Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
You could have thought of that.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


             

Placebo-week Supplements

Replace inert "reminder pills" with something more productive.
  (+13)(+13)
(+13)
  [vote for,
against]

I was contemplating my first case of birth-control pills, when the laziness of the "reminder pills" struck me.

Refresher course for those unfamiliar: Most birth-control pills have three weeks of hormone pills that do the work, then a fourth week (when the pill-taker menstruates) of inert pills that you take so you don't forget to start a new pack when the week is up.

Now, if you've ever tried to swallow an itty-bitty birth control pill, you know those suckers get stuck in your throat really easily. Swallowing an inert substance just seemed an uneccesary bother to me, so I threw them out everyday instead.

But why couldn't they actually *do* something? I want placebo-week pills that help me through the menstruation process. Iron supplements or whatever the stuff is in cranberries that helps prevent urinary tract infections. Better yet, they could be chocolate-flavored. Give women a reason to take that week's pills, and you'll get fewer women forgetting to start the next pack on time.

daznjonesy, May 25 2001


Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.



Annotation:







       What a brilliant idea!   

       (Don't just make them chocolate flavored. Just make them chocolate, period.)
jutta, May 25 2001
  

       Yes! If they were real chocolate, that would reinforce the "keep in a cool, dry place" instruction. If you didn't keep them sufficiently cool, the chocolate would melt, stick to the plastic, and be much harder to enjoy.
daznjonesy, May 25 2001
  

       Chocolate wouldn't serve the stated purpose. They would all be eaten on the first day, and then the whole reminder concept is compromised.
globaltourniquet, May 25 2001
  

       What an excellent idea! I don't know any woman who doesn't throw out the placebos. It's so annoying - most of the time, the 21-day pills don't even have smaller packaging, so you might as well get the 28-days.   

       While GT has a point about the chocolate going away too quickly, I love the iron-pill or cranberry suggestion.
clynne, May 25 2001
  

       Someone on Ebay was selling chocolate molds shaped like BC containers...
StarChaser, May 26 2001
  

       BAKED! Some brands contain iron in the 7 otherwise inert pills, which makes a lot of sense: the iron lost via menstrual blood often causes a mild anemia in women of childbearing age.
djanaba, Jun 07 2001
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle