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Weeks on Pill
Reduces Women's Periods
Excerpt
By
Amy Norton, Reuters Health
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Using birth control pills for longer than the standard 3-weeks-on,
one-week-off plan can reduce the number of menstrual periods a
woman has without increasing problems like unexpected bleeding,
according to a report released Wednesday.
In a study of 90 women on oral contraceptives, those who took
their pills for 6 weeks with the 7th week off-a 49-day cycle--ended
up with about half the number of ``bleeding days'' that women
on the standard regimen had-a 28-day cycle. Women on the 49-day
cycle spent about half as much on feminine hygiene products, such
as tampons, and they were no more likely to have spotting or breakthrough
bleeding, a problem that had previously been linked to such extended
use of oral contraceptives.
The findings are published in the November issue of Obstetrics
& Gynecology. The study's lead author, Dr. Leslie Miller of the
University of Washington in Seattle, acts as a speaker for Wyeth-Ayerst
Laboratories, which supplied the study medication.
Extended use of birth control pills has been prescribed for fighting
menstrual migraines and endometriosis. However, the subsequent
effect on women's bleeding patterns has been unclear, according
to Miller's team.
``There is actually not a lot of published work on extended pill
cycles,'' Miller told Reuters Health.
In her team's study, women in the extended-use group took oral
contraceptive pills containing estrogen and the progestin norgestrel
for 6 weeks, then took inactive ``spacer'' pills for one week.
The rest of the women took active pills for 3 weeks and spacer
pills for one.
The researchers followed their bleeding patterns and medication
side effects over four 12-week periods. By the fourth time period,
women in the extended-use group had fewer than 6 bleeding days
over 12 weeks, compared with more than 11 days among women in
the standard group.
According to Miller, there is no reason to believe extended-use
regimens would pose any special health risks. As for the impact
of reducing monthly periods, she and her colleagues point out
that historically, women naturally had fewer periods compared
with women today--due to factors such as more lifetime pregnancies.
``There is no evidence that women need a monthly 'Pill holiday',''
Miller said.
Not surprisingly, the women in the extended-use group spent about
half as much as women in the 28-day cycle group on products such
as tampons. However, that cost cut would be more than offset by
having to pay for addition oral contraceptive pills, according
to the report.
Miller said that, in cases where insurance does cover birth control,
she has not encountered problems with coverage of additional pills--as
long as a medical reason such as menstrual pain is given. There
are no products specifically approved and packaged for extended
use in the US, she and her colleagues note.
It also remains unclear which Pill formulations and dosing regimens
would be best for extended use, they point out. They conclude
that further research is needed to answer this question.
SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology 2001, November.
Reference
Source 89
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