Panic Attacks and Anxiety - Thank you BC Pill :(

Hi everyone!
I know I don't normally post something in a letter format here but I have gotten so many panic attack and anxiety attack emails lately that I was thinking about doing an online seminar about the subject. It is really hard for me to reply to everyone in a timely manner and at length to give you all that you want and need... So I was thinking with a Live Online session where you can hear me talk and ask questions at the same time - we might be able to make some impact in everyone's recovery!

Plus, it would be available after too for people to look at.

What do you ladies think? Is it something that would be of interest to you? If so leave a comment and I'll come up with a time and date in the near future. The event would be live on facebook.

Hugs and healing to you all.
~Helena

Panic Attacks thanks to the Pill?!

Yes, it is more fact that speculation at this point. There is no doubt in my entire body, mind, and soul that panic attacks are caused by the pill or the detox from them. The many synthetic hormones mixed with chemicals we gladly swallow down every day do cause damage...

...and one of those can be, yup you guessed it; Panic Attacks 

For those of you who have no idea what a panic attack feels like, let me try to explain it... 

All of a sudden, from seemingly nowhere, you start to feel nervous like something is wrong. Your internal senses are on high alert. Danger Danger Danger! However, your logical brain understands that nothing is wrong because you were just watching a romantic comedy on TV, or standing in line at the grocery store, or sitting at your desk at work, or taking a walk with the dog... Nothing about the situation you are in is dangerous, nor has it ever been in the past. 

It feels like your surroundings are closing in on you and there is no escape. Your heart starts to beat harder and faster, and your chest might even hurt. You feel like there is not enough oxygen, nor can you take a normal deep breath. You are so afraid... maybe you are dying. Yes, that is what you start to think after a few minutes. This is what dying feels like you tell yourself... It is time to die...  

Then, the attack ends. Out of nowhere it seems like. 

If this was your first attack, you hope that it was the only one... However, the more you get the more nervous you are going to be about getting them again. If you frequently get them at the grocery store - there is a pretty good chance you will become afraid of going to the grocery store because your reality of getting panic attacks there are bigger than the reality of how logically safe a grocery store really is. 

Panic attacks create fear and more panic attacks and you truly feel stuck in a place where you don't understand who you are anymore. You have no logical reason to these panic attacks. Yet, you seem to be completely unable to manage them or preventing them to come again.    

So, no matter if you are having panic attacks from side effects of the BC pill or any other medication, or if they are happening to you anyway.. I have decided to do a short live broadcast on how you can take care of yourself in those situations. The broadcast will happen either the end of May or June. To be notified on exactly when and stay updated like my page SunnySoul Coach on facebook, it is free ;) 

Love and support always. 

A BIG reason

There is a reason this blog exist...
It is NOT a good reason.

The reason is because so many women's lives have been ruined, altered and/or effected negatively because of hormonal birth control. The list of side effects are never ending and I myself took a life time decision in 2009 that I would never again take synthetic hormonal birth control ever again. And that decision also lead me to question much of what is being offered in the disguise of "medicine" today. Medicine is not healing, medicine today is concealing....

Support the effort to bring the documentary "Sweetening the Pill" to life!!  

Birth Control Side effects (just a small list, nothing to worry about)

Birth control is a subject that has become a mission bigger than myself... I feel a need to spread the word to everyone I speak with and I wish someone could have shared with me ten years ago what I know today... But on the other hand if someone would have done that - I would not have been here today, trying to work so hard for it.

Birth control in the form of IUD, Pill, Implant, Shot, Ring or Patch are a hormonal form of birth control. They are accepted as the NORM by many; including our parents, friends and doctors and are not questioned enough. What we learn about them are the so called benefits and not side effects - and in many cases the side effect is looked upon as that 1-something percent chance of getting pregnant... (Off course getting pregnant will change your life forever and I am not trying to hide that...) but there is so much more than that. So much that not many speak about, or even acknowledge as being related.

