Plan B doesnt work if you weigh more than 165

[erastus25]

Watching hln in the morning and they said this is the us OTC plan b.

Research was done in Europe on medication identical to US OTC "Plan B." The study is actually a couple years old.

The problem, in the USA, is that generic equivalents can't put a warning on the label unless the name brand version puts the same label on is product first, and the producer of Plan B is refusing to do so until the research is conducted on its drug. Despite the fact that they're literally identical in composition.

[freedomjesusfootball]

Not necessarily true. If implantation had already occurred, Plan B wouldn't have worked.

Implantation typically takes at least 2 days from fertilization, and then it is a few more days before the implanted egg makes any significant amount of HCG (which could override any external hormone supplementation). If taken within 24 hours, implantation would not have occurred yet, and after taking the pills the woman should have withdrawal bleeding, flushing out any egg that may be there, and making the uterine lining too thin for further implantation. If you take it within a day, it is impossible that implantation would have already occurred.

[halfheartedheroine]

You don't need a prescription, but as far as I know (this may have changed with the free birth control whatnot) it's still extremely cheaper with a prescription.

(at least in the United States) A prescription is required to run the medication through insurance and pay a co-pay instead of the full price... as far as I know. Even if you have to buy it behind the pharmacy counter without a prescription, it needs the doctor's script to be processed through insurance.

[DarkAnts]

(at least in the United States) A prescription is required to run the medication through insurance and pay a co-pay instead of the full price... as far as I know. Even if you have to buy it behind the pharmacy counter without a prescription, it needs the doctor's script to be processed through insurance.

I wonder if people can get it through their flex spending account.

[apple1]

I wonder if people can get it through their flex spending account.

Over-the-counter meds used to be able to be reimbursed out of flexible spending account. That is generally not the case any more. (I don't have any information as to whether there are any exceptions to that policy).

[mg78]

FWIW, I've been on injectables (depo) it it comes as a pre-filled syringe. My weight wasn't taken into consideration when determining the dosage (my weight has fluxed a lot over the years, the amt that came in my little shot didn't)

As I said before, PlanB needs to override your whole system in a couple of hours. It is different than birth control where you are maintainig a constant level for most of your cycle. That is why te minimal concentration necessary for effect may be critical.

You can read about all of this in any good college level biology of reproduction or physiology book with a little bit of reading of a pharmacology book. The reading will help you to understand why PlanB is different than normal birth control and why weight may play a role in its efficacy.

That is why PlanB is different than your birth control.

[erastus25]

As I said before, PlanB needs to override your whole system in a couple of hours. It is different than birth control where you are maintainig a constant level for most of your cycle. That is why te minimal concentration necessary for effect may be critical.

You can read about all of this in any good college level biology of reproduction or physiology book with a little bit of reading of a pharmacology book. The reading will help you to understand why PlanB is different than normal birth control and why weight may play a role in its efficacy.

That is why PlanB is different than your birth control.

To clarify your final point, there is some research suggesting that lower does "regular" BC pills are less effective in heavier women, as well. I'm too lazy to go look it up, but I believe an additional finding of the original 2011 study being discussed in this thread also came to that conclusion.

The literature seems currently to be split on the matter of whether weight impacts BC efficacy but, either way, it's obvious that the FDA needs to start mandating more intensive testing if the majority of Americans fall into the overweight/obese category, but the pills are only tested on those in the normal weight category.

[twinmama]

um... no? I get a packet of diddly little pills and take one a day, as does every other Pill user I know.

They could take your weight into account when prescribing a particular pill. Mine is super low dose, most other pills have higher levels of hormones. If the hormone levels need to be higher because of your weight (which I think I read in one of the articles on this Plan B business), your doctor would not prescribe an ultra low dose BCP.

[Mama Mia]

They could take your weight into account when prescribing a particular pill. Mine is super low dose, most other pills have higher levels of hormones. If the hormone levels need to be higher because of your weight (which I think I read in one of the articles on this Plan B business), your doctor would not prescribe an ultra low dose BCP.

Prossibly they should take weight into consideration, but I have never, ever heard of a Doctor actually doing so. And I know many women of varying weights who have taken the lowest dosage birth control pill.

