Date: 2010-08-19 15:16 Subject: Some food for thought.... Security: Public Location: Parents' Pad Mood: thoughtful Music: None

Hm, man I sometimes wonder why people don't read the fine print with medication.

Birth control (the pill verity) has shown some pretty amazing side effects. Here are some examples of people I know personally's side effects: strokes, brain cancer, severe respiratory problems (i.e. not being able to walk up a flight of stairs because its as winding as running a mile), extreme hormonal instability (i.e. getting all of the hormonal crap from a particularly bad period but for everyday, all day, with/without the bleeding), and new allergies.

Vaccines have some pretty interesting side effects too. Cancer, serious immune system damage, new allergies, getting the illness it was supposed to prevent, poisoning, and allergic reactions. And no, Autism is not a side effect but having it does heighten your chances of having one of the more severe side effects.

My point: be a weary consumer. Just because it's all the rage does not mean its the right thing for you.

(My inspiration to post this was an interesting conversation I had had with a friend of mine who's mother suffered some of these side effects.)