Why is the Pill being advertised "for the Woman" - isn't it really for the man?!

Hi everyone.
I know it has been silent here for a while... but that doesn't mean any of the other posts aren't still true. Side effects of taking and quitting any BC pills is still a serious matter and women are suffering every day and night.

I was just asked a few questions by a dear woman who is working on a report and I thought I would share some of it here as I feel it is relevant. Her questions were so innovative, I hadn't thought about it in that angle before... Here goes:

How do you think then pill has gone from being a liberating turning point in women’s history to this damaging life style drug? 

This is a fantastic question and a very good observation! I think my initial reaction is: IGNORANCE. I am pretty sure side effects existed back then too but since it was labelled as the new and fantastic thing – you were not a liberated woman if you didn't take it… and what woman don’t want to be liberated?! Feel like SHE is in CHARGE of her own body. 

When the pill was studied, they could have put the effort into making a male pill but they didn't. They choose to alter the woman’s reproductive functions to save the man’s. Neither would have been right off course, but did it happen because back then the industry was flooded with men? I would like to guess so… No man want to ever temper with his reproductive organs and functions – that is pride right there! 

And can you imagine a man taking the pill when the side effects are: Loss of libido, loss of hair, depression, loss of stamina, muscle deterioration, frequently UTI… LOL… I think not. There was no way the industry back then were going to put themselves and their fellow men in that situation. I have no proof of this, but a girl can guess can’t she?!

With today’s influence of so many streams we can finally speak up and someone will listen. If I look at just my story; for years I believed I was “alone” with my side effects until I found someone else’s story online and I thought she was writing about me… That didn't exist back then, so I can only imagine how many women were suffering back then too but didn't have any support system or even understanding that this could be related. It is still being fought today – most medical professionals I have been in contact with regarding this still do not believe the side effects are so life altering. At least that is not what they communicate.

In essence I think it has always been a damaging life style drug, it just wasn't spoken about as much back then as it is now.. People and women are more aware, even if we have a looooonge way to go still.

Also, the fact there still remains to be a female contraceptive pill that doesn't effect women’s health, do you think women’s health is undervalued? 

In my opinion our complaints haven’t been taken seriously. Especially when we walk in to a doctor’s office looking like we are at the top of the world. 25, skinny, active, attractive, etc etc… The problem isn't the pill in itself but how it is being used and marketed. Just think about it – when do you normally take a pill? When you are sick right!? For women to want to take a pill, they first have to be convinced they are sick… 

And now we are almost living in a society where a monthly menstrual cycle is frowned upon – There is a pill for that! So looking back, all of a sudden fertility was a woman’s fault. It was her responsibility to be infertile to suit the need of her man and their sexual relationship. Being fertile was all of a sudden like being sick! – well guess what, there is pill for that! 

Sweetening the Pill Documentary

You and me... both the same... we took the pill... we got ill...

Sweetening the pill is a book just released by Holly Grigg-Spall bringing awareness to readers everywhere about the pill. Now a documentary is in the making!!

Want to participate spreading the word and educating the world?? Contact Holly or Helen by using the information in the image below. (Need a PDF version, email yasmin_yaz@live.com with "Sweetening the Pill" as title). TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT

Yasmin ON Libido GONE

I recently received an email from Iulia that I wanted to share with you all (with her permission off course). The email is slightly edited for clarity. Iulia's story describes so perfectly how a woman's mind can be totally transformed by being on the pill (or any other hormonal contraceptive). The thoughts and feelings that crawl on us without any truth to it is mesmerizing - and to think that a FDA approved birth control pill is the cause is beyond scary.

Hello!
My name is Iulia and I want to start out by pointing out that I am a resident doctor in psychiatry, so you can understand that not even a doctor can figure out what he/she going through, and even less with what his/her patients are going through.

I started taking oral contraceptives in 2002 or 2003, can`t exactly remember the year (all I remember is that I was not a med student back then). I started oral contraceptives because my menstrual period was not at all regular (I got my first period when I was in 3rd or 4th grade!!!), mostly based on my low-grade obesity; once I lost about 20kg and got my weight in normal range, everything became ok: my periods were like clockwork!

My OBYG recommended taking Lo-Femenal. I took those for about 2 years and had absolutely no problems while on it - but suddenly my menstruation transformed itself from being a red-colored one, into a greyish color. Kind of spooky and I stopped them. 

