I was in a long term study (about 6 months), which was testing a contraceptive patch (this was back when I was still a girl, and having the extra oestrogens floating around was part of what convinced me that i really didn’t want to be one any longer than was necessary).
I answered an ad in the student paper at my university.
Basically, I wore a hormone patch for three weeks of the month. I got blood taken four times a week for the six months, had to fill out a mood diary, get weighed and blood pressure weekly, and a bunch of other peripheral stuff like urine tests and pelvic exams :eek:
No, we weren’t testing whether the patches worked to prevent pregnancy! They were just testing to see if effective blood hormone levels were achieved.
I could have left at any time, but I needed the money, so I didn’t. I was unfortunate enough to be allergic to the patch adhesive and so I got nasty boils all over the surrounding skin, some of which caused scarring which is still there.
I got about $2000 for my 6 months effort, and they gave me money for the bus in to the hospital for getting my blood taken.
I’d do it again, although obviously not for a contraceptive patch.