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The revolutionary contraceptive super-pill that ends PMT
Last updated at 08:37am on 27.09.07
Super-pill: The daily tablet could be available in months
The lives of millions of women could be revolutionised within months by the arrival of the contraceptive super-Pill.
It promises to end the misery of pre-menstrual tension and banish periods.
Lybrel, the first Pill designed to be taken continuously, is likely to appeal to women keen to stop menstruation from intruding into their hectic working lives - as well as the millions whose lives are blighted by PMT.
By simply taking a tablet a day, every day, women could avoid the inconvenience of periods years.
It could also end the mood swings, bloating, tiredness and other uncomfortable symptoms that many experience in the run-up to their period every month.
But critics point to the documented side effects of hormone-laden oral contraceptives, which may raise the risk of breast cancer as well as potentially fatal blood clots.
The risks may be greater from taking the Pill every single day because this avoids the seven-day "break" every month that the female body gets with the traditional 21-day pill.
Some experts warn that stopping periods completely could mask infertility problems and unexpected pregnancies.
Ethical concerns have also been raised over taking a "sledgehammer" to control Nature by wiping out a basic fact of female biology.
Lybrel is already on sale in America under the name Anya and its manufacturer, U.S. pharmaceutical giant Wyeth, hopes it will be available to British women next year, New Scientist reports.
Like the majority of oral contraceptives in Britain, Lybrel is a combined Pill, containing the hormones oestrogen and progestogen.
The doses of hormone have been lowered to allow for it being taken without a break.
Wyeth's studies show that Lybrel completely stops bleeding in more than 70 per cent of those who take it for seven months and women used to experiencing PMT found their symptoms were eased.
Wyeth describes the Pill as "an important evolution for oral contraception".
Ginger Constantine, of Wyeth, said: "For those women seeking contraceptive options and who are interested in putting their period on hold, Lybrel may be an appropriate choice."
The firm says it is as effective as other oral contraceptives and does not damage fertility.
However, it admits it does not work for everyone and some women will experience some unexpected bleeding.
The 3.5million British women who take the current form of the Pill take one tablet a day for 21 days.
They then either stop taking it for a week or take a week's supply of dummy tablets. During this time they have an artificial period. This is usually lighter than a natural period and is triggered by the sudden drop in hormones.
However, some doctors argue there is no medical reason why women need to stop taking the Pill each month.
They point out that the current formulation of the Pill was chosen because it was thought women would find it hard to accept the idea of not having a period.
But Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, likened the idea of the continuous Pill to taking a "sledgehammer" to control Nature.
And Eric Hester, of Family and Youth Concern, said: "Being a teenager is complicated enough without having something like this tampering with hormones."
SO SHOULD WOMEN TAKE IT?
The theory is that you take a tablet every day of the year, which prevents you having any periods at all. This is effectively what I have been telling women to do for a long time with the traditional Pill.
Instead of taking it for only three weeks out of four - and having a period during the week when you do not take it - my patients take their contraceptive continually.
This means I am giving advice outside of the Pill's licence but, as a doctor, one is able to do this if there is good reason.
I do not believe women need to have periods, and taking Lybrel - or the current Pill - every day means menstruation can be eradicated.
Preventing a bleed comes as a huge relief to the many thousands of women who suffer heavy periods, PMT and migraines.
Critics of Lybrel have said it will increase risk of breast and cervical cancer. But the relationship between the Pill and these cancers can at best be described as strange.
There is a 24 per cent increase in risk of having breast cancer diagnosed if you are on the Pill or have taken it in the past decade.
However, whether you've been taking the Pill for one year or for 30 years, that risk remains at 24 per cent.
It is therefore not possible to see how taking a Pill for an extra week each month will add to this risk.
Professor Anna Glasier is the lead clinician for sexual health in NHS Lothian.
And that's what really concerns me.
The notion of not having periods and all the inconvenience which comes with them at a time when they are building a career and enjoying the prime of their lives may seem wonderful right now.
But we simply don't know what the implications will be for their health and fertility in years to come.
My feeling is that the effects could be more damaging than the traditional 21-day Pill.
Taking a Pill which is designed to stop any menstrual bleeds, artificial or otherwise, inevitably carries health risks.
Ultimately, women will be continuously dosing their body with artificial hormones while suppressing the body's own, without so much as the seven-day break that the body gets when taking the ordinary Pill.
I am concerned that women who take Lybrel may be at greater risk of developing breast or cervical cancer, the two cancers already associated with the Pill, and that they may also compromise their fertility.
