Contraceptives

If you are not taking your low dose birth control pill correctly, you risk being one of the 12 women who get pregant each year while using this popular method of birth control. Why?  Because you are missing too many pills.  Apparently, while we may not admit it,  30-50% of us miss taking 3 or more low dose birth control pills per month!

Today, those of us using low dose birth control pills can avoid many of the significant side effects that the 60’s contraceptive pill inflicted on us but one leading expert,

Professor James Trussell of Princeton University in America is warning us now that even the low dose birth control pill may be ‘outdated’. Are you taking a low dose birth control pill ‘by default’ because your doctor did not offer you other options of reversible birth control (maybe because he /she is not adept at fitting IUDs or inserting implants)?

What can you use instead that will give you reliable and effective protection against pregnancy yet at the same time give you the same benefits (reduced side effects) as your low dose birth control pill?

The methods of birth control advocated by Professor Trussell, at a British Pregnancy Advisory Service conference in London, are either implants or intra - uterine devices (IUD) -  these also last longer and can be ‘fitted and forgotten’. Of course, like the low dose birth control pills, neither of these methods of contraception will protect against STDs.  Paragard is a non hormonal IUD that is safe if you smoke. IUDs can cost from $200-$500 dollars but protection lasts from 5 -10 years depending on type.  It can take up to one year to get pregnant after removing an IUD.  Watch this video on IUDs HERE and there’s more information on implants HERE.

Half of all pregnancies in America are unintended and are due to the failure/improper use of contraceptives.  It’s probably a similar situation in Australia and the UK.  If 7% of women currently using a low dose birth control pill swapped to an IUD or an implant, it’s estimated that 73,000 unintended pregnancies per year would be prevented in the UK. Let’s face it, with so much unprotected sex going on too, it’s unrealistic to think that every lass is going to rush off the next morning to get emergency contraception. If you decide on a home induced abortion and live anywhere other than the UK, you can take your first dose of the appropriate medication at a clinic then take the second at home 48 hours later. In the UK a woman has to go back to the clinic for her second dose.

GASP!

It turns out (see this chart Table 2) that low income, teenagers under the age of 20 who are living with their boyfriends and who are using the contraceptive pill have a failure rate of almost 50%.  48 of them will have a pregnancy within 12 months. 

The bottom line is:  NO type of contraceptive is reliable if you don’t strictly follow the instructions and use it as it has been designed.  Human error causes accidents!
In view of all of the above, we MUST improve the way we teach our children.  We must improve the ‘holistic’ sex education curriculum to focus on encouraging young people and singles to be much more responsible about their sexual behavior, more educated about rearing children and wiser about CHOOSING the person with whom they wish to raise a family.

Too much, too soon
Advertising and the media bombard young people with sexual imagery, encourage instant gratification while detracting from the real ‘love’ aspect of a union that creates a new life. Young people now live in a culture of “use and be used,” instead of “love and be loved.”  Whether the two parties are consenting to ‘using’ each other, doesn’t make it ok.

Source:  Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., is the author of  Smart Sex: Finding Life-long Love In A Hook-up World. She blogs at jennifer-roback-morse.blogspot.com

This IS about birth control even though it may not look like it! Read on.

On Wednesday, NBC will be premiering its new reality TV show, The Baby Borrowers. Will you be watching or will you dismiss it in favour of Big Brother? Grab a friend, preferably your partner and watch. The series is a social experiment showing how teenage couples , ages 18-20 will, over the course of three weeks, experience what it is like to have to cope with all aspects of an instant family, babies and all. The teenagers will have to set up a home, get a job and becoming caring and attentive parents - first to babies, toddlers, pre-teens and their pets, teenagers and, finally, senior citizens. Has this anything to do with contraceptives and birth control? YOU BETCHA! With 3 decades of ‘family planning’ ahead of every fertile female, take note of how reality will bite if you DON’T plan when to have your children ( I am in awe of those wonderfully stoic women/foster parents who adore their 6 kids and are perfect mums!)

