[Yamimi]

My doctor, I highly dislike her choices Tell me if this is wrong -

First of all, I'm poor.. so I can't really afford medicine. My doctor tries her best to prescribe me something I can afford, yet would be okay for me since I'm taking BC pills for balance, not necessarily to avoid pregnancy.

RIGHT before the lawsuits, she prescribes me Yaz. Yaz was okay for me, actually but then it got expensive. So, I had to go see if there was anything cheaper. She asks me to use Yazmin. ...It was okay, but I had a reaction to it that Yaz didn't give me.

Then, for the last ...year, maybe - I was prescribed to Ocella (or whatever it's called)


First of all, aren't they all the same? :\ And if so - why keep prescribing me a company that's under lawsuits right now? I'm not gonna waste my time getting money from them and changing meds again

Is Ocella REALLY the cheapest I can get? No wonder they have lawsuits for side-effects. What's the next best thing I can look into that won't cost be $100 I already don't have per month?

- Oh, wait, apparently the drug store thought it was necessary to change my own pills to another brand called Zarah......Isn't THAT the same or some generic brand? In my area, pharmacists are allowed to change pills to generic brands without needing to ask your doctor first so it doesn't cost as much.

[Ashlee T.]

Most pharmacies will offer you the generic brand because they are more inexpensive. Some people say the generics are exactly the same, others claim to have side effects from the generic they did not have from the name brand one, or vice versa. Alot of women on Ocella say they have bloating and nausea they did not have on Yaz or Yasmin.

From what I understand, Ocella is a generic form of Yaz and Yasmin. And yes, Yaz took a lot of heat with lawsuits, but they have not deemed it unhealthy enough to take off the market. People still are being prescribed Yaz regularly.

Almost any "name brand" birth control has a generic (except the ones that are brand new). If you feel uncomfortable taking Yaz or Yasmin, you should request a different pill and let your doctor know that because of all the health issues and lawsuits that resulted from Yaz, you are not comfortable taking it any longer. You have the right to do that. And if it bothers you, that's exactly what you should do.

[OregonGirl]

I'm pretty sure that all birth control probably has some lawsuits against it somewhere right now. It's just that Yasmin is the one that is the most publicized. All hormonal birth control carry some pretty serious (although rare) risks that you should really consider before deciding to take it. I personally feel that the safest BC pill is the minipill.

Pharmacies can change to generic without consulting a doctor because generics are exactly the same, just made by a different company. Basically someone discovers and invents a medicine and gets profit, and then sells the "recipe" to another company who manufactures the same product under a different name at a much cheaper price.

Your doctor isn't really making poor choices, it's just a lack of poor communication between the two of you. Just speak up and tell her clearly what you want.

[Guest]

I will try and address each of your concerns individually.

"First of all, I'm poor.. so I can't really afford medicine." Every major drug manufacturer have programs, called Patient Assitance Programs or PAPs in place to help people like you, get the medicine they need. If you have access to a computer, you can go online and do a search using G and find the web site that has the same name of the medicine you need like Yaz. If you go to the Yaz site, somewhere on that site it will say "for those that cannot afford your medicine click here" or something similar. It will then explain exactly what to do and how to do it (in order to get your medicine at little or no cost to you).

"...before the lawsuits, she prescribes me Yaz." Millions of people have been prescribed Yaz and take it every day without incident. Unfortunately, some people that have taken Yaz have had serious medical concerns and/or problems. The companies that make these drugs have no idea how they are going to react in every individual's body. Since every one is different, the drugs you take will work differently for you then your sister, your mother, your friend and your neighbor. If there are hundreds or thousands of people that are suing, there are millions and millions who are not. Lawsuits sell newspapers and make the local news...millions of happy customers do not.