More often than NOT are our symptoms ignored, laughed at, or treated with medications that most often fail. Why, I do not know - but I am sad that it has to be that way... there are so many young wonderful women out there that need the support that are left alone to think that it is all in their heads.

I am here to tell you that it is NOT in your head - your symptoms are very much real and are related to hormonal birth control, (or hormonal treatment during menopause if you are at that stage in your life):

• Hair loss
• Heart Palpitations
  
• Vision blurres
• Astigmatism
• High Blood pressure
• Allergy reactions
• Sinus problems
• Vaginal Dryness
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Insomia
• Symptom of Hypothyroidism
• Low tolerance to carbohydrates
• Poor nutrition absorbtion
• Diarrhea 
• Dizzyness
• Alcohol and/or Caffeine sensitiveness
• Feeling faint
• Weight Gain
• Weight Loss
  
• Low or no sex drive
• Spotting in-between periods
• Irregular Bleeding
• Cold sores
• Low immune system
• UTI
• Memory problems
• Bloating
• Mood swings
• Migraines
• Head aches
• Weepiness
• PCOS
• Sensitive to the sun
• Nervousness 
• Chronically tired
• Changes in skin 
• Muscle cramps or pain
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blood clot

As you can see most symptoms have nothing to do with your reproductive tract (vagina, uterus, menstruation)... and they may be overlooked by yourself even, as a symptom of your birth control method. And if you suspect that it is linked you must prepare yourself that your suspicion might be dismissed by the doctor or gynecologist. You must listen to your body! Taking beta blockers, anti depressants, and/or use Rogain shampoo will NOT treat your real underlying issue, only hide it - if you are lucky - and then you should also hope for no side effects of this options. The only way you are truly going to get rid of this is to get off the hormonal birth control, and by that I mean GET OFF, not try another one, and restore your body's natural hormone balance; which could be a trip to hell and back but worth the ride in the end!

Your health comes first! It is really that simple. Without your health in tact you cannot care for your loved ones in the best possible way. Take care of YOU first! If you are taking hormonal birth control you should really sit down and ask yourself if it is worth the risks when there are so many other available options out there that does not include hormones when it comes to birth control...

Survived bi-lat Pulmonary Embolism and DVT Caused by YAZ

Thank you, for keeping the message board and blog going. By simply being a presence on the internet you keep the dangers of these drugs available for people to see. Woman need to be educated on these drugs and you're helping so many.

I'm in the middle of a YAZ lawsuit and I'd like to share my story in the hope that someone can relate to it and find a little solace knowing they are not alone. Also, my blog has become a place specifically where women can anonymously share information and discuss their experience (and intense frustration) with the YAZ MDL lawsuit and I hope others will find it useful. 

My Story. . .

I had been on hormonal birth control pills for 10+ years and besides the headaches and moodiness that came along with PMS, I never had problems. A few months before my wedding and just after my 31st birthday, I switched to YAZ. At the time I was a healthy, active non-smoker who ran and did yoga nearly every day.

On a Saturday morning in August 2010 I was shopping with a girlfriend and started feeling out of breath. Each time we got back to the car I felt like I'd just run a mile. Work had been stressful lately, so I attributed the tightness in my chest to that. It wasn't until I nearly passed out that I knew something was wrong. My friend took me to the ER where my husband met us. Again, we just thought I was having a stress induced panic attack or it was a pre-cursor to a migraine. It took several hours and a CAT Scan to confirm that both my lungs were filled with marble sized blood clots. I was immediately started on blood thinners and admitted into the MICU. I stayed in the hospital for a week.

A full blood panel concluded that I have no clotting disorders, so the only known cause of the PE (and DVT which they later found) was the YAZ birth control pills I had been on since May 2009.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm alive, although according to my doctors, I shouldn't be. The worst part about having had major blood clots is that they seem to be the gift that keeps on giving. I'm still on blood thinners nearly 4  years later and have been advised to stay on them for life. The fear and anxiety of another episode is always present. I've been to the ER a few times because of similar PE symptoms that turned out to be false alarms – each visit leaves me in tears; it's so frustrating to be held captive by the fear of having another clot. 

