Editor’s Note: Sorry folks if your comment went into moderation. Many of the comments on this post have been directed to moderation. I’m guessing that the reason for this is that words like Viagra and some of the brands on birth control pills are considered spam. So if your post takes a while to come up, don’t worry.
Today I had the pleasure, or should I say displeasure, of reading this article. The article notes that more and more women are taking hormonal contraceptives that are designed to stop menstruation, not for a few weeks, but for months and even years. I can’t speak for anybody else, but personally I want my period. For me, my menstrual cycle is a sign that my body is functioning normally. And when I have early or late periods, especially late ones, I tend to be under stress. I am reminded how stress influences my body. What struck me about this article was the very negative description of menstruation. In particular I was struck by the notion that women of childbearing age have to “endure” the “nuisance.” Yes, nuisance is used as a synonym for menstruation in the article.
I understand that many women wish they never had a period, and I realize they are willing to use these methods to stop their periods. I think if they technology is available and women want to do it, then women should have the freedom to chose this as an option. However, I am very skeptical of the long term consequences for women. This article makes it seem as if our normal bodily processes need to be stopped or controlled by pharmaceutical companies and their surrogates–doctors. There are no conclusive long term studies on using hormonal methods to stop menstruation, so we don’t know what if any are the risks of this. The article even mentions a new implantable device that can stop menstruation for three years, which concerns me a little…I certainly hope this isn’t Norplant redux.
Another thing that concerns me about stopping menstruation is what actually happens if the woman does have an unintended pregnancy. How much longer would it take her to realize this? I understand that when used perfectly these methods are very effective at preventing pregnancy, but this is one of the reasons I wouldn’t want to use a method that stops my period. I would be worried that I wouldn’t know if I was pregnant.
But my biggest concern about these methods is that the way they are advertised. The advertising makes it seem as if our normal bodily processes are somehow bad, flawed, or deviant. Can you imagine a pill being invented that would stop men from ejaculating…they could still have the orgasm, but not the “nuisance” of semen, “which is really unnecessary unless you are trying to impregnate a woman.” My personal belief is that a period is more than a nuisance. This reminds me of the rhetoric against breastfeeding from 50 years ago, especially the idea that science can do better than women’s bodies. I am by no means trying to join the war against birth control here. I am just questioning how our (women’s) bodies are portrayed.
So what do you think? If you’re a woman, would you want your period to stop? How do you feel about the safety of these methods of stopping menstruation? Would you be willing to use such methods?
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I think a closer comparison would be Viagra. Why should we medicalize erectile dysfunction? It’s all a natural part of getting older, not a “disease” that needs to be treated by pharmaceutical companies that hate men’s bodies.
Somehow, I don’t think that argument would carry much weight with men.
Getting very painful periods, as many women do, is more than a nuisance. It’s debilitating. After years of being told that it’s all in our heads, I’m glad that the medical establishment is actually offering some options.
What I found interesting is that the article didn’t point out there’s a fair number of women for who this type of control doesn’t work: when I was on BCP in the past, I once in a while used my packs to a period. I was usually experiencing break-through spotting by day 14 of my next pack. Based on what I’ve heard on friends and on communities that discuss such things as Seasonale, this is not unusual. And if you experience break-through spotting with your second set, you generally aren’t going to be able to use Seasonale (or sugar pill skipping) to reliably suppress your period.
BUT . . . aren’t there some new hormonal BCs on the horizon that are supposed to stop the ENTIRE process cold? Not just suppress ovulation (the purpose of the current pill) but stop everything. No ovulation, no creation of the layer in the uterus, no monthly breast tissue cycles. I read about them a couple of months back. Since breast cancer is linked to the monthly tissue cycles (each month, there’s a possibility that something could go wrong as the tissue prepares for something that doesn’t occur), they’re being heralded as a possible way to reduce the cancer risks that are increased by current hormonal BC, as well as the stroke risks.
It should be noted that having a period *every* month, year after year after year, is actually the (at least somewhat) abnormal situation. In the past, women missed a lot of their periods because of pregnancy, breast feeing, poor diet, etc.
Now, I’m not saying that there is something wrong with *you* for saying “I’m more comfortable with having it every month,” but I am saying that not only isn’t there also nothing wrong with some saying that they don’t want to have it every month, but perhaps there is more that is “right” about it than at first appears.
Women have the capacity to have their period every month for decades – but maybe that’s not ultimately the best for them, physically? It’s very possible that women may be a little bit healthier if they don’t have it every month.
I’m with you, Rachel. My period is one way I can measure how I’m doing, healthwise. Plus, I’m always skeptical of these treatments to fix something that isn’t broken. For instance, hormone replacement therapy was supposed to be a really great way to fix menopause, and while I’m sure it helped and is helping many women, there were also significant adverse effects for many others. So I think this new therapy is very likely to help a number of women who, for various reasons, would be better off without their periods for long stretches of time, but I wouldn’t be interested.
Just out of curiosity, can you be “pre-pregnant” if you are using drugs to stop your period?
When I breastfeed, as I am doing now, I really like the fact that I don’t have a period and I don’t miss it even though mine aren’t particularly difficult or painful. In general I am always reluctant to endorse screwing with natural processes because of unintended side effects, however, I agree with Joe. What’s normal for modern women who begin menses at the age of 12 and have fewer than 3 children (on average) is wildly different from what was most likely the norm for thousands or even millions of years. I think it’s a toss up overall. I doubt if this is dangerous for women, and if a woman doesn’t want to get a monthly period, so what.
I have always found my period to be a nuisance, and not because it was particularly painful or anything. I just always found it annoying. So for me, the option to use BCP to skip it for a month if I’m going on vacation or something is definitely an option that I embrace. And I also think that this option is necessary for those that have a lot of pain or problems like endometriosis (as one of my friends does) and needs to stop it because of that. Although I agree that stopping it for multiple months might make me a little nervous in the beginning!
Another point is that women on BCP aren’t really having “periods” to begin with, which I read at feministing.com the other day:
That said, I think someone (pharmaceutical companies, the government?) needs to do more research into how this impacts women’s bodies. Is it okay to do this for 1 year, 5 years, maybe more? Or will even 1 year of skipping increase risks for diseases or adverse affects significantly? I can’t make a judgement without knowing that.
Not bleeding is one thing. But that not bleeding is being manipulated by artificial levels of hormones. Joe writes above that women in the past did not have their periods as often b/c of pregnancy and breastfeeding — but what he’s skipping over is that those are natural fluctuations in hormonal levels that cause temporary cessation of menstruation. With giving women BC that stops menstruation, there is even *less* fluctuation of hormone levels than if a woman goes her whole life without becoming pregnant. Also, as indicated by the women here, menstruation fluctuates over a lifetime anyway, due to stress, environmental factors, etc.
I too use my cycle as an indicator of health — and I’ve also had the problem described above about break-through bleeding while on the pill. I have a very short cycle (21 days) and the six months that I was on the Pill (to control cramping) I bled at 21 days, every single time. And I still had debilitating cramps! Joy. I can’t imagine what my body would do on a hormonal program that didn’t allow for any bleeding. I’d probably bloat until I popped.
Joe said, “In the past, women missed a lot of their periods because of pregnancy, breast feeing, poor diet, etc.”
I thought that was an interesting point in the article. I think a big part of the reason we are having more periods is that we are healthier. Obviously pregnancy and breastfeeding are factors, since women are having fewer kids.
However, I think throughout most of human history breastfeeding also took place for a much longer time period–I think anywhere from 2-4 years old. This was a kind of natural birth control that reduced fertility and menstruation in most women.
But today’s women are missing their periods because they are chosing to use pharmaceuticals. I do think this is a difference.
@the 15th I think the erectile disfunction example is really poor, and the two are by no means equal. Older women don’t get their periods because they go through menopause. If a young man has erectile dysfunction, it probably is a sign of a health problem, not a random natural process.
Hmm. I’m with you, Rachel. I get nightmarish cramps and headaches with my period most months, and I can understand anyone in my shoes wanting to take advantage of medicine that’s available to put a stop to that. But I also don’t think there’s anything particularly bizarre about taking comfort in the regularity of the monthly cycle. I know I do.
It’s interesting that the article uses the word “nuisance,” because I’m thinking a lot of women who would say, “Thank God! No more periods!” probably regard it as a lot more than a nuisance.
I think the danger is the medicalizing of normal bodily functions. I have always had regular, medium-light non problematic periods, not much discomfort or nausea. So my periods are not a medical problem. Lots of women do have problematic menstruation, everything from insanely heavy bleeding to debilitating cramps and awful nausea. I think it’s important to keep the distinction that it’s the severe PMS symptoms that are problematic, not the periods themselves. It’s too easy to just declare the whole process “icky” and climb on the bandwagon of a culture that attempts to completely control and sanitize our bodies, rather than listening to them and getting to know their quirks.