In 2006 I had an abortion (was not on the pill at the time) due to a broken condom and decided to go on the pill again. I developed obsessive ideas about being pregnant. I did 2 pregnancy tests every week just to make sure even though I had no sexual contact at all. Looking back now, I know it was PTSD. After three months I was fully recovered from the mental agony of the abortion. 

Picture taken from here

In January 2007 I started Yasmin and since then, hell broke loose step by step. All of my symptoms on Yasmin started gradually, so I never thought that Yasmin might be the cause of them. First of all was my libido: I was always keen on sex and suddenly all of that just vanished. "Ok" I thought to myself, maybe it is something temporary, I'll just wait (I waited for 5 years and nothing); luckily I have a boyfriend (now fiancee and soon husband) that understands somewhat what I was and am going through.

Second to that, maybe one year after, the mood changes started. First, it was not that bad, I was a little bit more depressed, cried easily and one week before my menstruation I was very irritable. But I managed keeping all the symptoms under control. About one year after that (2008), the paraesthesias started: on my face, my arms, I had the pinky of my right hand numb for 2 weeks non-stop, when I walked my legs became numb very quickly, I had cramps in my lower legs. I blamed all that to the lack of exercise (I have always been lazy when it came to physical exercise). 

As time went on, my boyfriend became more depressed about me not wanting any sexual activity whatsoever, one time I even called him a pervert when he tried to get me aroused, so I tried to explain to him that he is not the cause of my lack of libido, it is just that I do not feel the need for sex. Not at all. I tried having intercourse again, but that only happened maybe once every two months L and only because I knew he needed it. He started telling me that he wants his old Iulia back, that made me feel really guilty, but still no sexual desire. I tried, again, to explain that something is happening to me, I didn’t know what, but that he should be patient until I get my things straightened out. I would like to point out that he loves me A LOT and he has been supportive through this nasty experience all the way. 

Next I started to become jealous on every girl that talked to him. Every time he went out I started thinking that maybe he is going out with another woman, and I was very suspicious. But it passed away rather quickly.

Picture taken from here

2010: my boyfriend proposed! But, I felt nothing. He planned a trip to Budapest (he knew how badly I wanted to go to Budapest) and proposed there, but I was like: "Ok." What girl thinks that??? One should be happy when that happens, but I was very indifferent to that. When that happened I knew something was not quite right.

January 2012: had my first panic attack (basically when you have a panic attack, there are 3 types of thoughts going through your mind: you`re going to lose control, you`re going to die or that you are going insane) and since then I developed an obsession about going crazy; being a young psychiatrist, I researched every possible mental illness I could have, but deep inside I felt that it was somewhat connected to the pill.

In February 2012: I started having obsessive ideas about having cancer; CRUEL ideas, but I managed to keep them under some sort of control. A few months later, in May 2012: I had a bad case of diarrhea, with dehydration and started having a permanent state of panic and panic attacks; I blamed it all on dehydration and rapid heartbeats. While in a panic attack, I thought that my mother-in-law was planning to poison me and that became the source of my anxiety. I knew my thoughts are not normal, so I excluded the possibility of developing a delusional disorder or psychosis, but when the anxiety kicked back in, all my thoughts came back and I was back where I started: having cancer, my mother-in-law wanting to kill me and going crazy and ending up in an asylum…

Drawing taken from here

August 2012: extreme irritability and depression started; my anxiety was on a level of 9 out of 10, but only 2 weeks before my period; after my period I was back to somewhat normal. That continued for three months and in October I felt like I had no good days anymore. I started taking natural tranquilizers which have helped me a little bit and finally decided to stop the pill!!! I took my last pill on October 26, had my period and never went back on it again. Shortly after I went to see my coordinator (he is an old psychiatry professor) and I told him about what I was going through and told me THAT HAPPENS ON THE PILL!!

He also said that most of my symptoms are related to a deficiency in Magnesium, Zinc and Vitamin B6 so I started taking magnesium and b6 complex and it all feels right again. I can`t say all of my days are good, sometimes my anxiety kicks back, but at a more bearable intensity. But I have only been off the pill for 3 weeks now but it has made a huge impact in how I feel already.

~ Iulia

Romania