Currently, I am part of the YAZ MDL lawsuit. Settlements are being discussed and it doesn't look like any of the lawsuits will actually go to court or that Bayer will be taking YAZ or its sister drugs off the market any time soon. My hope is that the pending lawsuits are enough to convince women to question their use of birth control pills containing Drospirenone. I believe that hormonal contraceptives are a great option for many women, but it's important to educate yourself and make informed decisions, because the risks can be deadly.

Best wishes,
-Mrs.T
Visit Mrs. T's Blog HERE

Editors note: The overall message of the Yasmin and Yaz Survivors Group is to stay away from synthetic hormonal contraceptive due to the many risk that may or may not inflict upon your life but we wanted to leave Mrs. T's own words in this blog post because that is what this is for... to share your own story and thoughts. 

My sister asked me what birth control pill I was on

My name is Maria and I am from Romania. Thank you so much for having the initiative to create this blog. I have discovered it as Yasmin almost ruined my life.

I have been taking Yasmin for 8 month now and about 4 months ago everything changed. I was a lively person, who laughed and enjoyed everything in her life, who couldn't wait for the weekend to come to see her boyfriend. Soon after starting taking Yasmin, everything changed. The panic attacks began, I cried for no reason I felt I was going crazy and nobody understood me. I really felt I was going nuts until this morning when my sister came to me and asked me which BCP I was taking. I answered that I was on yasmin and she said that my moods and my panic attacks and everything has an explanation. She then told me about a former colleague of hers who, in college, after taking Yasmin for several months threw a knife at her. Then I understood I was not crazy and that Yasmin are responsible for everything.

I don t want to lose my relationship, my parents, and friends because of some stupid pill that can ruin your life.

Thank you so much and once again congrats for this blog.

Kind regards,

Maria.

Since taking Yaz I have now developed a vascular condition

Hi ladies,

I have been reading your post on the Yasmin and Yaz Survivor Forum and here on the Blog for some time and have joined to thank you all for your thoughts and contributions. 

The support and sentiments expressed here are so valuable when there is such little information forthcoming from doctors or the drug manufacturer.

Many women are having difficulty transitioning from Yaz and Yasmin birth control, and I have long suspected that the 'mild' anti aldosterone properties of drospirenone have an effect on the renin angiotensin aldosterone system for a number of months thereafter.

I have experienced constant tachycardia, blood pressure problems, back pain in kidney area, fluid retention, unbearable surges in adrenalin, muscle weakness, sensitivity with regards to my central nervous system, visible strong tremors in hands, lack of coordination, brain fog, hair loss, decreased urination and alternatively excessive urination, odd, random bouts of nausea that disappear as quickly as they appear, vision disturbances, tingling and twitching in extremities...bizarre.

My doctor has used words like 'you are stressed and anxious' to smother my concerns. I think we all know there's a bit of a stigma associated with researching health ailments online, but what's a girl to do when your practitioners are constantly being evasive? Making you feel like a giddy hypochondriac but at the same time putting you on a beta blocker? I smell a rat. How about you?

Since taking Yaz I have now developed a vascular condition (diagnosed by a doctor) that is likely to worsen over the course of my life. All this before the age of 30! Anxiety indeed.
I have no history of serious health problems, no history of heart or other diseases in my family or myself that may be contraindicated with birth control use, non-smoker, always had low blood pressure (even in my pregnancy), a long background of birth control use without complication, and extended breaks without birth control...no complication.

I think my health status is pertinent to note. Around the time I ceased taking Yaz my decline was very rapid and at one stage I was down to 44kg (99lbs)...an old work colleague of mine came to visit me at my worst and cried when she saw me. My quality of life was severely limited for approximately four months thereafter.

