Menstruation & diving. Okay, ladies, FDA just approved..

[chickdiver]

Ravipoo-

In that case- let's all just stay pregnant for the majority of our lives... as that is what the femalereproducive system is designed for. Do a little research, and you will find an amazing amountof data that says that we ARE NOT designed to have a period ever 28 days- we are designed to be pregnant. There is quite a lot of data out there that shows that women are healthier NOT having a period every 28 days.

I don't tell you what's best for your body- don't tell me what is best for mine. If insurance companies are going to pay for Viagra, then they should pay for birth control- of any kind. Women have been getting the short end of the stick from the medical establishment since time immemorial. It's time we started fighting for what we deserve- equal treatment and consideration.

 

[Natasha]

Raviepoo:
Don't you think you're being kinda harsh? Millions of women are on the pill.
I have seen the commercial down here for this new pill. Can you believe they already have a commercial for it?
Anyway,
My Doc told me the same thing AquaGal is saying.

As of January 2003, I took myself off the pill.
I was just sick of taking it. Although, now I miss being able to regulate my periods. The last TWO dive trips, I had it, and it was a major bummer. I don't care what anyone says, having a REAL period, not a pill period, is a lot more of a hassle diving, then not having it is.

I'm not planning on going back on the pill, or taking this new one, but there are several times I miss it. (Like every month)

 

[diverbrian]

Ravie,

Respecting your opinion, my ex had her tubes tied years before I met her. She had one child, felt that she did her responsibility by raising him as she was stuck with him and wanted absolutely nothing to do with anymore children.

Now, how is that monthly event which caused her a great deal of pain and mood swings helping to produce the miracle of life? She would gladly have taken something like this if she was insured as she spent one week out of every month absolutely miserable.

Incidentally, her attitude about children is a reason that she is "ex" and not current. But, not all women feel the way that you do and some of "their men" support them in how they feel and what they do, even if the men disagree. It is their body, not mine. If the insurance companies can pay for Viagra (Which I feel is unnecessary, if that ability is gone in my mind, so what? That is no big loss to the human race.), they can pay for something like this which may make women more comfortable and maybe even healthier.

 

[CuriousMe]

raviepoo once bubbled...
Why in the world would anyone want to take a perfectly good, functioning body system and muck it all up with drugs? Women have menstrual periods for a reason. They aren't such a great hardship. In fact, they are part of the miracle that makes life possible.

Don't waste my insurance company's money just because you find nature's design for your reproductive system to be inconvenient. Shut up; buy a box of tampons; and be thankful for the fact that your body works the way that it should. Leave the drugs to the people who actually have something wrong with them.

....but this was an exception. You seem to be making A LOT of assumptions here.

If your body works the way it should, I'm thrilled for you. But how do you know how mine works. How do you know if I'm bent over double every month with pain? How do you know how much my life is disrupted? Pardon me if I elect to pass up on this part of the miracle...especially since the cause of the pain will likely mean that I'll never enjoy the fruit of that miracle.

There are a lot of "natural things" that I look to manage (I take ibuprofen when I twist my knee...I suppose the "natural" thing would be to let it swell?, I take Tylenol to manage a fever, etc)....seems like you do as well with your box of tampax. Doesn't seem like the most natural solution you could take....but you get to make that decision for yourself as I get to make mine.

Please don't criticize things you don't have knowledge of....not everyone's experience is like yours, not every women uses BC pills as strictly as contraceptives. It's attitudes like this that make BC pills so difficult to get paid for by insurance companies, even with valid medical reasons.

Peace,
Cathie

 

[procyon]

CuriousMe once bubbled...




....but this was an exception. You seem to be making A LOT of assumptions here.

If your body works the way it should...

Hear, hear! And that is exactly it!

I remember the anger & yes, a little bit of terror, when I went for my depo shot & found that my prescription was done. The weasel at the clinic desk says to me "well it's like any other birth control". I clenched my teeth, leaned towards him, reached across and grabbed the far side of the counter in front of him and said "we are NOT talking birth control, we are talking my sanity and my life!" I then informed him that I wasn't moving from in front of his desk until he found somebody to write the prescription. Believe me, he did.

