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I believe I promised to rant about this once a long long time ago, and just forgot. Now ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zarabee has reminded me...
1) I got put on Triphasil when I was 12, and remained on it until I was 19.
2) My Dr prescribed it to counter menstrual cramps. The sort of cramps that wake you up in the night to make sure you're aware of the agony and send you scrabbling for *any* drug at all to counter the pain.
Why I am Glad the Pill exists:
- It really was the bgeinning signs of change for the sexual revolution. No longer did we have to trust that men would "take care of everything" when we fucked.
- We could control out own bodies. Instead of being on a wild ride, we could be as well timed as a clock.
- Men didn't even have to *know* we were taking the pill.
- It freed women from the fears of unwanted pregnancy. (Backup backup backup plans.)
- Stopped a lot of children from being in unhappy homes due to unwanted pregnancy.
- Soon after, people stopped stamping "BASTARD" in big red letters across children's birth certificates where the mother was not married to the father. Perhaps because there were less ofthem? *grin*
Why I think the Pill is Not Good (TM)
- The body is a complex peice of machinery. I do not believe in the ability of men to introduce a synthetic or animal based hormone into this machinery can be a good thing. When I think of the millions of chemical changes and transformations going on, every amazing second of the day, I am always impressed that humans don't explode. Especially when we catch a cold.
- Our bodies produce hormones in response to specific stimuli. The hormones may naturally be out of kilter, which causes many problems, but when we are healthy, happy humans who eat correctly and look after our bodies correctly, then I also believe a lot of those problems will disappear.
- I believe the Triphasil pill is directly responsible for my size. I was always a little bit larger than other kids, but after several years on the pill I was MUCH larger than other children. Not all of it could be pill induce, I know that, but hormones in developing children can is fraught with unknowns. Maybe I'm not supposed to be a 24EE or F by genetics. Maybe I was supposed to be a 20D? *shrug* too late to ever know now.
- It can take up to two years for your body to return to "normality" once you stop taking it. And during those two years, you can have mood swings, premenstrual tension, pain, every possible sign your body may have been having troubles but the signs were suppressed. Once your body is running healthily with fresh vegetables and lean meat and enough water, those pains are usually rare. And if they still occur, then you need to get someone to check you out. If you are experiencing pain, it is a SIGN. Modern medicine is so focussed on "fixing the symptoms" that often women need to seek other help, to solve the problem rather than fix the symptom. I used to get bad period pain. I saw a naturopath, who told me to drink a sh*tload of water. I had my first ever pain free period after that slip of advice. This is just ONE example of holistic healing.
- Women stopped listening to their bodies. Women stopped listening to what was going on, and lost contact with their own hormone levels. I peak at 14 - 16 days, I'm randy as hell, and if a convention is on that weekend, then people had better watch out because they might get sucked into the vortex *grin* (I've yet to have complaints.) My energy is totally different during the middle week, and my period is actually due a day or two after dark moon. I have always known when I ovulate. I like my body, and in return, it seems to like me. *grin* Also, there is a metacycle of about 4 months, which sometimes co-incides with Chesh's 9 week cycle, during which time we're both .... very enegergetic. I got all this from listening to my own body. So much gets suppressed with the pill!
- Most pills are/were designed for a woman of up to 220 kilograms in weight, because manufacturers think that this is the largest a woman would be who would wish to use the Pill. I know this is changing, and hell, compared to 30 years ago, this is a LIGHT dose, but seriously! That's over TWICE my own size! What about all those tiny chickies who weight NOTHING? They were getting the same amount of hormones. Overdosing on *anything* is bad, whether it's strawberries (guess what I had for brekkie) or cocaine. I have heard you can go and see your dr, and monitor your own body for a few weeks/months and then get a pill designed for your own body. However, I can't imagine it taking off because 1) What modern woman would bother to get to know her own body that well anyway when she can just take an off-the-shelf pill and forget about it and 2) Who has the time? When I really started to pursue my pagan studies, it only takes a few minutes a day to start tuning ito your own body, and when you start to listen, you don't even need to sit quietly and concentrate.