Okay, okay , as a mother of two, I admit that in ‘real time’ all of the above does not happen within 3 weeks but the bottom line is - it DOES happen once that little bundle of joy appears on the scene. You DO have to deal with the demanding nitty gritty of child rearing and the relentless ‘daily routine’ once that first flush of partner passion has subsided (note I did not say romance or love here) Unless you are a member of the Royal family or have film star status, once you give birth you jolly well don’t get a ‘life’ rewind button or your own ‘live- in’ little Lem Sip men to take over the baby care or bail you out of ‘debt damage’ when you can’t make ends meet. Don’t get me wrong- in my opinion, having children is one of the best things I ever did and one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had and though I could NOT have afforded more than 2, I think I could have reared a couple more. Bringing up kids when you are ‘ready’ and when you have the TIME to nurture and teach them properly will make life a whole lot easier for you and everyone else.

SO…. be prepared, be safe, watch the show and let me know what you think!

Are you popping into your local pharmacy every month to fill the prescription for your low dose birth control pill? If you are, it could be costing you big time over the life of your ‘contraception career’. It takes LESS effort, certainly costs LESS, takes LESS time and gives you the added bonus benefit of never running out of ‘pill protection’, if you buy your low dose birth control pills on line. Most importantly, by buying your low dose birth control pills on line, you will be well on your way to painlessly stashing away almost $70,000, according to one physician who worked this out for a disbelieving patient.

Yes, that’s right, almost $70,000 could be yours just by sitting in front of a computer for 3 mins instead of traveling to the pharmacy then waiting another 15 mins. for a prescription to be filled. Plan your Contraception Career from a financial aspect as well as from a ‘birth control type’ aspect and save a considerable amount of money in the process. Buying low dose birth control pills online can stash you away the healthy sum of $67,762 in your Retirement Fund. Buying in bulk , free shipping and special offers could save you even more.

Most of us know the wisdom of saving and making contributions to a superannuation fund, a health fund, life insurance etc. etc.. Most of us know that it’s a good idea to budget if we wish to ‘make ends meet’ and keep our debts to a minimum - but all this sounds a bit ‘too hard’ though doesn’t it and I’ll bet there are more good intentions out there than good actions as so many of us just don’t do it! However, have you ever stopped to work out what you would spend on your low dose birth control pills over the life of your ‘contraception career’?

A physician worked out the savings a patient would make if she were to buy her low dose birth control pills online and deposit the savings into a retirement fund. That does NOT sound too hard to me, after all she did not have to ’salary sacrifice’ or put that ‘must have’ handbag back on the shelf! Here’s what the physician found:

If a young lady of 22 were to use the pill till her late 40’s (say till she was 46), take 5 years off to have kids (generous by today’s standards) and deposit the annual savings (for her, $200) into her retirement account with an annual estimated return of 9%, then at retirement at, say, age 66, she will have (are you ready?)

$68,762!

That’s the magic of compounding interest. So if you are 22 years old now and order your pills online and put $200 per year into a tax free account till you are 30 years old, then pay no contributions for 5 years, then take your low dose birth control pills again for another 11 years, (saving by ordering online of course) at 66 you will have a nice little ‘nest egg’ to reward yourself with whatever you like.

Even if you don’t match these statistics, it makes you think doesn’t it?

I believe I have found the best online prices for the following low dose birth control pills:

for ALESSE (generic Loette) and DESOGEN (generic Marvelon) go to DispensaryMeds.com - Cheap meds and type name into search box

LEVLEN< MIRCETTE< OVRAL< ORTHO TRICYCLEN >

ORTHO TRICYCLEN LO (21 day) and ORTHO TRICYCLEN LO (28 day)- type name into search box

YASMIN (generic Janya)

Regardless of where you order online, make sure of these things:

• delivery time of your medication is guaranteed
• 100% Satisfaction Program is in place
• if you are not completely satisfied with your order that the pharmacy will reship your order for free or will issue a full refund back to your credit card
• pharmacy advice is available to answer your questions about a product
• the pharmacy is accredited and offers a secure ordering system for strict medication quality standard products

I LOVE all things grapefruit but after reading the package leaflet of my Lipitor medication I have abstained from enjoying even a glass of the delicious juice. Why? Simply because grapefruit can reduce the effectiveness of Lipitor.  Damn it……grapefruit can also reduce the effectiveness of your combined low dose birth control pill too. You’re OK if you take the progestin only pills - they are not affected by grapefruit as they do not contain estrogen.

