Cerazette

[banes27]

Ok, so, inspired by thoughts on contraception as the result of thatgirl2136's thread and my fiancee's coming off of Cerazette we were wondering if anyone has any ideas regarding these thoughts:

1) My fiancee had gained some weight during the first 9 months we were going out and as a result her doctor suggested switching from Microgynon to Cerazette.
2) Cerazette, according to the guidelines, shouldn't be prescribed to women who are either prone to stress, anxiety or other similar problems.
3) My fiancee is actually prone to stress and anxiety
4) Cerazette is prone to causing weight gain and mood changes, typically increasing stress and anxiety.

So, what we were wondering is, although we both agree her NHS doctor is a wonderful doctor, why would her doctor prescribe her a form of contraception which would increase her weight despite switching her onto Cerazette as the result of weight gain and to a person who is prone to anxiety and stress?

Other women we have spoken to either in our social circles or online have had similar problems and questions and our thoughts were that NHS doctors might be being pushed in some way by some medical authority or another to prescribe Cerazette over other daily contraceptives for whatever reason, possibly in a similar manner (yet to a lesser degree) to Thalidomide, where, IIRC, the drug was being prescribed by doctors after approval by a certain medical authority before the long-term effects were none and with limited regard to medical history and circumstance.

(Just to point out, my fiancee's now off Cerazette and any other form of oral contraception because of the negative effects it had on her sex drive, her mood and the way it made her not feel like she was actually her, which was a massive problem for her)

So, yeah, any thoughts?

(and like thatgirl2136, it's not exactly a "How to" but wasn't sure where else to put it)

 

[newbiebabe]

Pay attention here....

It does seem strange that the doc would prescribe another contraceptive that sounds even worse than the first she was on. And it MAY be that they are being enticed in some way to push this prescription but there is probably no way you will ever know this.

That being said... SHE IS THE ONE IN CHARGE OF HER MEDICAL HEALTH AND CARE. She should return to the doc with the results of what she is now experiencing. If the doc refuses to hear her or dismisses her concerns, FIND A NEW DOCTOR!

I cannot stress this enough. I have two sisters who are doctors so I am not anti-doc at all. But I do believe in a person taking this into their own hands. We are our own best advocate and barring that a close family member or friend, such as you are to her, could also step in.

It may be that an oral contraceptive is not the best for her and you all will need to discuss options with her doctor and find what she can live with. Don't give up, be persistent and it will pay off.

 

[infinity706]

To be completely honest, the doctor might not have even known, as scary as that sounds. Being a doctor is a full time job with long hours and lots of responsibility. It would be hard to read through every study done on every drug out there. That's why it's important to do your own research on whatever treatment is perscribed. Doctors are people too and can potentially even fuck things up.

 

[banes27]

To be completely honest, the doctor might not have even known, as scary as that sounds. Being a doctor is a full time job with long hours and lots of responsibility. It would be hard to read through every study done on every drug out there. That's why it's important to do your own research on whatever treatment is perscribed. Doctors are people too and can potentially even fuck things up.

Good point. Personal research by both me and her is the reason she decided to come off it anyway, and she'll be telling the doctor when she sees him next and explain why she came off it (she's not with the university health service anymore so can't actually make an appointment with that doctor. She can only turn up at the pre-arranged times and dates which is a bit annoying but meh ) Either way, though, I've found all my doctors to be really rather good making mistakes only in minor areas that wouldn't be a life or death situation. I was once diagnosed with asthma and had to use an inhilator. Turned out later it was just an easily irritable throat. So, minor mistake, no harm.

 

[banes27]

And it MAY be that they are being enticed in some way to push this prescription

We thought about that, but since NHS doctors aren't really paid based on personal profit like provate practice doctors, is there really any way to entice them?... Bonuses maybe but I'm not up on the NHS's views on bonuses based on number of prescriptions of a given drug..

 

[emap]

All birth control pills can cause weight gain, loss of sex drive and all that jazz, it's to do with the chemical reactions they cause, people react differently to the same pill.

Of course yes it is possible your doctor said that one because somebody is paying him to prescribe whatever drug, kickback I believe it is called. Not to say he was wrong in prescribing that one, as I said all birth control pills will do what you said happened to her. It is entirely possible the new one was in a formula he figured would work better for your girl, or he just said well let's try this one and see what happens. Medicine isn't a science so much as guess work. They know what the drugs will do, they know that they can do this as well, finding the right amount of X to not cause Y but will cause Z is really nothing more than let's try this. They do make educated guesses but it's still guesses.