[Dysfundamental]

To clarify your final point, there is some research suggesting that lower does "regular" BC pills are less effective in heavier women, as well. I'm too lazy to go look it up, but I believe an additional finding of the original 2011 study being discussed in this thread also came to that conclusion.

The literature seems currently to be split on the matter of whether weight impacts BC efficacy but, either way, it's obvious that the FDA needs to start mandating more intensive testing if the majority of Americans fall into the overweight/obese category, but the pills are only tested on those in the normal weight category.

Plenty of women in the US weigh 165 and are in the "healthy weight" category.

[Maggie Mae]

Plenty of women in the US weigh 165 and are in the "healthy weight" category.

In order to be normal weight, a woman would need to be 5'9 or taller. While there are "plenty of women" who are this tall, it is still less than 5% of the US population of women.

OTC medication and dosage guidelines are really in need of reform. Not just Plan B, but all of the OTC pain medications, cold medications, and anything that is taken orally. 90% of the time I take a half dose and that works for me. Too much of any of the pain relievers does cause side effects, some which are very serious.

For Plan B - that stuff messed me up. I don't think I'll ever take it again. I'm fairly certain that the dosage was too high for my body. Personally, I think it should be freely available, but require at the minimum a consultation with a licensed pharmacist so that dosage can be adjusted to the woman's body. I'd say make the pills smaller and include a chart to figure out how many you need, but I know lots of people who would skip the reading and just take all of the pills.

[Dysfundamental]

Only 5% of women in the US are over 5'9"? Color me surprised on that one.

I bet the percentage among women of reproductive age is higher---I live in a college town and see lots of young women my height and taller.

[Andromeda]

Only 5% of women in the US are over 5'9"? Color me surprised on that one.

I bet the percentage among women of reproductive age is higher---I live in a college town and see lots of young women my height and taller.

I've wondered this too. I think the younger generations of women are getting taller in my own lifetime. :) I'm 5'6" and was somewhat tall in most gatherings when I was younger (with the exception of my own family, which is made up of beanpoles; I'm the runt). I'm 35 now, at my recent physical I was still 5'6", and whenever I'm around younger women, lots more of them are taller than I am. I know people shrink a little when they get older, so that older women I socialize with are probably not as tall as when they were 19, but I think there's more to it.

As for BMI: The formula used to calculate BMI doesn't have any variables in it other than weight and height. So, mathematically, it literally can't take anything else into account. It's just another way to do a height/weight chart, really, with all the limitations that brings. So it doesn't factor in body fat percentage or bone structure, etc., and I don't think you have to be an elite athlete to have it not be quite accurate in individual cases. It's a flawed tool. And they also lowered the bar for everything back in the late nineties and then nobody ever really mentioned that again, which is odd. I freely admit I need to lose some weight personally, but I think the precise locations of the cutoffs are also flawed. I think there's a lot of insurance-company money involved, to be honest.

[scc12]

hm I'm wondering why they couldn't just add in an extra pill or two,and or double the dose of Plan B,in order to make up for the weight issue.

[mypsychoticself]

hm I'm wondering why they couldn't just add in an extra pill or two,and or double the dose of Plan B,in order to make up for the weight issue.

It's possible that raising the dosage enough to be effective wouldn't be safe. Plan B is already a fairly high dose of hormones, and can have some nasty side effects. Raising the dose would increase those side effects, and could potentially be dangerous.

I'm just guessing, though. I don't know for sure why raising the dose doesn't work.

[Maggie Mae]

Only 5% of women in the US are over 5'9"? Color me surprised on that one.

I bet the percentage among women of reproductive age is higher---I live in a college town and see lots of young women my height and taller.

The study I pulled the numbers was from 2006 and used women age 20 and older. It could be where you live, as they also looked at different population groups - African American women averaged an inch shorter than Caucasian women and Hispanics showed an average of 5'1, which is 3 inches shorter than the total population average.

[Andromeda]

The study I pulled the numbers was from 2006 and used women age 20 and older. It could be where you live, as they also looked at different population groups - African American women averaged an inch shorter than Caucasian women and Hispanics showed an average of 5'1, which is 3 inches shorter than the total population average.

Oh, good point, I live in the land of strapping Teutonic farm girls. :lol: