From the Washington Post 9/7/00
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25209-2000Sep6.html
I won’t quote the whole thing here but it’s about a research project to eliminate monthly menstrual cycles.
Ladies…would you do it?
I quote Mrs Chance: “YES! Sign me up! Give me an IV! ANYTHING!”
So how 'bout it?
in a heartbeat
No way.
I am so irregular I wouldn’t need it, but I can definately say if I was on a regular monthly schedule I would take it.
You know, that Depro. shot means you don’t have a period too.
Goodness, no. No matter how many kinds of birth control I was using, I’d be terrified of getting pregnant and not knowing about it for months.
I suppose if I had PMS or severe cramps I might feel differently.
Having a pill like that sounds like heaven right now…and I mean RIGHT NOW!
If periods are so unnatural why have we been having them for the past n years?
I’m all for the advances of science and I’d love to show Aunt Flo the door, but I would LOTS of information on the hows and whys and side effects, and I’d want to see studies that show the long term effects on women’s health before I went on something like this. By long-term I mean studies showing the effects on someone who goes on this when they first start menstruating, go off it for a few years and have children, and go back on it until menopause. There are so many questions: What are the implications for fertility when women go off the drug and try to conceive? No birth control is 100% effective - what if you mess up, become pregnant, and don’t know it for three months?
Women lose their periods when they are pregnant or something is wrong with them - malnutrition, extreme stress or trauma - the period can give you insight into other health issues.
My periods are inconvenient and sometimes yucky, but they are no big deal - they BECAME a big deal when I went on the pill for a while: all of the mood swings, bloating, weight gain, breast pain, tiredness intensified to the point where it was a problem. Since going off it, back to no big deal.
Yeah, that’s TMFI, I know. Whatever, I’m on the rag.
No, no way, never.
Now, understand, if I’m not on the pill, my periods are a nightmare: very messy and long, very hard, cramps that rip you in half.
HOWEVER, it is a natural part of a woman’s life. I’m a firm believer in the “natural cycle” thing and the whole you-need-to-listen-to-your-body stuff, so the idea of turning off a part of my system because it’s inconvenient and sometimes painful is repugnant.
You notice how I don’t feel the same way about taking birth control to prevent pregnancy, eh? ;). Maybe it’s hypocritical.
The more I started thinking of this quote, the madder it made me. Disabuse us of the idea that monthly menstruation is natural, normal and healthy? Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hard-line feminist but this statement smacks me as a very patriarchal view of medicine, the same type of view that says once a woman has reached menopause, she doesn’t need her uterus anymore. Ridiculous! Even after you stop menstruating, your female organs continue to produce hormones that help prevent the very diseases (osteoporosis, etc) that doctors want us to take Premarin for.
This is kind of my pet peeve, so I won’t start ranting.
I gained 40 pounds in 3 months on that Depro. Rather have the period.
Nope. Mine’s not much of a bother either. I hardly even notice it. Except for the week where I frequently want to kill people. Other than that, it’s a picnic!
I’ve had irregular periods for years, and I personally prefer it that way–I have them about 4 times a year–and would even jump at the chance to never have them again.
I know, I know, the monthly menstral periods are what the healthy and normal female reproductive system does… but that doesn’t mean I don’t have to like 'em.
Nope! How would I know if I’m pregnant? I’m on the pill but only because I was so irregular it was ridiculous (um…and for other reasons). I never knew if I was late because of the cycle or if I was pregnant. I had cysts on my ovaries and didn’t know it. I would have known if I had a regualr period. So I went on the pill so I could become regular and know those things. If those cysts pop up again I want to know about it!
It may be inconvenient but it’s there for a reason.
Well, since I had my tubes tied several years ago, I wouldn’t mind being able to forego my periods every month. However, I agree with magdalene. I would want this medicine thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety before considering it. I don’t want to take something that might increase my risk for uterine, breast or ovarian cancer. Uterine and breast cancer are mostly curable nowadays, but ovarian cancer has a pretty high mortality rate because by the time you start having symptoms, it is already too late.
Wolflover: I was on Depo-Provera for only three months and it didn’t stop my periods at all. In fact, the opposite occurred. I was bleeding almost nonstop for the entire three months. It stops bleeding in some women and, in others, it causes constant bleeding. The Pill was really good with regulating my periods, but I had a pretty bad reaction to it. Nobody told me that the Pill can trigger severe depression in susceptible individuals.
Three words…
Count me in.
Ok, maybe a few more,
I’m fixed and celibate, so I’m not worried about being pregnant.
When I went OFF Depo, I bled constantly for about 4 months. It was absolute torture. I thought it was great when I didn’t have my period for like a year, but it wasn’t worth what I went through when I went off.
Lesson learned:
If something seems too good to be true, it probobly is.
Zette
After it had been tested for a very long time and proven pretty darn safe then I’d be all for it.
I’ve been having periods every month (except during pregnancy) since I was 12. The PMS is, well, entertaining, but the actual bleeding doesn’t bother me all that much.
BunnyGirl, my sentiments exactly. But IMHO, it’s not just patriarchal, it’s patronizing. Women have been having periods every month since…well, since there have been women, I believe. Now you’re going to tell me it’s not natural, normal, or healthy? I don’t think so, Mr. Doctor. Too much bleeding or too little bleeding is an indicator of a problem. Now you want to get me to believe that any bleeding at all is a problem? Nuh-uh. I’m supposed to bleed. Deal with it. Some things just don’t need to be changed.
Nope. I wouldn’t.
Admittedly, my period is just annoying, and rarely painful. And wildly irregular - I’ve been for over a year without it, for no good reason (and yes, they’ve looked for good reasons). I suppose that if it were tested really really thuroughly, I’d consider it, but I’m not at all sure. The side effects would make a huge difference.
And that is an infuritating quote - while many people find it infuriating, annoying, or painful, that doesn’t make it unnatural or bad.
And, in the spirit of things, check out these lyrics (Ani DiFranco)
He sounds like those twits who made up the National Post headline the other month that said that they’d found a way to “cure” menopause, which to my mind sounds like “curing” puberty.