To be clear, there have not been a lot of studies on this effect, but “don’t double up” is pretty consistent advice.
And, not to change the subject, but has anyone tried these? (I found them while searching for that advice.) Wingman condoms. I haven’t, but it looks like a really neat design to allow quick one handed condom application without tearing or fumbling. I know most of us here are older and more experienced and can probably do without it, but I would have LOVED something like this when I was young and nervous. Plus, they claim to be thinner, which is always a good thing (as long as it’s still strong!)
Yes. There are two kinds: one contains 1 kind of hormone (progesterone-only or “mini-pill”) one contains 2 kinds of hormones (estrogen and progesterone - the exact formulations vary by brand which is why IF a person is interested in oral contraception and they have a bad experience they should try a couple brands).
Some other Birth control items that are also hormonal but are not “pills” per se
Nuva-ring. A flexible plastic ring you place inside your vagina for I think 3-4 weeks.
Ortho-Evra aka “The Patch”. A patch that delivers the hormones transdermally. I think each patch lasts a week.
Depo-Provera aka “Depo” or “the shot”. Progesterone-only, lasts 3 months.
Mirena. IUD which includes hormones. Lasts 3 years
Just because it hasn’t been mentioned yet, the sponge is back on the market. That’s a disposable sponge impregnated (heh) with spermicide that you insert into the vagina; unlike a diaphragm its an OTC item that doesn’t need to be fitted. The sponge used together with a condom is 97-99% effective.
I depends on what she wants - if I were a non hormonal BC sort of girl, the idea of sticking spermicide up me would just about send me over the edge (well, actually it does, I think poison up my hooha sounds like a bad idea - and I know its not ‘really poison’ but still…) Spermicide is used with diaphrams as well.
An IUD, if she can tolerate such a thing, is possibly the best - its actually the most used birth control method by female doctors. Its very effective, not messy, and allows “thought free” sex like the pill does - no “let me run to the bathroom and insert the diaphragm” and no “no insertion sex tonight, I’m in the fertile part of my cycle” to track and remember - its stick it in and forget it. I cramp up thinking about it, but I’m particularly sensitive that way.
I felt I needed hormonal BC so I went with Mirena. You make a good point, I have no idea if it was hormone related. All I know is it was very physically uncomfortable and I had bleeding and cramping on and off for a full year before I finally got fed up and got it removed, at which point I learned that my cervix was bleeding. i guess, that whole time.
Another reason I didn’t go with the standard IUD is I have a skin reaction to many metals including copper. So that could be very bad.
Due to a medical issue with many women in my family I never used hormonal birth control. When I had a fertile partner we used the sponge among other forms of birth control, there were a lot of things I liked about it. It basically combines both sperm-killing AND a barrier. Add in a condom and you’ve got two barriers and a spermicide for any swimmers that might escape the rubber. No unintended pregnancy here.
The boyfriend did say that it lent a terrible taste to oral sex, though, so it was oral first, then insert, then P-in-V after that.
FWIW, I thought the title was clear. I’ve never heard anyone refer to “taking” any method of birth control other than pills. Does one “take” an IUD, for instance?
Stop off and make a long term storage donation at a fertility clinic to make sure that if you change your mind you have a vial of swimmers stashed safely somewhere.
This is not even vaguely a good idea. IUI of donor sperm has like a 25% success rate per cycle under the absolute best circumstances–when you are injecting expensive drugs that increase ovulation, monitoring with an ultrasound, and then triggering ovulation to get the timing right. AND that assumes pretty high quality sperm to begin with. Donors have to have insane sperm counts because most sperm do not survive the freezing process. Normal sperm turns into low-count sperm under those conditions. So for banking sperm to really be a viable option, you’d have to bank a ton, and the odds are still likely against you.
Now, if someone is about to undergo chemo or something, the long shot might be better than the no-shot. But sperm banking is by no means an optimal solution.
Oh, nice to know! I doubt I can find them here, though (Trinidad).
Personally, I’ve mostly used only condoms as birth control for two reasons: barring one time period in my life, I’ve never been with anyone in a (at least supposedly) monogamous relationship, and I’ve almost never been active enough (sadly) to justify any sort of hormonal birth control. Most of my encounters last a few weeks at most, followed by months of drought. There’s no reason for me to invest in an expensive (bad health insurance) method when the returns are not worth it.
But it is good to know of things you can use (or do) along with condoms to increase effectiveness.
Actually, there is now a diaphragm available that does not have to be fitted, called the Caya. It’s “one size fits all” and is designed to be easier to insert. Not available in the US, but easily purchased from a UK pharmacy over the internet.
If you think you might change your mind, don’t get a vasectomy. Seriously. Yes, it can sometimes be reversed, but more often than not it cannot. It’s not a simple as surgically reconnecting the vas deferens. It is not something to do if you’re counting on getting a reversal if you change your mind.
Either commit to not fathering any more kids for the rest of your life, or don’t. If you’re making contingency plans then you’re not committed. If you do get the vasectomy and do change your mind later, then you’re most likely going to have to adopt or get a sperm donor.
