SEASONALE BIRTH CONTROL BLOG

Pills Rendering Menstrual Period Optional

May 31, 2006

For young women with a world of choices, even that monthly curse, the menstrual period, is optional.

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Thanks to birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a growing number of women are taking the path chosen by 22-year-old Stephanie Sardinha.

She hasn’t had a period since she was 17.

“It’s really one of the best things I’ve ever done,” she says.

A college student and retail worker in Lisbon Falls, Maine, Sardinha uses Nuvaring, a vaginal contraceptive ring. After the hormones run out in three weeks, she replaces the ring right away instead of following instructions to leave the ring out for a week to allow bleeding. She says it has been great for her marriage, preventing monthly crankiness and improving her sex life.

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Publicity for Seasonale made women wonder, if just four periods a year are OK, why have any at all?

Users of Pfizer Inc.’s Depo-Provera, a progestin-only contraceptive shot lasting three months, usually are period-free after a year or two. There’s now a generic version, but the drug can thin bones.

And many women have been getting extra prescriptions so they could continuously stay on birth control pills, the Ortho Evra patch or the vaginal ring, rather than bleeding every fourth week. That schedule was set by the original birth control designers to mimic normal menstrual cycles. But the extra prescriptions have led to insurance company hassles.

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Pills rendering menstrual period optional

May 31, 2006

For young women with a world of choices, even that monthly curse, the menstrual period, is optional.
Thanks to birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a growing number of women are taking the path chosen by 22-year-old Stephanie Sardinha.

http://www.internetpharmacy.cc - Buy Pharmacy at reasanoble prices.Internet Pharmacy provides confortable and easy way to order pharmacy via internet.

“People should proceed very cautiously,” she says.

Today’s birth control pills contain far less estrogen and progestin than those two generations ago, but still increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. The pill should not be used by women who have had those conditions, unexplained vaginal bleeding or certain cancers, or if they are smokers over 35.

But there are benefits from taking oral contraceptives too, such as a lower risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. And forgoing periods means no premenstrual syndrome and a lower risk of anemia and migraines, says Dr. Sheldon Segal, co-author of “Is Menstruation Obsolete?” Segal has been involved in research for several contraceptives.

Almost since the first pill arrived in 1960, women have manipulated birth control to skip periods for events such as a wedding, vacation or sports competition. Female doctors and nurses were among the first to block menstruation long-term to suit their schedules, said Susan Wysocki, head of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.

“They were then more comfortable recommending it to their patients,” said Wysocki, who uses a vaginal ring to prevent menstruation.

The idea gained momentum after Barr Pharmaceuticals launched Seasonale in November 2003. It’s a standard birth control pill taken for 12 weeks, with a break for withdrawal bleeding every three months. Amid wide acceptance by doctors, sales shot up 62 percent last year, to $110 million.

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A New Form of Birth Control Pills: Seasonale

May 5, 2006

The thought of menstrual periods often conjures up images of PMS, cramps, and a mountain of feminine hygiene products. Are there days that you wish you could reduce the frequency of your periods? Does having your period only four times a year seem like an impossible fantasy? The realization of your dream may be closer than you think.

Seasonale is a new type of birth control pill manufactured by Barr Laboratories in Pomona, New York. It was approved by the FDA in September 2003. In addition to the contraceptive benefit of the pills currently on the market, Seasonale reduces the number of yearly menstrual periods from 13 to four, so women menstruate only once each season.

Seasonale contains a combination of two hormones commonly used in other oral contraceptives, but in significantly lower doses — an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and a progestin (levonorgestrel) — according to information released by Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), where the clinical trials were conducted. Dr. Freedolph Anderson, the lead researcher in the trials, said that the cumulative amount of hormones in Seasonale is less than other pills, even though the pills are taken for 84 days rather than the normal 21 days before a woman takes seven days off in order to menstruate.

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May 5, 2006

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