Moncton woman can't continue addiction treatment unless she agrees to 'invasive' birth control method

A Moncton woman says she feels she's not in control of her own reproductive decisions, after losing access to her addiction treatment because she and her doctor don't agree on the birth control method she's chosen.

Rebecca Billard has been battling opioid addiction for a few years, but said things began to turn around last month, after receiving her first dose of a medication called Sublocade.

When someone stops taking opioids, they can experience severe withdrawal, something Sublocade, a relatively new treatment, helps manage.

Rather than taking a pill or a dose at a pharmacy every day, the medication is given through a monthly injection.

That has helped Billard focus on recovery and returning to her full-time job, while other treatments, such as Suboxone, made her sick and were difficult to afford.

"Because of that steady level and no routine or ritual to take a daily medication, you almost forget about the compulsion of the addiction," Billard said in an interview.

"It gives you more time to think about things you can do to improve your outlook and your happiness and your routine to get back into the swing of things."

According to the product monograph, the treatment, which was approved by Health Canada in 2018, may pose a risk to an unborn baby should a woman become pregnant while taking it.

"Given the high degree of uncertainty in terms of safety to both the mother and unborn child, Sublocade use should be avoided in women of childbearing potential who are not using an effective and reliable method of contraception or are judged not able to comply with contraceptive methods," the product monograph says.

Health Canada hasn't posted any adverse event reports for Sublocade that are "linked to pregnancy or birth defects," according to the federal agency.

A spokesperson with Indivior Inc., the manufacturer of Sublocade, said its product monograph doesn't "recommend or stipulate a specific method or recommendation for contraception."

When Billard received her first dose, she said she had to provide proof that she's taking birth control and a negative pregnancy test, both of which she did.

But things changed last week, when Billard said she found out she couldn't get her second dose unless she changed her method of birth control.

Her physician, Dr. Frank Lord, told her the options of "effective and reliable contraception" are "quite limited."