Customer Reviews

Managing Contraceptive Pill Patients

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a primary care practitioner, I have found each edition of this book invaluable and an essential tool in my practice. The most worn pages in this book are those listing all commonly prescribed oral contraceptives along with their estrogenic and progesterone effects. Its unique quick reference index in the center of the book is also indispensible for a practitioner in a tearing hurry to locate the most current recommendations to treat a particular side effect. Highly recommended!

Consistent in it's format, easy to use,concise and up to date. Recommended to all medical personnel managing patients on oral contraceptives. I have purchased the last three editions over the last 7 years and have not been disappointed.

This book is intended for physicians but I recommend it forPill-using women.(If you're the type who likes perusing PHYSICIANSDESK REFERENCE, you'll LOVE this. It's much more user-friendly.) The past nine editions(first published in 1977) have been popular with clinicians and the book is a kind of "secret weapon" in the drawer of many a student health service or family planning center. You come in with a certain health history or certain side effects from your current Pill,and the doctor peeks in here to see what brand of Pill to start you on or switch you to. For example, according to Dr. Dickey, if your breast size increases that might mean you have estrogen excess whereas continuous bleeding and spotting suggests an estrogen deficiency. On the other hand, progestin excess might be signaled by appetite increase, depression, fatique. So in theory your doctor relies on this publication for guidance on dosages and brands. It includes various kinds of useful information that you are unlikely to find elsewhere; for example, what kind of interactions occur with other drugs you might take, what symptoms of deficiencies of which vitamins and minerals to watch out for on the Pill,the relation of side effects to hormone content and how to distinguish symptoms of a potentially serious nature.Problem is the oral contraceptive manufacturers are so aggressive about promoting their brands, the doctors are so busy and distracted etc, that, for her own protection, its really a good idea for the OC user to familiarize HERSELF with Dr. Dickey's continuously updated material. Let's be realistic-- this drug is unlike others in that healthy women take it for the longterm,( not being pregnant is not a disease,) and while some may benefit from the Pill, others may be harmed. Some vigilance is called for. If a woman feels comfortable letting her doctor "do the worrying for her' - well, that's fine. But if she's not so sure about that, if she wants to learn this stuff for herself, here's a fine way to begin. I don't expect that the author will appreciate this review. He doesn't aim his manual at patients, but since he started writing and publishing it, the health care delivery system has been falling apart, fewer people can rely on trusted long-term doctors who know them well, and - like it or not- patients are often required to take healthcare decisions into our own hands. If every student health service has this publication, I say so should every women's dormitory at every college. Power to the people!

I daily use this handbook in my practice and have bought every edition since the 7th. Every question is answered. Allows sense to be made of oral contraceptive choice and adjustment without relying on big pharma's propaganda.

This book has clear guidelines for prescribing oral contraceptive agents. It provides a section on bothersome side effects, causal factors and options. The section on contraceptive activity is good as is the composition and identification section. Very helpful, easy to use and it takes the guesswork out of oral contraception.

I have used this book since 1992, both as a student and as a provider. My past editions have been well thumbed through and open imediately to the charts I used most. It is invaluable in the decision making process of changing pills or starting OCPs. The ability to safely manage side effects and fine tune women's health is found in this book. I highly recommend this to the student and experienced practitioner. Well worth the money, many times over. Not sure I would want it in a PDA format.

At some point I suppose the title of this handy little handbook will have to change because it no longer provides information about oral contraceptives only. Still the handy center index and helpful content. I've relied on this reference since it was firt available and especially appreciate the tables describing the biological activity of oral contraceptives. Makes it easier to switch pills when patients develop side effects to the ones they're using. And the information about non-oral products like injected and inserted contraceptives is a good addition.

I've used this book before in my 8 years of practice as a Nurse Practioner. Invaluable.

I purchased my first copy of this book in 1988 while in my NP program and have purchased each update since. It is the best and most concise manual for management of birth control pills I have found. I love the table which allows me to compare the activity of multiple pill types. That is normally an "apples and oranges" comparison, Dickey makes it an "apples and apples" proposition.

As a pill user, I have found this book to be extremely valuable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who like to be informed about her own medical care. This offers enough information to allow you to be involved in decision making.