I think there are other issues with this outside of just the added possibilities of blood clots. A major problem with this is that one reason birth control is regulated through prescriptions is that there are so many ways that BC can adjust your system and monitoring of dose and side effects needs to be involved. Different women react to the level of hormones differently so what keeps a women who only needs low dose hormones from buying higher dose hormones thinking that it they means stronger protection causing herself major issues, like months of bleeding, wild mood swings, and a higher likelihood of clots.

Im all for this regardless of the risk of PEs. Surely if Plan B is available OTC, then why not birth control pills?? I think if you still have to get it at the pharmacy counter, like Plan B (or Sudafed) the pharmacist could perform a consultation and go over how to take the meds and the risk, like they do when they dispense any drug.

Most women DO NOT get clots from BC. And despite those that do, it wouldnt matter if it was dispensed by a doctor or OTC; women who want to take it are going to take it even if the risks are in big bold letters all over the packaging. People buy cigarettes with major warning labels on the pack so its the same concept- people are gonna do what they want to do.

Any drug can have side effects, and I really dont believe it needs to be closely monitored by a physician. I mean, when I was on the pill, it was rarely a topic of discussion on my part or my docs part during any office visit. You take it every day and then forget about it. Thats whats so great about the pill. Its one dosage for everyone and it actually, in most cases, doesnt adversely affect women.

As far as getting the risk out there for women, this is an issue whether its available OTC or by prescription. Consumers need to read the packaging, like any drug, and then THEY decide if they want to take it. This seems like such a simple concept to me that I dont understand why thats not in the forefront of any discussion regarding BC.

There are so many things available to the consumers that are risky. Tanning beds can cause skin cancer, and diet pills can be harmful. Hell, some supplements can have adverse affects and those arent even regulated by the FDA but you can get them at any grocery store or pharmacy. You can make METH for crying out loud from simple items bought at the store. Why cant women just get some freakin birth control pills at Walgreens?

I will choose personal choice every time.

BC caused my PE's so I would be a little scared for this to happen UNLESS they have it at the pharmacy & have to explain all the risk & have something signed saying they explained. Also how will they know what kind they need?
I was not told what kind of bc I was being put on by the health dept & never told anything about blood clots. In general there needs to be more awareness about blood clots & bc. Then it would be the women's choice but they should be more aware of the possibilities & not just being over 35 & a smoker. I was 27 & never smoked so maybe that is why I wasn't warned but that needs to be changed!

I'm all for this being OTC also. I've lived in South America where it is, and women are not dropping over dead from blood clots. In a forum like this, clots from BC seem a lot more common than they really are. I mean, I've now had three separate clotting episodes, none of which were related to BC, although one was related to pregnancy, but I had taken hormonal BC before with no ill effects. Now in hindsight, considering what has happened to me since, that seems like a pretty stupid decision. But although I apparently have a propensity to clot, BC still never caused me any problems. I actually had a very resposibe doctor who did talk to me about the possibility of blood clots. You know what? Even though I had a family history of blood clots and had some vague idea of what they were, I still brushed that off and said, "Yeah I'm not worried about that, it won't happen to me." So I tend to agree that whether that conversation happens with a doctor or pharmacist or doesn't happen at all, I doubt it would make a change for too many people in terms of their decision to take it or not take it. I mean, don't we all know about a gazillion women on BC who've never had any problems? That's what we base our decision on, not some vague idea of a medical complication that we don't understand. I mean, we don't avoid air travel due to worry about blood clots, even though that's probably the best publicized risk factor for clotting.

I wholeheartedly believe that there needs to be better education and awareness of clotting in general. But I don't think that having OTC hormonal BC will really change much in terms of adult use, although one concern I'd have is that young girls who are even less apt to be concerned with possible side effects will have no idea of risk, but again I don't know how much real supervision there is now in terms of their access.

Wouldn't you expect that if this happens, the OTC pill would probably be on the lower end of hormone dose? It seems to me that would be reasonable to have higher dose hormones still require a prescription, since those might be used more for controlling specific problems rather than just as birth control. If I could still use BC, I'd be thrilled to have access to it without prescription.

I disagree. having more awareness about clotting & bc would change more women's decisions. I have some friends that won't take any bc after they found out what happened to me they say it's better to be safe then sorry which I agree to. So I believe if there was more awareness about how serious it can be then at least some would make the decision not to take it or at least know what to look for since the symptoms are not usually very obvious.
It makes me upset that I was put on a bc with a higher chance of clotting. I was never informed of this or told anything about why they chose such a strong & dangerous bc! If I was warned & then chose to take the bc then that would have been my choice but to trust he doctor & just be handed a certain bc with no warning is pretty frustrating especially if they make it easier for women & young girls to get without knowing the risk

That's because your friends know you. If they didn't know you and they just read the warnings (which are readily available and on the pill package when you get them), I bet they'd likely still take the pill. I knew the clot risks and still took it- for over 20 years. It's because the risk of getting pregnant was far more worrisome to me than the remote possibility of getting clots. By the way, BC didn't actually cause my clots. Most women do not get clots from BC.

It's the same with sun tanning and smoking. People still partake in sun tanning and smoking despite the very real risks of doing so. It's human nature to think something will likely not happen to you.

If they do make BC pills available OTC, I agree with Shilosmommy that there will likely be parameters surrounding what types of pills, and I suspect would require a prescription in some cases, maybe even for persons under a certain age. I also suspect that the packages would contain all the risks, like ANY OTHER MEDICATION.

I can't believe we'd allow fear to prevent access. Ladies, why don't we give women some credit for being wise consumers, being able to read packaging, and being able to decide for ourselves what we want to purchase and use.

We need more unwanted pregnancies like we need a hole in the head.

Just my 2 cents worth of opinion, obviously.

If you read carefully what I said, I said that I'm all for increased education regarding blood clotting in general, that would include awareness of the fact that BC increases risk. But I disagree with you that in general those warnings are going to mean much of anything to women who don't know personally someone who has experienced it, such as your friends. They MAY be affected by knowing you and seeing what happened to you, at the same time there have been many other women here who have expressed frustration that their friends don't take the threat seriously despite having seen the ill effects. But if your friends are affected enough to actually change their chosen methods of birth control, it's only because they've seen you go through this. People who haven't had that experience, even if given the proper warnings, I think will generally tend to diminish the risk in their own minds. I feel bad for you that you feel you weren't given the opportunity to make a completely well-informed decision, but I think it's also easy to look at a situation in hindsight and say "if only..." and place blame on the doctors. (And this also just proves the point that there isn't exactly a great job being done now with the current system of precription BC to fully inform women of clotting risk.) I think that realistically, when most women are even properly informed about the risks of DVT from BC, the concept of it is just too vague, aside from the fact that people never believe something bad will happen to them. It's human nature that we tend to think those are things that happen to "other people". Like I said before, air travel is probably the most well-publicized risk factor for blood clots, yet I've never heard of anyone deciding NOT to fly because they could get a clot. I think that similarly, most women who find the pill to be the easiest, most convenient way of birth control are going to continue to use it. And again, patients who experience blood clots are a very small percentage of women who are actually using the BC, and those who experience PE are only a small percentage of those. I'm sorry because I know this will undoubtedly rile up the people who are victims of PE connected to BC, but I still find it improbable that BC is the single cause of clots in most of the women who have some connection to that. I think BC often becomes the scapegoat because it's the best explanation anyone's got without going into every detail of each woman's life, but I very firmlly believe that clotting episodes are more usually the result of a combination of several risk factors than one alone. And there are plenty of women whose PE's were initially "blamed" on BC, but later reclotted while not on it, thus proving that whatever the reason their clotting mechanism is messed up, it's not actually the birth control which caused it.

I fall into that category: PE's were initially blamed on BC, but later I reclotted while not on it. It's a very quick reason to give when there are no other obvious risk factors or reasons. I do agree a lot of clotting is a combination of many factors actually. In fact, technically, BC pills don't cause blood clots. They increase the risk of blood clots. Some would say that's semantics but those are two distinct things. So if you have the BC and other risks, that's a sh** storm waiting to happen.

I think for a lot of us, actually knowing someone who has suffered with something will heavily influence our medical decisions and/or reactions to them.

I mean, if you knew someone who had required a liver transplant after using Tylenol, you'd probably be much more likely to never take Tylenol. For the rest of us, we probably use Tylenol on a regular basis, despite the multiple warnings on the package about associated liver damage.

Also, if you knew someone who had died from Toxic Shock Syndrome, you might be much more likely to never use tampons. But most of us do and most of us (I'm guessing), haven't read that little package insert about TSS in years (if ever).

I guess the point is that it is ALL dangerous in the right circumstances. The best we can do is provide warnings on meds like these and hope that people actually pay attention to them. I doubt it'd stop anyone from using the product, but it might make them more aware of what is going on if they do get sudden SOB or leg pain.

The original article on CNN talked about providing a "questionnaire" for women using OTC BC that would help them decide if they are in a high-risk group. Asking, I assume, if they have a family history, a clotting history, a diagnosed clotting disorder, and etc. The article did not mention having it in the pharmacy. One person was even quoted as saying she'd like to see it on the shelf right between the condoms and the pregnancy tests.

Ultimately, I guess I'm not convinced that BC is any more dangerous than the bazillion other drugs and supplements you can get at any drugstore or supermarket. The concerns about dosing and side effects are true for every drug and many supplements.

Hearing so many folks on these pages talk about how the doctors didn't give us enough information makes me think that OTC BC might almost be safer. The woman has to make the choice to buy the BC and, with it, she'd get a page of warnings, symptoms to look out for, and a questionnaire that would help her decide if she's high risk. If she decides to ignore those, that's her choice.

And really, isn't freedom of choice what this is all about?

That's the point that there isn't enough awareness & like I said if there was good awareness then I would be for it also. If I would have been told of the risk especially the kind that they put me I would not have taken it. it's that simple. The only information I ever heard about in the past was you only had risk if you were over 35 & smoked.
I was talking about bc in general like I said I was prescribed it by the health dept & I think they should inform the patients because I was told nothing just was given the pills.
Bc is pretty common for causing blood clots is what I was told by several drs & nurses that they had seen it a lot.
My doctor talked to me about blood clots & what I needed to do to prevent them while I was pregnant because it can happen & I did as I was told. I wish I would have had the same for bc

Yeah, I'm with you on the awareness thing Melissa. That's my big hangup too. If they DO do this, I really hope they are putting big warnings on the package.

I mean, in the blood clots that happen, BC is often part of the puzzle. But blood clots are fairly rare among the hundreds of thousands of women who take BC. But in the clots that are diagnosed, BC is often (not always a part).

I'm normally not a huge fan of blogs, but this site below has some interesting information. It shows the risk of clotting based on 10,000 women annually, and how the risk increases depending on the type of BC:

http://www.tbtam.com/2011/12/patch-pill-visualizing-risk.html#sthash.qeM9BK8k.UMoMe0jN.dpbs

The risk in general for clotting while on BC is low. There's a chart at the bottom of the page that summarizes the risks very clearly. The risk of clotting on the older generation of BC pills vs risk of clotting when not on any BC and not pregnant is a difference of 0.02%. The risks increase with the newer generation of BC pills.

Pregnancy actually causes more clots that birth control. That is compelling. I don't think I've heard any women here who've gotten clots from pregnancy lamenting that they were never told the risk of clots.

Information about BC side effects and the risk of clots from BC is abundant on the internet. If you google risk of clots for BC, tons and tons of info come up. Not sure how much more awareness can really occur here unless you want women to sign some sort of release every time they get BC pills that you were told the risks and understand the risk and are taking pills despite the risk. That may sound reasonable but I'd bet my next pay check most women would sign that despite the risks.

I'm not beating up anyone here for expressing the need for women to be aware of risks. They do need to be aware. But honestly, we can't just keep blaming doctors for not giving us all the information. It's gotta fall on us too. I just think sometimes it's hard for us on this site to be objective about the issue and put it into perspective because it's just too close.

I can't really get on board with the "release" idea, just because if it is OTC, it should be OTC. You don't have to sign a release for Tylenol or allergy meds. If the point is to make it accessible to all, I think forcing people to sign a release might hamper that a little. Technically, sure, it is still accessible to all, but there are folks out there who might want it but aren't willing to have to interact with "authority" to get it. The shy college freshman, the immigrant who doesn't speak much English, etc.

And seriously, if you've been taking the stuff for 20 years, who wants to have to jump through hoops every time you go to get more?

Absolutely. I think the release thing is a horrible idea for so many reasons. At the end of the day, you put the warnings on the packaging. I mean, if it's right there on the package, how much farther to you go? But you know when you get a prescription, the warnings are on the packaging too, so yeah, we're not any worse or better if it goes OTC. Ultimately, it's the consumer's responsibility.

I also think it's a horrible idea that you almost get stripped searched (little hyperbole for good measure) at the pharmacy when trying to get some freakin' Sudafed. I feel like I'm crossing a check point or something. Shouldn't have to show ID to relieve a little nasal congestion.

This is an interesting conversation.

My PEs were not caused by BCP nor by HRT, as I wasn't on either. I've always known the risks of clotting while on BCP, as it happenned to a co-worker when I first started to work. Did it ever stop me from taking them? No. Because the risks of an unwanted pregnancy was more upfront in my mind and also because the BCP was so helpful to control my out-of-control periods.

One of the issues I'm currently having at home concerns my 17 yo daughter who has terrible issues with PMS. She tried the pill last year, but it really messed up her system. She would like access to something else, but firmly dislikes our family doctor. Sigh. If the pills were available OTC and she could be started on a very low dosage, it might be the answer for her.

I agree that whether the meds are prescribed by a doctor or not probably will not make a whole lot of difference. In fact, I've found my pharmacist a whole lot more informative where meds are concerned than my doctor, as meds are her specialties.

It think it's very easy to be very passionate about something when it happened to us. My husband died from cancer and I, to this day, blame the first doctor who didn't see the cancer... however, it is not even clear that the cancer was even there at that point as the symptoms were similar but not the same. However, I will be the first to tell people to keep knocking on doors until you have an answer and firm relief from your woes. Another person may not see things my way.

And I agree that there are meds available OTC, such as antihistamines for some, that have huge adverse effects and they're still available.

One thing that comes to mind: women are much more likely than men to do the research before embarking on something, so new consumers may in fact be in a better position to make the right decision than we think they are.