Injectable Birth Control Linked to Higher Risk of Brain Tumors
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 4 November 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Long-term use of injectable birth control like Depo-Provera is linked to a significantly higher risk of brain tumors, especially meningiomas
- Women who started injections after age 30 faced dramatically higher risks, with increases ranging from 175% to 277% depending on age group
- A French study found women using injectable birth control for more than a year were over five times more likely to need brain tumor surgery
- Unlike synthetic hormone shots, options such as barrier methods and fertility awareness carry no increased risk of brain tumors
- Natural progesterone supports your body's balance by countering excess estrogen, calming your nervous system, and protecting long-term brain health
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What if the painkiller you take with your antibiotic is quietly helping bacteria learn how to beat the drug and setting you up for a tougher infection next time? |
| 0:09.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy to listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. |
| 0:17.0 | No reading required. Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:22.7 | Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster. Today we're looking at |
| 0:28.5 | new research showing how common over-the-counter pain killers like ibuprofen and acedaminophen |
| 0:34.3 | can accelerate antibiotic resistance when you take them alongside a prescription. |
| 0:39.2 | I'm Alariske. |
| 0:41.1 | Antimicrobial resistance is tied to an estimated 4.95 million deaths each year, |
| 0:46.9 | and that figure underscores why your day-to-day choices matter. |
| 0:50.6 | Antibiotic overuse is part of the problem. |
| 0:53.2 | But mixing certain non-antibiotic medications with antibiotics gives bacteria extra chances to adapt. |
| 1:00.0 | The study we're discussing, published in NPJ, Antimicrobials and Resistance, |
| 1:05.0 | examine nine widely used non-antibiotic drugs, acetaminopin, ibuprofen, dichlofenac, tramidol, metformin, and others, |
| 1:16.0 | combined with antibiotics. Researchers focused on E. coli, a frequent cause of urinary tract infections, |
| 1:23.1 | and tested pairings with Cyprofloxacin. Instead of being wiped out, bacteria exposed to these |
| 1:29.1 | combinations adapted and multiplied. The resistance increases were not marginal. Some strains showed up |
| 1:35.5 | to a 32-fold jump in resistance, and in certain combinations the increase reached 64-fold. |
| 1:42.1 | That translates to infections that linger despite treatment, recur after you finish |
| 1:46.5 | a course, or demand stronger drugs later, each step shrinking your future options. |
| 1:53.1 | It didn't stop with a single drug. Bacteria exposed to cyprophloxacin plus ibuprofen or acetaminophen |
| 2:00.2 | also became less sensitive to other antibiotics, |
| 2:03.7 | including levofloxasin and seftazidime. That's cross-resistance. One risky pairing today can |
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