I learned about a birth control method today that makes me angry…

[Admirable-Bar-3549]

Let me start by saying that I’m turning 50 in a few days, so, short of a National Inquirer-style medical miracle, I probably don’t need birth control to not become pregnant. However, I do have this pesky condition called Adenomyosis that has caused me to bleed heavily for months at a time – it’s similar to endometriosis, but is confined to the uterus. Quick and dirty version — due to the effects of estrogen, the uterine lining grows out of control into the surrounding muscle, and it’s not a good time for anybody.

In my research about my condition, someone (on Reddit, I believe) mentioned that women were having a lot of success treating it with the once-a-week non-hormonal Indian birth control pill. Brand name: Saheli. Uhhhh… what? There’s a once-a-week birth control pill? Yeah, right. We would know about it. No, there is is. And it’s non-hormonal. We just don’t have prescription access to it in the US.

Apparently this pill is so well-received in India (where it’s now been used for 30 years), the government makes it available for free for any woman who wants it under a differed name, Chhaya (gee, can you imagine that, in our current political climate? Free birth control?) I was floored. I’d never heard of this. The pill itself (generic name: Centchroman) is an estrogen blocker to the uterus only — does not affect other areas of the body (edit: yes, it does) – but it is not, in itself, a hormone. It’s taken twice a week for the first 3 months, then once a week there after. The only reported side effects are delayed or absent periods (but there may be others). It also works as a (very effective) morning after pill.

Wow. Why don’t my daughters have this option? Why don’t any of us? Would FDA-approval be SO hard in the US for a drug that has been used safely in another country for 30 years? Apparently so. I guess there’s simply not enough money in it, or women’s health isn’t very important to the powers that be in this country. Or more likely, it’s too much power in the hands of women — power over our bodies that they don’t want us to have. I feel so… angry and frustrated. I never tolerated the estrogen/progesterone pill well during my younger years and would have loved to have this as an option.

Anyway, sorry for the book. I am not a medical professional of any kind, and do not have the authority to recommend this pill to anyone. I do, however, encourage you to research on your own about it. The netflix series Sex Explained (episode title: Birth Control) mentions Saheli and the mechanism by which it works. It is NOT FDA approved in the United States, however, it is available through some sources as a “supplement” – again, not recommending, but knowledge is power. I’m certainly going to share this info with my daughters, and want as many women as possible to know every option we have, despite the powers trying so hard to limit them.

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Edit: While Saheli (Ormeloxifene) is described in several places online as having “no side effects” – there is definite potential for there to be some side effects (both good and bad), just different ones from the estrogen/progesterone combination pill. Thank you to all who have shared your thoughts and experiences, I will definitely be sharing mine with this treatment. I’ve discovered there is subreddit about this drug (not created by me) — but here it is for more info/experiences: [https://www.reddit.com/r/SaheliBirthControl/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaheliBirthControl/)

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Thanks for the Reddit Gold, kind stranger!

Discussion

[whutevernevermind]

I was diagnosed with Adenomyosis as well. It took years to get access to the specialist and the only thing that I’ve been able to do to help so far is the Mirena IUD. It’s not perfect but I’m not ready to go through with a hysterectomy and I’m poor so there’s only so many options for me in my current Healthcare system.

[Sherd_nerd_17]

Omg, all of the options that other countries get! This sounds incredible!

Yep, I lived in Scotland for seven years- and when I remarked that my long-awaited 3-day vacation would fall exactly on my monthly time, my coworkers laughed and asked, “why don’t you just go to the doctor, and get it delayed?”

Yep. In the Uk it’s entirely normal to get a prescription for bc for just a few days, to delay your period so that you can… enjoy life.

The number of times that this would have saved me. Not just for vacations- what about that conference talk in a foreign city; that first super scary job interview; that first week lecturing all new classes at a new school… Nope. When I moved back to the US, this miracle option was never even heard of.