On a positive note we are now at seven months past and last week was my first week where I felt almost completely normal! Though the cynic in me feels that you can't be that sick without some long term battles...there were a few times there that I thought I might die.

Sending lots of love and light to you all.
~Anonymous 

Running with Yaz

Love getting emails and letters from people telling their story on birth control. This one is from Char - a woman who was guided to take Yaz to help her with her cramps while she had her period. Looking back, she probably rather have those cramps... Best of luck to you Char in your future healing process. xoxo

Hi. My name’s Char and I’m a 49 year old Mum of three and wife of 26 years. My Yaz story started about a year before I even started taking the drug, at the end of 2009. 

Picture taken from here

I’m a runner and I’d been training hard for an event while trying to cope with a lot of family stress. Running was part of my stress relief and I trained really hard but I trained beyond my ability to recover and developed over-training syndrome. I was all of a sudden unable to run far or fast without being totally exhausted. I had to take time out from running then build back up gradually. It was hard and frustrating but I came back successfully in 2010, running a respectable half marathon in September then my first marathon in October.

In January 2011 I had to go see my GP for a pap smear and mentioned my painful periods (I had to take ibuprofen every four hours for the first two days of my period or I would be vomiting with the pain). She suggested I try Yaz and I thought all my worries were over. I had no idea what was ahead of me.

Within a month my running had started to suffer. I thought it was over-training syndrome starting again. I just felt weak and unable to push myself and my heart rate was unusually high. I went to see a sports medicine doctor and he couldn’t find anything wrong. I did an exercise stress test which told me nothing except I was really fit for my age. But if I was so fit how come I couldn’t run very well any more?

I eased back on the training but still managed to run three half marathons that year – all a lot slower than my best. I still found that if I pushed myself I would feel sick and tired for days.

January 2012 came and I had another case of what seemed to be overt-raining syndrome. I went to yet another sports medicine doctor and he decided that I had post viral fatigue/chronic fatigue. I was devastated. The only treatment he could suggest was to rest and only come back to running when I was feeling better and not to push it.

So I did what I was told. I’d also developed other strange symptoms. I’d become allergic to the deodorant that I’d worn for years. I was nauseated every day especially in the morning and in the afternoon and evening I had awful bloating and an incredible amount of flatulence (You know it’s bad when your dog wakes up and leaves the room because he thinks he’s the culprit). I was having problems with blurry vision when I did close work – which was a lot of the time because I sew for a living. And I’d developed insomnia.

Picture taken from here

Then there were other obscure symptoms – tingling in my shoulders and upper back and down my leg on the left side, very low libido and dryness and anxiety. The anxiety was awful. I have a son who’s been suffering with depression and was assaulted early in 2012 then got caught and injured in a fire at his work about a month later. All of a sudden I was convinced that he was going to be hurt or killed whenever he went out. I’d go to bed and fall asleep only to wake up two hours later in a total panic and have to ring him. I’d be nauseated and sometimes vomit with the worry.

I went back to my GP to see if I could get some help and she sent me to a psychologist. I also mentioned the gastro-intestinal symptoms so she sent me to see a gastro-enterologist too. The psychologist helped me get on top of the anxiety and the gastro-enterologist diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome. His diet helped with a lot of the symptoms but I still knew my body wasn’t functioning right.

I’d kept running, or run-walking when I didn’t have the energy to run, once the worst of the overtraining syndrome/chronic fatigue was gone but I just felt weak. I’d lost even more speed and strength and my endurance was non-existent. And when I started to feel the fatigue coming back again I decided that I had to get to the bottom of it for once and all.

I’d felt for a while that the muscle weakness was significant. I’d even started a strength training program to try to get some power back but that had ended up with me getting sick again. One of my friends mentioned that she was on testosterone therapy to boost her levels after going through menopause and this triggered some research.