Apparently, grapefruit and its juice hinders the absorption of estrogen in the body -  not a good thing if you’re paying out for a reliable birth control method that contains estrogen.  We need maximum estrogen absorption from our oral contraceptive pill to stop us from getting pregnant. In the previous post I listed other ‘compounds’ that can reduce the effectiveness of an oral contraceptive pill. The jury is still out on whether taking antihistamines alongside birth control pills containing estrogen may also affect  the performance of the pill. Anticonvulsants and antifungal medications should also be checked out with your doctor.

What happens in my body when I combine grapefruit and drugs?

There is a certain enzyme in your intestines and liver that help you to absorb  the drugs that you swallow and then excrete them when you’re body’s got what it can from them. Normally your doctor will prescribe a quantity/dose of a drug that is appropriate for
your body mass. This dose, say 40mg, should be absorbed into your body at a certain rate and excreted at a certain rate.  Enzymes in your gastrointestinal tract (gut) break down food and oral medications to enable them to be easily absorbed into your body.

Grapefruit juice seems to affect both the rate of the drug coming into your body and how quickly it is removed. The end result can be an overdose of the drug, even if you’re taking the correct dosage for your size. Where estrogen is the ‘active’ hormone that prevents pregnancy, you would be risking reducing the AMOUNT that your body would absorb and therefore ‘reducing’ your maximum protection.

What Can I Do To Avoid Dangerous Drug Interactions? Eat oranges instead!

If you are on medications that interact with grapefruit, unfortunately, like me, you’ll just have to avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice. If you think you can cheat by having grapefruit for brekky and taking your contraceptive pill at bedtime,  you’re out of luck as this will NOT solve the problem; the grapefruit juice effect remains even after you’ve stopped having it. Oranges are looking pretty good at this point if you like a ‘fresh’ start to your day.  A can of tomato juice has just 41 calories and more than
70% of the vitamin C for the day.

In the same way that your other medication can affect your birth control, remember that your birth control can also affect your other medication. Avoiding negative drug interactions is important whichever way you look at it so always ask your doctor or
pharmacist about drug interactions when you get a new prescription.

NB.These interactions apply to other methods of hormonal birth control including the Patch, the vaginal ring and Depo-Provera.

Alesse is a combined, low dose oral contraceptive pill that is very effective in preventing pregnancy when taken correctly.  However, did you know that certain other drugs, when taken alongside Alesse or other oral contraceptive pills, can reduce this effectiveness and possibly increase your risk of getting pregnant?  Alesse or any other low dose oral contraceptive pill that contains ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel may react with any of the drugs listed below so please carefully check the package list of ‘active ingredients’ on ANY medications you are taking alongside Alesse. A quick call to your doctor or pharmacist will put your mind at ease.

NB. This includes herbal products, vitamins and minerals, over the counter medications such as pain killers, sleeping pills and other prescriptions you have filled. Check with your doctor if you use illegal drugs alongside Alesse and if you are a heavy drinker of alcohol or smoke to excess.

acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
•anastrozole
•antibiotics or medicines for infections, especially rifampin
•aprepitant
•barbiturate medicines for producing sleep or treating seizures (convulsions)secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton)
•bosentan
•carbamazepine (Tegretol)
•caffeine
•clofibrate
•cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, Gengraf)
•dantrolene
•doxercalciferol
•exemestane
•grapefruit juice- stay tuned for more information on this in another post
•hydrocortisone
•letrozole
•medicines for anxiety or sleeping problems, such as diazepam or temazepam
•medicines for mental depression
•medicines for diabetes, including troglitazone and pioglitazone
•mineral oil
•modafinil
•mycophenolate
•nefazodone
•oxcarbazepine
phenylbutazone (Azolid, Butazolidin)
•phenytoin (Dilantin)
•prednisolone (Orapred)
primidone (Mysoline)
rifampin
•ritonavir (Norvir)or other medicines for the treatment of the HIV virus or AIDS such as modafinil (Provigil)
•selegiline
•soy isoflavones supplements
•St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
•tamoxifen or raloxifene
•testolactone
•theophylline (Respbid, Theo-Dur)
•topiramate (Topamax)
•warfarin

