Friday, September 08, 2006

OTC Woes: Emergency Contraception on the Cheap

I've long been trying to make clear to people that one doesn't need Preven or Plan B for morning after contraception. I'm pasting below a table from Planned Parenthood's website that shows dosages of regular birth control pills to be used for emergency contraception purposes. It is my opinion that routine use of the MAP is going to end up being really, really bad for a woman's health, so don't do this regularly. But if you find yourself in a bind and have a pack of pills (or a friend's pack of pills, or whatever) here's how you can solve your problem. And then see my response to 'WTF' below. (PS-If you take Yasmin or another pill that isn't listed, just take a bunch of pills, like 5 and 5. But don't tell anyone I told you that. Oh, and you can't sue me.)

Pill Brand Manufacturer 1st Dose 2nd Dose (12 hrs later)

Progestin-only Pills
Plan B® Barr 1 white pill 1 white pil or 2 white pills in one dose
Ovrette® Wyeth-Ayerst 20 yellow pills 20 yellow pills
or 40 yellow pills in one dose

Combination Hormone Pills
Alesse® Wyeth-Ayerst 5 pink pills 5 pink pills
Aviane® Duramed 5 orange pills 5 orange pills
Cryselle® Barr 4 white pills 4 white pills
Enpresse® Barr 4 orange pills 4 orange pills
Lessina® Barr 5 pink pills 5 pink pills
Levlen® Berlex 4 light orange pills 4 light orange pills
Levlite® Berlex 5 pink pills 5 pink pills
Levora® Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills
Lo/Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 white pills 4 white pills
LowOgestrel® Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills
LuteraTM Watson 5 white pills 5 white pills
Nordette® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 light orange pills 4 light orange pills
Ogestrel® Watson 2 white pills 2 white pills
Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 2 white pills 2 white pills
Portia® Barr 4 pink pills 4 pink pills
Seasonale® Barr 4 pink pills 4 pink pills
Seasonique® Barr 4 light blue-green pills 4 light blue-green pills
Tri-Levlen® Berlex 4 yellow pills 4 yellow pills
Triphasil® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 yellow pills 4 yellow pills
Trivora® Watson 4 pink pills 4 pink pills

With a regular 28-pill birth control pack, use any of the first 21 pills for emergency contraception. Don't use the last seven pills in a 28-day pack. They are only reminder pills that contain no hormones. With Enpresse, use only the orange ones. With Triphasil or Tri-Levlen, use only the yellow ones. With Trivora, use only the pink ones.
(from http://www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/emergency-contraception/how-to-take.htm)

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