Taking a medication that completely stops menstruation could be such a huge boon to someone suffering from endometriosis, or other menstruation-linked problems, so it’s good that this is available and being researched further. It just concerns me how many women I meet subscribe to the idea that a lot of what’s natural about our bodies is there to be controlled, removed, reshaped and “perfected”.
But ED drugs are commonly marketed at older men.
It seems strange to object to using hormonal contraception to stop periods, but not to hormonal contraception in general. You could also argue that fertility and pregnancy are natural female conditions that should be celebrated rather than suppressed. I wouldn’t stop my period with these methods because I don’t like some of the side effects of hormonal birth control on me, but I do get bad cramps, and I think this could be a great help to many women who have been told in the past to treat their severe pain by exercising and avoiding caffeine.
When I breastfeed, as I am doing now, I really like the fact that I don’t have a period and I don’t miss it even though mine aren’t particularly difficult or painful.
*sulking* I’ve breastfed exclusively for six months but my periods came back anyway. Nasty things, hate them, hate them.
That being said, I hate the things hormonal BC does to my body more. Periods are the lesser evil for me.
***TMI WARNING***
FTR: I have hugely uncomfortable, disruptive periods — and have had them since age 12. My cramping can imobilize me. Today I’m sleep deprived b/c I cramped all night long, despite having the heating pad on all night, taking ibuprofen, and taking something to help me sleep. My periods can cause such severe pain and cramping that I will be in the bathroom throwing-up *and* having diarrhea simultaneously. I don’t often get emotional-type PMS, but my body goes AWOL on me every 2.5 weeks. My breasts grow to almost half again as large as normal (which sounds fun, sorta) but they are so tender that the smallest of touches (T-shirt rubbing against them) can feel like someone punched them instead.
Yet, precisely b/c my body reacts this way, I would not consider taking hormone replacements to cease my menstruation. It seems obvious to me, after 27 years of bleeding, that my body is very sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. As painful as it is, my period is *normal* for me. My attempts to control my “symptoms” have been disastrous and were the only times that I experienced mental/emotional issues associated with my period.
I’m not arguing for women to suffer — my gut just seems to tell me that there is an unknown quantity out there associated with ceasing menstruation. And I also think that if we are concerned about women with difficult periods that we address prostoglandin production, not female hormone fluctuation, as the source of controlling pain and other involuntary body functions associated with menstruation.
OK, so that’s my bizarre $0.02!
I think the danger is the medicalizing of normal bodily functions. I have always had regular, medium-light non problematic periods, not much discomfort or nausea.
My debilitating cramps aren’t a “medical problem” in the sense that they will kill me if left untreated, or are a symptom of some underlying disease. They’re just highly painful and unpleasant. The same is true of labor pains; they’re a natural part of giving birth. And the pain of having my wisdom teeth removed isn’t harmful to me either. Still, I’m going to choose the “medicalize and control” option over the “get to know and understand” one every time, and be grateful to science for offering me that choice.
I’m reminded of Connie Willis’ short story “Even The Queen”, and moved to paraphrase (partly because I cannot find the book with the story in it) one of the characters therein: I don’t care if it portrays my body as flawed, I don’t care if it’s a plot to control women’s bodies and I don’t care how medicalizing it is: if it gets rid of periods it’s fine by me. If they’d only come up with a non-hormonal, non-surgical way to stop the goddamn things I’d be there, first in line to sign up.
I’m no longer have periods, thanks be to menopause. Considering how much hassle I found them, especially during the last few years before they stopped (wacky non-cycles, spontaneous flooding, assorted ick), I’ve been surprised to discover that, on a certain level, I miss them. Not to go all cosmic earth-mother, but at some subconscious level, having periods connected me to the passage of time and the cycles of the seasons. I’ve had to come up with other ways to know where I am in the month, and in the year.
That said, my major concern about biochemical tinkering with the menstrual cycle is that it’s being implemented just as hormone replacement therapy was: Without sufficient testing or investigation of the potential long-term consequences. Which means that once again women at large get to serve as the guinea pigs.
Nearly three generations of women lived – and died – through the “put ’em all on HRT” era before the research was done showing that many of them were exchanging short-term comfort for long-term disease or death. It worries me that the same thing may be happening now with yet another group of women – only this time, it’s happening much earlier in their lives, at a time when many of them are still thinking of having children. And we don’t yet know how the no-periods practice will affect fertility.
It’s one thing for a woman who suffers debilitating problems around her menstrual cycle to make a considered, informed decision to stop having periods, as long as she understands that the long-term risks are not yet known.
When I hear young women – and I do – talking about starting the no-periods regimen because it’s more convenient or less messy or their boyfriend won’t have sex with them when they’re bleeding, I’m less sanguine.
My pro-choice side says “Hey, it’s your body, do what you choose;” my inner cynic is waiting for the lawsuits to start.
I think those women in Zimbabwe who can’t get sanitary devices would probably like to skip periods until they get the supplies they need.
But you see, the periods birth control gives you ARE NOT PERIODS.
We’ve been fooled for a long time into thinking they are, though.
“Periods” with birth control pills are actually medically termed “withdrawal bleeds,” and they’re as nasty for your body as they sound. Your birth control pills basically make your body think, in some ways, that it’s pregnant — that an embryo has implanted in your uterus. When you cease taking the pill, the message to your body is that a pregnancy has been miscarried.
So your body isn’t thinking it’s a “period” every month. It’s like having a miscarriage, every month, absolutely without fail. That’s the difference between your period — which generally happens when no egg was fertilized or at least wasn’t implanted — versus a withdrawal bleed. Sending your body on THAT hormonal roller coaster every month — “I’m pregnant!” “Oh crap, I lost the pregnancy again!” — seems a lot more “bad” and “unnatural” than ceasing your period.
For the women who’ve said that it hasn’t worked for them to stop their period, my recommendation is to try for a little longer. Breakthrough bleeding, especially if it is shorter in duration than a normal period, could easily mean you won’t have periods in 3-4 months. Many women also have spotting and breakthrough bleeds even while pregnant — it goes away after a little while.
I like the CHOICE inherent in this new technology. Some women don’t want to ingest chemicals; that’s fine. Other women see no problem with ingesting chemicals; that’s fine, too. Everybody gets what they want! I do think we need plenty of information about the drugs that are being offered to us, though, and we need to be able to access it easily, so we can base our decisions on facts. That goes for all drugs.
My periods have stopped because I have an IUD, which is hardly a crazy new super-drug. And I’m pleased with that. But then, I have little interest in keeping my body all-natural, as it were, if there are effective but artificial ways to treat pain and discomfort.
Here’s a partly-related question: What about tubal ligations? For those of us who know we’ll never want kids, would it be more natural to stop reproductive capacity through surgery than by taking drugs the rest of our lives?
Can’t speak for all men, but back when my greatest fear in life was that my girlfriend might get pregnant, I’d have taken that pill in a heartbeat. Even if there had been a known side effect where my testicles would fall off thirty years later, I’d have seriously considered it.
I was put on BCP at the age of 19 because of bad ovarian cysts – I kept getting admitted to the ER because they thought I had appendicitis.
Women in the past, as Joe said, did not have periods every month for nearly as much of the time as we do now. Women were pregnant or breastfeeding a lot. We have more periods through our lives than anyone in the past has had.
I appreciate BCPs because they give me a choice. I will eventually go off of them when I decide to get pregnant, but at the moment I am on Seasonale and loving it. I’m very active and don’t like having cramps or emotional lows, which I always get, so it’s nice to be able to predict them with great accuracy and have very short periods. It did cause spotting through the first two cycles, but that has stopped.
In response to “we don’t yet know how the no-periods practice will affect fertility”, people have been taking BCPs year round for a very long time, just taking an extra week in between the normal BCP cycle. You ended up using an extra few pill packs over the course of the year, but it was certainly not unheard of. The people I know who did that (yes, I know, anecdotal evidence is not good evidence) have not had any problems with it, and I know that women who are in high level sports have that route suggested by doctors.
BCPs make my life easier. I don’t have an objection to periods, exactly, but they are not easy for me to deal with and I appreciate better living through chemistry. :P
If you don’t use them, that’s fine – your choice. My body doesn’t function quite right without help, so having this available is a great boon.
For me the issue is not whether or not the technology should exist or whether or not individual women should be able to choose to use it. By all means, if you feel that is right for your body/life so be it. Yes, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause are natural body processes, but there are medical issues that can develop from those natural processes – just like ANY natural body processes. I will never advocate to eliminate biomedical science from women’s lives, but I will say there is a danger in OVERmedicalizing NORMAL menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.