………..and possibly certain antibiotics (such as ampicillin and other penicillins and tetracyclines)

WARNING: Do not share Alesse or any other oral contraceptive pill with anyone else and keep the pack of oral contraceptive pills out of the reach of children. Do not use Alesse or any other medication after the expiry date on the pack.
Sources: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.Philadelphia, DrugDigest, Drugs.com

The above information is intended as a guide only and should not be substituted for the professional expertise and advice from your doctor or pharmacist.

Are oral contraceptives ‘good’ for reducing the risk of developing some cancers but ‘bad’ for increasing the risk of others developing? What is rumour, what is fact,  which ‘latest’ study can be relied upon to help us to make the decision about whether a cancer risk is worth taking when it comes to using oral contraceptives for birth control?  For the average female who just wants an effective and safe, long term solution for her birth control method, to treat acne or reduce severe menstrual symptoms, study results can be unsettling to say the least and they often leave her anxious and unsure about her own personal level of risk.  This latest study, though, on the relationship between oral contraceptives and cancers, is worth a look.

Who Did The Study?

The British Royal College of General Practitioners (yep, these guys have ‘cred’) studied 46,000 women from 1968 to 1996 (in my opinion, an absolute minimum no. to study) divided into two groups, 23,000 users of oral contraception and 23,000 who had ‘never used’ oral contraceptives. 1,400 family physicians collected all sorts of relevant data including, type of oral contraceptive used, pregnancies, new illnesses, surgeries and cancers.

This study was also thorough in gathering other information about these women such as their age, their smoking status and social class and their medical records were examined to enable any new cancer cases and deaths from any cause to be reported to the study from national registries and databases.  Incidences of cancer in women who took oral contraceptives was compared with incidences in ‘never-users’ of oral contraceptives Individual cancers, leading gynecologic neoplasms and ‘all cancers’ were categorized.  Neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Neoplasms may be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Also called a  tumor.

What Were The Findings?

In a nutshell, the study confirms what we have been told by other evidence to date, that is, in large population-based studies, no increased risk of cancers has been detected in oral contraceptive users overall and there was no difference between the two groups for cases of breast cancer.

Using oral contraceptives seems to protect against ovarian cancer for at least 15 years after discontinuation of use

• significantly lower numbers of cases of colorectal, ovarian, uterine body, “unknown” and “other” cancers were found
• there was a 29% combined risk reduction for the main gynecologic cancers in oral contraceptive users
• increases in cases of lung, cervix and central nervous system cancer were found in a few oral contraceptive users BUT these were too small and statistically in significant enough to count
• a significant increase in cancer risk was associated with the use of oral contraceptives for more than 8 years, mainly due to an increase of cervical, pituitary and central nervous system cancers

We owe it to ourselves to keep up to date with any findings and developments regarding birth control and sexual health but when readings results of surveys please use your common sense in assessing the source, scope and size of the study to avoid a ‘knee jerk’ reaction based on minimal information that could unnecessarily cause you distress and have a negative impact on your ‘contraception career’.

Sources:  Nat. Cancer Institute and full report by Ann D Walling HERE but I recommend that you at least read the editor’s note at the end of the article as it has relevance for all females who are worried about cancer and currently use or are considering using, oral contraceptives.

You’ve held that warm little body in your arms for the first time and know all about GIVING birth but before you face the issues that come with rearing your darling bundle of joy, fairly soon you’ll have to face the issue of how to CONTROL the timing of the next (?) birth. So do you just go back to the birth control method you were using before, assuming this was effective and the gorgeous darling was ‘planned’(!) or do you need to change to a different method now?