First of all, aren't they all the same? NO, they are not. They might do the same or similar thing, like reduce the risk of pregnancy or help to regulate your cycle, but they are not the same. No more the same than a Chevrolet is to a Ford or Chrysler. Each drug has it's own active molecule that creates the desired result. They also have different "fillers" and other ingredients that don't mean anything.

why keep prescribing me a company that's under lawsuits right now? Ignore the lawsuits. They mean very little as far as your concerned. What's important is if the drug is doing what is has been prescribed for, with few or no side effects. Unfortunately, almost every drug will have "side effects". Some will seem to go away as your body adapts to the drug. Some will never seem to go away and you have to decide IF you can stand them. Again, nearly every drug will have some sort of "side effect".

Isn't THAT the same or some generic brand? AGAIN, none of these drugs are the "same". They are all a little bit different in what they do and how they do it. The BC pill has been on the market for decades and there should be many different versions/types of it available to you. Some will be older and have "generic equivalents" or "generics" and some will be newer, like Yaz, and not have a generic equivalent. To most people, generic means cheaper cost. This is usually the case, not always true, but usually. Pharmacies are in the business of making money just like everyone else and "generics" are much more profitable for the pharmacy than "brand name drugs" are...they make more money per pill when they switch you to a generic. The other thing people think of when they think of "generics" is that it means it is EXACTLY the same pill. This is 100% FALSE !! It is not the same pill. The molecule that enables you to get the desired results MUST be the exact same molecule as the "name brand" drug, but all of the "fillers" and other ingredients that are not as important can vary widely. Many people have bad experiences with "generic" versions of a "name brand" drug...why? Because they have a reaction to the other ingredients in the pill.

The very "best" medicine for you is the one that gets you the results you desire, with the fewest "side effects", that you are willing to take EXACTLY as prescribed by your doctor, that you can financially afford.

HINT If you sign up for one of the PAPs that I talked about near the top of this post, wait about one week after you have mailed in all of the required forms and then call them EVERYDAY until you receive your first shipment of medicine in your mailbox. Drug companies get THOUSANDS of requests every week from people who need their medicine at little or no cost and they have tens of thousands, in some cases...millions of people in their programs. You have to be willing to do something EXTRA to get your medicine sent to you. So call them EVERYDAY until it arrives.....

Sorry for the length of this reply post. I hope I didn't violate any WH rules. I really thought it was important to address clearly each of the concerns that Yamimi had.

I hope you took the time to read it.

Good luck!

[Ashlee T.]

Isn't THAT the same or some generic brand? AGAIN, none of these drugs are the "same". They are all a little bit different in what they do and how they do it. The BC pill has been on the market for decades and there should be many different versions/types of it available to you. Some will be older and have "generic equivalents" or "generics" and some will be newer, like Yaz, and not have a generic equivalent. To most people, generic means cheaper cost. This is usually the case, not always true, but usually. Pharmacies are in the business of making money just like everyone else and "generics" are much more profitable for the pharmacy than "generics" are...they make more money per pill when they switch you to a generic. The other thing people think of when they think of "generics" is that it means it is EXACTLY the same pill. This is 100% FALSE !! It is not the same pill. The molecule that enables you to get the desired results MUST be the exact same molecule as the "name brand" drug, but all of the "fillers" and other ingredients that are not as important can vary widely. Many people have bad experiences with "generic" versions of a "name brand" drug...why? Because they have a reaction to the other ingredients in the pill.

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I had a doctor or a pharmacist tell me "this is the generic form of XYZ medicine. It's the same, just with a different name so it's cheaper." People think that, because it's what they're told by medical professionals. Ocella, along with Zarah and several other "generics" were included in most of the Yaz land Yasmin awsuits, as they were considered to be the same. It seems logical that there is a difference between a generic and a brand name....because one commonly carries different side effects from the other. So why are we told by doctors and pharmacists that we're getting the same thing, only cheaper? Doesn't make sense.

I personally do not blame any woman that is concerned to find out the drug she is taking (which chemically alters her cycle and reproductive abilities) is involved in many lawsuits. There are too many birth control pills out there to be put on one that could lead to permanent damage. I guess any of them "could" lead to permanent damage, but when there is one you KNOW has caused many women severe issues, why not stay away from it? I guess I'm saying, it's easier to ignore lawsuits when it's not your body. But when it's you......it's scary....and when we are misinformed by the medical professionals we are supposed to be able to trust to KNOW those things...it becomes extremely difficult. But you have to be willing to speak up to your doctor and say "I'm not comfortable with this....I'd like to be on a birth control pill that is not involved in multiple lawsuits with women who have experienced horrible life altering side effects". You have to speak up....asking that of your doctor is not too much to ask.

