2008 Woodie Awards
Period-suppressor pill heading to market
Clara Hogan - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 6/12/07 Section: Metro
Lybrel, a low-dose-hormone birth-control pill, is the first FDA-approved oral contraceptive that is taken continuously to end all menstrual periods.
Though this product is the first of its kind, people have been suppressing periods for years, said Karen Kubby, the executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, 227 N. Dubuque St.
"People all over the country manipulate birth control pills," she said. "Instead of manipulation to control periods, now there is a product and label for it."
The FDA has not found any new risks with Lybrel that differ from ordinary birth-control pills. However, there has not been more than two year-long studies on the drug, so long-term risks will only be known in years to come.
The FDA says women should expect breakthrough bleeding during the first year of using Lybrel.
"It takes at least a year to get past the breakthrough bleeding and to get the no-period advantage," Kubby said.
There has been controversy over Lybrel, with women speaking out against suppressing all menstrual cycles. Many women can't see themselves completely doing away with their periods.
"I wouldn't take Lybrel," said UI senior Lindsay Hendricks. "There is a reason there's a natural process every month."
Kubby also has concerns about the pill, her biggest being that women will use the pill because they find their menstrual cycles ugly or inconvenient.
"I don't want women to feel bad about having periods; it's part of our biology, it's part of being a woman," she said.
With the normal birth-control pill packet, women take hormonal pills 21 days and placebo pills 7 days. During the placebo time period, women have a re-enactment of a natural period. What they experience isn't a "real" period and is unnecessary, said Elizabeth Graf, a physician's assistant at the Emma Goldman Clinic.
"The period is mimicking your body's natural cycle," she said. "The hormones in the pill make the uterine lining shed, but there is no egg produced."
Though these periods are unnecessary, it is convenient to have a period each month for women to easily identify if they may be pregnant.
"When women have their period, they can say, 'OK, I'm healthy, and I'm not pregnant.' Now, women will need to take pregnancy tests - they can't just wait for their period," Kubby said.
UI Student Health Service pharmacy officials said the center would provide Lybrel if a doctor prescribes it.
Though Lybrel has received mixed reviews and concerns, Kubby said, overall, she is glad it will be on the market.
"I'm happy about it because it gives women another choice," she said.
E-mail DI reporter Clara Hogan at:
clara-hogan@uiowa.edu
Though this product is the first of its kind, people have been suppressing periods for years, said Karen Kubby, the executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, 227 N. Dubuque St.
"People all over the country manipulate birth control pills," she said. "Instead of manipulation to control periods, now there is a product and label for it."
The FDA has not found any new risks with Lybrel that differ from ordinary birth-control pills. However, there has not been more than two year-long studies on the drug, so long-term risks will only be known in years to come.
The FDA says women should expect breakthrough bleeding during the first year of using Lybrel.
"It takes at least a year to get past the breakthrough bleeding and to get the no-period advantage," Kubby said.
There has been controversy over Lybrel, with women speaking out against suppressing all menstrual cycles. Many women can't see themselves completely doing away with their periods.
"I wouldn't take Lybrel," said UI senior Lindsay Hendricks. "There is a reason there's a natural process every month."
Kubby also has concerns about the pill, her biggest being that women will use the pill because they find their menstrual cycles ugly or inconvenient.
"I don't want women to feel bad about having periods; it's part of our biology, it's part of being a woman," she said.
With the normal birth-control pill packet, women take hormonal pills 21 days and placebo pills 7 days. During the placebo time period, women have a re-enactment of a natural period. What they experience isn't a "real" period and is unnecessary, said Elizabeth Graf, a physician's assistant at the Emma Goldman Clinic.
"The period is mimicking your body's natural cycle," she said. "The hormones in the pill make the uterine lining shed, but there is no egg produced."
Though these periods are unnecessary, it is convenient to have a period each month for women to easily identify if they may be pregnant.
"When women have their period, they can say, 'OK, I'm healthy, and I'm not pregnant.' Now, women will need to take pregnancy tests - they can't just wait for their period," Kubby said.
UI Student Health Service pharmacy officials said the center would provide Lybrel if a doctor prescribes it.
Though Lybrel has received mixed reviews and concerns, Kubby said, overall, she is glad it will be on the market.
"I'm happy about it because it gives women another choice," she said.
E-mail DI reporter Clara Hogan at:
clara-hogan@uiowa.edu
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