Comments on: Menstrual suppression: empowering or dangerous?

By: Samuel L.

Samuel L. — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:22:23 +0000

This is very up-to-date info. I think I’ll share it on Twitter.

By: How to Get Six Pack Fast

How to Get Six Pack Fast — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:13:17 +0000

I can tell that this is not the first time at all that you mention the topic. Why have you chosen it again?

By: ema

ema — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:44:16 +0000

Heh, when it comes to advocacy, we’ll let Dr. Rako do that.

Seriously now, the only credible sources are the ones used by both Dr. Miller and myself, namely the specialty textbooks and literature.

I don’t know how much access you have to either, but one way is to ask your Ob/Gyn to give you some articles on topic. And any Ob/Gyn has a copy of Williams Obstetrics in his/her office. [Also, if your university has a medical school, you can use their library.]

Now, briefly, as I mentioned before, menstrual suppression and withdrawal bleeding suppression are two separate issues.

For menstrual suppression, other than planning a pregnancy, there’s no know medical benefit to having a monthly menstrual period. [You can find this information in any medical textbook. Try Williams.]

For withdrawal bleeding suppression: “Although there is no known medical benefit to routine monthly bleeding, women continue to be prescribed the standard 21/7 OC regimen.”

As to the slightly increased hormone exposure with some, but not all, continuous regimens, there’s no evidence that it poses an increased risk of adverse events.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:58:59 +0000

Thanks for the information, most of which I was already aware of from reading your site and NoPeriod.com. What you point out in #6 is exactly why I’d like to find a credible source that talks about the risks involved with menstrual suppression through monthly-cycle pills without advocating it at the same time. I learned a lot from your blog and from Dr. Miller’s site, but I felt like the information I got was probably colored by your position on the issue.

By: ema

ema — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:51:46 +0000

Thank you for the link. A few points:

1. Continuous/extended Pill regimens aren’t meant to be used to skip periods, inconvenient or not. [Women on the Pill don't have periods for the duration of use.] They’re to be used to skip the monthly withdrawal bleeding episodes.

2. The NoPeriod.com site is run by Dr. Leslie Miller; she’s one of the main researchers in the field of extended Pill regimens.

3. Having a monthly period is not natural. It’s a recent (~100 yrs or so) development for women who live in industrialized societies. So it’s normal, but not natural. Having a monthly withdrawal bleed while on the Pill is also not natural (nor has it ever been). From the start it’s been nothing but a “designer” artifice.

4. If you’re already on the Pill you don’t have a period. Also, the Pill hormones are not in addition to your body’s hormones, they’re instead of. [The Pill works by suppressing endogenous hormone production.]

5. Brands like Seasonale and Lybrel have no effect on the menstrual period since women on the Pill (any brand) don’t have periods. All brands like Seasonale and Lybrel do is to either shift the frequency of the withdrawal bleed to q 84 days (Seasonale) or eliminate it (Lybrel).

6. Dr. Susan Rako is not a credible source. Briefly, the risk of menstrual suppression is different from the risk of shifting the frequency of, or eliminating, the monthly withdrawal bleed. There’s no evidence that either is detrimental.

7. “I wish I could find something good about renegade use of monthly-cycle pills.”

What would you like to know?