Title: Truth, lies, and the Internet

To all my beautiful ladies who like to surf the net:

The internet is a very dangerous place to be in if you are not familiar with it. You should always examine the sources in which the information is derived from. Take a look at this site: http://www.ditchthepill.org/

If we take a look at the information under “Benefits” Turned Out to Be Wrong

This is definitely my favorite! They don't even give us the name of the doctor or where these doctors are from.

Next, the site provides us with a long list of illnesses that are caused by the pill, again with no referencing to any sources

What makes this site seem so believable is that you can continue on and click into each of these illnesses and read about how the pill is a “direct cause” of the illnesses.

Thirdly, Prempro (2010): the next point that this site uses to attack the pill. Prempro is a prescription medication that helps manage symptoms of menopause. http://www.prempro.com

As with all medication, there are possible side effects, which include an increase possibility of heart attacks, strokes, breast cancers, or blood clots.

This site describes the pill as being four times worse than Prempro again without any scientific evidence supporting this statement. It also describes Prempro as being poisonous at each given dose and could poison us up to three generations.

Oh another favorites from this site. If only this was true! This website says that PMS never existed before the pill. It says that premenstrual syndrome is a new condition that did not exist 50 years ago. This should be simple to find out. If your mom or grandma is more than 65 years old, assuming that they get their period when they were 14 or 15, just ask them whether they have experienced PMS when they had their period. If they did, maybe PMS did exist 50 years ago before the pill.

One last one ladies. These types of unreliable websites usually lead to what? Of course, advertisement of something you should purchased to rid the effects of what they are telling you not to take! In this case, the website recommends you to take Bio-Identical Progesterone for only $15 per month to minimize the side effects of the pill! And guess what?! Free Shipping on orders over $300 and special offers daily.

So, this goes to show that the Internet really isn’t the place where you should look for information if you are unable to assess what is true or false. Instead, what’s a better place to go for information than your family doctor or nearby clinic? Vancouver Coastal Health have a lot of pamphlets on health and within Van Coast Health, there’s also a youth clinic, which offers free and confidential drop in services.

Comparing to the list of illnesses that ditchthepill.org stated that are caused by the pill, in a study by Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, results concluded that “ovarian and endometrial cancer risk was reduced in women while taking birth control pills and for at least 10 years afterward” (Robb-Nicholson, 2004, p. 8).

The study also found a possible reduced risk for colon cancer. The risk for breast cancer was increased slightly. However, the Harvard researchers found that “these risks disappeared or diminished quickly when women stopped taking the pill. The benefits, on the other hand, lingered, even to the age when ovarian, endometrial, and colon cancer rates began to rise” (Robb-Nicholson, 2004, p. 8).

Fertility is another major concern for women in regards to taking the pill. In ditchthepill.org comparing to the list of illnesses once again, infertility was one of the side effects of taking the pill. 

In a 2009 study by Deborah Kowal, an assistant professor in the Department of Global at Emory University in Atlanta, concluded that “women may believe that use of pills will negatively impact their future fertility. However, this is not the case; return to fertility is rapid following pill discontinuation” (p. 4).Results were derived from more than 50 studies and 50 years. 

So ladies, truth, lies, and the Internet is really up to you to decide, but for me, i try to stay away from these unreliable information as much as I can. 

Kindly from your Truth Blogger

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Reference

Kowal, D. (2011). What are the top myths about pills? Contraceptive Technology Update, 3-5.

Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2010). Prempro. Retrieved from http://www.prempro.com/

Robb-Nicholson, C. (2004). By the way, doctor, Harvard Women’s Health Watch, p. 8.

Vancouver Coastal Health. (2008). Birth Control Pills. The Pill. Retrieved from

      Boulevard Youth Clinic 2110 West 43^rd Ave.

Women’s Health Institute (2007). Ditch the pill.org. Empowerment for women. Retrieved

      from http://www.ditchthepill.org/