I don’t know your personal situation, but if you have a permanent SO, and you don’t mind some advice from a guy, I highly recommend getting a vasectomy. The dude. Not you.
Best thing I’ve ever done. It wasn’t even all that uncomfortable.
It made me as sick as hell, and miserably moody. Didn’t help me with my cramps, either.
Agreed. Even the act of taking the pill made me feel nauseous.
Also, I forgot to take the pill A LOT. Sure, you have to remember to brush your teeth, but it’s all there in the washroom waiting for you when you have your nighttime pee. The pill? Can’t store it in the washroom, because of the dampness and heat. So you keep it elsewhere, and then you don’t have a glass of water handy, so you think, “Oh, I’ll pour a glass of water after I get my purse together” and then you’re out the door and halfway to work before you think, “Shit! I forgot!” So you promise yourself you’ll take it that night, but of course you forget then, too. And suddenly it’s the next morning, and you’re halfway to work again…
Of course, that’s the extreme, and I am VERY forgetful. But even taking it a few hours late can reduce the pill’s effectiveness. And I know a LOT of people who wouldn’t remember to take it at the same time each day. Especially if you do shift work, or otherwise don’t have a set schedule.
Sometimes, it’s just way easier to do something like Depo or an IUD so that a stupid slip of the mind doesn’t end up in a baby you can’t support. That’s something to take pretty seriously and not leave up to chance.
Yeah, well, the reason I remember to brush my teeth is that my mouth starts feeling icky after I eat. I can’t even remember to take my vitamins every day, and when I was still having my period, I used to forget to put a tampon in or a pad on when I got out of the shower (that SUCKED). I’m that forgetful.
I have to make myself lists for what I have to do that day when I get to work. There is no way I’d be able to remember the pill. The only reason I remembered when I was on it is because my boyfriend at the time would ask me at the same time every day, because he didn’t want babies and had the memory of an elephant. My current SO is just as forgetful as I am (and boy is our room an amusing place to visit with our memory problems).
Oddly enough, while I can’t remember mundane tasks like taking daily pills, I CAN remember the exact phrasing of almost every conversation I’ve ever had or listened to, and I can remember the words (assuming they’re clearly sung), timing and pitch of every song I’ve ever heard. It’s weird.
~Tasha
Another fan of the hormonal IUD here (not Mirena, in my case, but another brand). I hated the way I felt on the Pill - as a friend pointed out, it’s not hard to keep from getting pregnant when you never want sex. And other things, I just didn’t feel like myself. I was a bit hesitant about trying another hormonal method after that, but the doses in the IUD are much smaller and didn’t cause the same changes. Plus, I get a few little spots in my underpants once a month - some months not even that - no periods! I did the math and I am actually saving money compared to what I used to spend on pads and tampons, plus getting very reliable birth control for five years at a time. Can’t beat that!
Yep, not having a set schedule made me not such a good candidate for the pill. Luckily, I’m not on any other daily medication, I’m horrible about getting thru a round of antibiotics in the allotted time.
The Depo worked for me, although even then remembering to make/keep that appointment for the shot every twelve weeks was sometimes problematic. The IUD is the best solution I’ve ever tried, and the ‘set it and forget it’ aspect is a big part of that.
Do any of you who have an IUD use the copper one? I think I might get one at some point and was wondering about people’s experience with it, since it’s the only one I know of that isn’t hormonal.
Wow. Did you have migraines before you went on Depo? Probably the first question my doc asked me was if I or anyone in my family had migraines, and AFAIK it mentions several times in the literature that comes with each injection that women prone to migraines should NOT use Depo. Yeesh, if your doc didn’t tell ya… that’s awful.
I’ve been using seasonale. I love not getting my period/not filling a prescription every month, and not getting any real cramps when I do. I love not having mood swings, I like being able to take cough medicine when I’m sick and not be falling down drunk (Ortho-lo did that to me).
You know that there are like 40 formulations of “the pill” and they can each affect women differently?
