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Mirena question
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Well, it's not only being behind, but it also has to do with clinical trials and safety clearing. In North America, it takes ages for new medical technology to be deemed safe for public use. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing—i work in a highly technological medical field. For what we do, there are much more advanced treatments available in South America and Europe; HOWEVER, these are all in experimental stages of the treatments, meaning, they do not yet have concrete outcome or long-term results. Instead, they are making their newest technologies available to the public immediately, without knowing the current safety and/or outcomes of the procedures. So, personally, while it may seem like other countries are much more advanced in their treatments, I'd rather wait to know they are safe and effective treatments, especially where my health is concerned! Remember the IUD scare of the 80s? I can't remember the exact brand, but it was the Dalcon or Dalkon or something that caused it—massive amts of women got horrible infections and became sterile as a result (which is the "scare" that people have about IUDs causing infertility and the reason there are still many MDs choosing not to insert them in women who have not yet had children)–the reason was because the strings were made of an absorbant material which ended up being the perfect pathway to introduce various nasty bacteria and pathogens straight into the uterus. Once the results from that batch of women came back, they realized the mistake, but, unfortunately, the blame was put on IUDs in general, in public opinion. Besides, even looking at the permanent IUDs (the all plastic ones) from the past causes me to shudder when I see their shapes/sizes. (you can see some of the older ones here: http://www.contrel.be/IUD%20GENERAL/Mhistory.htm The Dalkon was the one that looks like a prehistoric ocean creature, second row from the bottom, first one on the left–like a shield with multiple barbs)
That being said, I still think I'd personally prefer the T shape as opposed to that frameless one… seems less like to travel around in there and I can't imagine that insertion would be any different. (you can see the paragard and the mirena shapes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauterine_device The nova T (canada's copper IUD) is identical in shape to the Mirena)
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Hmm… just read a bit more and realized that the frameless one is sutured to the fundus (inside top of uterus) to keep it in place. So I guess it wouldn't really travel. But I'd still not have something sutured in me, unless absolutely necessary.
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I was wondering how they kept it in place. OMG…I cannot even imagine! How are they suturing this thing in place? I know for me even dilating my cervix a teeny amount to get the depth and insertion of my mirena was not pleasant. How are they getting tools in there to suture these things? ((shudder shudder))
Yeah, many of the politicians who are against abortion believe that life starts at conception. If that is the case then since you technically have a fertilized egg with an IUD they would ban this type of contraception. It is the belief that this is a type of abortion.
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Chem – Did you see that the only people allowed to discuss the recent birth control "issues" publicly were all men??? The women were not allowed to be televised, or just not allowed to ague in favor of it at all.
From what my doctor (and the insert) said about the mirena, yes, it can prevent an empryo fromattaching to the uterine wall, but it also prevents ovulation from the hormones, in addition to preventing the passage of sperm.
Onhanie – I don't think Europe puts things on the market early. I believe they have pretty stringent medical guidelines as well.
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I just read that the issue was denied and that all employers, religious or not, must allow for coverage of birth control. Funny thing is, this has been on the books for YEARS (family planning) but for some reason they are trying to make it an Obama thing.
Europe actually does get things to market before the US. But then again, Europe is not as sue happy as the US is. (I worked in pharmaceutical and drug discovery for about 10 years before switching fields)
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Yeah I don't now why they are attcking Obama on this. I saw that one state actually had a law requiring bc being covered and no one batted an eyelash at it.
Re Europe: I see. Man you have a lot of experience.I thought about going into pharmaceuticals…I even had a temp job at Amgen. I spent 2 years in the biotech lab after that. After getting laid off when our site closed, I am glad to be out of the lab. Too much sitting and I was getting pipetters thumb.
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I should clarify: I didn't actually mean the European/South American/Asian/etc/etc (i.e. non-North American) countries have less-stringent systems and/or are less safe… but they are very different and they do bring things to market quicker (as chemgoddess has mentioned).. I just meant I'd personally like to wait a while to know the outcomes of something before having it done/inserted/ingested, which, by the time it's marketed in North America, many years have passed and this data is available then.
