Judge orders Plan B contraceptive be available OTC

[MadZealot]

Thyroid meds have a similar quirk

I was thinking of depression meds; something I can relate to.

[Darkhawk]

(Thyroid meds have a similar quirk, though easier to talk about: efficacy can be *massively* affected by whether you eat or drink with them, though much less so by timing. Doing the same thing every day is okay, (like if you *always* have a cup of coffee first thing) because you adjust dosage to whatever that is, but most people have more variety than that.)

 
One of the reasons I take my thyroid meds in the evening - aside from my doctor suggesting it - is that it's far easier for me to get consistent eating patterns in the evening than the morning.

[mandrina]

The other reason, besides the excellent one of "There are *reasons* why there are tons of formulations besides the drug companies trying to get market share" (as Darkhawk pointed out) is also this:

A bunch of the newer formulations (the past 15-20 years or so) are lower dose than the first generation or two of Pill formulations. This is good in a lot of ways - fewer side effects, for example.

The problem is that they're also more sensitive, in general, to how they're taken - some Pills, it's not just "take once a day", but "no, really, you have to take it within a one hour window to be sure of protection, and if you change time zones, you need to plan that ahead and adjust it over time or wake up in the middle of the night to take it."

Which is the kind of thing doctors tend to want to talk through.

(Thyroid meds have a similar quirk, though easier to talk about: efficacy can be *massively* affected by whether you eat or drink with them, though much less so by timing. Doing the same thing every day is okay, (like if you *always* have a cup of coffee first thing) because you adjust dosage to whatever that is, but most people have more variety than that.)

The time thing actually could explain why BCP worked so well for me, no doctor every mentioned the within an hour thing to me, which considering I was working nights, meant my schedule was weirded out.  (when I say worked so well, I mean, I'd like you to meet two of my kids.)

[Jenett]

The time thing actually could explain why BCP worked so well for me, no doctor every mentioned the within an hour thing to me, which considering I was working nights, meant my schedule was weirded out.  (when I say worked so well, I mean, I'd like you to meet two of my kids.)

I should note - it's not all versions. (If I remember right - I'm at a conference, working off the iPad until next week, so deep research is trickier - it's the triphasics that are trickier than the monophasics)

Anyway, the actual details are one of those things that's in the information notes, or on the pharmaceutical company website, or whatever, and in the brands I've seen, they're very good about telling you the window (especially if it's tight.)

It's the problem that we all know not everyone reads that. (And depending how you get your pills, you may have to search for the data a bit more: sample pill packs don't always have the full info, f'ex.)

[Jujulinda]

One of the reasons I take my thyroid meds in the evening - aside from my doctor suggesting it - is that it's far easier for me to get consistent eating patterns in the evening than the morning.

 
I have been taking thyroid meds for 10 years now. Had a complete thyroidectomy when I was 13 and I still have a problem with schedule. I really don't take it how I should and sometimes I miss them for a few days because I can't remember if I just took it. (I tried marking it on a calendar but I forgot to do that too. Lol)

Is the timing really that important? The only thing they told me is "take it 30 mins before you eat anything". That's it.

[Altair]

I should note - it's not all versions. (If I remember right - I'm at a conference, working off the iPad until next week, so deep research is trickier - it's the triphasics that are trickier than the monophasics)

 
And then there's Nuva-Bling.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/nuva-ring/n33629/

[yewberry]

And then there's Nuva-Bling.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/nuva-ring/n33629/

"And yeah...it does hurt."

It all began with Annuale.

Brina

[Jenett]

Is the timing really that important? The only thing they told me is "take it 30 mins before you eat anything". That's it.

Timing - in terms of time of day - isn't important for the thyroid meds. But the "take 30 minutes before eating" is (or rather, you need to take it consistently on an empty stomach or without food or water, or with the same thing all the time) That's because how it's absorbed, and if you take it with food (or water, or if there's already something in your stomach)

(If I remember right, it's that if you take it with food or liquid, it washes into your intestines faster, and your intestines absorb more of the medication than your stomach does. I do remember that taking it with food or liquid causes greater absorption, anyway - I've been known to fudge it that way if I'm having a minor hypo flare and take my meds with a sip or two of water for a week or two, and it helps.)

