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4041138 tn?1349580463

Can vaginal tears be caused by birth control pills?

Hey Ladies,

I have been getting vaginal tears for about a year and a half now (only after having intercourse) and I am beginning to question if being on birth control pills is the cause of it. The cuts started about a month or two after I started the pill, I get a few inside, on the left side of my vaginal wall and sometimes a small one right at the opening.

I have been tested several times and have no std's or any type of infection in the area and neither does my partner. I have no foul smell and no discharge at all, just pain during and after intercourse because of the cuts. I have never had any children. I am in a long committed relationship and we do not use condoms, so it cannot be an allergic reaction to latex or a specific brand of condoms. My gynecologists said to make sure I am well lubricated, which I have no problem with at all, I never have. However, I keep getting these tears after intercourse.

I've done a lot of research and it seems that many women with the same problem say it started after they began the pill and the cuts went away when they got off the pill ( which btw is the reason they got off the pill, because the cuts ruined their sex life.). Now, my gynecologists doubts that these tears are connected to the pill - most women said their gynecologists said they doubted it was the pill as well but getting off the pill was the only thing that stopped these cuts from recurring.

Has anyone had this problem and was it the pill? If not, then what was the cause and what helped these cuts from recurring? If you have the same problem and haven't figured out what the cause is, still share your thoughts, please.
23 Responses
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Avatar universal
I have this exact issue & have been sent to physical therapy for over a year now with exercises & vaginal dilators.
It appeared to help a little because my problem has been going on for 3 years now (one minority, then one chronic, then one finally reaching out for help & immersing in PT & acceptance to get better).
On my year & a month mark with PT, two out of three times attempting sex with my partner I felt the tear. I’ve come to this website absolutely at the end of my tether & want to know what birth control pill seems to have helped. I was on a pill with bo estrogen for 10 years then swapped it 3 months ago for the Loestrin to see if it helped flexibility/ moisture/ natural lube back down there. Now I’m thinking I just need to get off it completely.
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1 Comments
Steroid cream formulated for the skin can cause skin thinning and rips, but I don't know if hormones can. It would be easy enough to figure out if there's a connection by stopping the bcps and changing to condoms and foam or an IUD (if you got one that wasn't impregnated with hormones) and just see what happens.
Avatar universal
Hi thank you so much for sharing. Can you disclose which creams you used please as I'm having similar issues you've described.
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Avatar universal
I wanted to share my experience as it might help someone else.  I had a tear/lesion that would heal well but break open again every time I had sex causing bleeding and pain.  This went on for 3 years.  I had biopsies, every test the doctor could think of, estrogen creams, and 2 surgeries.  Nothing helped, but I was repeatedly told that it had nothing to do with the birth control pill (I had been on pills several times through the years with no problems, although this was a new pill and I'm older now).  The doctors didn't have any other ideas. I did a lot of reading, and while I'm sure it's not the answer for all (and maybe not even most), I finally got off the pill and started using a combo estrogen/testosterone cream to jump-start my hormone receptors.  My problems improved greatly within 3 months and are completely gone after 6 months.  Google Dr. Andrew Goldstein.  There are other doctors working on this, but there is good info. from his research for sure.  There IS a correlation between the pill and some really bad physical symptoms. Obviously, many women don't have the problem, and I didn't have them for years on the pill either.  I don't know if it was the change in my age or the type of pill I was on, but my problem started within 2 months of starting the pill, and they mostly ended within 2 months of getting off of them.  From what I read, though, once those receptors are not working right, just getting off isn't enough for most women.  They also need the cream.  Sorry this is long... maybe it'll help someone else.
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Avatar universal
Hi ladies.  I also have this problem.  Its horrible.  I have a mirena.  I am wondering if this is the reason.  Has anyone tried removing their mirena and noticing improvements?
thanks
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Avatar universal
I also have had tears in the linning of the vaginal area as well as the labia areas. I am on tri-sprintec 28 and I believe thats the culprit. I am going to come off the birth control and see how things go. I will update again in a few months with a report. But this has been so bad on my sex life with my husband, I feel like I'm being torn every single time i have any sort of intercourse or even foreplay to the vaginal area.
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Avatar universal
I was on the depo shot for a couple years and never experienced any bad side effects like many people have. I took almost a year off of it after moving to a new state. I got back on the shot because it had worked well for me and was convenient, but a few months after starting it again I started experiencing pain during intercourse (like tearing) just inside the opening. Also since using the shot I've had a bv infection which the gyno gave me medication for but it didn't get rid of the discharge. I asked my gyno several times for help but they always just say the tissue looks healthy and there is no infection. I tried taking breaks but it doesn't seem to help. I've never had a problem with tearing, even when on the shot before.. I was also with my boyfriend before restarting the shot and never had pain and tearing until shortly after starting the shot again.. I've never had a problem with lubrication but have tried using that anyway and it doesn't help much. After seeing the gyno again (just because of the tearing) she prescribed me an estrogen cream to use once a week but I've been using that for a couple months and it doesn't seem to help either.. I don't know what to do and am desperate for help.. I need to start a birth control program again but don't know what to use for fear of damaging my body more. Help please??
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal

I had the same issue and I got off the pill and the tears went away. I am now experimenting with different pills to see which one causes tears and which one doesn't. I have just started a new pill this week and I feel a slight thiness of my skin I haven't had intercourse yet but we will see later today.
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Avatar universal
I was in the same boat as you for a year and I had surgery and it didn't work. I did get off the pill and the tears went away. I tried a different pill and the tears came back.