A quick personal example. I chose a medicated birth. Heck, I chose to be induced a week before my due date for no other reason that my extreme discomfort – the baby was measuring big, which is why the Dr.’s offered the induction, but I could have refused. However, the baby had displaced my pelvis and it hurt to walk/move, so I jumped at the chance to get that baby out, despite the fact that I knew it would dramatically increase the level of medical intervention, which in my heart, was not what I wanted. But if I had a chance to do it all again, I’d do the same thing. I was in too much pain to continue the pregnancy and I ended up with a happy, healthy baby, so I was thankful for the presence of medical science to speed mother nature along. Again, that was my choice, and I was grateful to have it.
For me, the biggest problem is the rhetoric that goes along with these kinds of technologies and the “disease” model. We can not escape a history that views women’s bodies as sinful and shameful, that which needs to shed itself of it’s uncleanliness. There is something seriously wrong with us that we DON’T celebrate a girl’s first period with some sort of ritual that says, “welcome to adulthood.” I know it can be a pain in the arse, and I know that for many women it’s more than a nuissance, but I think if we changed our attitudes about it to begin with, we might not grow up thinking it’s such a nuissance. I’m not trying to downplay the very real physiological issues that many women face in dealing with their periods, but for many women, who experience little to no trauma with their menstrual cycles, the rhetoric in the article above contributes to an overall negative view of women’s bodies more generally.
Regardless of the potential hazards of the hormonal methods of birth control, or the possible benefit of not having your period, the rhetoric that women should be rid of the nuissance of their periods is not far from an argument that women’s bodies are naturally unclean, sinful and shameful. THAT is the scary part to me. Can we make these choices available for women in a way that doesn’t promote a negative attitude towards our bodies? And if we can, why don’t we?
I think Rachel also raises an important point that no has discussed – why don’t we invade men’s reproductive lives in the same way we invade womens? Where’s the MALE birth control pill? Why is it that ALL fertility issues are relegated to women and women only? That’s obviosuly rhetorical, there are clearly lots of reasons due to patriarchy, but that’s an issue that’s not being discussed. It’s not just about whether or not women should have a period. It’s also about why is it that medical science feels so free to mess with our natural processes but almost 50 years after the invention of the BCP, we still have no male equivalent? Again, the rhetoric here is disturbing to me, not just the health/biological issues.
I’d be delighted to not have periods. I’ve always hated them, hated the idea of them when I was told what would be happening to me. I took birth control pills for many years and was very pleased with the side effect of light, short periods. Later I developed fibroids and had heavy, painful periods. I had artery blocking treament for them that made my periods light again.
Now I’m in menopause and love it. For me it’s 100% positive. I have no feeling of being “less womanly” or anything like that.
I’m glad we have a choice.
… – why don’t we invade men’s reproductive lives in the same way we invade womens?
“Invade”? Where are the women being forced to take birth control pills, or these pills being marketed here? I am myself suspicious of the effects of such pills, as well as the way they are marketed. But there are plenty of women who are glad to have them. I doubt they consider that their bodies are being “invaded”.
Where’s the MALE birth control pill?
That’s a pretty good question. I wouldn’t be so quick to presume that “there are clearly lots of reasons due to patriarchy”. That sounds more like an excuse to avoid looking at the real issue than anything else.
I can see where there would be a difference in the two concepts. For one thing, men’s sperm production is steady-state, not cyclic, so it’s a different type of biological problem. But in any case, there are certainly a large number of men who are willing to undergo surgery to not have kids, so I can’t see why there’s any obvious barrier to men’s acceptance of taking a pill that, after all, they could stop taking if they wanted to.
I’d be curious if anyone had any references (from a biological/scientific viewpoint) on what work has been done in this area and what the medical/biological issues are. You’d think there’d be a market for this.
Delurking to say I had the opposite reaction to the article – my first thought was, “Yay, the word is getting out!” I use the NuvaRing foremost for contraception, and I often use it to skip the fake “period” withdrawl bleeding which serves no real purpose as far as I can see.
As I said, the reason I take NuvaRing is for contraception, not period supression, but not having to worry about and plan for my period and all its attendant side effects has been incredibly liberating. My feeling is, if a woman’s not trying to get pregnant anyway, and her periods are so bothersome so as to force her to take 1-2 sick days or more each month, she ought to know that the *option* to supress menstruation exists. So articles like this one that get the word out seem like a positive thing on the whole.
It’d be nice though, for the articles to have a writing tone that balances romanticizing periods and pathalogizing them.
I’d be curious if anyone had any references (from a biological/scientific viewpoint) on what work has been done in this area and what the medical/biological issues are. You’d think there’d be a market for this.
I don’t have time to do the research right now, but I know that I’ve read a couple of articles about various forms of the “male birth control pill” that have reached (or, maybe, nearly reached) the level of being tested for FDA approval.
There does seem to be a patriarchical element to the problems with testing those pills, though–from what I recall, the pharms were being cautious about testing them because they had some side effects that they thought that men wouldn’t accept, like reduced sex drive and mood swings. You know, the same type of side effects associated with female hormonal birth control :P
At least one of the recent articles had a couple of interviews with guys who had been on them, and had found the trade-off (some side effects, but “invisible” control over birth control “like females have”) to be acceptable.
Indeed, when one reads about men who claim that they have been “tricked” into paternity one can imagine that more than a few men might consider such “invisible” control to be highly desirable. As many women do (apparently, DepoProvera is very popular among some younger women for that specific reason — so that their boyfriends are unaware of their lack of fertility).
Nick, if it’s any consolation, after consulting with a number of women, I seem to be a bit of an outlier. Your experience is very typical.
The last thing I heard about male birth control was that it had been tested, and worked wonderfully, but that the procedure, with monthly shots, was still deemed to be too uncomfortable to be commercially viable.
The research propably lacks funding as well. It’s not like it’s Viagra.
I am cynical, and I don’t think that many of those men who have been “tricked” (or are to be “tricked”) will be those who take that responsibility should male pills become available. You know, if condoms reduce the experience, just THINK about the possible effects of a reduced sex drive!
Nick, if it’s any consolation, after consulting with a number of women, I seem to be a bit of an outlier. Your experience is very typical.
*grumps at Barbara* Damn it.
Of course, I wasn’t going to be able to do on-demand after eight weeks (after eight weeks, on-demand means the kid is getting a bottle of breastmilk on days when dad’s got him/her) and I know that going to a more strictly scheduled pump+feed reduces its effectiveness . . . but damn it, I don’t want it back quite that soon.
How is the latter not a considered, informed decision? This type of thinking strikes me as very judgmental, and reminiscent of many people’s discomfort with “abortion on demand.” I am a young woman who would gladly consider starting a no-periods regimen because it’s “more convenient,” and I don’t think that makes me foolish, frivolous, or out-of-tune with my body.
Yes. I didn’t know that until I read this blog: http://thewelltimedperiod.blogspot.com
Also, FYI: I’ve read that some women experience monthly periods throughout pregnancy. I don’t know the details, but it’s something to look into.
“Also, FYI: I’ve read that some women experience monthly periods throughout pregnancy. I don’t know the details, but it’s something to look into.”
I have heard that also. I read somewhere that 2% of women have this. I wonder how this is different from another non-pregnant period.
Actually there is research being done to find a male birth control pill. I know of a group in Australia for one that is working on it. The problem is that if you perturb the hormones enough to stop spermatogenesis, you can also get unwanted side effects such as loss of libido.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3167090.stm
If that’s the worst side effect it has, I see no reason not to release it. You take the pill; if the side effect happens, you quit taking it and you’re back where you started.
For that matter, loss of libido might be a selling point in places with a serious excess of men (like China).
You know, it’s just one of these hopeless arguments about whether women should celebrate nature’s discomfort or treat it medically. Does one gain a measure of control over one’s athletic performance and vacation plans or just go with the hormonal flow? Does one accept the epidural and relax or revel in the awesome pain of birth? It depends on how safe the medication is, obviously, but beyond that, it’s probably not productive to criticize the decisions of individual women.
Nova the Cat said, “The problem is that if you perturb the hormones enough to stop spermatogenesis, you can also get unwanted side effects such as loss of libido.”
Doesn’t the female pill do this in some women? I have heard of decreased lubrication and lower libido as side effects in some but not all women.
As someone who suffers greatly with each cycle due to endometriosis, and who is done popping out kids, I’d be happy if I never had another period again. I’m pretty aware of the goings-on in my body and I’ve known before the ability to test both times I’ve been pregnant, before my period was even due.
It would have to be something new though, as the skipping the placebo route doesn’t work for me and I have breakthrough bleeding about 10 days into the second pack. The year of my life after my first pregnancy when I didn’t have my period was wonderful. I have no desire to bleed from my vagina ever again! I understand why others might feel differently, but after 25 years of it, I’d gladly be shut of it.
I’ve done this with regular birth control pills. My dad had been telling me about it, he’d read about it in the New Yorker. So after I’d been taking the birth control pills for a while I stopped taking the placebos. It was great, of course was lucky not to have many side effects from the pills.
