No tampons, no super-sized maxi-pads, no cramps ... Any woman from the Pamprin-press could get rid of the endless positive symptoms of birth control pills. But is this new menstruation an endangered drug safety and can it provide protection against acne?
What is a "stop period"
Well, at first the period ending in contraception called Lybrel doesn't actually stop the period. As the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals notes, stopping the birth control period is actually “suppressing the menstrual cycle.” The body's response to the seven-day lack of birth control hormones after a typical 21-day birth control cycle causes withdrawal bleeding, rather than a true period.
Regardless of what she called, this week's approval of the Food and Drug Administration period of missing contraceptives raised enough unanswered safety questions to fill the month of morning talk shows.
Lybrel
The period, suppressing Lybrel, comes complete with 28 pills. The tablets contain 90 micrograms of progestin, levonorgestrel and 20 μg of estrogen, ethinyl estradiol. These active ingredients are similar and work like other FDA approved contraceptives. Exception, you miss placebo.
Levonorgestrel stops the monthly removal of eggs from the ovary and thickens the cervical mucus, which complicates the sperm fertilization of the egg.
Control of libral and acne
In addition to preventive pregnancies, Lybrel can also cause an acne prevention effect. The ethinyl estradiol pill component can reduce circulating levels of testosterone and extremely limit body oil secretion - one of several factors associated with provoking acne.
But how does menstrual suppression using Lybrel effectively treat acne?
A study sponsored by Lybrel, the maker of Wyeth, supports levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol acne protection. However, ironically, the possible side effects of levonorgestrel include oily skin and blackheads. If you have acne while using a contraceptive containing levonorgestrel, inform your health care provider because commonly prescribed acne antibiotics, such as tetracycline, can make levonorgestrel less effective.
Further study of the need for menstruation
Although the words “stop your period” may seem melodic to millions of women, a professor at the University of New Hampshire in sociology of gender and medical sociology
Jean Elson, they sound more like a prelude to a horror movie.
Elson's legs: “Using hormones to reduce normal menstruation strikes me as a very strange combination of feminism and medical authority - women are offered the opportunity to control their own bodies, but what are the real consequences?”
Moreover, Elson believes that menstruation has evolved from a biological issue into a social issue and offers that women "... cannot find their periods so uncomfortable if schools and workplaces provide people with an opportunity to rest."
As Elson, Margaret Fred, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and women's health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, doubts about the suppression of the menstrual cycle.
Last August, Freda told American Journal of Nursing “The jury is still not working on full menstrual suppression,” until long-term safety studies are conducted.
Study published in contraception experienced the safety of continuous daily use of Lybrel on over 2000 healthy women who had normal menstrual cycles. Among the participants, the side effects of Lybrel were comparable to those reported for 21-day and 7-day oral contraceptive use.
However, Dr. Camelia Davtyan, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, did not notice one problem with the study. Davtyan said HealthDay News that "... the frequency of complications associated with uterine bleeding is quite high."
It was assumed that some woman practiced menstrual suppression for many years, it may take from five to twenty years before medical studies confirm the general safety of this practice. At the same time, women will again have to rely on their intuition and personal health to decide what is the best way to prevent acne and pregnancies.
Sources:
Archera, David F et al. Evaluation of Levonorgestrel / Ethinyl Estradiol Continuous Regime: Phase 3 Study Results. contraception ; December 2006, vol. 74, No. 6, p. 439-445.
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. Health issues: understanding menstrual restraint October 2006.
HealthDay News. New Year's Birth Control Pills are safe and effective. , December 13, 2006.
Poter, Carol and Maureen Sean Kennedy. The choice is not for menstruation: a trend for adults and some adolescents. It is safe? American Journal of Nursing ; August 2006, vol. 106, No. 8, p. 19.
Thibout, Diane. A randomized controlled low-dose contraceptive study containing 20 µg of ethinyl estradiol and 100 µg of levonorgestrel for the treatment of acne. Fertility and Sterility ; September 2001, vol. 76, No. 3, pp. 461-468.
University of New Hampshire. Expert: New Contraceptive Pill, which eliminates spells, is a bad idea ; Newswise; May 22, 2007.
