This new combined oral contraceptive, containing the ‘new’ type of estrogen, Qlaira/Natazia has been available in Europe since 2009 and in the US since 2010 and yes, Bayer is the same company that makes Yaz, the focus of controversy recently.  Are they hoping that Qlaira will redeem them from the negative Yaz publicity? The manufacturer does not state that the dose/mix of ingredients in the new pill is safer than other combined, low dose birth control pills, just that Qlaira will deliver ‘the right levels at the right time’.  Hmmm… what does THAT mean exactly- that the rest do NOT or that oestradiol valerate is a ‘better’ type of synthetic estrogen than the one everyone else uses (ethinyl estradiol)?

As far as I can judge, this new low dose pill seems to be just as good at its job as the others out there (with a few more stringent instructions to follow) given that there is no ‘one pill fits all’ scenario when it comes to low dose birth control.  Reviews from consumers to date indicate a high proportion of women who prefer it for its minimal side effects and minimal bleeding so hurrah for those of you for whom Qlaira has banished mood swings, pms, weight gain and sore boobs. Not so much of a hurrah though, for those of you who have had headaches, irregular bleeds and no sex drive!

Qlaira, like other hormonal contraceptives, does not protect against HIV infection
(AIDS) or any other sexually transmitted disease.

Even though I review synthetic medications, I advocate as low a dose as possible when a choice has to be made.  I am personally in favour of exploring natural options prior to putting chemicals into anyone’s body so when I saw the word ‘natural’  linked to one of the ingredients in this new low dose birth control pill, Qlaira/Natazia,  I was optimistic about a possible turning point in contraception pill history and prepared to pass on the good news.

Well, suffice it to say that not all is what it seems ... before you consider swapping from your current BC pill, visit Virginia Hopkins’ site and get the full picture about the term ‘natural’ as related to this new, low dose birth control pill before reading my review about the specifics of Qlaira/Natazia in Part B.  The ‘natural’ hype is rather diluted when you see that the other ingredient in this low dose birth control pill is totally synthetic- ah well.

N.B: I have no connection with Virginia Hopkins but am always happy to recommend user friendly sites which I believe provide a valuable service to women. When it comes to bio identical (natural) hormone information this site brings you a collection of useful resource links and a comprehensive library of other natural health articles. Thank you Virginia.

Part B - Qlaira/Natazia pill details follow in the next post…

We can become quite complacent when all the mod cons are on our doorstep yet even when they are, we often fail to use them as we should, relying on low dose birth control methods to prevent pregnancy but forgetting about the other vital safe guard we need, especially if we have multiple partners.

Are you sure that you ‘know it all’ when it comes to using condoms?  I’m sure you do but following a recent report identifying common poor condom practice,  I thought a weekend ‘refresher’ reminder wouldn’t hurt since these errors are universal. (Americans are some of the worst offenders)

10 Condom Commandments: You can check that you’re following the 10 condom commandments here and pat yourself on the back if you are on the ball!
If that condom in your purse has been there for a while, better check the expiry date.

Undercover Condoms Deal of the Month: Buy 1

12 Pack of Sir Richard’s Condoms, Get 1 FREE (value $12.95)

Source: Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction on global literature on condom errors and problems from 1955- 2011

Check here to see if your pill packaging looks correct and also to compare your lot no. and  package dates with the recalled lots. Expiration dates range from July 31, 2013, to March 31, 2014.

The company has recalled ALL 28 lots even though only 30 packs were affected, there are no other health risks associated with the low dose birth control pills.

If you prefer to watch a video and to hear an explanation of the recall go here.

If You Already Take a Low Dose Birth Control Pill - you have accepted the well known, ‘risk over benefit scenario ‘ of blood clots. This risk is accepted by the medical profession as being a small one and has been listed on pill packets for over 50 years. However, even a slightly higher risk acknowledged in a new drug can be critical because blood clots can trigger heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels. It’s up to you to thoroughly weigh up any benefits of taking a higher risk with a pill containing drosprinenone above one with a different type of synthetic progestin.

  Other Confounding Factors which influence blood clotting risk include:

• smoking
• age over 35
• obesity
• PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome)
• a family history of heart disease or a clotting disorder

….all of which make it even more urgent that further research on hormone based drugs and the blood clotting factor is pursued.. 

According to the FDA review, 10 in 10,000 women (see list in previous post) will suffer a potentially deadly blood clot as a result of taking a hormonal contraceptive. How else are we at risk of developing a blood clot though?

• about 20 in every 10,000 women who are pregnant or just gave birth develop blood clots
• one in every 4,500 people develops a blood clot after flying (according to the World Health Organization)

Prior to posting this result, I’ve been digging around for ‘inside’ information on these proceedings and include these links for those of you who’d like to know more about the hidden files, withheld information and what else has been going on backstage.