I found out that a lot of women taking the pill have a very low level of testosterone because they produce an abnormally high amount of sex hormone binding globulin which binds testosterone and makes it unavailable for the body to use. Yes, we women do produce some testosterone and it’s needed to muscle strength, energy, libido and general well-being. The levels decline as we age. Seeing as I’m already in my late 40s, chances are that my levels were lowish to start off with but were almost non-existant because of Yaz.

According to my research, Yaz and Yasmin have a different sort of synthetic progesterone, drospirenone, than the older styles of oral contraceptives and it has a particularly bad anti-androgenic effect. It just wipes out your testosterone! No wonder we feel so bad after taking it for a while.

I went back to my GP and asked her to test my testosterone levels. This time I was certain I’d found the cause of all my problems. And I was right!! My T levels were low and the levels of my sex hormone binding globulin were so high that they were just recorded as over 200 nmol/l. My GP made an appointment with a gynecologist then and there.

The gynecologist gave me a testosterone cream to boost my levels but didn’t want me to go off Yaz. I kept taking it for a few more days, all the while continuing to research and the more I read, the more I became convinced that I could not get better until I stopped taking it. I took my last tablet just over a week ago.

Already I’m starting to feel better. I had my best run in ages just yesterday. I’m starting to feel stronger again. I’ve had five good night’s sleep. The blurry vision didn’t happen even after a full day of sewing. I have had headaches – just mild ones. And I’ve had a couple of small pimples but again, nothing to worry about. But best of all I’ve got my optimism back. I finally know that I’m going to get better.

~ Charmaine 

Getting back on track efter quitting your birthcontrol pill

Picture taken from here

• Did you just put two and two together? 

• Did you just realize that every little thing related to your diminishing health could be directly related to the contraceptive you are taking? 

• Are you doubting that it could even be true when no one told you it could happen prior to even starting to take it?

You are not alone! Seriously - there are thousands of women out there who have been there and many more to come.

We are told by the medical society that we are simply emotional or are suffering from anxiety... or that we just need to relax. The blame is on us... all us. And for a long time we believe them, because we don't know what to believe. We find answers to our issues in life situations, family history, or other events... but never do we look at what we put in our bodies every day.

What that every-day pill does to our health is astronomical when you think about that we only have one body and soul. A body that is, in nature, capable to self-healing but with the constant feeding of synthetic hormones and sometimes bad food the body cannot heal but must constantly fight. And slowly by slowly it will loose every battle - until you give it the chance to breath and a chance to do its job. 

Your body will not start to heal until you have taken your last pill.

• When your body starts to heal you might feel worse that when you were "sick". This is when many start to question if it really was the pill after all, so don't let it trick you. Your body needs to get rid of all that toxins that it has stored and that can be painful.
• Then you will start to feel better... A feeling of great relief! It might only be a tap better than "feeling horrible", but you start to see the light...  and every day gets better and better, little by little. 
• Then, as you think you are getting better, you get what many refers to as a "relapse". Something that makes you feel you are back at square one and your sufferings and pain is back... What is this really? A "relapse" is not really you falling back into a previous state of your healing, instead it is your body going into the SECOND layer of healing. If you look at your body as an onion with its multiple layers: The body can only focus on one layer at a time and not until that first layer is peeled off and have been healed your body can move on to the next, which usually (not always) releases a new set of toxins, making you feel "sick" again. - Don't give up - Celebrate! You have just completed the worst phase in your healing cycle!    
• Then you are back at feeling better... and on it goes with ups and downs as your body's healing process goes through the multiple layers of the onion (your body). So take it for what it is, you cannot heal over a night as it has taken months or maybe years for your body to get to the state it was in before you stopped the damaging synthetic contraceptive. 