If things were working the way they should be I wouldn't have had 3 surgeries before the age of 35. I wouldn't have suffered through innumerable doctors for 10 years, until I found one who believed me. Most of all I wouldn't have to hear self-righteous vents from people who just don't have the facts.

I will now return to my quiet corner since I think I have as many posts in this thread as I do on the whole rest of the board.

 

[raviepoo]

CuriousMe once bubbled...




....but this was an exception. You seem to be making A LOT of assumptions here.

If your body works the way it should, I'm thrilled for you. But how do you know how mine works. How do you know if I'm bent over double every month with pain? How do you know how much my life is disrupted? Pardon me if I elect to pass up on this part of the miracle...especially since the cause of the pain will likely mean that I'll never enjoy the fruit of that miracle.

Do you have endometriosis? Have you explored all of your options? There are ways of dealing with it without taking hormones to disrupt your monthly cycle.

THere are always risks associated with putting a foriegn substance into your body. As you grow older (and probably sicker - that's the way it often goes) you may find that the benefits outwiegh the costs. But IF (and yes, I understand as well as or possibly better than any other living being that that is a BIG if) your body is functioning normally, I believe (YMMV) that it is foolish to disrupt the normal balance of your chemistry for the sake of convinience.

Please note that Doc V didn't say, "new drug available to help women who suffer excruciating pain and lost wages from sick days due to inordinately painful menstruation." He said, "this drug will make suppression more convenient & I suspect more mainstream. " Mainstream!?! Gods! I hope not. If artificial hormones become more mainstream, increased chance of blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer and who knows what else will become more mainstream as well.

Menstruation is not a disease. Endometriosis and fibroids are a disease. If you have a disease, treat it by whatever method you and your doctor agree upon. In that case, the benefits of therapy may outwiegh risk of side effects. But if you are lucky enough to be healthy, don't poison yourself with chemicals.

GEEZ! I once shared a hospital room with a woman in her 50s who had heavy periods and pain. Her reproductive system was in the process of shutting down, but she was sick of the whole ordeal. SHe was having a hysterectomy. SHe was risking major surgery with possible complications because she coudn't wait for nature to finish shutting down her ovaries. I wanted to shake her and scream, "NO!!!!" I kept my mouth shut, because I didin't know her and didn't feel it was my place to interfere. But if she was my friend or my sister, I would have begged her to change her mind about the operation. The medical profession interferes with women's health MUCH too much. Surgeons make a lot of money off of unnecessary hysterectomies.

 

[CuriousMe]

raviepoo once bubbled...


Do you have endometriosis? Have you explored all of your options?

Of course I've explored options and spoken to medical proffesionals....I don't think you intended it this way, but it's a very insulting and condesending question. Why would you assume I hadn't spoken to medical proffesionals and done my own research?

....my point wasn't my personal condition as much as that it seems you make many assumptions in your post....and I get to choose how I deal with my body.

raviepoo once bubbled...
There are always risks associated with putting a foreign substance into your body. As you grow older (and probably sicker - that's the way it often goes) you may find that the benefits outweigh the costs. But IF (and yes, I understand as well as or possibly better than any other living being that that is a BIG if) your body is functioning normally, I believe (YMMV) that it is foolish to disrupt the normal balance of your chemistry for the sake of convenience.

There are risks associated with everything, including doing nothing....it's like diving, it's all about managing the risk/benefit ratio.

You come across very clearly with what you believe, it just seemed that in your first post you weren't just speaking about your beliefs, but making judgments on those who make different choices.

No matter what the reason someone chooses to take BC (or any treatment for that matter), as long as it's agreed between Dr. and patient that it addresses a current problem, why shouldn't insurance companies cover it? As another poster mentioned, they cover Viagra?! Your beliefs that folks should let nature take it's course shouldn't really factor into the decision....unless it's about whether or not you'll take them.

raviepoo once bubbled...
Please note that Doc V didn't say, "new drug available to help women who suffer excruciating pain and lost wages from sick days due to inordinately painful menstruation." He said, "this drug will make suppression more convenient & I suspect more mainstream. " Mainstream!?! Gods! I hope not. If artificial hormones become more mainstream, increased chance of blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer and who knows what else will become more mainstream as well.