Additionally, lots of women are delaying motherhood in favour of their careers, which I can completely understand, but many then experience terrible problems resuming a normal menstrual cycle when they do decide to come off this Pill.
I fear that this could be exacerbated after taking a contraceptive like Lybrel and if a woman has already delayed having a family until her late 30s then she doesn't want an additional delay when her fertility is depleting anyway.
I'd advise any young woman to have serious reservations about taking a continuous oral contraceptive such as this.
Dr Marilyn Glenville is a nutritionist and specialist at the The Women's Healthcare Centre, St John's Wood, London.
Reader views (8)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I have a condition called Vulvodynia and periods make it much worse.
I take the pill back to back so that I don't have as many periods and therefore the general pain is reduced but it would help so much more if I didn't have a period at all.
I (and many other women) wouldn't be taking it out of lifestyle choice, I would be taking it to make life more bearable and the pain less severe. Personally I don't see anything wrong with that...
- Alison Terry, Manchester
Im sorry but using a condom is "unnatural", taking drugs is unnatural, abortion is unnatural, but most people ignore what medics have to say, most of human life is unnatural. I don't see why, in the year 2008 why we should continue this mediaeval biological process if we don't have to.
I m never having kids so its pointless for me to have them. Think about it - losing iron and being anaemic is hardly good for you after bleeding, is it? I can see why some women want to keep them to feel like a woman, and natural, but that the beauty of the 21st century; CHOICE. No one should have to if they don't want to.
- Lucy, Liverpool, England
It's about time too!
It's funny that some scientists and doctors say that the this pill is "unnatural" and they have "concerns" that it is a lifestyle choice and might be harmful. Sorry, but periods are rubbish, feeling low, pains and never feeling clean (and I don't have it that bad), so think of those who are really ill. I have never met a doctor who has any doubts about telling patients to take their pills continously to miss out their bleed altogether. So what's the problem with this pill?
Oh, apparently the problem is fertility. But we are already messing with our bodies by taking the traditional pill. They can't say if it will cause more harm by taking the traditional pill continously or taking this new pill. Who knows it could take several decades to see the effects! They are still discovering new side effects from the traditional pill e.g. decreased libido that may not return to normal even after stopping the pill. No-one told me there is a increased risk of cancer when I was first adviced to start taking the pill.
I agree that fertility is extremely important, but so is enjoying life. Maybe women should decide for themselves what they want to do with their bodies.
To the "long-suffering menfolk": how would you like to have stomach cramps, PMT, bleeding, headache, nausea and mood swings for 468 weeks from the age of 11 to 50?
- Nadia, Southport
Anything that makes women more rational is to be applauded.
- Keith, Kings Cross
This sounds like a dream come true! A bit late for some of us, but please make it available for younger women! (At least for the sake of long-suffering menfolk!)
- Marianne, SW France
Bring this pill to the UK ASAP please!
From a purely selfish point of view I NEED to be on this pill! Even though I'm on a combined pill now, the pill free week and withdrawl bleed is just awful - headaches, bloating, major PMT, either utter anger or despair, mood swings, awful pain and a hangover from these symptoms that last about a week after - every month. The symptoms are far worse when I'm not on the pill and I've also tried many other pills (including the mini pill) without success. To be able to live a normal life would be fantastic.
The biggest argument against this pill from the critics seems to be that not having periods is somehow "unnatural". Rubbish. Years ago, women would be without periods more than with, due to years of pregnancy in their childbearing years - and apart from childbirth itself there was no life threatening danger directly as a result of this. The combined pill purely mimics the effects of pregnancy in the body so we'd only experience bodily what women many years ago did.
- Dee, Reading
I don't know how you could say periods are not natural, we're not animals in the wild or walking around on all fours. Periods are perfectly natural and mine are especially painful, but I'd never pop a pill to get rid of them. There's so much about the body and mind that we don't yet know about. There's a wonder pill for everything these days and this one sounds awful.
- Jayne, London
I am strongly in favour of this Pill being available. No-one should have a right purely on moral grounds to say that someone else shouldn't take it. Periods every month are not "natural" - in the wild, we'd be constantly pregnant - now, no-one is going to suggest that would be good for women's health are they? Women who don't suffer from period problems are often the least sympathetic to those who do. If it makes your body feel awful, it should be OK, with medical advice, to do something about it. I believe that at least part of the link between any pills and cervical cancer is due to less use of condoms when using the Pill and therefore more exposure of the cervix to sperm which may contain HPV. Has there been a study of Pill users' cancer rates comparing those who also use condoms and those who do not?
- Clare, Cambridge, UK
