Article on BC and endometriosis

lalaith50

clicky

my favorite quote:

This battle that these so-called feminists are waging supposedly on my behalf is exploiting my disease so they can have free birth control.

ootmother2

If a medical doctor thinks that BCP would help your endometriosis, I think your insurance shoud cover it.

I don't think that birth control should be covered by insurance.

M had PCOS and the combo of BCP & metformin worked.   Funny, she's not overweight at all and there's no diabetes in the family.  The doctor said those were often causes of PCOS. Whatever, it worked 

ElisabethJoanne

Georgetown certainly has a procedure for getting its student healthplan to cover hormone therapy for secondary indications.

Those convinced that hormonal contraception is abortafacient, too, should be especially aware of its ability to treat endometriosis. If it is abortafacient, it is because it thins the endometrium so that an embryo cannot implant in the uterus. Thinner endometrium = endometriosis treatment.

It's great that author found a non-medical way to treat her condition. I'm not sure everyone can make the "lifestyle changes" she references. I'm really rather healthy, but there are times when I get home from work at 1am and am so tired, I have to choose between taking my 7 pills (most of which were originally prescribed as an alternative to hormone therapy) and brushing my teeth. I just had to reject another recommended treatment that would add to my bedtime routine. Not everyone can do everything recommended by their doctors.

The author's case wasn't very severe, or it would have required surgery. I know doctors who understand that hormone therapy doesn't really cure endometriosis, but recommend it to young, single women as a temporary treatment to minimize/prevent uterine scarring and resulting surgery and possible life-long infertility.

professorscience

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_article-on-bc-and-endometriosis?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:5dcd6efb-7fb3-41a3-8736-daeae6c36ca8Post:7ca25182-6f59-4fac-a5c5-f7199b9131aa">Re: Article on BC and endometriosis</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>If a medical doctor thinks that BCP would help your endometriosis, I think your insurance shoud cover it. I don't think that birth control should be covered by insurance.</strong> M had PCOS and the combo of BCP & metformin worked.   Funny, she's not overweight at all and there's no diabetes in the family.  The doctor said those were often causes of PCOS. Whatever, it worked  :)
Posted by ootmother2[/QUOTE]

<div>I'm fairly certain it's been said that the church would support insured BCP for the treatment of disease, just not prevention of pregnancy.  The problem there is that the person looking to obtain the prescription would probably have to submit to what could be a pretty invasive look into their personal life to "ensure" that the pills were medical and not contraceptive.</div>

agapecarrie

I've worked for the church since college. 10 years ago when I first started charting for my health, there wasn't a medical code for NFP, which was fully covered by my insurance through the diocese. It somehow got coded into a generic category for all "family planning".... which was outsourced to a supplemental company. 

It was extremely frustrating trying to explain what it was to insurance people to get it factored in right, but my point is that there was a way it was done that the Catholic insurers didn't have to pay for it. 

professorscience

Good find, Lala.  I have been raising many of the author's points about treating these diseases rather than covering them up for so long.  And even for just accurate teaching of a woman's cycle and family planning.  So many people are so terrified that any kind of "unprotected" sex will lead to babies.  It's ridiculous.  My ninth graders can figure out that women are only fertile for a few days (a revelation that terrified me, I will say), why can't adults?

EJ, that's terrible to hear.  =(

Riss91

I think the idea to take away here is that there are alternatives and most of the time, doctors jump right to BCP rather than offering other options. There may be cases where BCPs are the best/only option, but I bet if you survyed all women with endometriosis, most would have no clue that there were other methods.

That's the big issue. The medical world just loves to dump BCPs on everyone for everything.

professorscience

Haha, H posted this article to his FB, too.  First response was incredibly vulgar.  Gotta love the Internet.