‘Low dose’ is a term used in birth control terminology to refer to the amount of ESTROGEN present in a contraceptive. To ‘qualify’ as low dose, there has to be only 0.035mg or less of estrogen present. You may be thinking at this point that it would be OK for you to use a low dose pill as it sounds reasonably safe BUT If you have decided to breastfeed, you should avoid using ANY birth control method that contains estrogen- namely, a combined contraceptive pill, a hormonal patch (which you know I do not recommend to anyone as a method of birth control anyway) and the Ring. Estrogen can affect your milk supply and also pass through to your baby. All is not lost though - This article does a good job of answering all those other questions you may have around birth control and pregnancy including:

• I’ve always been on the Pill, but now I’m breastfeeding. That means I can’t go back on it, right?
• I’m not sure whether I’m done having babies, so what’s long-term but not permanent?
• I’ve heard there’s a type of sterilization for women that isn’t surgical. Does it work? Is it permanent?
• I’d like to use “fertility awareness” as my birth-control method. How can I be sure I’m doing it right?

NB. Oral contraceptives may decrease the amount of folate in your body. Folate is important for the development of a healthy baby, so you should talk to your doctor if you want to become pregnant soon after you stop taking oral contraceptives.

I am researching birth control methods for women over 35 at present so come back later if that means you, for an update on the latest options.

Women’s contraceptive pills use chemical signals in our bodies to block ovulation so how are things going with the development of a male contraceptive to block sperm production, will it be in the form of a pair of sperm suppressing knickers, (now they really would be magic!) an implant, injection or a contraceptive pill?

It looks like it’s going to be a while yet before further options are added to what is currently a very short list of options for male contraceptives ( condoms and vasectomy) but the GOOD NEWS is that male hormonal birth control methods appear to have lower risks of side effects than female methods.  Oh, I do hope so for the sake of those little lab mice!  Read this latest news article about how men can be turned on and off, literally, in the reproductive basement.

A man’s pituitary gland produces the chemicals that signal sperm and testosterone production to commence in the testes. Men do not produce female progestin so a male hormonal contraceptive would have to consist of testosterone, along with the female hormone progestin. Once in the bloodstream, these hormones would tell the pituitary that the testes already had done their job, so the pituitary would not produce the signals.

Switching off the signal is likened to a thermostat switching off an air conditioner according to Ronald Swerdloff, head of the endocrinology department at the University of California, Los Angeles, Harbor Medical Center. You may be surprised to read in this article that in one survey of 9,000 men, more than half said they would use male birth control. They have never struggled and sweated themselves into a pair of magic knickers though have they girls, so it’s my bet that the pill will get the vote!

I realize that this post will only apply to a few women but hey, if 3 years supply of free contraceptives interests you, read on. A Contraceptive Choice Project is beginning at the Washington University School of Medicine and if you live in the St. Louis area, you may be one of 10,000 women who will be accepted for participating in a study AND reap considerable benefits along the way. The goal of the Contraceptive Choice Project is to better understand contraceptive choices.

As well as the free birth control for three years, you’ll also get free testing for sexually transmitted disease, free STD treatment and the satisfaction of helping others learn about contraceptive choice.

As far as I’m concerned, the more we can keep this topic in the limelight, the more funds may be spent on improving contraceptives, developing new types of contraceptives to provide a wider range of birth control options and very importantly, making sure that women are much more knowledgeable about what goes into contraceptives and their effects on the body- especially the hormonal ones.

Don’t be shy or embarrassed about getting involved in a study about contraceptives, maybe you could get together some girlfriends and all do it as part of your ‘further education’? This is your chance to do your bit for all the goddesses out there and the money that you would have spent on 3 years supply of contraceptives? Well, an extra $700 or $800 in the kitty isn’t to be sneezed at is it, girls?

NO RISK

Oh, and in case you’re wondering if this study is going to increase your risk of getting pregnant- only if you do not continue to use your contraceptives correctly and consistently as you do now, yes? This study is about contraceptive CHOICES, not effectiveness. Check out the study at 314-747-0800,

OR you can read the PDF on line