Not even 24 hours after I last wrote on birth control and how dangerous it was (specifically Yasmin and all of the different generations of this pill) there was a news investigation that broadcasted on a local Denver news station. The investigator interviewed three women living in the state of Colorado that have had deadly side effects from Yaz or Yasmin. Watching this on television (twice) reminded me to post my research. The first bit is from http://www.usrecallnews.com/2008/12/yasmin-birth-control-warning-risk-of-heart-attack-stroke.html “First put on the market in the United States in 2001, Yasmin birth control has since been under heavy scrutiny for possible links to serious side effects like heart attack, stroke, and thrombosis. That, however, hasn’t stopped it from growing in popularity with revenue generated by Yasmin reaching nearly $500-million last year. As of 12/10/2008 there has been no Yasmin recall by either the FDA or the drug’s manufacturer. Like all prescription oral contraceptives (ie birth control pills) Yasmin is associated with increased risks of several serious conditions, such as: myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, stroke, hepatic neoplasia, gallbladder disease, hypertension, tender breasts, mood swings, depression, weight gain, edema, and others. Yasmin contains the estrogen ethinyl estradiol and the progestin drospirenone, which can can work against the body’s normal mechanism for regulating salt and water balance, a situation that can lead to potentially serious heart and health problems in some high risk patients.”Ok, you know that I can’t not comment on something like this. I mean maybe I am bordering on the “old” side of opinions but doesn’t it seem silly for women (including myself) to even risk having one of the serious side effects happen to them just to get their periods more regular or keep them from getting pregnant? The news investigation that was tv quoted a women as saying “if I had known what I was putting in my body could cause blood clotting then obviously I wouldn’t have kept taking it.” This women continued taking yasmin under doctors orders so she thought she wasn’t doing anything wrong. That is why I find the number from the research above very frightening…yasmin generated nearly $500 million dollars last year and is the most popular birth control pill. Why is this? Because of advertising? Are the American people so easy to manipulate that we will select one birth control over another simply because it is mentioned on tv more? Forget taking or prescribing the ones with less serious side effects or ones with less hormones like the Nuva Ring. In the tv investigation, they quoted the maker of the product in saying that none of the conditions the women involved in the lawsuit against are claiming to have had are a surprise to them. They are all mentioned in the fine print as possible side effects. So basically what that quote means is that they are trying to trick people by printing the words heart attack and liver failure in the teeny tiny print on the pamphlet that comes with the pills…do they really think that makes it ok? My question to the maker of Yasmin (who will not be named….at least not right now) why would you distribute a pill that could cause things like blood clotting, kidney & liver failure, heart attacks and gallbladder disease so widely to the point that you are making $500 million on it every year? Have you no conscience? One of the ingredients in Yasmin, drospirenone, has been the subject of many debates. “Research on the issue is divided. Some studies have found drospirenone to pose no greater health risk than other birth control pills; some studies show a sixfold greater risk of getting blood clots, even in young, healthy women. More research is being performed on the safety of the contraceptives, but for now, women considering taking the pills will need to weigh the contradictory information themselves.Oral contraceptives control unwanted pregnancies by using hormones that block ovulation. The first of these pills, introduced in the United States in the early 1960s, contained high doses of estrogen. They were quickly found to raise the risk of stroke, blood clots and heart attacks. Second-generation pills introduced in the 1970s contained lower amounts of estrogen combined with synthetic progestins, including one called levonorgestrel. These reduced the risk of blood clots but caused side effects such as weight gain and acne in many women. The 1980s brought third-generation pills containing different synthetic progestins, such as one called desogestrel. These were later found to be associated with a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The fourth-generation pills — Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, a generic version — contain estrogen and yet another progestin, drospirenone. They were created not just to prevent pregnancy but to also reduce the side effects of previous pills and to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder (severe cases of depression, anxiety, headaches and other symptoms). Yaz is now the No. 1-selling birth control in the United States, grossing more than $391 million in the first half of 2009, up 44% from the same time period in 2008, according to health data provider IMS Health. Bayer received a warning from the FDA last year for overstating Yaz's effectiveness in treating PMDD and acne while minimizing the risks of the medication on its website and television commercials. In response, the company altered its advertising. Now the contraceptives are not just the subject of lawsuits, they're also under scrutiny by groups such as Public Citizen over their safety. The FDA is testing the safety of Yaz and other pills in an ongoing study.” http://www.healthkey.com/sns-health-birth-control-lawsuits,0,4710881.story.
After watching the tv investigation and doing some research I was really upset with myself for taking Yasmin for over 5 years just to regulate my periods. I was also convinced that what has been going on with my body for the past year is most definitely side effects from taking “the pill” and what I learned from Mrs. W confirmed that my feelings were accurate. I got the works at my last appointment with Mrs. W. We started with the mignun bed and as I let the infared light shine in, Mrs. W and I talked about research I had done on the birth control pill and the new items she had brought for me to try. Next, we the ionic foot bath. This time my feet twitched a few times while the bath worked its magic. About 30 minutes later Mrs. W lifted the lid of the bath and I was kind of grossed out at what I saw. There was what looked like big flakes of black pepper, white cheese like stuff, lots of bubbles and the water was kind of yellow around my toes and red near the back of my food. Below is a picture of my bath and a key that helps explain what I released during the foot bath.
Black or brown water is the liver.
Orange; the joints.
Dark green; the gallbladder
Yellowy green; kidneys, urinary tract,
White foam; Lymph nodes draining
Red flecks; blood clot material
Black flecks; heavy metals
The color of the water may be different
With my first ionic foot bath, the water just turned a burnt red color. Mrs. W said that all of the other stuff coming out of my body is a sign that I am detoxifying and releasing more of the toxins. For all of your non-believers of the ionic footbath out there here is a question to you....why, if you can't release toxins this way, would my water be so drastically different in my last foot bath compared to my first one? Wouldnt the results be exactly the same if I used the same bath, water out of the same tap and didnt have on any lotion or anyting else that could have effected the results? Take that you non-believers! To top off this visit, the next day I had an unbelievable amount of CM. It was bad, I felt like I was having to walk funny to keep things from moving around down there (TMI I know but just trying to get the point across). The past couple of days have been pretty dry but I am not discouraged. This weeks appointment with Mrs. W is going to start off with some behavorial therapy. She is going to work with me on keeping negative thoughts out of my head. I am really looking forward to this as I still have those moments once in a while where I sit for about 5 minutes feeling sorry for myself. Learning strategies on how to keep my brain from traveling to that place will be very helpful. For those of you who live in Denver, Mrs. W is holding a class series the next three Saturdays called "Detox & Dance". If you are interested you can go to her website for more information
http://www.100thmonkeyresources.com/.
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