- It affects your senses. Women who have been perfectly happy with their life, their loves, and etc, stop taking the pill so they and their partner can have a child. You suddenly hate the smell of your partner. You wake up in the morning,and can't stand him. What on earth would you do? This has happened! About as often as the problems with beagles on the pill, I guess. :-) But my senses and my husband are WAYYY to important for me to play russian roulette with.
- Trust factor. Do I trust this unknown man who created and designed the pill with my own body? How do I *know* it's not causing more cancer? How do I *know* I'm not ovulating? Women get pregnant on the Pill all the time. I'm sure they are quite surprised! I ran into a woman who had gotten pregnant three times whilst on the Pill. I don't know why she continued to trust it after the first child, but hey, each to their own. I like to see that there is a physical barrier to stopping contraception.
- Causes cancer in beagles. Woof! Though why you would put your beagle onto the pill, I don't know. :-)
- I think the pill is often used by Drs to fix "womens' problems" who don't have the knowledge/interest to delve any further. My Dr, we used to call the "horse doctor." Dad still goes to see him. But afer his fascinating talk about big flies and small flies in car accidents when I was about 14/15, I used to give mother "a look" if she suggested I go and see him. Instead, we discovered my Drs Khoo (there's two of them) who are wonderful, and firmly believe in offering all information and then waiting for the patient to make an informed decision. Ee-byn was also the first dr to spot my hooping cough when I had it, is not afraid to use all of her reference books in her room, and is focussed, listens, and once you have told her all you can, asks questions and is competent. Yes, I have issues with many doctors. :-) She is also energetic, loves her job, and friendly - rabbits on like nothing on earth when you've been diagnosed and she's finishing up. I've been seeing her ever since we ditched the horse doctor, except when I was in Noranda or Mount Lawley and was too sick to drive to Armadale. She is also the only dr who, when arranging for shots before I go to Bali, made me chose between an synthetic serum or a blood based serum because "we can check the blood based one for diseases we know about, but not for the diseases we don't know about." Sorry, I digressed and ranted. Oops. :-)
Ok, I should stop here. I am sure I will start paraphrasing myself if I haven't already done so.
Oh, and a lot of my info is out of date I expect, but I don't care. I believe that my body is an amazing work of chemistry and that I should not fuck with it too much. And a constant overdose of hormones sounds like too much fucking for me *grin*
zarabee has reminded me...1) I got put on Triphasil when I was 12, and remained on it until I was 19.
2) My Dr prescribed it to counter menstrual cramps. The sort of cramps that wake you up in the night to make sure you're aware of the agony and send you scrabbling for *any* drug at all to counter the pain.
Why I am Glad the Pill exists:
- It really was the bgeinning signs of change for the sexual revolution. No longer did we have to trust that men would "take care of everything" when we fucked.
- We could control out own bodies. Instead of being on a wild ride, we could be as well timed as a clock.
- Men didn't even have to *know* we were taking the pill.
- It freed women from the fears of unwanted pregnancy. (Backup backup backup plans.)
- Stopped a lot of children from being in unhappy homes due to unwanted pregnancy.
- Soon after, people stopped stamping "BASTARD" in big red letters across children's birth certificates where the mother was not married to the father. Perhaps because there were less ofthem? *grin*
Why I think the Pill is Not Good (TM)
- The body is a complex peice of machinery. I do not believe in the ability of men to introduce a synthetic or animal based hormone into this machinery can be a good thing. When I think of the millions of chemical changes and transformations going on, every amazing second of the day, I am always impressed that humans don't explode. Especially when we catch a cold.
- Our bodies produce hormones in response to specific stimuli. The hormones may naturally be out of kilter, which causes many problems, but when we are healthy, happy humans who eat correctly and look after our bodies correctly, then I also believe a lot of those problems will disappear.