I am constantly suprised at the number of people who don’t know that.
They try one, it doesn’t work out, they give up on the whole concept, declaring “‘The Pill’ doesn’t work for me.” This may not apply to you. You may have have already worked your way through the entire Ortho product line in reverse alphabetical order. I’m just saying.
I’m another Depo lover. I don’t have issues with making appointments because I make them directly after getting my shot. The shots hurt sometimes, with an icky achy hurt, but no periods, no pregnancy likely, it’s a worthy trade.
Yup, they didn’t tell me. I remember going in and asking about birth control, she said to do Depo, handed me a brochure and walked out of the room for a bit. I was reading the brochure and when she came back I asked, “Hey, um, this says that common side effects include weight gain, hair loss, headaches–” And she cut me off, “Oh, those are so rare. I’ve never seen then, not once. It might make you more hungry, just eat less” Looking back, she was probably dismissive because I was young (16 or 17), but that’s really not an excuse.
Anywho, when I finally started complaining about being miserable (it got worse and worse with each shot), the nurse said, “Yeah, we see several girls a day having the same problems you’ve got. Frankly, I don’t get why she keeps telling people to take Depo, we see more problem cases than happy cases.” So the doctor lied to me. Good times.
I go to a new doctor now. 
I’m another Depo lover. I don’t have issues with making appointments because I make them directly after getting my shot. The shots hurt sometimes, with an icky achy hurt, but no periods, no pregnancy likely, it’s a worthy trade.
I had a copper IUD several years ago. The Paragard T 380A. It was good for 10 years, or would have been if I hadn’t expelled it.
I had it in for about two years. There is a higher chance of expelling an IUD if you’ve never had any children, so I was not terribly surprised that mine got expelled. Disappointed, but not surprised. To be precise, mine was in the process of being expelled when I had it removed. I noticed one month that the string was significantly longer than it had been, so my doctor sent me for an ultrasound and ta da! it was apparetnly on its way out, so we removed it. I went on the pill for a while to think over my options.
Some Pros of the Copper T:
- the only thing to think about was checking the strings once a month
- no hormones, so I didn’t have to worry about my 35 year oldbody reacting badly to hormonal birth control (clots and whatnot become more likely the older you are)
- IUDs are very effective birth control - one of the most effective available
- good for 10 years
- reversible in an instant, fertility may take a little while tobe rsetored, but most women can get pregnant right away
Some Cons (for me) of the Copper T:
- it hurt like hell to have it put in. discofort my ass! It hurt so bad I threw up and fainted. Many women don’t experience pain during insertion, though, so YMMV
- heavier crampier longer periods. and chunky. yuck yuck yuck yuck
I will be talking to my doctor next month about my next option. It will either be vasectomy, tubal ligation or the very-low-does 5 year hormonal IUD 9the Mirena, maybe?)
Yes, I know. I tried three different brands of oral contraceptives. I swear to Og the bitch of a gyno I had must have been getting a commission, because she absolutely refused to switch my pills even when I told her about all of the problems I was having.
I found a new doctor, and she immediately switched me to another brand. When I had no changes, she said we’d try one more. In the meantime, she referred me to another gyno for my menstrual cramps, and she suggested Depo.
I have HIDEOUS menstrual cramps, as in rolling-on-the-floor-puking-and-crying-and-hoping-I’ll-just-die-and-get-it-over-with pain. I wouldn’t wish them on the most evil human being on earth. I had different prescriptions for muting the pain, but I also had somewhat irregular cycles, meaning I’d sometimes be stuck somewhere with no pain medication.
Since Depo stopped my periods, I don’t have the cramps any more. Honestly, it changed my life.
In the same vein, my wife seams to react badly to all the chemical solutions, and so after number 3 is out shortly, it’s my turn to pop down to see a doctor with a couple of bricks. It sounds uncomfortable , hope mr saline purveyor is correct.
I could have written that!