(no subject)

[waterspyder]

I was reading the December 12, 2005 issue of Maclean's magazine in the doctor's office and stumbled across a science article regarding the birth control pill and menstruation. Apparently, within 2 years, Canadian women will be seeing two new birth control pills on the market, one of which operates on an 84 day cycle and allows for menstruation 4 times a year, and one which halts menstruation altogether. Over the course of the multipage article, it explores several things, but mainly it is the controversy surrounding amennorhea.

I was reminded of a short story torrain had me read. It looks like cyclists will be upon us in no time.

I'm currently taking the Depo Provera shot and have no bleeding, so you can guess which side of the fence I sit on. Someone decided at some point that a woman had to bleed to be a woman. And that someone, it turns out, was a Dr. John Rock who urged Birth control pill manufacturers to include a period where bleeding occurred in hopes that he could convince the Catholic Church that the birth control pill was an acceptable form of birth control. So it didn't fly with the church, we know that. More recent studies show that the bleeding has less to do with the woman's natural menstrual cycle and a lot more to do with s withdrawal response to the sudden absence of progesterone. Yuck!

There are plenty of people out there arguing both sides, and are given fair representation in the article, female gynaecologists from both sides are quoted, including women who presently use the existing birth control pills to halt their mestruation, and doctor's who insist that menstruation isnecessary for women to rid themselves of excess iron stores.

When I take a step back and think of my own experience. I do not have excess iron, and in fact am one of the few women I know who has never had anemia. I have saved hundreds of dollars in feminine hygiene products. I have never lost sleep over if I might be bleeding on my vacation. I have never been embarassed by the monthly visitor showing up a day early. I can swim whenever I like and not have to worry about tampons. I don't turn into a lunatic (literally)!

Anyhow read the article. More information is available on the MUM website at http://www.mum.org/.

Comments

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

I know I don't have excess iron (if anything, odds are I probably hav a lack of it), but I'm still leery about the idea of something the eliminates menstruation entirely. While I hate my period, I remember that birth control, no matter what kind, isn't 100%, and I like knowing I'm *not* pregnant.

Instead of something that eliminates menstruation entirely, I'd be more of a fan of something that lets you get it all out in one go, rather than it coming out slowly over a few days.

[baanrys.livejournal.com]

Just because you bleed, doesn't mean you aren't pregnant. I've known women who had "regular periods" for a # of months before they knew they were pregnant.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

But you arn't actualy menstrating on the pill (at least according to various studies), it's your body going into shock from the lack of the pill and bleeding as a result.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Reference, please?

'cause there's a difference between "menstruation brought on as a result of no longer being on the hormones" and "bleeding (which, all colloquial usage aside, is not the same as menstruating) to the point where you do not have enough blood flow and so go into the life-threatening condition which requires immediate medical attention and is known as shock".

Because if these studies are reliable, I have survived going into shock over a hundred times with no medical assistance whatsoever, and am so incredibly lucky I should probably give up this whole "job" thing and start buying lottery tickets.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Sorry, not shock. I got my medical terms messed up. It's a withdrawal symptom.

[panthertriad.livejournal.com]

Well I suppose if you've placed your ovaries into suspended animation, you don't need to shed eggs either...

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Joy! Bliss! Swimsuits! Frilly underwear!

(On a sidenote, never noticed myself being anemic either.)

Admittedly, if this hadn't been developed, I could cope with the damn thing showing up once a month and just swear when it inconvenienced something I wanted to do. But the option to not have it anymore is making me very cautiously ecstatic.

That said, it's always been easiest to wax during my period; I'm wondering how hard it'd get. Nothing seemed to nail down at which point in the cycle you'd stay at.