- I believe the Triphasil pill is directly responsible for my size. I was always a little bit larger than other kids, but after several years on the pill I was MUCH larger than other children. Not all of it could be pill induce, I know that, but hormones in developing children can is fraught with unknowns. Maybe I'm not supposed to be a 24EE or F by genetics. Maybe I was supposed to be a 20D? *shrug* too late to ever know now.
- It can take up to two years for your body to return to "normality" once you stop taking it. And during those two years, you can have mood swings, premenstrual tension, pain, every possible sign your body may have been having troubles but the signs were suppressed. Once your body is running healthily with fresh vegetables and lean meat and enough water, those pains are usually rare. And if they still occur, then you need to get someone to check you out. If you are experiencing pain, it is a SIGN. Modern medicine is so focussed on "fixing the symptoms" that often women need to seek other help, to solve the problem rather than fix the symptom. I used to get bad period pain. I saw a naturopath, who told me to drink a sh*tload of water. I had my first ever pain free period after that slip of advice. This is just ONE example of holistic healing.
- Women stopped listening to their bodies. Women stopped listening to what was going on, and lost contact with their own hormone levels. I peak at 14 - 16 days, I'm randy as hell, and if a convention is on that weekend, then people had better watch out because they might get sucked into the vortex *grin* (I've yet to have complaints.) My energy is totally different during the middle week, and my period is actually due a day or two after dark moon. I have always known when I ovulate. I like my body, and in return, it seems to like me. *grin* Also, there is a metacycle of about 4 months, which sometimes co-incides with Chesh's 9 week cycle, during which time we're both .... very enegergetic. I got all this from listening to my own body. So much gets suppressed with the pill!
- Most pills are/were designed for a woman of up to 220 kilograms in weight, because manufacturers think that this is the largest a woman would be who would wish to use the Pill. I know this is changing, and hell, compared to 30 years ago, this is a LIGHT dose, but seriously! That's over TWICE my own size! What about all those tiny chickies who weight NOTHING? They were getting the same amount of hormones. Overdosing on *anything* is bad, whether it's strawberries (guess what I had for brekkie) or cocaine. I have heard you can go and see your dr, and monitor your own body for a few weeks/months and then get a pill designed for your own body. However, I can't imagine it taking off because 1) What modern woman would bother to get to know her own body that well anyway when she can just take an off-the-shelf pill and forget about it and 2) Who has the time? When I really started to pursue my pagan studies, it only takes a few minutes a day to start tuning ito your own body, and when you start to listen, you don't even need to sit quietly and concentrate.
- It affects your senses. Women who have been perfectly happy with their life, their loves, and etc, stop taking the pill so they and their partner can have a child. You suddenly hate the smell of your partner. You wake up in the morning,and can't stand him. What on earth would you do? This has happened! About as often as the problems with beagles on the pill, I guess. :-) But my senses and my husband are WAYYY to important for me to play russian roulette with.
- Trust factor. Do I trust this unknown man who created and designed the pill with my own body? How do I *know* it's not causing more cancer? How do I *know* I'm not ovulating? Women get pregnant on the Pill all the time. I'm sure they are quite surprised! I ran into a woman who had gotten pregnant three times whilst on the Pill. I don't know why she continued to trust it after the first child, but hey, each to their own. I like to see that there is a physical barrier to stopping contraception.