That's why Darkhawk takes it at night, because it's easier for her to be consistent then. I take mine in the morning, because I tend to snack at least half the time at night, and keeping track of that would be harder (and taking it first thing when I wake up is easy for me, it just means I have to wait to have breakfast. Which I was fine with before my nutritionist insisted I start eating breakfast, not just have a really early lunch like I've been doing for decades. Still working on that.)

In contrast, the Pill (i.e. birth control) is a hormone release, and processed differently in the body, but the very low hormone versions have an efficacy life that's just about 24 hours.

So if you get too far out of step taking them, you don't have any backup in your system, and your body *can* decide "Oh, gee, let me release this egg now." or have other changes that can increase the chance of conception. Bodies are weird and complicated, so there's a bunch of moving pieces in the contraception equation, and most of them don't have obvious external signs (and even the ones like core temperature and mucus changes can - especially if modified by the pill - show up too late to be of use in the case of "is this contraceptive working")

[victoreia]

I have been taking thyroid meds for 10 years now. Had a complete thyroidectomy when I was 13 and I still have a problem with schedule. I really don't take it how I should and sometimes I miss them for a few days because I can't remember if I just took it. (I tried marking it on a calendar but I forgot to do that too. Lol)

Is the timing really that important? The only thing they told me is "take it 30 mins before you eat anything". That's it.

Do you have a smart phone? iPhone has some apps that let you track your meds (what they are, when you have to take them, etc.), and I've found mine immensely helpful. The one I use even let's me keep track of what meds have different dosages depending on the day of the week. (That's my anticoagulant; currently I take four mgs every day but Wednesday,when I take six mgs.)

I'm fairly sure they would have similar apps for Android.

[Jujulinda]

Timing - in terms of time of day - isn't important for the thyroid meds. But the "take 30 minutes before eating" is (or rather, you need to take it consistently on an empty stomach or without food or water, or with the same thing all the time) That's because how it's absorbed, and if you take it with food (or water, or if there's already something in your stomach)

(If I remember right, it's that if you take it with food or liquid, it washes into your intestines faster, and your intestines absorb more of the medication than your stomach does. I do remember that taking it with food or liquid causes greater absorption, anyway - I've been known to fudge it that way if I'm having a minor hypo flare and take my meds with a sip or two of water for a week or two, and it helps.)

That's why Darkhawk takes it at night, because it's easier for her to be consistent then. I take mine in the morning, because I tend to snack at least half the time at night, and keeping track of that would be harder (and taking it first thing when I wake up is easy for me, it just means I have to wait to have breakfast. Which I was fine with before my nutritionist insisted I start eating breakfast, not just have a really early lunch like I've been doing for decades. Still working on that.)

In contrast, the Pill (i.e. birth control) is a hormone release, and processed differently in the body, but the very low hormone versions have an efficacy life that's just about 24 hours.

So if you get too far out of step taking them, you don't have any backup in your system, and your body *can* decide "Oh, gee, let me release this egg now." or have other changes that can increase the chance of conception. Bodies are weird and complicated, so there's a bunch of moving pieces in the contraception equation, and most of them don't have obvious external signs (and even the ones like core temperature and mucus changes can - especially if modified by the pill - show up too late to be of use in the case of "is this contraceptive working")

That's actually very helpful. Although my medicine says I must take it with 8 ounces of water. It's in red...so, I'm guessing it's important. Lol.
 

Do you have a smart phone? iPhone has some apps that let you track your meds (what they are, when you have to take them, etc.), and I've found mine immensely helpful. The one I use even let's me keep track of what meds have different dosages depending on the day of the week. (That's my anticoagulant; currently I take four mgs every day but Wednesday,when I take six mgs.)

I'm fairly sure they would have similar apps for Android.

Yes, I do actually. What is the name of your app, because sometimes they're the some just slightly different for different OS.

[Altair]

"And yeah...it does hurt."

It all began with Annuale.

Brina

Love it!

[victoreia]

Yes, I do actually. What is the name of your app, because sometimes they're the some just slightly different for different OS.

 
The app I use is called MedHelper, v. 1.4.4. The "About" says it was made by Earth Flare. The help section indicates it's available for both iPhone and Android.

[Jujulinda]

The app I use is called MedHelper, v. 1.4.4. The "About" says it was made by Earth Flare. The help section indicates it's available for both iPhone and Android.

Thank you!