The end of menstruation as we know it

Bad Idea. Period.

I’ve always thought it was curious that of all the different machines that have been devised over the centuries, there’s only one we refer to as “the machine.” You never hear anyone refer to his automatic telephone-answering device as the ATAD or the phone answering machine. We say, “Let the machine get it.” Or, “Leave a message on my machine.”

The same is true of The Pill. There’s no question about which pill I’m referring to if I mention “The Pill.” Thousands of medications were produced in pill form before pharmaceutical contraceptives came along, but only one pill got the nod as The Pill.

Perhaps the birth control pill achieved the status of being The Pill because of the way it sent shock waves through society and helped launch the sexual revolution. I bring this up because it appears we may be on the verge of another revolution, courtesy of The Pill: the end of menstruation as we know it.

Cursed no more

Remember the TV ads for Chiffon margarine? (Oops. We’re dating ourselves.) Aware she’d been duped by the non-butter, Mother Nature would scold: “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” Then she’d toss a lightning bolt. Little did the guys on Madison Avenue realize how right they got it. For decades, consumers have been spreading margarine on their morning toast and evening dinner rolls, consuming trans fats by the bucketful. The result: increased risk of heart disease, cancer, etc.

Will this new way to fool Mother Nature also backfire? It’s hard to imagine it won’t.

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials for a relatively new contraceptive called Seasonale. When taken as directed, Seasonale promises to reduce the number of menstrual cycles from 12 per year to four. This is easily achieved. Instead of the conventional birth control pill regimen (taking one hormone pill per day for 21 days, followed by inert pills for seven days), Seasonale users take hormone pills for 84 consecutive days, followed by seven days of dummy pills.

But don’t expect immediate results. Reading the fine print on the Seasonale web site we find out: “During the first year, total bleeding days are similar to a traditional Pill.” And: “You are also more likely to have spotting and breakthrough bleeding (which varies from slight spotting to a flow much like a regular period) than with a traditional monthly birth control pill.” But this is common, we’re told, and should decrease over time.

Maybe that’s Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Not a good idea.”

Taking it to the limit

When I started researching this e-Alert I expected to find plenty of information about Seasonale because it’s already been available in the U.S. for a couple of years. What I wasn’t prepared for was Anya.

Seasonale, it seems, is already pass. Or it will be when Anya hits the U.S. market later this year. Anya contains the same basic ingredients as most other contraceptive pills (including Seasonale), but it’s meant to be taken daily. That’s right: EVERY day. In other words: no more periods. Period.

I’m speechless. So I’ll turn to an article that appeared in Macleans magazine late last year. It’s written by Lianne George who discusses the use of birth control pills that can effectively put an end to menstruation. Ms. George quotes evolutionary biologist Margie Profet who notes that a monthly period flushes pathogens and bacteria out of the reproductive system. And Dr. Susan Rako – author of the book “No More Periods” – states that during a normal menstrual cycle, blood pressure is naturally reduced two weeks every month. Menstruation also rids the body of excess iron, “a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes.”

And of course, these potential health problems don’t take into account the known birth control pill risks, which include blood clots and breast cancer.

Fool Mother Nature if you like. But beware the lightning bolts.

Sources:
“Seasonale” seasonale.com
“The End of the Period” Lianne George, Macleans, 12/12/05, macleans.ca
“New Pill will Eliminate Menstruation” Daily Mail, 12/24/05, dailymail.co.uk