- Causes cancer in beagles. Woof! Though why you would put your beagle onto the pill, I don't know. :-)
- I think the pill is often used by Drs to fix "womens' problems" who don't have the knowledge/interest to delve any further. My Dr, we used to call the "horse doctor." Dad still goes to see him. But afer his fascinating talk about big flies and small flies in car accidents when I was about 14/15, I used to give mother "a look" if she suggested I go and see him. Instead, we discovered my Drs Khoo (there's two of them) who are wonderful, and firmly believe in offering all information and then waiting for the patient to make an informed decision. Ee-byn was also the first dr to spot my hooping cough when I had it, is not afraid to use all of her reference books in her room, and is focussed, listens, and once you have told her all you can, asks questions and is competent. Yes, I have issues with many doctors. :-) She is also energetic, loves her job, and friendly - rabbits on like nothing on earth when you've been diagnosed and she's finishing up. I've been seeing her ever since we ditched the horse doctor, except when I was in Noranda or Mount Lawley and was too sick to drive to Armadale. She is also the only dr who, when arranging for shots before I go to Bali, made me chose between an synthetic serum or a blood based serum because "we can check the blood based one for diseases we know about, but not for the diseases we don't know about." Sorry, I digressed and ranted. Oops. :-)
Ok, I should stop here. I am sure I will start paraphrasing myself if I haven't already done so.
Oh, and a lot of my info is out of date I expect, but I don't care. I believe that my body is an amazing work of chemistry and that I should not fuck with it too much. And a constant overdose of hormones sounds like too much fucking for me *grin*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-16 07:49 pm (UTC)From:you have mild scoliosus... have the pill
craps have the pill
I have poly-cystic ovary syndrome... guess what... on the pill.
there are other hormones you can uese to treat poly cystic ovaries (you can remove the cysts, however they often will grow back, hormone treatment is necessary) but if you are young and single most doctors will shove you on the pill like they are doing you a favour
I love the pill, and I have ranted about doctors not prescibing it, the issue is there is no middleground for prescibing it, doctors either over prescibe or dont.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-16 08:05 pm (UTC)From:It's like anything else; it can be used for good. But so many people just blindly take it because it IS a cure-all. Theoretically. At least, it makes the symptoms go away. :-)
gory girly detail
Date: 2004-09-16 08:12 pm (UTC)From:And I think the above is a fine rant.
I could play devil's advocate, and point out this could also be applied to painkillers (which can adjust the number of receptors of certain types of neurotransmitters) and antidepressants (ditto).
But hormones are indeed funny buggers, so I won't play devil's advocate about them. *duck*
I like that the bloke who invented the pill only added the sugar pills for a week because he thought women would want to have their period. Made me wonder if he ever met any women.
When I take the pill (which I haven't in seven years or so) I take it non-stop, and I only take monophasic pills, because I think triphasics are a crock designed to persuade women that it's just like a real cycle, when you should really acknowledge that you're fucking with internal things, and make it at least predictable by not varying the dose from day to day. Hence preference for monophasic.
I asked my gyn what most gyns use as a contraceptive, and she said when she went to the last conference, that 80% were using Mirena. So that's what I use now (it's a low dose progesterone-releasing IUD, and it hurt like FUCK getting it put in, but unlike the copper jobs it doesn;t make your periods heavier - mine are at two days very light flow, praise be).
Next stop, essure.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-16 08:15 pm (UTC)From:though I was only on the pill for a very short time about 3 years prior to the symptoms of cysts appeared.
my mum however was put on the pill in the 70s to straighten out her cycle (she menstrated so often she couldn't have kids)
maybe my cysts were caused by her being on the pill for a few years
no subject
Date: 2004-09-16 08:18 pm (UTC)From:i may have to be more careful now that i'm not taking the pill, but the up side is that it always makes me think twice... and i am in tune with my body and slowly, very very slowly, it is becoming more regular on its own, i think i'm down to about 5 - 6 between cycles as opposed to 2 - 3 months...
Re: gory girly detail
Date: 2004-09-16 08:26 pm (UTC)From:However, I am a firm believer in Asproclear. It solves every problem. *grin*
I have friends who have the implant, and don't menstruate for up to three years. Wow. The things we can do to ourselves!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-16 10:04 pm (UTC)From:Even after i got off the pill the pain has never been so bad. So now i use the implant in my arm. Lasts 3 years and im happy with it
Re: gory girly detail
Date: 2004-09-16 11:53 pm (UTC)From:Glad that wasn't just me. I went into mild shock from it.