I’m disabled from chronic daily migraines, I have PCOS and depression, so I love taking the pills that work, and I never found anything about my periods worth keeping, I had bad cramps but not terrible.
I’m rereading All in My Head by Paula Kamen. She tells her own story, and about Big Pharm and women and pain. The women and pain vs the Medical Establishment is very very interesting stuff. So I’d like people to think about that when they are wary of this not so new idea. How women’s pain is very badly handled by the patriarchy. It’s literally been all in our heads, until someone managed to prove it by treating it successfuly.
I know we all want to be wary of anything the medical patriarchy tells us but I also want you to think about why you think we should still be in pain part of every month. I think there’s a large amout of enforced martyrdom in women, we don’t have to be in pain if we don’t want to. Pain is actually bad for you, even if it’s ‘only’ neurological.
It’s not possible to tell whether periods are “good” or “bad” since it depends on point of view, but on a general note, there’s no reason why “natural” or “normal” would necessarily equate with “good”. In the past days infant mortality was laughably high (not that this is necessarily bad, but I believe it was for the parents’ psyche) and people generally died before hitting their 40s.
I wouldn’t use these methods because of safety concerns, but damn right I’d want my period to stop.
For some of us, menstruation isn’t merely inconvenient, but affects our health and well-being.
If I weren’t so paranoid about getting pregnant, I would gladly get rid of my period. As it is, I find that monthly withdrawal bleeding pretty reassuring.
My mom did the whole “hooray, you’re a woman” thing when I got my period. It didn’t make me any happier about having to bleed once a month until I hit menopause. I thought the whole damn thing was pretty stupid, and wondered why people couldn’t be designed more like cats (well… except for the spiky penis thing). In fact, I still feel that way.
This website has a great roundup on the current state of research on male contraception:
http://www.newmalecontraception.org/
Funding is a big part of the problem, though from the looks of it, once there’s actually good choices for sale, the uptake rate among men should be good.
I’ve never had PMS but back in the days when a period meant vomition, diarrhoea and cramps so bad I did well to stand, I would have grabbed birth control pills without placebos with joy if they’d been available *at all* where I lived and the only consideration I would have given to anyone telling me that it’s unnatural would have been not to assault them.
Fortunately, my periods have resolved themselves into being merely painful (controllable with lots of NSAIDS) and infrequent (thus far, I seem to be healthy) and given my current lifestyle, I can live with that. If things change, you had better believe I’ll consider it in a trice and not worry about its naturallness or lack thereof.
I’m with Molly and Hestia here, and nigh unto death of this earth mother “it has to be natural” horseshit. Fuck natural right in the ear. There’s nothing sacred about the default. You’re not even consistent in your application of “natural”: fistulae and cervical cancer occur “naturally”, and simply must be fixed by surgery and vaccines, but we don’t get to control our pain and emotional fluctuations? We’re somehow lesser for refusing to feel like crap every month? It’s ok to prevent “natural” conception, but not the entirely artificial fake bleed that won’t occur unless we force it to? Fuck that.
Frankly, this reminds me more of the Breast-Feeding Nazis of the 80’s and 90’s than any male-led medicalisation of female ‘problems’. This is a case of a group of women exercising a new choice in their personal lives, one that significantly improves their quality of life, and other women judging them for it. If you want to make your body bleed to check for pregnancy, go for it, but don’t harangue those of us who think differently, and don’t use blatant fearmongering, paranoia about modern medicine, and arguments from ignorance on us. We won’t stand for that bullshit.
I use this method – not Seasonale which isn’t available where I live, but regular birth control pills with the placebo week missed. I noticed some people mentioned getting breakthrough bleeding in the second month – this happened to me at first and was quite discouraging. However with time it lessened and then stopped altogether. It takes a little while for your body to adjust, especially if you’re new to hormonal contraception. But the breakthrough bleeding was also an improvement on regular periods, as it was very light and painless, more a nuisance than anything.
I agree that this is not for everyone – some women don’t react well to the hormones, and others just prefer not to do it for whatever reason. That’s fine. But, I would like to see this method more widely understood and known about, because that’s the only way the majority of women can have the choice.
Maybe it’s better-known in the US due to Seasonale, but I live in the UK and most people here do not even seem to have heard of it. Even a (male) doctor here once told me it was ‘impossible’ and refused to give me my prescription until I promised I would take my pills ‘properly’. However I believe it’s commonly used by female health professionals, but still it’s a well-kept secret and they don’t tend to recommend it to patients unless they have a serious condition like endometriosis. Of course it is an off-label use here. Hopefully we will have Seasonale or similar soon!
I completely agree that women’s pain is badly handled. The idea that it’s normal and acceptable for women and girls to be in pain, often severe debilitating pain, for several days out of every month is horrifying to me. I suffered a lot of pain as a teenager with parents who either didn’t want to discuss it, didn’t believe it was really that bad (after all it’s a ‘normal’, ‘natural’ process, right?) or thought it was all in my head. And were strongly against the idea of an unmarried girl using comtraception, even if it was for other reasons!
When I was a little older I tried various painkillers but the only options strong enough to work either cause unpleasant side effects or have long term risks involved. When we consider the risks of continuous contraception, maybe we should also think about the risks of long term NSAID and other painkiller use. It’s not necessarily that continuous contraception is a perfect solution, but to me it looks better than the other options we have so far.
Interestingly I read an article recently about the possibility of using daily low-dose mifepristone as a contraceptive,which would also stop periods altogether and would reduce many of the side-effects and risks associated with hormonal contraception as it exists now.
I can see there would be a lot of opposition to this as mifepristone is also one of the drugs in the ‘Abortion pill’ even though in this case it would not be causing abortion by any definition (the dosage would be far too low, and in any case ovulation would be suppressed effectively).
Yes, yes it does.
it’s an anecdote!
I stopped taking the pill (yasmin) about 8 months ago. Haven’t had a period since then. I was worried at first, but was reassured by the doctor that it’s perfectly normal. I’m actually having a whale of a time – not that my periods were all that severe in the first place – though I’m not looking forward to the time it does come back. I’ve never seen menstruation as anything more as a relic of biology, and, like Joe, considered the whole monthly thing as a bit of an compromise between modern life and evolution that hasn’t caught up yet. A bit of a cyborg, even.
Q-grrl: that sounds horrible. I’m guessing you’ve checked for endometriosis and all that?
Since I’ve never had regular cycles in my life (in terms of cycles occuring regularly and the severity of symptoms experienced) I would love love LOVE to put the whole mess on hold for a while. Just the thought of stable moods, no fatigue, no excruciating pain – all at irregular intervals – makes me happy!
Ok, If a person’s were to read this thread, she or he would get the impression that almost all women hate their periods, and that almost all women experience painful and problematic periods. I can’t imagine that statistically this is the norm. Obviously this is not a random sample.
But it seems that this view of actually wanting to have a period is a minority opinion. What I am a little worried about is the notion (promoted by drug companies) that the way our bodies work is somehow bad or deviant. I understand people liking the way BCP regulate cycles, and help with painful periods, and I have no problem with that, but I can’t imagine that the majority of women have erratic cycles and extremely painful cycles.
A far as the “it’s not a real period” argument for taking the 28 day cycles of birth control pills. I am having trouble with how that is framed…..I know of at least one person who got pregnant on the pill and would have only known about it because she did not get a period in the placebo week. I think the reason I am less concerned about taking the 28 day regime with a week long placebo is because I feel like the body at least gets to detox from the hormones in that week.
It’s funny to me, a bit, that everybody is worrying about the “medicalization of normal biology” here, because the current design of birth control pills owes a lot to the fetishization of normal biology — that is, the inventor of the pill realized that it could be given indefinitely, but he felt strongly that a “normal” cycle should be emulated, so that the [mystical womanly] rhythms could be retained. Thus the packs with blank pills, etc. It’s never been clear that, as a previous poster mentioned, yanking one’s system in and out of feined pregnancy was better than just keeping up the altered state. You might better criticize the entire enterprise of birth-control pills than focus in on this one feature of how they are implemented.
While I agree that menapause and other bodily changes aren’t diseases to be treated, and I agree with those who find a sense of reassurance and health guage to the regular appearance of menses, I also think that there’s nothing specifically magical about the occurrance of a monthly bleed if your body doesn’t need to do it. My body can’t take the hormonal manipulations (that is, if I want to retain any libido or simple joy in life), but I applaud those who find the intervention freeing.
Whether that should be a marketing point is a different and interesting question — marketing has a history of warping our self-images, from dandruff to body odor, creating whole phenomena and paranoias out of thin air. Is this new marketing campaign likely to create dislike for periods where it didn’t exist? Possibly. But there’s nobody who doesn’t have at least the occasional annoyance at the mess or logistics of a period (even if it’s just not having a tampon when you need one), so I suspect that it’s something most women have thought about at some point already. What might be strange is if *not* having a period became the norm, so that keeping supplies around automatically made you feel strange, or told everybody you were trying to get pregnant, etc. The combination of financial constraints and physical intolerance for hormones among a segment of the populace make that last scenario unlikely, however…
Another penny for the pond!