[CHANDLERS WISH]

Birth Control Pills, full stop, any pills, are bad for your body, your adding chemicals that your body has to adjust to accept and who knows what is good for us or bad for us in that department until we have a reaction to it, much like penicilan.

But, then colouring our hair, underarm deoderant with aluminium in it, is doing us damage...

Everything man made is doing us damage Well almost.

However, I agree, if so many people react to a product in a horrible way, or proceedure, then I'd steer clear and demand, (as it's my body and the Doctors are "employed" not to prescribe me with it...

Remember though Doctor's are not Gods, they do not know what your body will react to and what it won't react to until they try.

As for genetic brands? Haa...Yep, even here in Australia they state, same context just a cheaper brand/label, your paying for the label.

CW

[Guest]

In the U.S. by law, the active molecule in a generic has to be the exact same active molecule that is found in the brand name product and that is what physicians are referring to when they say "they are the same, only cheaper". They are not talking about the fillers and other inert products that go into capsule, pill or tablet production as those items vary from one manufacturer to the next.

So ONLY the molecule, or that part of the medicine that does the work is the same...because it has to be under federal law in the U.S.

I cannot/will not speak for other countries because I do not know.

YOUR body is a temple....treat it accordingly!

[Ashlee T.]

So ONLY the molecule, or that part of the medicine that does the work is the same

That makes sense. But gosh, that's so misleading to the average person who doesn't know bull about the properties of pills (fillers etc). We honestly think that when docs and pharmacists tell us they are the same, that they ARE indeed the same. Which in turn, makes us feel totally looney when we start experiencing side effects with one we didn't experience with the other and then say to ourselves "How is this possible? These are the SAME! It must just be me. " The way you described it makes sense.

[ItsASecret]

So why are we told by doctors and pharmacists that we're getting the same thing, only cheaper? Doesn't make sense.

Because it requires in a good background or knowledge of the pharmaceutical sciences to understand what the difference actually means. It is pointless to explain to a patient the difference between filler x,y,z, estrogen mimicking molecules, the action of filler products on receptor affinity and so on. It is easier to put it into simple words so their patients have a general sense of what is going on. "It is the same drug but costs less" is all a patient really needs to understand because it holds true in many cases. The difference is in those fillers, of which there is no guarantee to know how those fillers are really going to work in the body should a person have a side effect (good or bad). Most of the time it is just a sugar base which is used up by the body no problem, other times it is just a bunch of stuff that is used because it absorbs really well into the system. Either way the main active ingredient is still the birth control mimicking chemicals.

As for the law suits, means nothing. People will sue anything because they want the money. That legal team was set up for exactly the cases that say "I did not want side effects it gave me side effects so I want money"....well hun its printed on the box that side effects could occur. Side effects are not predictable, everyone will react differently, the cases that cause major problems are certainly there but in such a minute fraction of cases that it is statistically irrelevant. No one is obligated to search online for material, there is some info available on the box on your desk where the pills are laying every single time you take them every single day. If a person chooses not to read anything that is handed to them that is their choice, doctors are also not going to sit a patient down for an hour long pre-bio-101 class to explain what a molecule is. Harsh but it is the reality. Legal teams will crush prosecutors simply due to the fact that "side effects may occur" is a massively effective shield. Every drug company will have lawsuits being handed to them, it would be a surprise not to see some sort of legal action being taken for anything actually.

[Ashlee T.]

As for the law suits, means nothing. People will sue anything because they want the money

While I agree with alot of what you said, I think the Yaz/Yasmin lawsuits were a bit of a different story. Some lawsuits ARE valid. And if those particular lawsuits concern the OP, she should voice that to her doctor and insist on a different birth control.