Does The Pill Cause Gallbladder Disease?

For those of you who have chosen whether and when to have a family by taking birth control pills, I wanted to share with you my thoughts about a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that concluded that certain birth control pills may increase your risk of gallbladder disease.

So what does that mean if you’re one of the millions of women taking birth control pills? Do you have to choose between simple, highly effective contraception and gallstones? Must you resort to less effective condoms or a diaphragm if you want to avoid gallbladder surgery?

Take a deep breath, Pill fans. The Girlfriend MD is here to reassure you.

What This Study Really Means

When you dig into the nitty gritty statistics of this study, you’ll find that the relative risk of gallbladder disease is just barely increased in the study group of women who were taking certain types of birth control pills (those that contain desogestrel, drosperinone, and norethindrone). Women taking other birth control pills (such as those containing ethynodiol diacetate, norgestrel and norgestimate) showed no increase in risk.

The authors of the study concluded that “the small effect compounded with the possibility of residual biases in this observational study make it unlikely that these differences are clinically significant.” Which means that even the researchers think this study doesn’t mean very much. And frankly, I agree. The increase in risk in those taking certain types of birth control pills was so miniscule that it could very well be related to errors within the study. With a study this large, you would expect to see a more dramatic increase in risk if the risk was considerable.

Should You Stay On The Pill?

So what advice would I give women who are taking birth control pills? Well, start by reading the label of your birth control pill. If your pill contains desogestrel, drosperinone, or norethindrone, if you’re happy with your birth control pill, if you don’t get freaked out by studies like this, and if you have no personal or family history of gallbladder disease, I’d say keep on keeping on. If there is a risk, it’s exceedingly small, and switching birth control pills can cause problems for some women. Plus, life is filled with risk. Every time you get in a car, you incur the risk that you might be in a car accident, and yet, you do it because it increases your quality of life.

1 of 2

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Brenda T.

3:54AM PST on Jan 12, 2012

Is there any connection between gallbladder problems and HRT?

send a green star

3:53AM PST on Jan 12, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Christia F.

6:53PM PST on Jan 11, 2012

Thank you for sharing.
Hugs, Tia

KS G.

4:38AM PST on Jan 11, 2012

Michele W.

11:52AM PST on Dec 15, 2011

Thank you

jane r.

8:51AM PDT on Jul 10, 2011

thanks, something else against the pill.

Ashleigh C.

9:02PM PDT on May 31, 2011

I am 23 and after a million tests at 20 I was diagnosed with gallstones after having about 8 attacks almost monthly. Im not convinced the pill caused the gallstones but I know it definatley gives me the attacks, as once I stop the pill i would never know I had gallstones, no pain & no attacks......The hardest part now though is trying to take something that doesn't give me attacks as I am not really a believer in having my gallbladder removed!!

Dace J.

7:26AM PDT on May 11, 2011

Fertility awareness is very low nowadays. No wonder, it is due to the reality that it can make no money to pharmaceutical companies.There are several highly effective and safe alternatives for natural birth control. I recommend buying a personal fertility monitor, which learns and adjusts to your individual cycle regardless of irregularities or cycle length.

Mary S.

6:51AM PDT on May 9, 2011

While I appreciate the idea that we must not overreact to all the possible side effect information from every drug, I think it is very important to have all accurate information available before making a fully informed decision about anything. It has been my experience that some doctors, in an effort not to "frighten" patients unnecessarily will actively hide vital information from them. I am a reasonably intelligent adult and believe I should be given the available data and allowed to make up my own mind.

For the record the two somewhat newer birth-control pills, Yaz and Yazmin seem to have a significantly higher rate of deep vein thrombosis, leading to blood clots and strokes. I know of at least three very young women with no history of any illness (personal or family) who had blood clots in their lungs following short term use of these pills. I would be hesitant about these formulations. Other formulations may still have some "issues" but overall have proven less likely to cause serious side effects. It pays to read the studies for yourself as well as the product monograph of each new drug before you take it. It might just save your life.

I have been on "the pill' in the past, with no real problems to speak of, but due to other current health issues use only non-hormonal birth control now.

Jennifer C.

5:08PM PDT on May 8, 2011

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.