New pill offers no more periods?

[buttmunch]

Daily Mail

A new Pill promises a lifestyle revolution for women by eliminating periods and offering the prospect of an end to premenstrual syndrome.
The oral contraceptive is the first in the world designed to do away with menstruation completely.

It raises the prospect of women being able to simply pop a Pill every single day to avoid having periods for many years.

Experts say it is likely to be seized on by career women who want to avoid the inconvenience of periods because of their busy lifestyles.

It should also appeal to the millions who battle with premenstrual symptoms such as mood swings, as the makers say it can prevent hormonal fluctuations each month.

The new contraceptive is a combined Pill, which means it contains both oestrogen and progestogen., which is by far the most common type in the UK.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, its U.S.-based manufacturer, claims it is safe and does not do any permanent damage to a woman's fertility.

However critics warned that oral contraceptives raise the risk of blood clots and breast cancer.

They said continuous exposure to hormones might increase these risks and make it harder to spot potential health problems.

Normally a woman takes the Pill for 21 days and then stops, or takes a dummy tablet, for seven days. During this time she gets a monthly bleed, normally much lighter than a natural one.

The new Pill, called Anya, is the first designed to be taken 365 days a year without a break.

There is no medical reason why women cannot take the existingPill without a break.

However, when the oral contraceptive was launched in the 1960s it was thought retaining an element of the monthly cycle would help make it more acceptable to women.

Surveys in the 1970s reinforced that belief as women said it made the process feel normal.

But since then attitudes have changed, prompting Wyeth to create the first Pill designed to be taken continuously. There is actually little chemical change in the new Pill although the dose will be varied so it can be taken non-stop.

Wyeth hopes it will go on sale in the U.S. next year and across the EU several months later. Analysts believe it could generate £170million in worldwide sales each year.

Research found 71 per cent of women stopped having any bleeding after taking it for seven months.

With existing Pills, women can still get occasional bleeding even on the days when they take the contraceptive.

Women with a history of premenstrual syndrome who took the new Pill also had fewer symptoms, according to research presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Montreal. Applications to market the Pill have been filed with U.S. regulators the Food and Drug Administration and with authorities in Finland.

The Finnish application is a fasttrack to getting approval from the European Medicines Agency whose approval, once granted, is valid for other EU member states.

A spokesman for New Jerseybased Wyeth, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, said the main aim of the Pill was to prevent pregnancy, but it should also help stop hormonal fluctuations and enable some women to eliminate monthly bleeding.

"It is an important evolution for oral contraception and should present women with additional options," she said.

Melissa Dear of the fpa, formerly the Family Planning Association, said: "It is safe to suppress menstruation and I would have thought some women would jump at the chance of it. Others will still want the reassurance of a monthly bleed."

She said the Pill could also help cut unplanned pregnancies, as many are caused by women failing to restart taking their Pill on time after a break.

But Dr Ellen Grant, whose research since the 1960s has raised concerns about the Pill, said oral contraceptives can raise the risk of cancer, blood clots and depression.

She added that many women on the Pill only experience warning signs of problems during their withdrawal bleed.

Wyeth said that of 2,000 women who took the new Pill for a study, just six had serious side effects such as prolonged bleeding or blood clots. How it breaks the cycle

Like any other Pill, the new one avoids pregnancy by stopping ovulation, preventing eggs being released by copying the hormonal state of pregnancy.

Numerous studies show this does not harm a woman's fertility because when she stops taking the Pill, ovulation resumes.

Each month a woman's body normally prepares for pregnancy by building up the lining of the womb. However if the egg is unfertilised, the lining is shed in the process of menstruation. Because the Pill stops ovulation, the womb lining does not build up in the normal way.

The 'withdrawal bleed' a woman gets when she takes a seven-day break from the Pill is in fact triggered simply by the sudden drop in hormones.

However in the case of the new Pill, because there is no break there is no trigger for this process and the lining remains without causing any problem to the woman.