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LVQYL56S972I01-7V9D1IMKMU35U8DIJ4NU7MFOEJ

http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/12/fda-critic-stripped-of-voting-rights-at-birth-control-pill-hearings/

If You Are Already aYaz Fan -   as a reviewer of this status quo with low dose birth control pills containing drospirenone, I think a reasonable question to ask yourself is “why would I take a low dose birth control pill containing an ingredient with a slightly higher risk of causing blood clots when I can take one with a lower risk that works just as well?” 

BC pills containing levonorgestrel as the synthetic form of progestin are just as effective in preventing pregnancy as those containing drospirenone. “I can see no real group of patients that this drug benefited over existing alternatives,” said Mark Woods of New York University School of Medicine. You may have been prescribed an androgen blocking, drospirenone containing birth control pill because you suffer from acne, are obese or suffer from PCOS so if you are concerned about the  increased risk of blood clots talk to your doctor about these findings in relation to your own health status to see what options you have. For simple explanations of the acne/androgen connection - just type either word into the search box on the RHS of this page.

Bayer faces more than 10,000 lawsuits over injuries *allegedly caused by the contraceptives, obviously, more long term research is required if we are to get clear evidence on this issue but at what cost and are YOU happy to be one of the guinea pigs?  If in doubt - CHECK IT OUT.PS. The Patch- Ortho Evra- which I warn about on this site doesn’t contain drospirenone but does contain higher levels of estrogen than in traditional low dose birth control pills so it could also increase the risk of blood clots. 

 Next post will be on a new brand of low dose hormonal IUD. Christmas giggle: “What do attorneys use for birth control?” Their personalities.

Thank you for visiting my site this year, peace and blessings to you and your loved ones this Christmas and see yourselves safely into the New Year.

We all want to know - do low dose birth control pills containing drospirenone increase the risk of blood clots by 74% when compared to other birth control pills on the market?

I’ll post the results of the hearings  but in the meantime  this link  is worth a visit now as the first civil lawsuit launches in Canada against the manufactures of Yasmin, Bayer Inc. .The comments on the article are worth reading too but persevere to page two.

Other low dose birth control pills containing the same dosage (3 mg) of drospirenone as Yaz/Yasmin are:

• Ocella 
• Safyral
• Syeda
• Zarah
• Beyaz
• Gianvi
• Loryna

Earlier analysis seems to be backed up by the latest online statements in the British Medical Journal that although there IS a higher venous thromboembolic (VTE) risk carried by the newer forms of progesterone when combined with oral contraceptives containing *30 to *40 μg ethinyl estradiol (synthetic estrogen). However, that risk still remains small, at about 10 in 10,000.The updated analysis included more than 1.2 million non-pregnant 15- to 49-year-old women in Denmark without a history of thrombotic disease.

Progestin -only pills, like the mini pill (low-dose norethisterone or desogestrel alone) or intrauterine devices which released hormones, did NOT have any impact on VTE risk compared with non-users.

Lower estrogen doses were associated with modestly lower VTE risk for oral contraceptives with norethisterone, levonorgestrel, desogestrel or gestodene but NOT with drospirenone.

With the ‘older’, low dose birth control pills (containing levonorgestrel as the type of synthetic progestin) women were still at threefold elevated risk of VTE compared with those not on any hormonal contraception, whereas those on oral contraceptives containing desogestrel, gestodene, drospirenone (Yaz) or cyproterone boosted their risk six to seven times over that of non-users .

For current users of the newer pills, Philip C. Hannaford, MD, of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, emphasised that the risks appear real and may lead many clinicians to prescribe a combined oral contraceptive with levonorgestrel whenever possible. “It is crucial, however, not to exaggerate the risk — oral contraceptives are remarkably safe and may confer important long-term benefits in relation to cancer and mortality,” Hannaford cautioned.

I’ll follow this issue closely and post again in Dec. or when the FDA releases their latest statement about the risk level of blood clots for users of low dose birth control pills which contain drospirenone (like Yaz).

Primary source: BMJ
Lidegaard Ø, et al “Risk of venous thromboembolism from use of oral contraceptives containing different progestogens and oestrogen doses: Danish cohort study, 2001-9″ BMJ 2011; 343: d6423.

Tools for Parents - there are some really user friendly resources on the Planned Parenthood site, including an online photo flip book with some great comments inside - I like some of ‘the most awkward parent moments’ as well as ‘the best parent moments’ and the video is worth watching too. An online social networking experience will guide you through the steps of developing messages to give your children and helps you to go about having a chat about them all.

As a parent you CAN help your teenager to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Do you REALLY know how sexually active your teenage son or daughter is? Have you done your bit to make sure that if/when they say ‘yes’ they can manage their birth control competently? I hope that you at least have some idea of what’s ‘going on’ in this hugely important sector of your teenager’s development (AND I know how difficult it can be to find out!) but be prepared to be taken aback at what you may discover when you’re honoured with some feedback! Peers and even same sex friends can pass on inaccurate information, myths and half truths when it comes to sharing tales about sexual adventures so take a deep breath if you feel uncomfortable and love your child enough to do this. Your teenager may think that you know nothing about what ‘everybody’s doing’  these days but you can quickly link them up with exactly what they need to be safe sexually and to qualify future partners for nourishing relationships.

