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FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

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Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#31
post #10
post #2

[flagged]

Yes it can. It does cause an elevated risk in some people. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7156851/ This is dangerous. While it gives people more access to contraceptives, someone should absolutely see a doctor first before beginning hormone therapy.

That is ridiculous. It's not like a doctor properly screens you for cancer before prescribing BCP. It's all about gatekeeping. It's not about health.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a bit more nuance here. There is certainly a political angle, but there is a non zero risk with taking something like this that should be discussed with a doctor first, IMO. Bypassing a doctor does open up access, but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly.

I think you would be amazed how many people don't "have a doctor" and simultaneously are the same people who would benefit from this.

I'm pretty sure you don't have to "have" a doctor for this. MinuteClinics and such can provide this. I would guess there are websites you can get Rx through too.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#33
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a bit more nuance here. There is certainly a political angle, but there is a non zero risk with taking something like this that should be discussed with a doctor first, IMO. Bypassing a doctor does open up access, but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly.

> Bypassing a doctor does open up access, but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly. In related news, it is shockingly easy to get messed up real bad by Tylenol. But you can get it in a 500-pill bottle from Costco.

My cousin is a toxicologist and he was talking about this in the 1980s - that the public had no idea how incredibly toxic Tylenol is and how easy it is to over dose on it and cause significant damage to your liver and other organs.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#34
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a bit more nuance here. There is certainly a political angle, but there is a non zero risk with taking something like this that should be discussed with a doctor first, IMO. Bypassing a doctor does open up access, but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly.

> but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly. This describes every over-the-counter drug that has ever been sold. Keeping contraception prescription-only has always been about politics.

How do you think the two are equivalent? Hormone medications can have a profound impact on a person across the spectrum from mental to physical health. Secondly, taking BC wrong may lead to a false sense of security and subsequent unwanted pregnancies. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a, smallish, correlated increase in STDs, as well.

Neither of those are a thing someone buying tylenol has to worry about. Disingenuous or poorly considered to think it can _only_ be about politics imo.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#35
post #24

This is amazing, it will help a lot of people have access to a drug that can vastly improve quality of life without being gatekept by their doctor. Just one note about the phrasing of all the headlines: they’re phrased as if the FDA did a good thing, but it’s better to imagine this as the FDA _stopping_ doing a bad thing. The only reason that we haven’t had over the counter oral contraceptive for the last fifty years…

Was there really any gatekeeping going on for this in the first place? Seems more like just about everyone who asks recieves it.

Its more about needing the Dr appointment. A Dr appointment isn't cheap if you are poor and lack insurance, and many places have wait time of a year to get an appointment.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#36
post #18

> The contraceptive efficacy of norgestrel was established with the original approval for prescription use in 1973. HRA Pharma applied to switch norgestrel from a prescription to an over-the-counter product. For approval of a product for use in the nonprescription setting, the FDA requires that the applicant demonstrate that the product can be used by consumers safely and effectively, relying only on the nonprescript…

Yep, because it's relying on the cultural knowledge that has been built up over the years through things like health classes and society talking more openly to share knowledge. And people really don't understand all the potential risks for most medications they're on, whether Rx or OTC.

Couldn't be that doctors wanted all those easy well visits writing scripts for birth control and the recent supreme court ruling encouraged the FDA to finally be reasonable? It's that this exact moment is the first time in human history that women are capable of understanding "once daily".

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#37
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was there really any gatekeeping going on for this in the first place? Seems more like just about everyone who asks recieves it.

Spotted the person who's never been without health insurance.

You still require payment for OTC. You can get birth control from places that don't require insurance like MinuteClinics and online for a cost of about $20 for the visit.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#38
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but there may be risks, especially if folks don't take the medicine correctly. This describes every over-the-counter drug that has ever been sold. Keeping contraception prescription-only has always been about politics.

There are non hormonal options out there like IUDs (and condoms) that may be a better option though. Speaking as a parent, I would rather have my kids come talk to me /my wife about this stuff and work with us and a doctor to figure out what's best for them long term. I recognize not every kid has that kind of relationship with their parents and would benefit from purchasing it directly.

As much as this is coming from a good place with good intentions, some things are human rights[1] that parents shouldn’t be able to withhold.

[1] https://theweek.com/articles/470330/birth-control-human-righ...

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#39

> The contraceptive efficacy of norgestrel was established with the original approval for prescription use in 1973. HRA Pharma applied to switch norgestrel from a prescription to an over-the-counter product. For approval of a product for use in the nonprescription setting, the FDA requires that the applicant demonstrate that the product can be used by consumers safely and effectively, relying only on the nonprescript…

Yes, because it’s an incredibly important drug that has massive social implications on it.

So the design, engineering and implementation of the holistic system around it must prove with extremely high confidence that the default usage of it, with no special education, is in line with the idealized social use of it.

Further, it should be shown that non-intended uses or abuses of the drug are rare by chemical function - not simply regulatory.

And while it might not be 50 years, required as the mathematical minimum time for this to be true for this particular drug, that is the amount of time this society has decided would be appropriate to allow for individual decision making to be the discriminatory function for acquiring it.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#40
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was there really any gatekeeping going on for this in the first place? Seems more like just about everyone who asks recieves it.

Its more about needing the Dr appointment. A Dr appointment isn't cheap if you are poor and lack insurance, and many places have wait time of a year to get an appointment.

You can get birth control from places that don't require insurance like MinuteClinics and online for a cost of about $20 for the visit. I'm pretty sure the online option does not have long wait times.
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