It's the pill.
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Avatar universal
I was in the same boat as you for a year and I had surgery and it didn't work. I did get off the pill and the tears went away. I tried a different pill and the tears came back.

It's the pill.
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Avatar universal
Did that work for you scorpgirl??? I'm having the same issue and am on yaz
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Avatar universal
I have been on Yaz for the past 8+ months and I have been having regular sex with the same man for 8 months. I tear in the same spot everytime we have intercourse, right at the bottom of the vaginal opening. Even if we abstain for weeks, I tear again when we have sex. Foreplay is great and I have no problems getting wet; we also use lube, and he is very gentle. He also isn't the biggest guy (penis size) I've been with. Sometimes I won't even feel that I have ripped again, but when I whipe afterwards when using the bathroom, I see a small stain of blood on the tissue, and I feel that the small cut has opened again. Before this relationship, I ripped only once. I have also experienced yeast infections more often, while being on the pill.
When talking to my doctor about options, she said that dilators to widen the opening is an option most effective for after surgery situations. I asked why, and she said because the dilators do not simulate the pressure put on the tissue, that will happen during sex. She said that surgery to make the opening wider is a good option. I told her that if I have to do surgery because nothing else will work, then I will do it, but is there anything else? She mentioned that she had no proof, but that the pill could be causing weakness in the tissue. After thinking about my timeline for everything, I saw the correlation myself.
I think I will try getting off of the pill, abstain from sex to heal for a few weeks, and try sex again. If this doesn't work, I will revisit the idea of surgery.

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1 Comments
I totally i agree i experienced the exact same they even said it was my gym clothes but ive had no issues since going off. plus my sex drive has come back thank god and so has my natural lube. Birth control completely ****** up my sex life for the past three years because ive been sufferering these cuts.
Avatar universal
I have been experiencing the same problems as you. Has your conditioned changed since this post, and if so what did you do?
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Avatar universal
I've been on the pill for about a year now to regulate my period and never experienced vaginal tearing or any bleeding until I started having sex with my new boyfriend. I asked my gynecologist this last visit I had because it was concerning me. He told me that the birth control thins out your vaginal walls and are more suceptible to being torn. He pretty much dismissed it as nothing to be worried about. Now I just give it a couple days between sex just to make sure my tears heal before we make them worse or something.
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Avatar universal
I had this issue and was told it was exactly what mousegirl explained. Rather than being taken off the current pill, I was given an rx cream. I believe it was called estrace or something like that. I wish I remembered if it worked or not, because I'm back on the same pill and having the same issue again. I had completely forgotten about the tearing until it began again last month. I am on Yaz, and have been for 4 months.  
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Avatar universal
I have heard about birth control being a cause of it. It can change your estrogen levels, lubrication, and thin the vaginal lining. Leading to tearing. I personally have had experience with this too. I started dating a man while on one birth control and had no problems after or during sex with tearing of the labia majora at all. Then, I changed doctors and she gave me a different birth control. About a month after taking this new birth control, and not changing anything else, I started having painful tears in between my labia majora and minora. I noticed these after having intercourse. I let this go on for almost a year, not having intercourse, taking epsom baths, and using creams. After my tears healed, I continued to do the above things and everything would be fine. Until I had sex, then no matter how much lube I used or how much preventative action I took, I would tear. I finally went back to my Dr and got a new pill and about a month later I stopped having this problem and it has not come back. Every body is different and it seems like nobody, even professionals, have a clear answer so you have to try and find what works best for you. But for me it was getting off of Tri-Sprintec 28
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Avatar universal
Nbug I completely undertand what you are going through except I am on the patch. My GYN says there is no correlation but that is the only factor. No odor, no discharge, no STD, no rough sex and I give them plenty of time to heal (days to a week) prior to another sexual encounter. Extra lubrication is used and I still get tears. So I am convinced that it is related to the patch!
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Avatar universal
I've never heard of anyone experiencing vaginal tears because of the pill. I only know that pills can thin the vaginal lining and I've never heard anyone, aside from you, getting that kind of problem. Maybe you should consult your doctor for that.

FPAMG.net
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Avatar universal
I never had mine come back.  Mine was by the opening, and I am on the pill, but mine was due to sex being started before I was fully ready.  Have not experienced it since because I make sure my body is ready.  However, if you find you're letting yourself become fully aroused before engaging in entercourse, it could be that your body is being affected as far as how much natural lubrication it can make due to the pill, which is why I suggest letting them heal then trying using a little lube.
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4041138 tn?1349580463
How long did you give yours to heal and did it come back? Also was yours inside or by the opening and do you happen to be on the pill? I hope you don't ming all the questions. Just trying to find a way to fix it.
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Avatar universal
All I can suggest is letting them heal again then trying some lube in case it is an issue with natural lubrication not being enough thanks to the pill.
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4041138 tn?1349580463
Thank you for your response. Yes, I've tried taking a break several time for as long as 3 weeks to a month without intercourse. However, the cuts keep coming back.

I've also had my skin looked at by my gynecologist incase it's thinning for some reason and he said my skin is in very good condition.
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Avatar universal
Will agree with TQG....never heard of vaginal tears being associated with birth control medication.  
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Avatar universal
Have you taken a break from intercourse for a few weeks to allow the cuts to heal since getting them?  I've had a tear/cut down there before, but it was because sex was a little rough.  It persisted until I gave it time to heal.  I'd been on the pill for quite a while by the time that happened, however.

I've never heard of anyone experiencing vaginal tears because of the pill.  I could see it if somehow the hormones in the pill lessened a certain woman's natural lubrication, but that's easily solved by using lube once allowing the cuts to heal.
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