I just don't know what to think about this. In a way, I'm starting to wonder if we're pushing nature a bit far. I mean, getting your 'monthly bleed' (love British expressions!) is about as normal as you can get and sure, sometimes it sucks and is inconvenient but at the end of the day, I'm starting to wonder if we aren't so completely selfish and self centered that we'll pop a pill to get rid of anything that stands in our way. Or maybe I'm just being silly?

[Barbara]

A quick personal info as background: I've been on the pill for 7 years and I've always been afraid of the possible side effects on my health. Last year I found out I had some pre-cancerous cells and in spring I had to have a cervical conization because they were spreading and getting worse. It was a quite traumatic experience and even if I have no proof deep down I'm sure that damn little thing I've been taking every morning could have been the cause of it. In a couple of months if everything down there stays normal I'll be getting the Mirena implant, and that's where it gets weird: my gyn told me that it would make me ovulate again, that I'd keep the PMS and the feeling of the cycle, BUT that a lot of women stop bleeding when they are on that kind of contraception. So on one side your body goes back to its normal functions, but you don't lose blood any more (apart from occasional spots).

So, even just a year ago, if I had had to give my opinion about a pill that suppresses periods, I would have said I'm against it because I feel that all bodily functions are there for a purpose.
Now, after having had that conization + the feeling that my body in some way betrayed me, I'm not so sure. I almost don't bleed anymore on my period, so I might as well get rid of it.
But I want to keep the feeling of my monthly cycle, PMS and all. Probably because my symptoms are not that bad and it gives me a great excuse to eat whatever I feel like for a week and be bitchy and horny

What I really wish for is a SAFE (by safe I mean not 100% effective, but safe for the woman's health) hormonal contraception. Wishful thinking

[calendargurl]

having no period at all sounds so awesome but i wait for the sucker every month so i know ( and i know it's not total proof ) that i'm not having a stinky poopy baby! i use to be on the patch but quit b/c it's expensive and i don't have insurance so i bet i couldnt afford this pill even if i wanted it. i'm 21 and i've already had problems with bad cells that weren't supposed to be there so i think i might pass on the cancer pill.

[moocow]

It maybe be just an inconvenience to some women, but for me it really interferes with my life. I bleed a tremendous amount and have a long period. I use a reusable cup, which gives a much better indicator of quantity, and in just one 4 hour period I can easily bleed as much as most women do their entire cycle. With that much bleeding also comes really horrible cramps. I have to take prescription meds when that happens, just to be able to function.

No obvious physical reason has been found for this - not fibroids or endometriosis.

I would love to be able to take a pill, even temporarily, that would make a difference. There already is a pill that you can take and skip a period for 3 months at a time. It made me bleed excessively after taking it for 6 weeks. That's not even counting the problem I have with taking hormones of any sort and my blood pressure getting elevated. For 7 years, I had no problems taking tri-phasil, but when I started getting closer to 30, it started becoming dangerous.

I'd say that one of the most annoying aspects of this is that I have my tubes tied, so there's no need for my freaking periods anyway! I am so torn about the idea of getting a partial hysterectomy - I'd love to be rid of the problem, but I'm afraid of opening myself up to even more complications.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a perspective as to why there are women who would jump at the chance to get rid of what to most might simply be an inconvenience.

[Barbara]

^^ Only 3-4 times in my life did I experience horrible menstrual cramps (that was before I took the pill I think, but maybe the last time I was on it already). I laid on the floor in a ball and moaned for hours, it drained all energy away from me. I think if I had to endure that every month I'd jump at any possible chance to get rid of it

[ourmaninBusan]

The oral contraceptive is the first in the world designed to do away with menstruation completely.

It raises the prospect of women being able to simply pop a Pill every single day to avoid having periods for many years.

[ourmaninBusan]

It should also appeal to the millions who battle with premenstrual symptoms such as mood swings, as the makers say it can prevent hormonal fluctuations each month.

[SVZ]

Please remember to include your source when posting articles.