Also, there is a common misconception that the ONLY/MAIN way the IUD works is by preventing implantation of a fertilized embryo. While this was try of the permanent plastic IUDs in the past, it is not the main mode of action of the newer (hormonal and copper) IUDs. The hormonal one works by local hormone delivery—without getting into too much technical info, essentially like a pill/patch/injection/nuvaring system, but with a very low dose localized delivery, to avoid overly high systemic hormone levels and to essentially "fool" your body into thinking you're already pregnant and not releasing an egg in the first place. The copper IUD, on the other hand, still confuses many, but is thought to cause very localized inflammation to bring in a hoard of inflammatory cells to the region, which in turn cause a very hostile environment for other foreign materials (i.e., sperm, attacking and killing htem before they have a chance to travel up the fallopian tubes). The majority of possible pregnancies are blocked in these manners. In the event either are bypassed, then the secondary mode for both is the traditional blocking of embryo implantation, which is why the politicians go into an uproar and claiming it's abortion.
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typo: should read, "while this was *true of the permanent plastic…"
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What frustrates me is that the IUD essentially became my only real option. Tried the implanon and it made my arm go numb, despite it being inserted properly. I still get phantom shocks where it used to be. It also raised my blood pressure. The mini pill is just not that effective. You literally have to take it everyday (no placebo pills) and at the same time (within a 4 hour window.) It only prevents ovulation 50% of the time (not good odds IMO.) The depo shot leeches calcium from your bones. The docs say it will come back after you stop it, but I still think that's debated. You also can't get it for more than 5 years, and I need something long term. I am no longer allowed to take anything with estrogen in it since I get migraine auras…apparently that puts me at a higher risk for a stroke and the estrogen makes it more risky.
I NEED a bc for cramps! I'm sick of killing my liver with pain killers!
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"Man you have a lot of experience." Translation: I am old!
Pharma contract lab: 7 years (went from bench QC chemist to methods transfer/auditor, basically audited QC data on new products prio to submission to the FDA for approval)
Drug Discovery chemist: 3 years until they went belly up
Gojo: 2 years (think Purell and antimicroboial hospital soaps….alll FDA regulated)
Ceramics: hell, going on 7 years. Test for low level metallic imputities in catalyst materials used in refineries. I also run a gamut of other material characterization tests.
When I put that down on paper I cannot believe it has been this long! If I talk technical it is not because I am trying to be a snob, it is because it is what I do!
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I don't think your a snob. I realize you know your stuff. It's helpful!
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"I don't think your a snob."
You obviously did not see Santorum's talk from this past weekend. That was specifically why I chose that….
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No I didn't. I don't have a TV, so I get all my debate watching from youtube…
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I've got a Mirena story as of… right now! How fitting that I saw this thread on SV. I went in this afternoon for my 1st time Mirena implant. Never been pregnant, never had kids. The cramps during measuring reminded me of those super icky cramps that leave me curled up in a ball on my side, but there were only a couple of them. But… I think there was a defect in the actual device, as my doctor couldn't get it to release from the applicator wand thingy. At all. She even removed it and tried to rethread the strings back down the wand. Those stubborn strings wouldn't go back down – they just curled up on themselves about halfway down. So, after all of that, I have to go back again next week to do it all over again. Ick. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that now I know exactly what to expect pain-wise! Has anyone else ever had this happen to them????
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I didn't have any cramping while they measured my uterus, but that may be because I got the numbing shots?? I think Chemmie mentioned having the first doctor mess up the procedure.
If I am understanding this correctly… the fact that she tried to restick the mirena back in the wand to to re-insert it is a red flag to me. Once it is out of the wand it is no longer sterile. If she touched it and then inserted it in you, she could be pushing bacteria into your uterus! She should have thrown it away right away, not tried to reinsert it! EWWWW!
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