But it is *great*.
And i have no bleeding at all (so ner!), but that's most likely becuase before I had it I was on Depo.
Hormoney goodness
Date: 2004-09-17 02:49 am (UTC)From:So it's back to being on a monophasic pill, with no periods at all, unless I forget to take the damn thing (too much night shift and travel makes me a tad forgetful). Have done this for many years, a careful decision made whilst studying gynaecology, and had the opportuinty to pick the brains of a multitude of gynaecoloists and professors, and look at all available options and evidence.
Without the pill, I still don't ovulate, putting me at a high risk of uterine cancer, so hoorah for the pill!
no bleeding! less cancer! less acne! less innoportune bleeding-without-warning (which used to be NOT FUN).
Periods schmeriods say I. Used to be you got knocked up, then breast fed, then pregnant, and so forth until you died in childbirth. Bleeding every month ain't a terribly natural state of affairs for women.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-17 10:41 am (UTC)From:That is so true. I had bad menstrual problems for years, and nothing helped - the obgyn wanted to put me on the pill and I said no thanks (since I didn't have a boyfriend and mom had bad experiences with it, I didn't want to try).
So I found my own solution. Threw away the calendar to watch my period, and started with essential oils (cleary sage). After a while I didn't even need the oil any more. Nowadays I'm the 3-5 days kinda gal and have no grave problems any more.
The good side? I start to watch for the signs my body gives me when I'm close to the time - far better calendar than anything numeral.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-17 07:19 pm (UTC)From:However, the heaps of water I drank to start with were the best place to start. That's what I recommend as a starting point.
:-)
Re: Hormoney goodness
Date: 2004-09-17 08:35 pm (UTC)From::-)
I have also been reading on the debate about women and menses, as never before have women menstruated for so long, as life expectancies were much shorter, and menses only ran for about 10 or so years. These days, menses run for up to 40 years of a woman's life, and there are many pills being developed to stop the period altogether, or else make it once a quarter.
Fantastic site:
http://www.mum.org/
Women's responses to the question:
Would you stop menstruation if you could?
http://www.mum.org/stopmen.htm
Now, I know I am rare, but I would never stop my menstruation. For me, menstruation links me directly to my religious beliefs, and I live this every day I get out of bed. There is no seperation of my body and Deity; to try and stop my body from working and acting naturally is an affront to my ethos of trying to be all I can be. Human bodies have worked fine for millenia, and for me to try and stamp out my body's rhythms and settle for a created structure is an antethisis of the way I want to live my life. I also hated the 9 - 5 thing in an office, it's so against the way I like to think. (In terms of when I'm creative, when I'm best at doing administrivia, etc).
I know I am very very rare, even in the pagan commuities most of the women I know would stop their preiods in a flash. It sometimes makes me sad to see that we have divorced ourselves so much, even in a so-called "earth-nature" religion, that we can't rejoice in the amazing reality of our biology.
Whoa, I think I slipped my leash! Sorry! :-)
But always, I am glad that the Pill happened and happens, for it really is a tool for freeing women to be able to make choices we never had a few years/decades/centuries ago. Abortions should be more availble, and it should be up to the lady in question as to her choices, NOT some external agency who "thinks it knows best" (and by the way, gays can't marry gays, OK?? They might have sex or something offensive to the mainstream australian) I hate governments. I hate our governments. Tell me again why menstrual aids (tampons and pads) are counted as a Luxury Item and has GST on them??? We should all go up there and bleed on the parliament house for a bit as a protest. I also think we need to discuss menstruation more openly, hell, at all would be good! :-)
Whoops, obviously that ball gag didn't work either.
OK, time for me to run off.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-17 11:48 pm (UTC)From:*whispers* Aki knows. *g*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-18 01:42 am (UTC)From:Tea Goddess. Seriously ;)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-18 03:25 am (UTC)From::-)