Rudimentarily I have. I was having such a hard time getting MD’s to listen to me (in the early ’90’s), that I just gave up. One person thought I had cysts — but, no cysts were there. Someone said I just needed to eat ibuprofen as if it were candy. Someone put me on the pill — which made everything worse. The last option was to be laprascopic surgery to confirm endo. I’ve got rather weird notions about physical integrity and was fundamentally resistant to being poked open “just to check” if things were as bad as I knew them to be. Also, from the literature at the time, there didn’t seem like there was much that could be done *after* they poked me open and confirmed or denied endo.
In the 15 ensuing years, I’ve learned a lot about my overall hormonal weirdness. I’m pretty sure I’ve got something up with my adrenals or pituitary because of the nature of the onsent of my hypothyroidism (very inconsistent, hard to diagnose, etc.). I went through 7 years of hell to get a diagnosis on my thyroid, I’ll be damned if I suffer through more scepticism at the hands of MD’s (note: my medical care is all through Duke Univ. Med Ctr, which means most of my care providers are still learning and opt for the more exotic answeres rather than the most obvious).
Anyhoo. That’s a long wind-up to explain why I’m personally skeptical of the long term effects of manipulating hormonal systems. Well, that and the combination of pollution/environmental factors that are increasing estrogens in our environments. It all makes me feel dubious about the very long term effects of such manipulation.
But, again, that’s just me. Slightly paranoid, highly skeptical, opinionated, and in the possession of a very strange and mutinous body.
:)
But as people have already mentioned, you can continue to have period-like bleeding even if you are pregnant. So while not getting a period during the placebo week can be a warning sign that you’re pregnant, it’s dangerous to depend on it as a reliable indicator of pregnancy.
With respect to ‘detoxing’ from the hormones – well firstly there’s no evidence that we need to do that. If you’re thinking of the increased long-term risk of breast cancer from using hormonal contraception, then it’s the overall exposure to the hormones that matter, not the pattern with which you take them. And if you use a low-dose pill continuously, you are actually getting less exposure over, say, a year, than someone using the regular dosage in the traditional pattern. That is, the majority of pill users.
And there doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing approach. The choice is not between bleeding every28 days or not bleeding at all, ever. You can have a bleed every 90 days with Seasonale, or more often, or less often as you choose. The great thing in my opinion is for women to take control of their cycles, so we can bleed when, and if, we choose. Rather than our lives being controlled by our cycle.
Also when we consider the risks of using these types of contraception, we should also look at the benefits, including the reduced risk of ovarian and uterine cancers resulting from fewer ovulations and fewer bleeds. Also the continous method is a more effective way of preventing pregnancy, and a missed pill is less likely to lead to failure.
I agree with you that this is not a random sample of women. However the fact is that we do not know how many women suffer period-related problems. Just anecdotally, all the women I’ve known well enough to discuss these things with me, have said they have at least moderate pain which interferes with work or school and social activities, as well as physical and emotional premenstrual symptoms including severe headaches or migraines.
I would actually be interested to know some real facts about this. But based on my experience I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the majority of women suffer significant pain and other problems. Apparently period related problems are a major cause of missed days at work, so much so that some countries have even considered introducing a certain number of ‘menstrual leave’ days a year for women employees! (which I personally think is a terrible idea, but that’s another argument…)
Anyway, I do think it is normal. But that doesn’t make it good.
I don’t agree that the pharm. companies are manufacturing distaste for periods. I don’t know a single woman who wouldn’t want to be rid of her periods if she knew it was possible and felt confident that it was risk-free or low-risk.
As a teenager, the cramping when I got my periods was totally awful. I was usually sent home from school and had to spend a chunk of the day on a heating pad in pain. However, as I got older, this diminished to the point where now I only have cramping if I’m late (and the cramping is worse the later I am). So I’ve had it both ways and can totally sympathize with both points of view. I guess it’s the slant that periods are icky and deviant, so get rid of them with a pill, plus the history of hormone replacement therapy, that make me uncomfortable with this. I know of several women for whom it would be a wonderful thing, though, so it shouldn’t be suppressed.
Carl Djerassi was in favor of emulating the natural cycle? Somehow I can’t imagine him embracing the mysticism of womanly rhythms. However, some of the other reasons for imitating the natural cycle I can see him getting on board with – sort of one of these “does she or doesn’t she – only her ob/gyn knows for sure” things, as mentioned by acm. (I only met him once, briefly and in passing, at an American Chemical Society meeting, so I’m basing this on reading his novels and some of his chemistry papers.)
Oh, and re pregnancy and periods:
2 of my friends bled throughout their pregnancies (one of them through both pregnancies). One said that it was like a light period, and on her regular schedule, and the other said it was like a regular period but with more spotting at the beginning and at the end.
All of my friends who breastfed resumed their periods somewhere between the 6-month and 1-year mark postpartum, except for one who resumed her periods at 6 weeks. I resumed my period at the 9-month mark with both of mine.
Carl Djerassi was in favor of emulating the natural cycle? Somehow I can’t imagine him embracing the mysticism of womanly rhythms.
I’ve heard that he was in favor of emulating the natural cycle because he believed that would lead to acceptance of the pill by the Roman Catholic Church. Obviously, that didn’t work.
As for pill versus nature: I think that I’m the exception here. My natural period lasts 3-4 days, without cramping, headache, or any sustained mood swings. The single indication I usually received of its approach was the desire to bawl my eyes out for 30 minutes about 12 hours prior to its onset. (And, because I figured it wasn’t worth denying my body that desire, I’d generally close myself in the bathroom and bawl my eyes out for 30 minutes.)
I used the pill for birth control. It didn’t change much, except that my period usually started the monday after the last pill, and lasted until I resumed my pills on saturday (I did saturday-to-saturday). So, it was generally longer and a bit heavier than my non-pill periods.
When I stopped the pill, the first six months were a little odd: I did have more “traditional” symptoms of PMS some months. It took my body about three months to return to its longer natural cycle (35 days rather than 28) and at that point, the PMS symptoms mainly ceased. Then, oddly, I started skipping a single period every three months. *shrug* Went on like this for about two years.
Then, I got pregnant. (If you wanna talk failure rates of birth control, I can talk about vas failure rates . . . ) So, who know what it’ll be like when it returns. Oh, and I’m looking at having a copper IUD installed as soon as possible after delivery, so that might change it all (there’s many reasons I am now avoiding hormonal bc, even something as light on the hormones as the hormone IUD; and while the hubby is getting re-snipped, I no longer trust it).
My periods aren’t bad, neither unusually heavy nor seriously crampy. I’m just tired of them. I’ve been having them for better than twenty-five years and the novelty has long since worn off; I’m tired of having to keep stupid period equipment around; I’m tired of dealing with blood for a few days each month; I don’t want them any more.
I’m with Rachel here; I also use my period as a means of measuring the health of my body (I’ve never used hormonal birth control because of health concerns—between my father’s blood clotting and my mother’s breast cancer, I just figured there were better BC options for me), and I also am suspicious of drug companies promoting this as a “healthy choice” for the average woman (as opposed to someone with serious health concerns regarding her period). For one thing, it’s like promoting Prozac to folks who aren’t depressed. For another….
…these “choices” aren’t made in a vacuum. For every woman who’d be freed from a physically debiliating period by this method, there’s going to be ten more who just want to get rid of a “yucky” period. There are plenty of young women who find their bodies “yucky”. There is a long history of women being considered “unclean”, both physically and spiritually, during our periods. Menstrual blood has been the be-all-end-all of “yucky” body fluids. There’s a reason “bloody” is a curse. Semen isn’t regarded this way. There are also many myths about women on their periods. What better way to combat the notion that we’re “hysterical”, than to get rid of a period, hmm? Much easier than maintaining that we’re mentally healthy with our period!
Think about why menstrual blood is considered gross but semen isn’t. Why would that be, hmm?
Also remember, there is a history of drug companies trying to “fix” women’s bodies. It’s hardly paranoia to want to say “hold up”, when looking back on DES, thalidomide, silicone breast implants, etc. For me, this definitely falls under “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
But who knows? Maybe after fifty years of women doing this goes by, there won’t be a greater risk of any maladies associated with this treatment, in either the women who take it or their daughters. Just the fact that any woman who doesn’t opt for this treatment will be considered “gross”. To me, that’s still worth questioning. We live in a world where affluent women in their twenties (yes, that young even) are getting Botoxed. That’s a problem to me, even though they aren’t getting cancer from it. It’s a problem to me that women’s bodies are seen as gross, ugly, abnormal, and continually in need of “fixing”. And it wouldn’t be any comfort to me at all if this undue attention were focused on men, either. Equal opportunity to be dysfunctional doesn’t sound like progress to me.
