Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by tcj_phx 3559 days ago
From your link:

>> Invest in New Contraceptive Methods

>> Some women do not access or use contraceptives for a variety of reasons, even when they want to avoid pregnancy. They may have misconceptions about their risk of becoming pregnant, or be deterred by the cost, inconvenience, or concerns about side effects. ... "

The Gates Foundation is paying for "a reformulation of Pfizer’s Depo-Provera® (medroxyprogesterone acetate)" [1]. The usual side effect of this drug is gaining weight. Usually it's about 20 pounds. Some women gain 40+ pounds after a few rounds of this drug [2].

[1] http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2... [2] https://www.reddit.com/user/ihateyoudepo

I suspect that the Depo Provera injections at about age 20 is what turned my friend into a drug addict. Drug use caused her first psychotic episodes, and her first court-ordered psychiatrists weren't smart enough to make the connection between her previous use of a prescription endocrine disruptor (Provera) and the following depression that she self-treated with street drugs.

Anyone who uses Provera drug is ignorant of the harm it actually causes, or is malicious.

edit: fixed italics above edit2: changed txt above to 'endocrine disruptor'
1 comments
GFK_of_xmaspast 3559 days ago
> I suspect that the Depo Provera injections at about age 20 is what turned my friend into a drug addict

Have you considered that post hoc is not necessarily proper hoc.

link
tcj_phx 3559 days ago
> Have you considered that post hoc is not necessarily proper hoc.

Disruption of the endocrine glands is on the drug safety information [1]:

  Effects on the Hypothalmic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis

  Some patients receiving medroxyprogesterone acetate may 
  exhibit suppressed adrenal function. Medroxyprogesterone 
  acetate may have cortisol-like glucocorticoid activity 
  and provide negative feedback to the hypothalamus or 
  pituitary. This may result in decreased plasma cortisol 
  levels, decreased cortisol secretion, and low plasma ACTH 
  levels. The use of DEPO-PROVERA Sterile Aqueous 
  Suspension may, due to its cortisol-like glucocorticoid 
  activity, also produce Cushingoid symptoms such as weight 
  gain, edema/fluid retention, and facial swelling.
[1] http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm2323...

edit: p.s. Thanks for commenting, I'd never looked at Depo Provera's safety information before. Someone else had said that he thought that Depot-Provera's FDA approval, in spite of what's known about it, is a good example of 'Regulatory Capture'. Psychosis is associated with cortisol deficiency [2], so this safety information strongly supports my theory about the origin of my friend's mental health struggles.

[2] https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormon...

link