Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth.
Blood Clots While on Hormonal Contraceptives: Fact or Fearmongering?
Following is a very compelling, well researched and well written article by a mother, Dru West, who lost her 29 year old daughter, Julia, to the NuvaRing - think for yourself when someone tries to tell you that it is more dangerous to be pregnant than to take hormonal contraceptives - you have options, we hope you will explore them:
http://www.hormonesmatter.com/blood-clots-hormonal-contraceptives-fact-fearmongering/
What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Hormonal Contraceptives
CLICK HERE to read the article at WellnessAndEquality.com
It takes a lot of courage to look at the facts yourself and not let advertising, a friend, or even your doctor or clinic to tell you what is a safer birth control to use. We love our own doctors, but in reality they don’t always have time to read all the studies themselves and most will admit that they often rely on information provided to them through professional journals, drug representatives and professional contacts. Some even get discounts to sell you a specific product or incentives to prescribe a specific product to you. Do you know that the FDA approves drugs that appear to be safe and then waits for the effects to be known as things go badly for people using the product?
When the FDA approves a drug, the pharmaceutical company submitted an application with clinical evidence that the drug does what it says it is supposed to do and is basically safe. This evidence comes from testing the drug on animals and then in small trials on humans. The birth control methods approved by the FDA do prevent pregnancy, but what are their true risks? There are a lot of unknowns about a drug’s side effects until after it enters the market and more people start using it. The FDA has a surveillance program, which asks for reports from the drug manufacturer and voluntary input from health care professionals and consumers on the “real world” adverse affects. Somewhere between 1% and 13% of adverse events are actually reported to the FDA.
Studies are confusing. One study says this; another study says that.
Who are you to believe?
We’d like to ask you to consider using information from studies that show the highest incidents of adverse reactions because this is the information that will give you the clearest picture of the worst that can happen. The studies that show the least risks are often funded by the drug manufacturer. The problem with some of the use of studies is that some people don’t mind if 12 women per 10,000 women (for example) have a really bad reaction (such as death, deep vein thrombosis, thrombosis in other parts of the body, pulmonary embolism, hypercoagulation, or a stroke), but your husband or boyfriend, your children, your parents and your friends will care that it is YOU. Those 12 (or more) women are the cost that the drug company is willing to pay to continue to sell their product and make money from you or your friends. Those women mean nothing to them.
Don’t let statistics confuse you. It is true that your risk of blood clots is higher if you are pregnant or postpartum. You are not taking a birth control to get pregnant. You are most likely trying not to get pregnant. The reason the high risk of blood clots during pregnancy is used is that the medical community (and the pharmaceutical companies) want you to use some form of birth control. The higher rates for blood clots during pregnancy and postpartum are true. Unfortunately, this approach minimizes the risks taken when you use hormonal birth control that has higher risks. Our intent isn’t to scare you from using birth control. We believe you deserve to know the truth, so you can choose wisely. Don’t be afraid of birth control; just be careful about the birth control you decide to use.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drug-side-effects-explained (last accessed 3/6/2014)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494803/ (last accessed 3/6/2014)
Blood Clots While on Hormonal Contraceptives: Fact or Fearmongering?
Following is a very compelling, well researched and well written article by a mother, Dru West, who lost her 29 year old daughter, Julia, to the NuvaRing - think for yourself when someone tries to tell you that it is more dangerous to be pregnant than to take hormonal contraceptives - you have options, we hope you will explore them:
http://www.hormonesmatter.com/blood-clots-hormonal-contraceptives-fact-fearmongering/
What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Hormonal Contraceptives
CLICK HERE to read the article at WellnessAndEquality.com
It takes a lot of courage to look at the facts yourself and not let advertising, a friend, or even your doctor or clinic to tell you what is a safer birth control to use. We love our own doctors, but in reality they don’t always have time to read all the studies themselves and most will admit that they often rely on information provided to them through professional journals, drug representatives and professional contacts. Some even get discounts to sell you a specific product or incentives to prescribe a specific product to you. Do you know that the FDA approves drugs that appear to be safe and then waits for the effects to be known as things go badly for people using the product?
When the FDA approves a drug, the pharmaceutical company submitted an application with clinical evidence that the drug does what it says it is supposed to do and is basically safe. This evidence comes from testing the drug on animals and then in small trials on humans. The birth control methods approved by the FDA do prevent pregnancy, but what are their true risks? There are a lot of unknowns about a drug’s side effects until after it enters the market and more people start using it. The FDA has a surveillance program, which asks for reports from the drug manufacturer and voluntary input from health care professionals and consumers on the “real world” adverse affects. Somewhere between 1% and 13% of adverse events are actually reported to the FDA.
Studies are confusing. One study says this; another study says that.
Who are you to believe?
We’d like to ask you to consider using information from studies that show the highest incidents of adverse reactions because this is the information that will give you the clearest picture of the worst that can happen. The studies that show the least risks are often funded by the drug manufacturer. The problem with some of the use of studies is that some people don’t mind if 12 women per 10,000 women (for example) have a really bad reaction (such as death, deep vein thrombosis, thrombosis in other parts of the body, pulmonary embolism, hypercoagulation, or a stroke), but your husband or boyfriend, your children, your parents and your friends will care that it is YOU. Those 12 (or more) women are the cost that the drug company is willing to pay to continue to sell their product and make money from you or your friends. Those women mean nothing to them.
Don’t let statistics confuse you. It is true that your risk of blood clots is higher if you are pregnant or postpartum. You are not taking a birth control to get pregnant. You are most likely trying not to get pregnant. The reason the high risk of blood clots during pregnancy is used is that the medical community (and the pharmaceutical companies) want you to use some form of birth control. The higher rates for blood clots during pregnancy and postpartum are true. Unfortunately, this approach minimizes the risks taken when you use hormonal birth control that has higher risks. Our intent isn’t to scare you from using birth control. We believe you deserve to know the truth, so you can choose wisely. Don’t be afraid of birth control; just be careful about the birth control you decide to use.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drug-side-effects-explained (last accessed 3/6/2014)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494803/ (last accessed 3/6/2014)