We should be able to discuss our ambivalance without being compared to “nazis”. You are welcome to ignore the history of the medical establishment toward women. You are welcome to change your own body any way you see fit—its yours, after all. But don’t pretend that you are making your choices in a vacuum. Women aren’t getting their B-cup breasts sliced open and stuffed with D-cup implants in a vacuum. In a society that didn’t see women’s bodies as needing “work” by default, I doubt that surgery would be popular. Women aren’t bringing photos of various celebrity facial features to plastic surgeons and saying “give me this” in a vacuum.
And you want to hear some shit? Whaddya wanna bet this is the only way we get birth control recognized as a good thing, and have it fully funded—hell, even routinely given to pubescent girls on schedule, just like vaccinations—-because women choosing to not get pregnant on their own, why, that’s bad. But women choosing to get rid of their disgusting, repugnant, filthy, disease-ridden menstrual blood? Why, that’s good! Yeah, that would be a kick in the ass, that the only way to get BC to teenagers is because getting rid of periods would be seen as a public health issue.
I think semen is gross.
Also,
But women choosing to get rid of their disgusting, repugnant, filthy, disease-ridden menstrual blood?
What about women choosing to get rid of their messy, clothes-ruining, weird-tasting, unpredictable menstrual blood? What about women deciding to opt completely out of the massively hyped pad/tampon/cup/rag/whatever market?
Most of the women who every lived were probably pregnant or nursing most of their lives. They wouldn’t have had their period nearly as often as we do. Menstrual blood is messy, but I’m forty one, I’ve dealt with it since I was ten and I never want to again.
Having your period doesn’t mean you’re healthy, it means you’re not pregnant and not always that. Yes, a late one can indicate stress of some sort but shouldn’t one know that without having to be in pain?
As for the medical establishment pushing it, I don’t think they’ve kn0wn about it very long. From what my dad told me about the article in the New Yorker, women and their doctors have been doing this for a long time. Carl Djerassi thought having your period every month was a bad idea and suggested it be a much longer interval. This is more like Big Pharm jumping on the bandwagon. Like off-label use of tricyclic anti-depressants for pain, it’s something patients and doctors know works but that the FDA hasn’t said ok to yet. The good thing about Seasonale etc is that the insurance companies are going to be easier to convince to pay for it.
No choice is made in a vacuum, I just wanted people who see it as bad to take into account things they may not have thought of. The pain of a bad period is actually as bad or worse than a bad migraine*, try getting an ER to give you anything stronger than motrin for that. Women are supposed to be able to stand pain, in fact don’t some churches belive that women should be in pain because of Eve’s sin? Pain is harmful and I think that no woman should be forced to be in pain when there is an alternative. Sadly I think the women who can’t take birth control pills are going to be the ones with the worst periods.
Q-grrl, I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and I have no cysts. That’s just one of the symptoms, not the whole thing. But I understand completely about not wanting to deal with doctors about it.
*Yes, I’ve had the chance to compare them directly, thankfully not often.
As a soon to be women’s health care nurse practitioner , I can attest that there are many ways to look at this issue. I agree that there are no long term studies re: extended cycling with birth control pills & long term health issues. And I do not choose to do this myself, as I have some risk factors associated with hormonal birth control use. For my patients however, I honor what they want to do. Some women have terrible migraines during their menses, others wish to avoid the pain associated with endometriosis and menses, and some just don’t like having monthly periods for whatever reason. Years ago , during our ancestor’s era (when women were constantly pregnant or nursing) they were not exposed to as much estrogen, and therefore had a much lower incidence of reproductive cancers . As we live longer & are exposed to excess hormones longer, one out of 8 women (if they live to be 80) will be diagnosed with breast cancer. One factor that lowers the risk of ovarian cancer is having more than one child & using hormonal birth control. I agree & dislike that some companies are advertising menses as being a “nuisance” . And many women opt not to use extended cycling, or any hormonal methods at all. Birth control is an individual decision, based on one’s medical history & preferences.
>>
But it seems that this view of actually wanting to have a period is a minority opinion. What I am a little worried about is the notion (promoted by drug companies) that the way our bodies work is somehow bad or deviant. I understand people liking the way BCP regulate cycles, and help with painful periods, and I have no problem with that, but I can’t imagine that the majority of women have erratic cycles and extremely painful cycles.>>
But it doesn’t HAVE to be erratic or painful for me simply not to WANT it. I’ve never had problematic periods at all. But, I still don’t want them.
I don’t have to have a “good reason” for not wanting to have a baby at a particular time in my life, either. It doesn’t HAVE to be that having this baby will screw up my health, or plunge me into abject poverty, or prevent me from finishing my life’s work of curing cancer. “I don’t want this right now” is good enough reason for me to have an abortion if I so chose, so I don’t see why “I don’t want this right now” isn’t good enough reason for me to choose to take the extended pill to avoid unwanted periods. And it’s a little disingenuous for a group of what I suspect are almost exclusively pro-contraception and pro-choice women to all of a sudden retreat into the it’s-all-about-the-natural-and-how-dare-we-mess-with-mother-nature stance.
>>A far as the “it’s not a real period” argument for taking the 28 day cycles of birth control pills. I am having trouble with how that is framed…..I know of at least one person who got pregnant on the pill and would have only known about it because she did not get a period in the placebo week. I think the reason I am less concerned about taking the 28 day regime with a week long placebo is because I feel like the body at least gets to detox from the hormones in that week.>>
But “your feeling” that the body gets to detox from the hormones in that week is just a feeling, and it’s not particularly scientifically based. You’re naturally skeptical of the pill. Which is fine, you don’t need to take it if that’s how it makes you feel. But the commenters are right, it is not a real period when you’re on the pill anyway.
Ledasmom-
Here it is Even the Queen. A wonderful short story and summarizes these threads as sharply as any story could.
All-
After reading the story, if you’re a philosophical Cyclist, what do you think?
FYI, I don’t think it was Djerassi who was for the placebo week of the pill – it was a guy named John Rock. To his credit, he honestly believed that he was really helping women by trying to make the pill as close to the natural cycle as possible so that the Catholic church wouldn’t have a problem with it. In retrospect I think that was an enormous mistake (partly because it’s left us with the legacy of “it’s unnatural if you don’t have a period on the pill” – which is of minimal medical value – and partly because his prediction about the church’s opinion was so vastly wrong), but if I had been this guy back then, I probably would have done the same thing. I read one account of this history that mention that Rock was absolutely crushed when the church came down against the birth control pill.
I would also like to register my total annoyance about the argument over what a “real” period is. This is not a scientific argument, this is a philosophical argument – and the whole thing drastically underestimates the natural variation in menstruation. Some people ovulate on the pill; some people don’t ovulate when they’re not on the pill. Some people bleed when they’re pregnant in cycles that sort of kind of look like periods. Are those “real”? Are those “natural”?
If women are allowed to define their experiences for themselves, none of these arguments should matter. It’s a period if a woman says it is, and that’s that. This bit about what is “real” or not is no more than an unnecessary diversion from the real issues of reproductive choice.
Thank you, Helen. I do love that story, and Connie Willis in general.
Wow, I started reading this thread uncertain how I felt about this and now I’m… even more uncertain!
Anyway, I see four possible ways to approach this issue:
1) anti-woman, pro medicalization
2) anti-woman, pro natural
3) pro-woman, pro medicalization
4) pro-woman, pro natural
Lots and lots of people fall somewhere in the middle of these four possibilities (though I’d guess that most people on here fall closer to #3 or #4. I don’t think that the history of medicine or the current culture of medicine can really be looked at in such black and white terms (i.e. has it helped women or harmed them?) On one hand, it simply is not true that medicine as an institution overall has acted in a hostile manner toward women (many advances have improved women’s health dramatically, and were explicitly intended as such). On the other hand, medicine has in many cases disregarded women properly as adult human beings, and should thus be held to a degree of suspicion.
So, on this issue, and others like it (like natural childbirth/cesarian rates/etc.) I think it’s best to remember that if we happen to fall into categories #3 or #4 we should be careful not to assume that people who disagree with us about medicalization automatically fall into #1 or #2!
Shelly said, “But “your feeling” that the body gets to detox from the hormones in that week is just a feeling, and it’s not particularly scientifically based. You’re naturally skeptical of the pill. Which is fine, you don’t need to take it if that’s how it makes you feel. But the commenters are right, it is not a real period when you’re on the pill anyway.”
I’m not skeptical of birth control pills. I’m skeptical of the notion that periods are icky or a nuisance and should be stopped. I worry that this is a sad reflection on how a natural process has been medicalized and pathologized.
