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Seasonale corners market by reducing menstruation

Fewer periods are appealing.

That is what researchers from Duramed Pharmaceutics are betting on as they reason a woman's biological time of the month is unnecessary when she is on birth control.

Enter Seasonale, the company's darling and the one-and-only birth control pill that reduces the number of menstrual cycles approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

An average woman has 13 periods a year, but only four on Seasonale.

The fledgling oral contraceptive, which was released in November 2003, has cornered the market and flourished in its first year, helping boost parent company Barr Pharmaceutics' net earnings to $52 million for the first quarter of the 2005 financial year.

Seasonale differs from other pills in that one pack allows users to take an active pill for 84 days, followed by seven inactive, or placebo pills. But like any other form of birth control, there is user caution with Seasonale.

Because it contains the same kind of low-dose hormone as other methods, Christy Hamilton, sexual education coordinator for the SIUC Wellness Center, said Seasonale has many of the similar side effects of other birth control options, such as nausea, breast tenderness and weight gain.

Hamilton said Seasonale users might also experience more "breakthrough bleeding" than women using other conventional forms of contraceptives.

The one thing that Seasonale takes away could also be hard to adjust to, since many women use their cycle as a natural indicator.

"Since the idea of contraception is to have no conception, there is no biological need to provoke artificial withdrawal bleeding on a monthly basis," Hamilton said. "Although some women need the psychological reassurance that they are not pregnant."

And Seasonale is pricey. To buy the medication online through the company's discount Website is $175 for the same time frame. For six months, the price tag comes at $305. Neither purchase takes into account an $18 shipping and handling charge through FedEx.

"Cost is a bit prohibitive," Hamilton said.

Student Health Programs, which gives medication at lower costs, has Seasonale priced at $115.25.

The method is not recommended for women who have blood clotting disorders or risk factors for heart disease and stroke such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol or obesity. Researchers also discourage women who smoke from taking the pill.

When choosing a form of birth control, Hamilton points out that comfort should be a top priority. If anyone is an experiencing problem with a current form of birth control, Hamilton said that person should consult a doctor and look to switching to a different method.

 

 

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