Word: provera
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Bowman says she advises students that their choices are abstinence, the condom or the condom with vaginal spermicides, the diaphragm, the pill or depo-provera, a hormone administered by injection...
...drug, but its new use fetches a new -- and much higher -- price. Previously a treatment for cancer, Depo-Provera was approved in the U.S. in October as a contraceptive. But its maker, Upjohn, is now charging doctors and clinics around $30 for a three-month shot -- more than double its earlier price -- which means women will pay about $50. Upjohn maintains it is recouping drug-development costs, but doctors argue that research ended long ago and that many countries have used Depo-Provera as a birth-control agent for years...
...BEST THING ABOUT DEPO-PROVERA, THE BIRTH control drug now finally approved for use in the U.S., is that it lasts so long. One shot in the arm or buttock provides 99% effective protection for three full months. That's the main reason it is used by nearly 9 million women in 90 countries, including Britain, France, Sweden and Germany...
...worst thing about Depo-Provera is the side effects, which can leave users tired, weak, dizzy and nervous. Most women who take the drug also gain weight -- often as much as 5 lbs. in the first year...
Indeed, several birth-control methods are available abroad but not in the U.S. Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive that prevents pregnancy for three months, is used in 86 countries. Ironically, it was created by the U.S.'s Upjohn Co., but it has repeatedly failed to win the approval of the Food and Drug Administration because of concern about side effects. Norplant, which releases a hormone for five years, is available in five nations. The implant was developed by scientists of the New York City-based Population Council and will be submitted to the FDA next year. But even if Norplant...