I also don’t think it is just a feeling that a person is who is taking a week off from hormones is not lowering the levels of those hormones in her system. That is why you bleed because those hormones are leaving your body and your body doesn’t think it is pregnant. Personally, I never took those sugar pills in the 10 years that I took the pill because I knew there was nothing in them.
But is there any evidence that periodically lowering the levels of the pill hormones is in any way more healthy than keeping the levels steady? I agree that side-effects and long-term risks may be reduced by reducing the overall exposure to the hormones, but this can be done equally well or better by taking a lower-dose pill continuously.
And again, this method doesn’t necessarily mean never having a period ever. It just means you get to choose when, and if, you bleed, which can be once a month, every two or three months, once a year, whatever you prefer. It doesn’t mean you can’t have it at all, just that you can choose when to have it rather than have it happen to you whenever it ‘decides’!
In any case, many women don’t ‘naturally’ get their period every 28 days like clockwork – their cycle is either irregular or just a lot longer than that. So the traditional pattern of pill taking is not necessarily a good imitation of natural for many of us either.
But is there any evidence that periodically lowering the levels of the pill hormones is in any way more healthy than keeping the levels steady?
This is a good question. I think it probably is given the number of BCPs that include different dosages each week of the cycle. The new low does pill and the “tricycle” pill have been touted as safer, but effective. It is my impression that the current BCP regiments are very safe and effective, but there are not studies on the long term effects of using the regime that prevents bleeding for longer term usage.
I’m with joe (comment #3). Contemporary Western women have as amny as 2-3 times the number of menstrual cycles over the course of their lives than contemproary foragers, due to a number of factors: earlier menarche, longer wait to become pregnant after puberty, forced menstruation from birth control, reduced breastfeeding (this is a biggy!). Your typical forager is not pregnant all the time (which in a foraging society is absolutely *not* what you want — children are spaced 4 or more years, and the number of children overall typically low); more likely, she’s breast-feeding all the time (as noted above, at least 2-4 years, often longer).
Now, as someone said, what defines a “natural” period vs. an “unnatural” one is a wholly philosophical issue — I don’t want to suggest that the foraging state is any more “natural” than the urban career-woman’s. Even if you buy the evolutionary psych line that we evolved as foragers and that foraging is therefore the “baseline” for how our bodies should function (and I don’t buy it *at all*) , we cannot say for sure how like our foraging ancestors the lives of modern foragers are. However, there does seem to be some evidence that the incidence of “women’s cancers” (for lack of a better term; cervical, uterine, breast, ovarian) is far lower among modern foragers than among Western women, and that this is related to the difference in menstrual activity. I”m not a medical anthropologist, so I can’t say what exactly the mechanism is here (clearly something to do with fluctuating hormonal levels, but beyond that…?) but it’s something to think about.
That said, I do agree with Rachel’s central worry about the medicalization — and not coincildental pathologization — of women’s bodies inherent in a “cure” for periods.
About the “de-tox.” During “placebo pill week,” you’re not de-toxing, because YOU are making the same hormones. In a feedback cycle. With a lag time. Which means that you may — I’d go so far as to say you probably — overshoot, and after a few days, produce more hormone than you’re usually on (usually = during the 3 non-placebo weeks). Many of us on cyclic BCP have the withdrawal bleeding stop BEFORE the end of placebo week, before re-starting the hormone dosing, right?
(I certainly did, back when I was on the bleeding-for-form’s-sake cyclic BCP, which is IMHO more overly-medicalized than not bothering to bleed at all.)
So your total exposure to estrogen or progesterone or both could easily be higher if you cause those monthly plummet-and-surge cycles, than if you stayed on your even, relatively low, pill-dose of hormones.
The “de-tox” idea needs more data.
Change of subject. When I switched to continuous BCP, I initially had irregular breakthrough spotting. Starting around week 4 or 5, as others have experienced. It tapered off to none by about 6 months. As I understand from my dear medical professionals, that’s approximately typical. So if you try continous BC, don’t necessarily ditch the project at week 5 or 6 or 8.
I still get some breakthrough, but only when I forget to take a pill. Even when I take the missed pill as an “extra” the next day. Since I can never remember when I last had a withdrawal-bleed/pregnancy check, I usually just use the missed pill as an opportunity for one of those 4 “periods” (withdrawal bleeds/pregnancy checks) a year that some practioners (and Seasonale) recommend.
Anyway that’s my 2 cents on continous hormone regulation.
Dustin, although studies clearly show that breastfeeding, in particular, is associated with a lower rate of breast cancer, it is also just possible that the incidence of women’s cancers are higher because women live longer and, most notably, don’t suffer nearly as much from the condition that is unique to women: dying in childbirth. It’s just so hard to know what life and health would have been like if our forebears lived to be as old as we can expect to.
I have recently been concidering occasionally taking a pill to stop my period. I do worry a bit about the side effects…but on the other hand, look at all the good it can do for women. I work out alot and being on my period causes me to stop working out for a few days. Either because of the cramps, headaches, or me not wanting to stain my clothing. If I can eliminate this..NEUISANCE I will be able to work out more improving my health!
Also….In a modern day world a period really isn’t practical for women. Having sex isn’t the only pass time anymore and women actually can go out of the house and work if they want.
One of the things that feminists cheered about the introduction of the pill was that it freed women from one of the natural “side effects” of being a woman, that being the risk of falling pregnant every time they had sex. I’m certainly in favour of women having that freedom, and it doesn’t mean that I think ovulation or pregnancy are icky or unnatural. I simply think it gives women the choice of having the sexual freedom to shag when they like, with whom they like, without being seriously disadvantaged. It doesn’t just mean that we can skip the babies, it means we can skip the fear, the uncertainty and, yes, the nuisance.
I see the ability to medically eliminate periods the same way. Just like hormonal birth control, it’s certainly not for everyone, but it means that women who so choose can be free from something that, while completely natural, is also an experience that can bring fear and inconvenience. Men don’t have to spend money every month on overpriced feminine hygeine products, they don’t have to worry that wearing light coloured pants will lead to a horrible embarrassment, they don’t have to deal with pre menstrual and menstrual side effects whether light or heavy, and they don’t have to worry about their sex life, their work life OR their social life being disrupted monthly by blood issuing from their genitals. Why shouldn’t women feel entirely free to take a step that gives them that same freedom from nature without feeling that their reasoning isn’t worthwhile enough? If a woman wants to cancel out her periods so she’s free to have worry-free sex whenever she likes, or because she likes to go camping with little planning, why should we feel her reason is less valid than a woman who suffers heavy or painful periods?
I don’t see menstrual periods as icky or unnatural, just like I don’t see pregnancy as icky or unnatural. But if women want to avoid pregnancy for whatever reason, or if they want to avoid their periods for whatever reason, I say more power to them, and I feel thankful that I live in a time when that option and freedom is available to at least some women.
Personally, I haven’t had a period in over a year. They are cripplingly painful, last for two weeks, induce anaemia, and disrupt my management of my schizophrenia. I’m better off without them for those reasons. But even if I didn’t have those reasons, I imagine I’d happily take the no-period route for “less serious” reasons such as freedom from buying pads, fretting about trouser choice or activities at certain times of the month, and simply having to think about it.
I WANT MY PERIOD, BUT I HAVEN’T GOTTEN MY PERIOD FOR A WHILE! I BELIEVE IT’S BEEN OVER 2 YEARS, YOU CAN SAY ALMOST 3 YEARS now! I’ve lost count! I need some help with my answer! oh, I don’t believe in people stopping there period, especially when a person is a party person, whose drinks and smokes, not getting their period at all.. then all of sudden realize that it was to late to find out that they were pregnant! I had a friend going through that! Her baby was born only 2 pounds, but her baby girl didn’t make it! Can someone tell me if it’s true that when a person doesn’t get their period, means they wouldnt be able to have kids? Please, I need some answers!
Betty, If you haven’t had a period in 2 years and you are of childbearing age and are not taking some sort of birth control method that stops your period, you need to go see a doctor ASAP. It could be the sign of a big problem. On the other hand, it may be something minor or nothing at all. I’m not an expert, but a doctor may be able to help you figure out why your are not having your period, and depending on what the issue they mght be able to provide you with some sort assistance with getting pregnant.
Have you seen a doctor?
All y’all that want your periods are certainly welcome to them. But I don’t want mine, and I’m grateful that I don’t have to have it.
I’m slipping into my third year of using Seasonale for menstrual suppression, and as far as I’m concerned, I want to kiss the people who came up with it. So, too, do my husband and kids. No longer are we imprisoned by 21 – 25 days of depression, rage and pain, followed by 7 – 10 days of bleeding, debilitating cramps, nausea, migraines that make getting hit by a bus sound appealing and feeling like I’ve been dragged along behind the garbage truck for a few miles.
“Natural” isn’t always best. If being “unnatural” is what it takes to be able to enjoy my life like a normal person, well, point me to the sign up sheet and get the hell out of my way so you don’t get run over.
If the periods I get aren’t really periods becaues I’m on BCP, they sure fooled me. [TMI warning here…] They’re only a little shorter (7 days instead of 9) and a little lighter (I could change a supermax tampon every 90 minutes on my heavy days instead of every hour, if I hadn’t switched to a cup). I don’t get cramps much anymore (yay!), but I do still get that slimy, lumpy stuff that looks like half-clotted blood. I don’t stop bleeding until at least a couple days after I start the “real” pills again.
I’ve considered going the 5-periods-a-year route the way one of my coworkers does, but I sorta like getting that monthly reassurance I’m not pregnant. Sure, the chances are very low (poor fertility in my family plus being *very* good about taking the pill on time) but still. Regardless, I’m psyched it’s available. My coworker loves having the option because it means she’s only debilitated a few times a year instead of every month.
having to endure periods every month, even if they are light and there are no pms symptoms to speak of, they are still messy and gross and interfere with a woman’s life. But do I think they make me a dirty person? no. Just because one thinks of periods as icky doesnt mean they think of themselves as diseased. I think having mucus in my throat is gross, but I don’t think it is disease it is a natural way for the body to keep itself clean.
But if it gets extreme and starts to interfere with getting enough sleep or causing you too feel like you have a cold when you don’t then I say where is the antihistamine. I think crap is gross, but I don’t think it makes me a bad or evil person, I think all crap is gross, and of course I wouldn’t want to stop that otherwise I would die!!!
Periods on the other hand are really something no one should have to endure if they don’t want to, and it doesnt mean the woman thinks of herself as diseased. It is just that freedom from such a worry every month or having to change plans because of it wonderful. I mean when you plan a vacation and plan on hiking camping or swimming and boating and that comes along? That really takes the joy out of it due to worries about smell, accidents and of course not wanting to swim if you can’t use tampons or if you are swimming in the sea.
I tried to stop my periods with seasonale, but even after 8 months on it, my body still wanted a period every 5 or 6 weeks regardless. So now I waited for my period and now will be starting a different pill that allows normal cycles. I took the seasonale because of flooding periods that literally flooding over while I slept even tho I changed only a few minutes before, and used extra overnighters pads.
I had extended periods too, and I had incredible cramps that you wouldn’t believe. If the seasonale would of worked I would of stayed on it until I got near menopause which isn’t that far off or until I died which every came first. My quality of life increased 100 fold. I didn’t have breast tenderness for two weeks a month, I didn’t have cramps 2 weeks out of the month and when I did have a period is was 75 percent less bleeding than before taking it.
I hope these bc pills do the same lighten the load and stop all that misery.
RR
I CAN SAY THAT I AM ONE OF THOSE FEMALES THAT HAVE VERY PAINFUL LONG PERIODS, EVEN WITH TAKING BCP. THE BLEEDING IS SO HEAVY I’M ONE OF THOSE THAT TRIES TO REMAIN IN THE HOUSE UNTIL IT’S OVER. THE NAUSEA, BACK PAIN, HEAVY BLEEDING, AND VERY BAD MOOD SWINGS ARE SO HARD TO DEAL WITH. I WAS HAPPY WHEN I SAW THE SPECIAL OF GOOD MORNING AMERICA THAT INTERVIEWED A LADY THAT USES THE NUVA RING TO STOP HER PERIODS…SHE’S NOT HAD A PERIOD IN I THINK 7 YEARS SHE SAID..AND THE DOCTORS THAT WERE INTERVIEWED SAID THIS WAS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR BODY. SO FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME THIS IS A BREAKTHROUGH AND I WILL BEGIN MY METHOD NEXT MONTH.
I think taking a break from 18 years of bleeding, no I’m sorry 19 years, is a wonderful idea. I just wonder why it took so long. I can’t say I have ever seen the beauty of a period. It’s just a notice that you’re not pregnant. I didn’t need that notice for 18 years. I wish I could have stopped it. I also wished I could have stopped the mid cycle cramps and breast soreness too. Does anyone know if these types of issues go away too? I’m just recently married and just recently on one of the ultra low birth control pills and it doesn’t help me much. I mean I don’t think I’m pregnant, but I had such high hopes of life without a cycle. My periods are just as heavy, almost as long and the midcycle issues seem to be getting worse. I plan to have kids someday, but not too soon. I just want to know if this is for me. Any ideas?
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I, for one, was glad to get rid of my malfuntioning uterus! I hated having to put up with that mess each and every month for 30 years. I am 48 years old and had a hysterectomy about 4 years ago. It changed my life! No more pain, no more mess, no more babies! I’m sure that there are more women that feel the way I do than there are women who love their periods. Who in their right mind would look forward to that smelly mess every month? The only reason I was glad when I started was I knew I was not pregnant. Once I had the desired number of children, why did I need my uterus? I thank God my OG-GYN is forward-thinking enough to realize that I was in misery and did what was needed to end it. If there are ways for younger women to have less periods per year, GO FOR IT! Why suffer needlessly?
it is going to happen. I put mine off for years with HRT before I decided that HRT was more problematical than the menopause was likely to be.
One thing i did find was that the herbal extract MACA helped me with hot flashes.
For your information, there’s a wealth of advice and resources to help you manage your menopause at:
Your Menopause
Sophie Walker
OK.. i haven’t read everyone’s responses, but I do have to put my 2 cents in. I am 23, never EVER had a period on my own. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18, and had my left tube and ovary removed at 19 due to cysts. I never complained that I didn’t get a period, yet I know that I need to have one. I tried the pill for a few months and couldn’t handle it. The cramps, the bleeding, etc.. For the last 3 years I have been trying to get pregnant, with no sucess because I haven’t used any man made drugs to help me on my way. Yes the pill doesn’t give you a “real” period, but its the shedding of the uterine lining that needs to go each month.. this will prevent (hopefully) uterine cancer.. for someone who needs the man made drugs to help them on their way, i think its a great thing.. nothing is full proof to keep you from getting pregnant other than abstinance, and by protecting yourself with the birth control and condoms.. the chances of getting pregnant is far less. Most people are lucky and dont mind how their body is treating them, nothing is full proof i will say that, maybe they need more research on what exactly the pill does to do your body, but for me, its helping me hopefully kick start what never started, and I pray that one day I will be able to natually conceive a child. You are all lucky.. but then again, luck is how you take it.
Thanks,
Amber
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Personally I have had my period (which is heavy flow with serious cramping the first few days) and haven’t had my period due to BC. I think that it is really up to the individual to chose. For me, I am happy without. I don’t necessarily think it is bad, icky, yucky or gross. For the record, I don’t think semen is gross either. After you change a few diapers, gross becomes harder to find…usually. However, I enjoy the freedom to just not worry. I agree the hormonal concerns is important and should be researched. However, I have to say it is personal and no choice is the “right” or “wrong” choice.
I just have one thing to say, I think that doctors and parents should be careful about prescribing hormones to still growing adoelscents. Taking the contraceptive pill constantly for a long period of time (years in many cases) when your body has not had a chance to actually get used to having periods and ovulating sounds to me like a very dangerous thing to play with.
I wonder everyday if my going on the pill for 4 years straight less than a year after having my first period has effected my lack of fertility now at only 22.
I have found reading this forum absolutely delightful! It’s nice to know you’re not alone on one side or the other. As for me…I’m all about stopping my period. I don’t feel that is says my body is broken or needs to be fixed. I would just like a completly sane month like I used to have before my period started. It is true that periods in the teens can start off long and hard with extreme cramping. Mine did. As I got older the pain stopped and the time shortened, but it was replaced with extreme tiredeness, irritability, and one week of every month down with a very very bad cold. Not to mention I have type 1 diabetes. My sugars run anywhere from 250 to 450 during the last phase. And the flip-flopping beggining of the month to the end of the month makes it hard to plan anything around it. Honestly, I really don’t think, at least on most occasions, that a women’s decision to stop her period has any thing to do with convience, but with things like this.
I just want to say that my periods are absolutely ridiculous, but normal at the same time. Almost exactly 28 days every month I have my regular cycle, its very heavy bleeding in only three days. I have absolutely no problem with periods, I have a problem with the pms associated with it. Almost two weeks before my period I am a absolute bitch and have no control over my emotions and the attitude that I give people. If they could come up with a pill that just changes the irratability and mood swings, then I’d be all for it. But to change our body dynamics so radically? No. There’s obviously no telling what could happen in the long term if these pills are utilized so often.
Its like anti-persperant/deodorant. When we use this, we are basically stopping our body from naturally functioning. Sweating is the healthiest form of our bodies secreting toxins from the body. So why do we stop this? Because its convienent? Is natural ovulation unconvienent? Your absolutely right though, womens bodies are constantly being misportrayed, and its quite sad.