Birth Control Patch Warning

Published

Ortho McNeil maker of Ortho Evra

has finally warned the public

it's patch exposes women to

60% more estrogen and greater risks than a typical BC pill

I say finally because we have known since August

the patch is more risky than the pill

causing three times the risk of blood clots and death

I also say finally because of a 2003 internal company memo

shows the company refused to fund a comparison study

between patch and pill

because there was too high of a chance the study

might not prove a positive result for the patch.

profits over people

Ok this is just great. My week off is this week. Im supposed to put another patch on tomorrow(sunday) and im not sure if I want to. See, I have heard these accusations before by other companies, but NEVER from the manufacturer itself so this changes everything. My fiance is like dont put that back on your body. Your life s more important than anything else. The advantage to me of being on the patch is that my period was extremely irregular when I was not on it. Im pretty sure I wont put another patch in this week but I heard that it wasnt good to just STOP!!!! So im going to call him on monday and ask ir just go ask my neighbor who is an OBGYN. I hope he'll tell me. I guess we are going to go back on the good ol' fashion of birth control! nice little condoms!!!! ewwww:( Well this really sucks. When I told my mom she says to me "well abstinence" works pretty good:chuckle Well Im sure my gyno will get lots of calls on monday about this. The same doctor who last year told me that it was safer to be on birth control than to give birth. Oh well I just wanna get off of it now.

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PE's are pulmonary embolism.

This is the first time I've heard it from the manufacturer as well. I read that there was a greater risk with the patch, than the pill. But it seemed to be based on one study. Now that the manufacturer is reporting the same info, it makes it even more scary. I was on the patch last year and hoped to go back on it after my last baby was born. I opted for Yasmin instead.

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Specializes in Informatics.

Ugh. I'm on my week off too. As a matter of fact, I'm supposed to stick a new one on tomorrow. And I'm between OBs. Great!

I really liked the patch because it cleared up my skin so nicely. I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen before, and it made me very nauseous. Most OCPs do. I guess I'll be making some phone calls come Monday.

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I wonder if a phramacist can answer our questions so we dont have to wait until monday for those who are supposed to put a patch on tomorrow. I guess its worth a shot. Whoever calls the GYN on monday try to post what they have to say about the patch. Im curious to see what different doctors have to say about it. Im pretty sure ill be getting off of it tho'. A dozen young woman dying from blood clots and stroke for me is enough to convince me. I dont think I need to become a statistics for Ortho Evra. No thank you!

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

In my state you do not need a Rx for birth control. You can just go to the pharmacy. They have a little "mini visit" and explain every thing for you. It cost like $15-20.

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Specializes in Med-surg, Critical Care.

I was on the patch for about 2 1/2 years. I had my doc switch my prescription about a month ago when I heard all this news. She has put me on Alesse, which is a pill. So far its been fine, I haven't heard or found any bad reports on Alesse.

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http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52626

This is an article from WebMD about the study and results. I heard this back in the summer and was quite surprised that all of a sudden it is making the news all over. I am still looking for the original study so I can read it; if anyone has a link please post it...

We must take into consideration what the study comparisons were. In addtion, the following is taken directly from the above article:

"The deaths of 16 women are linked to the contraceptive patch. That's 16 deaths from blood clots and heart attacks and strokes per 4.1 million woman-years. But women not taking contraceptives have pulmonary embolisms -- blood clots in the lung -- at a rate of 41 cases per 4.1 million woman-years. And that's not even counting deaths from heart attack and stroke."

"Combination birth control pills result in one death per 200,000 women. If the AP calculations are correct, the risk from the patch is three deaths per 200,000 women. The risk of dying from a pregnancy carried beyond 20 weeks is 20 to 25 deaths per 200,000 women."

Each woman must evaluate her own risk. Most of the OB's I've discussed this with will continue to offer the patch because it is a reliable form of contraception. They will mention this study but also inform their patients what the risk is in women who do NOT take contraceptives.

Talk to your doctors/NP's/midwives about your concerns. The WHI study wasn't too fond of Prempro but we still prescribe it...

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I tried the patch. I put it on on a Sunday night, and by Monday morning, i was vomiting, dizzy, emotional, and had to crawl across campus to turn in a paper while vomiting the entire time. It was hell. I took it off and never tried it again b/c I couldn't afford to be so sick. I'm not surprised that the patch causes problems.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

hmmmmmmmmm... just found out my dd is on ortho evra. I told her to call her OBGYN today. She was put on this patch BECAUSE she needs the extra estrogen, but it still concerns me. :uhoh21:

What exactly is yasmin? And alessa ? Are these BC pills ? Was ortho evra the ONLY patch out there?

(Yeh.. I'm waaaaaaaaaaay past having a need for these, so I'm kinda out of the loop on these !) :chuckle

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well i called my pharmacist last night and she told me that it was safe for me to get off ortho evra but that I should follow up with my doctor. Knowing my OBGYN he'll tell me to stay on it just like he did last year when I had concerns about it. He told me that I had greater risks of dying giving birth than dying from the patch. I think that its all a matter of what you want to do and Im choosing to get off of it. I was supposed to start a new cycle of patches yesterday but I chose not to start. Why take the risk?

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I was on the patch for about a year, and it worked really great until the ending of that year. It started irritating my skin, then it even started living cuts on my skin and bumps. My doctor order me to get off of it because he said it could eventually lead you to be allergic to other adhesives. Now I have a scar on my stomach from the patch.

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Yeah, one of my friends also has a huge scar b/c she peeled off the patch at the end of the week, and a hunk of skin came with it. ::shudder::

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