Lybrel: Hype Or Hope? You Decide
19 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // July 21st, 2007 // 7:35 am
As Wyeth’s new Lybrel birth control pill arrives in pharmacies, a debate is breaking out over menstruation, since the new drug also eliminates the menstrual cycle. In a suggestive op-ed piece in The New York Times earlier this week, Karen Houppert, who wrote “The Curse: Confronting the Last Unmentionable Taboo, Menstruation,†warns us that war has been declared on the menstrual cycle.
“After all, periods and their mood swings are bad for family values (who wants to have a stay-at-home mom when she’s so darn cranky?), bad for women’s health (women were never meant to menstruate so much; natural selection designed their bodies for back-to-back pregnancies and breast-feeding), bad for the fashion industry (how can beige be the new black if women won’t wear it all month?) and bad for the economy (everybody knows women take to their beds at the merest whisper of ‘cramps,’ fueling the nation’s employee-absentee rate).”
And so a “barrage of advertising and research highlighting the debilitating effects of periods and the joys of menstrual suppression” can’t be far behind, Houppert adds. In other words, the marketing may be good for Wyeth and other drugmakers, but is it really good for women?
Is menstruation a disease that needs to be cured?
- no (82%, 40 Votes)
- yes (18%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 49
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Lisa Van Syckel
OK Ed,
Maybe,I have a Foggy brain this morning…..or maybe its just my period….
I dont get the question….
Laurie
LOL!! Confused here too!!
Lisa Van Syckel
Wasnt it Eli Lilly & Company who first came up with a pill for PMS, a woman’s disease…
A pill that carries a Black Box Warning of suicide…..
Yes, This is Disease Mongering at its best…..
What a disturbing message we will be sending to our young developing Daughters….
Is there data out there supporting long term safety and efficacy?
Lisa Van Syckel
Hi Laurie,
I was soooo confused…It must have been the woman in me..
Or, maybe it was just a question that came from a male perspective….
Benjamin
I am confused by the question as two issues are raised and the second issue assumes the first is valid.
Reality
Nice push poll, Ed. How about something slightly less biased?
At least according to the article (the only thing you linked to — if the ads say that, then you should link to them), Lilly never said menstruation is a disease needing to be cured. In fact, the only time the word “disease” is when the author of the op-ed riffs, “So what’s a poor company to do? Re-conceptualize menstruation as a disease in need of treatment.” Those are her words, not Lilly’s.
I understand it is some people’s raison d’etre to bash pharmaceutical companies whenever possible, as much as possible, but is it too much to ask that you maintain an iota of objectivity?
p.s., it’s a birth control pill that also stops menstruation, not an anti-period drug, per se. Sheesh.
Ed Silverman
Hi Reality,
Well, this is all part of a discussion, isn’t it? The woman who wrote the op-ed piece raises an interesting point. But it isn’t new - it was raised in media coverage when the drug was approved. The menstrual cycle may disappear. Is that a good thing? If so, why? Or why not?
Yes, Houppert writes about an alleged advertising push, but the drug doesn’t have to be marketed that way explicity for those questions to be asked.
I excerpted her article as a spark, if you will, to generate more discussion. I’m not running the poll to bash the company, but to hear what people think. By the way, it’s Wyeth, not Lilly.
I don’t mind the attacks, but you haven’t shared your thoughts on the question at hand. But okay, I appreciate your point of view, nonetheless.
Cheers
ed
sid
My wife is actually scheduling an appt as we speak. Haven’t seen her this excited by anything in years. Plus this might actually delay the trip to the surgeon for me. Why no outrage for the other one that had 4 periods a year? I remember seeing the commercials, but this one closed the deal for my wife.
Hey, next poll:
Should we declare war on choice?
Or:
If a woman decides she doesn’t want to menstruate should she be stoned?
Or:
Are all blogs antipharma and antibush, or is it me?
What happened to bashing Microsoft, can’t we go back to that?
Come on, no new drug rep products today? I was wondering what handwash to find on e-bay.
And of course there are no long term efficacy or safety data, this is the US. There is no FDA. We just follow what Europe does, remember we are a 3rd world country. And in this environment of safety and efficacy, the FDA would approve a ham sandwich right now. Ask the Provenge people how easy the FDA is to navigate today.
Reality
Ed,
To me, there was no opinion to give because your poll was fundamentally flawed. It’s like asking when you stopped beating your wife.
Yes, the op-ed raises a spark, but you let it hang out there with the poll question giving insinuating that Wyeth is in fact treating menstruation as a disease.
If your goal was to assess whether people thought stopping menstruation was a good thing or a bad thing, you should’ve stated your poll simply as such rather than using inflammatory wording.
As to my opinion, without looking at the data, I can’t possibly make an informed decision. I do know that there are probably certain populations who would benefit greatly, such as those with conditions exacerbated by menses (e.g., endometriosis, fibroids, cysts, etc.). I also vaguely remember that the risk of uterine cancer increases with the number of periods.
I will say this, if the safety data checks out, I have absolutely no problem with it.
Lisa Van Syckel
“Should we declare war on choice”
Absolutely not….
Sid–God never gave man a period,you know why?
For the same reason you dont have babies..They cant handle it.Thats what makes a woman better than man…
Sexist enough for you!!!!
Lisa Van Syckel
Reality.
Its clear that some folks believe that menstruation is a disease,…check out the votes!!!
Reality
Lisa,
That may very well be. However, as I stated, the phrasing of the question implied something different than what was intended. Also, I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in an online poll with an sample 24 (so far). Moreover, do you really think the 4/24 truly believe menstruation to be a disease?
pharma giles
Ed, I see some of your correspondents are suffering from irony deficiency. Good job most of them won’t have seen my take on this issue (Pharma Giles blog, July 10th.)
Lisa Van Syckel
Reality,
I sure hope not….
Lisa Van Syckel
Pharma Giles,
I took your bait (Pharma Giles blog,July 10th).I take it that you are one of those characters who voted that menstruation is a disease.Im sure the females in your family appreciated how they have been depicted in your blog.
I personally would like to see the clinical trial data that demonstrates safety and efficacy in adolescent girls since this is a group that Wyeth will aggressively market to.
Should we expect to see another Effexor,Paxil and Vioxx scandal.And how many adolescent girls will die!!!
shade
I’ve known people who’ve done this on their own for years - skip the green pills in the pack and, voila, no period. And, if the cost is comparable to current birth control pills, think of all the money to be saved in “feminine hygiene products”.
As to the safety - it probably isn’t. Look at all of the trouble Wyeth is having with Prempro. Messing about with your horomones is risky, just like messing about with your brain chemistry but it doesn’t stop people. The public wants what it wants.
And menstruation isn’t a disease, an annoying inconvenience perhaps, but not a disease.
Jessica Warner
Hi Ed,
First of all, I’d like to say that I appreciate you taking this seriously, second of all, I don’t think you can understand menstruation or that you can treat it like it’s some sort of a disease. Menstruation has been around since the dawn of time, and it will be around some more. I wouldn’t consider using Lybrel over my current Yasmin birth control pills. I just don’t think it would be a good idea to mess with a natural process.
Hank
This whole discussion is making my legs restless.
I have a vague recollection that earlier birth control pills also impacted menstruation, although perhaps not complete suppression. Anyway, safety and the complex risk/benefit issues seem to me the ballgame, some of which are based on data we don’t have, and some of which have choice in arenas that don’t require that kind of data. Personally, I wouldn’t act on the latter before there was more of the former.
Shaina
Here’s my opinion: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977082494