Re: Becca was Re: Char - what is demulen?
From: Becca (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 29 Jun 2001 16:29:56 -0500 (CDT)
Jodi,
First the Passover trivia:
For Ashkenazim, corn is not o.k. to EAT during passover because it is
"kitnyot", not "chometz. You can benefit from "kitnyot" in all other
(non-food) ways since it is not "chometz".
You CAN get around certain Jewish dietary restrictions because of health
reason, but A) there must be no other or "as good" solution, and B)the
illness must be pretty bad. Furthermore, keeping kosher is much
stricter during Passover, partly because the Torah says the penalty for
eating chometz on Passover is much greater than for eating any other
non-Kosher thing.
In my case, I had an illness that was not immediately lifethreatening
and there was a viable, not "chometzdik" alternative. there was no
reason not to use the Desogen instead of Zovia for a cycle.
Now the important stuff:
Go over the list of BCPs that your insurance will cover with your doc.
If the more "PCOS-Friendly" BCPs don't appear on the list, the doctor
can often appeal, using citations in medical literature to show that
this is the standard treatment of the condition. It often takes months,
and is a pain in the butt, but it CAN work. My mom has done this is the
past for clinically proven treatments that were not initially acceptable
to her insurance co.(like biofeedback for incontinence). BTW, one of
the other respondents to your query gave you the types and quantity of
progestrone and estrogen in the Pills...go take a peek. You can also
get this info. from your doc.
--
Becca
Tue, 26 Jun 2001, jodi wrote:
>
>1. I thought that corn was also not ok for passover??? at least by
>ashkenazic standards... i teacher-aided in a jewish day school for a
>while and i remember learning this during passover... anything that
>could be ground into meal that resembles flour is bad, because someone
>might use flour accidentally, thinking it was ____meal... something
>like that. it's been a while...
>
>2. I also thought that you could get around certain things for medical
>reasons... ie, special diet for medical condition would over ride
>religious food restrictions...
>
>3. Thanks for the generic name, that DOES help. :-) But I wanted to
>know the actual ingredients & mgs of them in the pill... maybe there's
>a name brand equivalant, too? like, desogen and orthocept are both name
>brand equivalants of the same med... i don't think my insurance covers
>generics inclusively... they actually have a list of which BCPs they
>will cover and which they won't. or rather, which they won't cover if
>you haven't tried the ones they will. What is not clear to me is, do
>you have to try ALL of the ones they will to get one of the ones they
>don't? i hope not!!!!!!!!
>
>- jodi
>
>At Mon, 25 Jun 2001, Becca wrote:
>>
>>In case you want the generic equivalent of Demulen, it is Zovia. I'm on
>>it. I'm about to start month 4. It definitely took a couple months for
>>my body to adjust. Month 3 was great (no early spotting, PMS, etc.).
>>The only difference between Zovia and Demulen is that the "filler" in
>>Zovia is wheat starch (I think), and in Demulen it is corn starch (I
>>think). I actually had to find out about this because I started my new
>>meds before Passover. I had to take Demulen the first month instead of
>>Zovia because Zovia is not Kosher for Passover, but wanted to take Zovia
>>afterwards because it is cheaper. The doctor assured me they are the
>>same. Good luck!
>>
>>--
>>Becca
>>
>>At Mon, 25 Jun 2001, Char wrote:
>>>
>>>Demuelen 35 is a birth control pill. My GYN put me on it saying that
>>>her patients who have PCOS who use it have great success. I am too. It
>>>took me a couple months for my body to get used to it, and I had to
>>>experiment a bit, finding that I do better if I'm on it 26 days and off
>>>7, rather than 21/7.
>>>
>>>I also heard on this message board that Diane 35 is another good one.
>>>
>>>If your insurance does not cover the proper medication for your disease,
>>>such as Demulen, I would fight it. I fought with my insurance company
>>>because I needed more than 1 pack a month cause I take it 26 days, and
>>>with a letter from my doctor, stating this drug is a medical necessity,
>>>I won.
>>>
>>>Good luck!
>>>
>>>At Sun, 24 Jun 2001, jodi wrote:
>>>>
>>>>can you tell me just what is in demulen? since i am not having great
>>>>luck with side effects from the alesse, i want to try something else...
>>>>why not try something that has worked for others? :-) especially with
>>>>the facial hair... which doesn't seem to be going away like the leg
>>>>hair...
>>>>
>>>>but demulen is one of the ones my insurance won't cover. (WHY will they
>>>>cover
>>>>some BCPs and not others??? whatever...)
>>>>
>>>>so i am wonderinf just what is in demulen, so i can see if there is an
>>>>equivalant they WILL cover...
>>>>
>>>>also if anyone else has had luck with hair reduction on the face, and
>>>>the BCP...
>>>>let me know hat you're on!!!! so long as it's not alesse or mircette...
>>>>and yes i know we all have different results, but ya gotta start
>>>>somewhere with trying them..
>>>>
>>>>- jodi
>>>
>>>--
>>>Char
>>>
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