The Pill

Ackha (that would be me clearing my throat)
Bang (that would be dropping my soap box on the floor)
Squeak (that would be me stepping up on to the soap box)

Continue at your own risk!

FDA approves period suppression pill

If you know me, then you know that I think The Pill is EVIL and stupid! Well, thanks to the drug companies and the FDA, they've taken stupid to a whole new level.

The pill [Lybrel], manufactured by Wyeth, is the first designed to put off periods altogether when taken without break.

The pill isn't for everyone, an FDA official said. About half the women enrolled in studies of Lybrel dropped out, said Dr. Daniel Shames, a deputy director in the FDA's drugs office. Many did so because of the irregular and unscheduled bleeding and spotting that can replace scheduled menstruation.

Okay... so if I'm following this right, at least before you knew when you would have menstruation... now it is a surprise? And this is better?

"Women who use Lybrel would not have a scheduled menstrual period, but will most likely have unplanned, breakthrough, unscheduled bleeding or spotting," Shames said. The bleeding can last four to five days and may persist for a year, he later added.

And what about those accidental pregnancies while on The Pill:

However, since Lybrel users will eliminate their regular periods, it may be difficult for them to recognize if they have become pregnant, Shames said.

Oh, and then there is this:

"Over time she will experience markedly less bleeding episodes or no bleeding episodes," said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.

And we all know that Planned Parenthood is only looking out for the best interest of women (huge amounts of sarcasm rolling off the keyboard). Oh, and has any body done any research to find out why a woman menstrates and if stopping that process is considered healthy for her body. Oh wait a minute... you don't really need to do any more research when you have people like me whose body doesn't function and all my doctors telling me that I have to get my body menstrating to be healthy... damn, I get so confused!

"For women in that situation, I certainly can understand the benefits of taking these kinds of medications, but for most women menstruation is a normal life event — not a medical condition," said Elson, who researches the sociology of gender and medical sociology. "Why medicate away a normal life event if we're not sure of the long-term effects?"

THANK YOU!

In recent years, as the hormone content of birth-control pills has dipped, failure rates have climbed. The FDA is considering whether to establish an acceptable failure rate for the pills. In January, a panel of agency advisers said less-effective birth-control pills should still merit federal approval if they promise other benefits, including improved safety.

Wow... they just admitted that in print... not that I've heard any drug company own up to that. But isn't it said that the general public looks at pregnancy as a failure, I guess this is the world we live in!