Healing One-on-One
If someone would have told me this before I started my healing process I still wouldn't have listened because when we are sick we only care about the small rewards that brings us quick satisfaction instead of looking at the future and the big picture... So if you follow your own way I will not get angry, everyone has to do what they feel is best for them but here are a few bullets of what finally made a difference in my healing. I build this list based on the strong belief that food has the POWER to heal us as well as it has the power to destroy us and I am a living proof of it: 

• Eat ORGANIC (follow the "Dirty Dozen" if you don't want to buy organic for everything) to avoid added chemicals, toxins, and pesticides that will slow down your healing process
• Stay away from CORN products if they are not organic - they are 99% genetically modified (GMO) and will therefore contain pesticides like Round-up. Watch the documentary "The World According to Monsanto" on YouTube to better understand this dilemma.   
• SOY is NOT intended to be eaten by humans! Not in any form.. milk, formula, cheese, tofu, oils etc. Soy produces estrogen in your body and as a recovering birth control user you sure do NOT need any extra of that! (Read your labels - soy is in A LOT of foods for fillers, especially in processed food)  
• Meat should be from grass fed, hormone free, and antibiotic free cows
• Fish should be wild caught 
• Chickens should be organic, antibiotic, and hormone free
• Stay away from vegetable oils (this includes margarine) except for organic olive oil (but don't heat it up). Instead eat as much as you want of real butter and coconut oil.
• Have Protein with every meal (even breakfast) like eggs - eat the whole thing not just the whites. 
• Stay away from SUGAR - research have shown that sugar is linked to lower immune system, increase the risk for cancer, and sugar also makes the mineral balance in your body unstable which results in you not being able to absorb the nutrients from the food you are eating properly. 
• WHEAT - please find an alternative... if you can't live without bread - eat Esikel sprouted bread; if you can't live without pasta - eat Brown rice or Quinoa Pasta - or my new favorite: Spaghetti Squash!
• WATER - Drink half of your body weight (lbs) in ounces every day - dehydration can be the cause of many of your symptoms. (150 lbs = 75 oz; 200 lbs = 100oz). Compensate if you drink anything diuretic (sugary beverage, fruit juice, coffee, tea) with 1.5 times of water. (you drink 8 oz of coffee - drink 8x1.5=12oz water)
• EAT FRUIT FRESH- (don't drink it or dry it) Fresh fruit can do wonders, try to get a few in a day. Eat them away from food as a snack as the fructose in the fruit can inhibit the digestion of protein, fat, and the more complex carbohydrates.
• Eat unprocessed as MUCH as you can. As close to nature as you can get! 
• This is even MORE important to follow if you are trying to get pregnant to prepare for that new, unprotected, and innocent life.   

Day by day you can make the choice of creating a better future for YOU by making the right choices of what you feed your body. 

picture taken from here

Just How Safe is Yaz? Women Need to Know!

FULL CREDIT FOR THIS ARTICLE TO MS. MAGAZINE BLOG

The oral contraceptive Yasmin was released in 2001 by the pharmaceutical company Bayer, followed by Yaz in 2006. They differ from other birth control pills in the synthetic progesterone they utilize, drospirenone, which is marketed as less likely to cause weight gain and bloating than other birth control pills. Yaz soon became the most popular birth control pill in the U.S., due in part to a widespread advertising campaign promoting the drug as what the New York Times dubbed “a quality of life treatment,” claiming it could also clear up acne, prevent bloating and ease the depression and anxiety associated with both PMS and the controversial condition of PMDD. It prevents pregnancy at the same rate of effectiveness as all other oral contraceptives.

In 2009, the FDA requested that Bayer distribute a corrective advertisement to counter its aggressively screened commercials that were said to be making misleading assertions about the capabilities of the drug, promoting it for unapproved uses and making light of the more serious health risks (such as blood clots). However, in 2010 the drug remained the second-best-selling Bayer product, bringing in $1.5 billion in sales.