[sweetrebel]

Originally Posted by moocow

It maybe be just an inconvenience to some women, but for me it really interferes with my life. I bleed a tremendous amount and have a long period. I use a reusable cup, which gives a much better indicator of quantity, and in just one 4 hour period I can easily bleed as much as most women do their entire cycle. With that much bleeding also comes really horrible cramps. I have to take prescription meds when that happens, just to be able to function.

No obvious physical reason has been found for this - not fibroids or endometriosis.

I would love to be able to take a pill, even temporarily, that would make a difference. There already is a pill that you can take and skip a period for 3 months at a time. It made me bleed excessively after taking it for 6 weeks. That's not even counting the problem I have with taking hormones of any sort and my blood pressure getting elevated. For 7 years, I had no problems taking tri-phasil, but when I started getting closer to 30, it started becoming dangerous.

I'd say that one of the most annoying aspects of this is that I have my tubes tied, so there's no need for my freaking periods anyway! I am so torn about the idea of getting a partial hysterectomy - I'd love to be rid of the problem, but I'm afraid of opening myself up to even more complications.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a perspective as to why there are women who would jump at the chance to get rid of what to most might simply be an inconvenience.

Reading your post is almost like I wrote it! I have been having serious problems with my period for several months. I have had my tubes tied 15 years and I have no desire to have any of the "equipment". I have no need for it-I hope that once I am on hubby's insurance they will want to do a hysterectomy-my sister had one a year ago, and she is 2 1/2 years younger than me. She did have severe firboids-her uterus was the size of a 3 month pregnant woman at the time of her surgery. She had gotten to the point where she had a period constantly, and was anemic...pretty bad situation.
I just wonder if they will give this pill to people who have had tubals?

[AliceInWonderland]

I'm against it as well, as nice as it sounds, b/c you just don't mess with Mother Nature when you don't need to...and thats just my opinion
I'm completely off of man-made meds and i'm incorporating more and more organic foods into my diet b/c I'm just sick of the shit out there in all our shit that ends up in our bodies and clouds our minds w/ chemicals...on the same note; I can't wait for Micheal Moore's new movie exposing the $ hungry pharmacutical companies of this country; the same companies and FDA who allow fatal heart-attack causing pain releivers to be sold to people (Vioxx) but are against Vitamin C and airborne being advertised as a reliever of colds!

[buttmunch]

What I really wish for is a SAFE (by safe I mean not 100% effective, but safe for the woman's health) hormonal contraception. Wishful thinking

Until men start getting thier period, I don't think this'll be happening anytime soon. And sorry SVZ, this came from the daily mail.

[phishtickie]

I would never seriously consider playing with nature in this manner. I mean most women do not experience THAT much pain during their periods. Especially for younger women, I think this is not an option. Its just silly. Perhaps for older women who do not want to have any more children... But I ve always felt that having a period is sort of a way to feel that all is well & regular down there, in a way I mean, women have a difficult time when menopause occurs naturally, imagine how much harder it would be to come to terms with stopping your own period at an earlier age..

[savansa]

There's already the Dep shot so this is hardly groundbreaking. Plus, I didn't start having problems with my period until I started hormonal birth control. The Pill, the ring, and Dep can cause serious problems for women if the hormone balance isn't good for them.

[moocow]

I wouldn't feel any less a woman for not having periods.

Problems with menopause aren't strictly about not having a period, it's the hormone fluctuations, the fact that it's irreversible (as opposed to pills temporarily stopping the cycle), and that there are women who haven't accepted the fact that they aren't having more/any children.

While age might cause an increase in problem periods for some women, there are plenty that have it from the time that they begin having periods. If you have no problems during your cycles, count yourself lucky, but don't assume that's the norm, or that it's not a real problem for many women, of all ages.

[phishtickie]

I dont assume that its a norm of any sort, I just dont think its more common to have menstrual problems that to not have them (based on what ive heard from friends etc). As for the menopausal problems, who is to say that you wont have the same issues even if you induce the menopause yourself? They still obviously use hormones to stop your period, so you might have the same problems as older women. And I personally, for one, do no want to stuff myself full of hormones for no reason at all. I prefer the good old condom. Protects from pregnancy AND stds