As most of us who have ever tried a hormonal birth control know, it can often take a while to find the method that works best for you. For many, oral contraceptives are best, but for some, it’s better to not have to take a pill every day. To follow up my previous post about the birth control pill, I will take this space to discuss some non-oral forms of hormonal contraceptive: The Shot (Depo-Provera), The Patch (Ortho-Evra), and The Ring (NuvaRing). Continue Reading →
Birth Control
Recent posts
All About The Pill
In my work as a sexual health educator, I often take for granted that people know what I’m talking about when I discuss the pill. However, I’ve learned that there’s a whole lot about contraceptives that people don’t know, so I thought I’d write a bit of a tell-all. I’m starting with oral contraceptives, as it seems to be the post popular form of birth control. Here are some specs about “The Pill”:
The birth control pill is comprised of estrogen and progestin. These hormones are found naturally in your body, but the pill contains artificial versions of these hormones that regulate your body’s natural hormone levels in order to prevent pregnancy. Continue Reading →
Warning: Fake Morning After Pills
A few people have emailed around a link from the US Food and Drug Administration, and I figured the bigger the signal boost on a matter like this, the better. Disturbingly, the FDA has announced that counterfeit morning after pills are being found and are sold in some communities. While there are many medications that are sold in other countries but not here (and thus, not approved by the FDA), this one has the potential to be entirely fake. Now, this is not to say that all are – but are you going to test each and every pill? The name of the possibly counterfeit morning after pill is Evital, and I’ve added the image of the box. Continue Reading →
Can You Compost Condoms?
I only recently got into composting, and I fully admit that my household is still getting the hang of it. While I feel like almost everything in my life is compostable or recyclable, I don’t think I would have added condoms to either of those lists. However, an article from the Matador Network caught my attention (and I really thought it was a Onion-esque joke at first), but it suggests that latex condoms are compostable. Maybe they are but this video on YouTube (above) challenges this idea – and at the very least suggests that it might take more time or different methods than it takes for other things that are often thrown into the compost bin. That article has a link to a list of 75 things that you can compost, which I found interesting (add cardboard tampon applicators to your compost bin). Continue Reading →
Free Birth Control Starting August 12th
Exciting news! According to an announcement made by Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Secretary, starting August 12, 2012 new guidelines will require health insurance plans to cover contraception. No co-payment! No co-surance! No deductible! The Affordable Care Act guidelines also cover the following benefits:
well-woman visits;
screening for gestational diabetes;
human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing for women 30 years and older;
sexually-transmitted infection counseling (STI screening for high-risk populations are already covered under the Act);
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling;
FDA-approved contraception methods
contraceptive counseling;
breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling;
and domestic violence screening and counseling. Continue Reading →
Learn A New Language With Birth Control!
Did you know that I have the ability to learn a new language just by taking birth control? No, this isn’t a new birth control pill being put on the market, but instead a handy app from NARAL Pro-Choice America called No-Cost BC4ME. All you do is select who is going to be taking the birth control (options include yourself, your girlfriend, your granddaughter, etc), your/their age, the birth control method, and how many additional children you/they are going to want. It’s all handy-dandy little drop down menus and slides. Then it instantly calculates how much money you or they could save if the no-cost birth control law is passed, and what that saved money could “buy” – such as a class to learn a new language. Continue Reading →
Gonorrhea Gone Bad – and Resistant!
As if there weren’t enough reasons out there to convince you to practice safe sex – add this one to your list: a new strand of gonorrhea-causing bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is now on the loose. Yikes! This new strain of bacteria was discovered in Kyoto, Japan by scientists and ABC News reports that, ”the new strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae has genetically mutated to evade cephalosporins — the only antibiotics still effective against the infection.” Continue Reading →
Because I’m Worth It
Would you buy condoms that cost $5 a piece? Do you think that they’d be any better than your preferred condom brand? Naked brand condoms are hitting the luxury condom market, or at least attempting to start the luxury condom market on their own. Kate’s recent post on the new “Viagra Condoms” got me thinking about another new type of condom to hit the market. For the low price of only $56 for a dozen (according to an article from Eden Fantasys), you get a very pretty box and some of the most “luxury” condoms on the market. Continue Reading →
Warning: Birth Control Pills That Contain Drospirenone May Cause Serious Bloodclots
One of the benefits of being in my school’s peer sexual health education group is that we get constant updates on birth control safety via our supervisor from the FDA listserv. Recently I received an email containing the following information:
“Two recently published studies reported a greater risk of blood clots for women taking birth control pills containing drospirenone as compared to the risk in women taking birth control pills containing another progestin known as levonorgestrel. Previously published studies have also addressed the risk of blood clots in women using birth control pills containing drospirenone. These studies had conflicting findings–two postmarketing studies required by the FDA or European regulatory agencies did not report any difference in the risk of blood clots between drospirenone-containing products and products containing levonorgestrel or other progestins.4,5 Two other publications in 2009, however, reported that the risk of blood clots is higher in women using drospirenone-containing products than in women who use levonorgestrel-containing products.” Here is a list of birth control pills containing drospirenone:
Yaz (generics Gianvi and Loryna)
Yasmin (generics Ocella, Syeda, and Zarah)
Beyaz
Safyral. Continue Reading →
A Temporary Vasectomy?
One of the best things about blogging for MSP is that my friends and family constantly send me interesting links and articles. This one is from my aunt Gail: an article from Neatorama about an injectable liquid that temporarily renders men infertile. In this procedure, rather than severing the vas deferens as is done in a regular vasectomy, the surgeon would inject the medicine into a man’s body. The procedure “doesn’t block the path of sperm cells exiting the testicles, but renders them inert as they move past. This substance should be removable, thus returning fertility to the patient”. Continue Reading →