As of January 2012, there are approximately 10,000 lawsuits against Bayer by women who have suffered blood clots and by the families of those women who have died whilst taking Yaz or Yasmin. It is considered the most complained-about drug on the Internet, with thousands of women voicing concerns in online forums and support groups over health issues both physical and emotional. Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope, authors of The Pill: Are You Sure It’s for You?, characterize many of these problems as “quality-of-life-threatening.” I have written extensively on my own experience with Yasmin in my blog, Sweetening the Pill, and for the UK Independent and have been quoted in Fabulous magazine the Washington Post.


Two studies conducted with funding from Bayer revealed that Yaz and Yasmin held no higher risk of blood clots than other birth control pills. However, last month it was revealed that five other studies undertaken independent of Bayer suggested a 50-to-75 percent increased risk of clots for those taking these birth control pills in comparison to others. A former FDA commissioner, David Kessler, charged that Bayer deliberately withheld data about this early on in order to push through the drugs’ approvals. In response, the FDA called an advisory committee to evaluate the safety of birth control pills containing drospirenone. The decision had the potential to cause the drugs to be pulled off the market, but the panel voted by a four-person margin that the drugs’ benefit outweighed the risks.

Yet a government watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), conducted an independent investigation that revealed three of the advisors on the FDA panel had research or other financial ties to Bayer. A fourth advisor was connected to manufacturing the generic version of these pills. All four voted for Yaz and Yasmin to continue to be prescribed by doctors. POGO asked the FDA that a new advisory committee be brought together to make another assessment.

Should these developments impact women’s perspective on the birth control pill? Should we consider that use of the Pill for pregnancy prevention, let alone acne or PMS, is still today, as women’s health activist Barbara Seaman wrote in her 1969 book The Doctors’ Case Against the Pill, “like tinkering with nuclear bombs to fight off the common cold”?


Says Ms. blogger Elizabeth Kissling, professor of communication and women’s and gender studies at Eastern Washington University and past president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research:

I’m surprised there has not been a broader call for more research, or wider public discussions of the risks of this pill. When a drug company is withholding data and 10,000 lawsuits are pending, more than research is needed. I can’t help but wonder why we’re not seeing Congressional hearings–akin to the 1970 Nelson Pill Hearings–again, and more of an outcry from both physicians and patients.

Much of the media coverage of these recent developments and research was quick to assert the unimportance of women’s concerns. It was repeatedly reported that, when compared to the risk of blood clot development associated with pregnancy, the risk produced by taking any oral contraceptive–including Yasmin or Yaz–is of little concern. This is misleading in that it suggests there are only two states in which young women can choose to live: on birth control pills or pregnant. The fear has been voiced that any discussion of the negative impact of the Pill will prompt women to come off of it and fall unintentionally pregnant. No coverage that this writer has read discussed a comparison with non-hormonal contraceptive alternatives–which, of course, hold no increased risk of blood clots. Some of these alternatives are just as effective in preventing pregnancy as oral contraceptives, and others are more so.

According to Laura Wershler, veteran pro-choice sexual and reproductive health advocate and board director of the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health,

We need to reframe the idea that hormonal birth control is the gold standard of contraception. If women are quitting the Pill, and they have every right to do so, and they are not using alternative methods of birth control effectively, that’s proof positive that what we are teaching about contraception is incomplete and ineffective. If we make the Pill the ‘right’ choice, then why should we be upset when women stop taking it and get pregnant?

It is often claimed within news stories that the Pill “regulates” a woman’s menstrual cycle, when it, in fact, stops and replaces the cycle. All of this propaganda for the Pill is extremely misleading, and it further breeds a lack of confidence to know that Bayer paid women’s magazines to advocate for Yaz. Such actions blind women to their choices and to understanding how their bodies work. There is much research that supports the health benefits of consistent (typically monthly) ovulation, which can be found through the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research.

The absence of education in body literacy is a major factor in unwanted pregnancies. However, this lack of education is beneficial to some: It helps sustain the billion-dollar profits of pharmaceutical companies.