Blood clots, and stroke aren't as much of a concern for me (based on lifestyle and family history) but breast cancer is....and evidence is inconclusive at best about a connection between the pill and breast cancer, they're have been studies that went both ways on that one. I've seen more compelling studies that say it's possible that the pill helps prevent certain kinds of ovarian cancer.

raviepoo once bubbled...
Menstruation is not a disease. Endometriosis and fibroids are a disease. If you have a disease, treat it by whatever method you and your doctor agree upon.

Thanks for the permission?

raviepoo once bubbled...
In that case, the benefits of therapy may outweigh risk of side effects. But if you are lucky enough to be healthy, don't poison yourself with chemicals.

I doubt anyone is knowingly taking poison...but I guess that goes back to belief again....you evidently believe it's poison....that's fine for you...don't take them if you think they're poison. Belief and fact are different things though.

raviepoo once bubbled...
GEEZ! I once shared a hospital room with a woman in her 50s who had heavy periods and pain. Her reproductive system was in the process of shutting down, but she was sick of the whole ordeal. She was having a hysterectomy. She was risking major surgery with possible complications because she couldn't wait for nature to finish shutting down her ovaries. I wanted to shake her and scream, "NO!!!!" I kept my mouth shut, because I didn't know her and didn't feel it was my place to interfere. But if she was my friend or my sister, I would have begged her to change her mind about the operation. The medical profession interferes with women's health MUCH too much. Surgeons make a lot of money off of unnecessary hysterectomies.

But you started this paragraph by saying she was experiencing heavy periods and pain...evidently, she felt (believed?) that the risk (surgery) was worth the benefit (relief of this pain). I can't understand why you would care? Obviously, she didn't feel like it was an unnecessary hysterectomy? Why should she just wait it out? Because you disagree with the solution? Wasn't she able to make an informed decision about her own body? If she wasn't, why are you?

I'm so glad you did keep silent....I can't imagine it was a decision she was making lightly, IMO it's one of the most personal decisions you can make...I know I'd be torked if my hospital roommate who had known me for hours and was not a medical professional, had decided that she knew more than my Dr. and I about a medical decision that was probably very difficult to make.

I know it's all evidence to the contrary at this point....but the point is not to come down on you at all....but this is just one of my hot buttons. There are so many really women's health issues out there...I would just hope we could stop beating each other up for differences of opinion.

Peace,
Cathie

 

[divemistress]

of altering natural body functions with hormones. i do think these types of BC are poison. i don't use them, and i won't. *

unlike raviepoo, i think it's vitally important for every woman to control her fertility the way she thinks is best. based on the number of women who used hormone-based BC methods, it is of the utmost importance that these methods be easily available AND affordable.

BC is one of, if not the, single most important issue facing women in their reproductive years. insurers should insure BC; pharmaceutical companies should continue R&D to produce safer and more convenient methods.

bottom line: every woman should have complete and total control over her own body. others may try to persuade her to make different choices, but ALL decisions should be hers and hers alone.

imo.

off my soapbox,

dm

* i might feel differently if i had reproductive problems. indeed, i take a lot of prescription "poison" to mitigate some of the physical problems i do have.

 

[Kat]

This thread has taken a nasty little turn.

I'm not sure that a blanket health statement f/ all women on the planet, give by someone without the benefit of the proper medical education, nor knowledge of each individual medical historty is qualified to dictate his/her medical beliefs.

There is a kinder, gentler way to express an opinion, which you are entitled to, without being offensive to others.

 

[procyon]

See! I told you! ut:

Now imagine transplanting this thread to a forum full of women considering pregnancy.

You would think that my doctor had gotten his certificate out of a Cracker Jack box. BTW, as an aside, did you know Cracker Jacks now come in a bag?

Anyway, being as my doctor is one of the forerunners in this country for treatment of my particular condition I believe I will select to continue following his prescribed treatment.