Planned Parenthood states ” By the time they’re 19, seven out of 10 teens have had sex. Two thousand teens get pregnant in the U.S. every day and teens have very high rates of sexually transmitted infections.”

We never stop growing up despite how experienced we think we are so before October comes to an end I encourage you to take this opportunity to do the right thing by someone you love, awkward though it may be and give them the best support you can to help them navigate their sexual relationships and ‘contraception career’ safely and with confidence.

You may have read in the news recently that the contraceptive pill has an effect on the female memory. Apparently, men and women remember things differently (ah, light bulb moment, as those of you who have ever argued with a man will agree!) If the research into ‘enzyme type’ birth control (see yesterday’s post) replaces the hormonal method currently provided by our low dose birth control pills and other forms of hormonal contraception, we may just find memory changes associated with hormonal types of birth control can be wiped off our worry radars.

You may have read in the news recently that the contraceptive pill has an effect on the female memory. Apparently, men and women remember things differently (ah, light bulb moment, as those of you who have ever argued with a man will agree!) Don’t think you’re going to lose your memory or fall headlong into early dementia if you keep popping your low dose birth control pills. Researchers have found that women who use on today’s low dose birth control methods have memory changes which cause them to recall similarly to the way men do.

The low dose birth control pill changes the TYPE of information women recall

Men use their right brain for memory and to remember the ‘big picture’ rather than the details of a scene/event whereas women usually remember the details surrounding an event by using their left brain. That is- if you are NOT on a type of low dose birth control. If you take a form of low dose birth control, even for a s little as a month or two, it has been found that the synthetic hormones they contain affect a woman’s memory to produce results like a man does- i.e remembering the ‘big picture’.

WHY does this happen?  Research has found a link between a woman’s sex hormones and her ‘left brain’ memory.

Synthetic estrogen and progesterone in forms of low dose birth control suppress sex hormones in a woman’s body which is why some women complain of loss of libido. Studies show that a woman’s natural estrogen and progesterone production are linked to her left brain memory so by suppressing these with the use of synthetic hormones, the function of memory is also affected.

What is the implication of this? – well, I’ll leave you to figure that one out but if you are on low dose birth control ladies and your guy has heard about this, your ‘defense memory’may no longer be the big gun the next time you want to win a point!

Source:UC Irvine research- Shawn Nielsen, Nicole Ertman and Larry Cahill

The next step in developing better birth control for women looks set to use enzymes instead of synthetic hormones to prevent ovulation. If this is successful, the benefits could mean an end to flooding a woman’s body with chemicals(Yeay!) and the removal of one of the major risks associated with current birth control Pills - cardiovascular disease.

If this new type of birth control becomes a reality, we don’t yet know what form the ‘enzyme’ treatment will take but missed pill dramas and other associated ‘Pill’ annoyances could become ancient tales from history.

Rhesus Macaque monkeys are being studied by Jon Hennebold and a team of researchers at Oregon’s Health & Science University (in the Oregon National Primate Research Center) because their reproductive systems are very similar to those of humans. The research team has discovered which enzymes in these monkeys can be targetted to prevent the release of an egg from an ovary so you can imagine the excitement about the application for us females!

While it is early days yet, it is to be hoped that funding will support ongoing research into any method of birth control that increases effectiveness, reduces side effects and relieves women of the daily burden to pop that pill. Not wishing to burst the balloon before it’s inflated, I can’t help but wonder what the effects of ‘fiddling’ with our endocrine system as opposed to interfering with our hormones will mean for our bodies (AND our emotions!) I just hope that it’s as minimal as possible and that WHEN/IF this research does bring us a new generation of birth control, that our concerns will be safely and satisfactorily alleviated and our mood swings will be left up to us!

I’ll keep you up to date as more information on this new generation of birth control becomes available. Tomorrow I’ll put up a brief comment about the latest ‘findings’ about the low dose birth control pill and your memory…

Have you got your copy of my handy little ‘vagina’ guide yet?  Christmas present for Mum? Excellent value at $11.95 and it never goes out of  ‘fashion’!

Margaret Sanger would be dancing in the streets if she had lived to see the giant leap forward in women’s health that has been made this week in the US. Sanger founded the American Birth Control League which became, in 1942, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This week Planned Parenthood is celebrating Monday’s ruling by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that birth control is now classed as a basic preventative health care service that should NOT attract a co-payment. For a wider perspective, read this great article by the vice president of Planned Parenthood.

Free Birth Control for Women no doubt has the insurers scowling rather than dancing as the IOM (Inst. of Medicine) has recommended to the government that the service also includes:

Cost Benefits of Free Birth ControlWith almost 50% of US pregnancies unintended, if you’re thinking that this is going to cost the government heaps check these IOM figures out: