A few months ago I mentioned on here that the UK government had introduced a new rule about a medication I take, topiramate. It’s an epilepsy med, but I take it as a migraine preventative. But it has been shown to have a small risk of causing autism and ADHD in a child if the mother takes the med while pregnant. For that reason the UK government made a rule that women of childbearing age who take this med must be forced to take birth control too, which I don’t want or need to. I’m a stroke patient so birth control could give me a higher risk of stroke and as you can guess from my name, I absolutely do not need birth control. I don’t want to take another med on top of everything else and deal with all the side effects. And only forcing female patients to take it is sexual discrimination.
I ended up writing to my MP about it and I just got a response today. The person he passed it on to (Baroness Merron) wrote back - and completely ignored all my concerns and doesn’t want to change the situation. She just repeated the reasons, well this is what she said:
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) introduced a Pregnancy Prevention Programme (PPP) for topiramate in June 2024 because there is evidence that taking topiramate during pregnancy can increase the risk to the baby of intellectual disability, autistic spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Under the PPP, topiramate should not be used in women of childbearing potential unless they exclude pregnancy before starting, are using highly effective contraception and are aware of the risks of topiramate. It is advised that an annual risk acknowledgment form should be used to support discussions between healthcare professionals and patients about the risks associated with use of topiramate in pregnancy. If a female is not considered to be at risk of pregnancy, the reason for this should be recorded in step 1 of this form and the patient is not required to use contraception.
So basically I can go without my med, or be forced to take shit I don’t want or need just because I have 2 x chromosomes. Oh, and all you ADHD/autistic people out there - your existence is such an affront to the UK that the government would rather force me to take unwanted drugs than risk any more people like you coming into existence!
EDIT: I spoke about this on hexbear and someone suggested that I should be forced to take birth control anyway because a man might rape me and then I’d bring an unwanted autistic baby into the world.
Not justifying this whatsoever but I do see that they offered a potential resolution: “If a female is not considered to be at risk of pregnancy, the reason for this should be recorded in step 1 of this form and the patient is not required to use contraception.” Assuming the Ace in your name means that you are Asexual so it seems like this would fit this criteria?
Edit: I see in another comment you’re saying they told you that this really means women who are sterilized. It is unclear to me if this is truly correct as I’m seeing this guidance in a PDF about valproate which is a lot worse to take during pregnancy (https://www.rcog.org.uk/media/uqofkclk/valproate-guidance-march-2019.pdf)
“This includes women who are not currently sexually active unless the prescriber considers that there are compelling reasons to indicate that there is no risk of pregnancy. Individual circumstances should be evaluated in each case, involving the patient in the discussion, to guarantee her engagement, discuss therapeutic options and ensure her understanding of the risks and the measures needed to minimise the risks.”
“In addition, there may be women who wish to avoid bleeding problems or side effects associated with some hormonal methods. The GMC consent process (currently under consultation) (41), states that: You should do your best to make sure that such patients have considered the available options and reached their own decision (clause 42). You must respect a patient’s decision to refuse an investigation or treatment, even if you think their decision is wrong or irrational (clause 43). It is essential that the discussion is fully documented, so that it is clear how it has been made, and following best practice all parties involved should be included in correspondence. Even if a woman is non-compliant with a PPP, it is unsafe to withhold the prescription of valproate.”
Another document on isotretinoin, which is even more risk for the fetus than valproate: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/653f8b3de6c9680014aa9cee/Pharmacist_Checklist.pdf "A person with childbearing potential requires contraception 4 weeks before treatment, during treatment and 1 month after, UNLESS the prescriber and patient agree that, during treatment and for 1 month after treatment, there is no expected risk of pregnancy due to: a) Only having sex/sexual intercourse with a person who has no potential to make them pregnant. This must be for the duration of isotretinoin treatment and for 1 month after stopping isotretinoin treatment. Examples include sex with a:
- Person of the same-sex
- Person who has had a vasectomy with two confirmed tests of being sperm-free
- Transgender man b) Long-term sexual abstinence (no sexual activity) for the duration of isotretinoin and for 1 month after stopping isotretinoin treatment"
This document is on an official gov.uk website so thus should hold a good deal of weight. Even though they are not the same medications, these are medications which have a lot more risk to the fetus than topiramate and the law should apply equally.
It sounds like they are not actually following the spirit of the program due to fear of liability or something like that, which unfortunately is not surprising. I would fight back by producing documentation such as this and other things you can find.
I know the UK is very different than the US and seems to be getting really unhinged medically, but what I do in the US in situations like this is make use of organizations that provide free case management service. I either include them in emails or have them come with me in person. Sometimes I won’t be listened to on my own but if the third party case manager comes in they will start taking you seriously. I have no idea if the UK has something like this and it was somewhat hard to find the organizations in my area that would do it, but this technique has worked for me pretty well.
All I know is, I signed a form at the neurologist’s office, guaranteeing that I am in no danger of becoming pregnant, and why. However this has not been deemed sufficient excuse and I’ve been informed that as long as I’m physically capable of getting pregnant, I have to take this.
Shameful. This is eugenics from the UK government. Are smokers forced to take birth control as well, “just in case”? There are hundreds of medications that should not be taken while pregnant, but god forbid a man puts on a condom.
I wasn’t even aware there existed anti-migraine medication, I thought it was untreatable lol. Is topiramate the most effective one?
Topiramate is really an anti-epilepsy med, but it’s used as a migraine preventative too. I’ve already tried everything else, including nerve blocking injections in my head, so it’s quite a desperate situation.
What the hell. Fuck TERF island. Bunch of eugenist fucks.
Can they force this upon you even if they know you’re ace? I don’t really know how to deal with this, but I would suggest you to at least make sure all your thoughts are passed on as clear as possible to them while being firm enough to show that you’re very much not comfortable with taking birth control medication, probably a good idea to put emphasis on the risks you mentioned.
Also fuck the Hexbear user that said that to you, that’s disgusting. I hope the user got banned. If not, then please report them, I doubt the mods would let it slide.
If a female is not considered to be at risk of pregnancy, the reason for this should be recorded in step 1 of this form and the patient is not required to use contraception.
I’m assuming being asexual doesn’t count, according to them? Fuck TERF island, it can burn in hell.
Oh yeah, I should clarify they specified previously that you’re only considered not at risk of pregnancy if you’re actually sterile - ie fully completed menopause or had the required body parts surgically removed, or tubal ligation etc. Not just being abstinent.
Do they test if your taking it? Could you just lie and say your on birth control then flush the pills down the toilet?
I thought about that, but I get many hormone-related blood tests at the endocrinologist regularly because I’m a thyroid cancer patient. So they might notice if the levels aren’t what they should be with an extra hormonal med added.
And then you say the birth control was giving you migraines.
I doubt they would care. The government have made it clear it is more important to prevent defective people from being born, than to treat my pain.
Analytically it feels like you have 3 options: 1 Take the birth control and the epilepsy meds, 2 Take neither, or 3 run the risk, say you are taking both but don’t take the birth control.
You know the outcome of option 1 and 2 is guaranteed. The 3rd option has many possible outcomes. Best case they don’t even notice or they do and just let it slide. It feels like the worst case scenario for option 3 is that you get caught and they force option 2 on you. Correct me if I am wrong and they have punitive measures that you couldn’t avoid by claiming it was a mistake.
So it comes down to: Would taking both be better than taking neither? If not, run the risk because you have nothing to lose. If it is better to take both than you have to weigh the risk of being cut off vs the chance that you might get away with it.
