaz. I've been on it for 7 years if that makes any difference.
I have considered switching to other pills/an IUD, though I'm hesitant about other pills due to reported side-effects (granted, yaz also had some pretty bad reported sides, but I haven't experienced any that I can directly blame on the BC, i.e. 'weight gain' and 'difficulty losing weight' which could be from anything, including my own bad habits).
I have experienced no (noticeable) copper side effects, I'm just noting the rising levels and getting worried. My doctor is referring me to an endocrinologist and hopefully that'll shed some more light on things, but I suspect he/she will say similar. Other than that my regular GP had no advice/direction, except, 'keep an eye on it'.
The mirena iud doesn't sound so great if it shuts down all of my sex hormones; even more reasons I'm wanting to not make too drastic of a switch if I don't have to (I don't have numbers for estrogen or progesterone, but I know as of 6 months ago my results were slightly high [46 ng/dL] for 'testosterone, total' and towards the low end [1.8 pg/mL] of 'testosterone, free' but not alarmingly so). But I admit I should probably do more research into other forms of hormonal birth control besides Yaz and see if I can find one that A - works for me, B - doesn't kill my lifting, and C - doesn't cause weird mineral/metal retention issues.
Generic meds are not held to the same standards so to speak as the name brands and can have differences that can cause significant sides/issues etc. I didn't know the iud shut me down til I saw an endo actually it was the second endo not the first who told me that the mirena was the issue. I was on full hrt for several years until I started cycling and ever since then I have been off the hrt meds... you'd think that I would have gotten rid of the mirena but ... I haven't.. usually I take the reported sides with a grain of salt.. the stats are such that the sides only happen to a small fraction of individuals.. as for the copper .. I m taking a big leap here but given what I know about generic medications I'd guess that your issue is the generic yaz..
I'll see the endocrinologist and if he/she concludes its the BC, I'll talk to my healthcare provider about going from generic back to name-brand. The switch to generic was relatively (last 1-2 years) recent, so that could be the missing key. Thanks!!!