I had a similar experience – went back to the doctor 3 days after having the IUD done, so he could check on it. He couldn’t find it. Xray in hospital showed the device had migrated out a tube (which explained the wicked cramps I’d been having) and was now wandering about in my lower abdomen. I had to have surgery to get the thing removed. Nice long horizontal scar.
Friend of mine conceived during the time she had an IUD. I know 2 other women who conceived after a tubal ligation. Nothing is 100% guaranteed except removal of a uterus or both ovaries.
I appreciate the full disclosure, Elza. I don’t want to worry about getting pregnant. But one thing I did not mention before, is that my husband and I always–and I mean always–use condoms in addition to our preferred method of birth control. I am hoping that this fact would prevent paranoia even in light of weird body changes. It is really important to know what to look out for though, so I really appreciate you telling me about this.
If you use condoms, I’d say you would be completely covered (hehehe). And had I not already been through pregnancy once and experienced the symptoms that I had, I never would have thought I might be pregnant and taken those tests - but the symptoms were just WAY too pronounced for me (major insomnia, heartburn, and irritable bowels) for me to ignore.
I think it’s a GREAT form of BC. I think it just has such different effects on people and the majority of people have a great experience with it.
I’ll advocate for the ring. It’s kind of a pain to insert the first time, but it gets easier with time. Beyond this, TMI alert
If you are having a bowel movement, the pushing MAY dislodge the ring. Take caution
My OB/GYN let me try out a sample at the office before I decided to go bravely forward. Also, you have to keep it refridgerated between the time that you bring it home from the pharmacy and use it. I haven’t noticed any difference with my moods between The Ring and OrthoTriCyclenLo.
If you read the accompanying information, it’s supposed to be kept cold by the pharmacy, but once you bring it home you can store it for up to three months at room temperature.
Mine arrives via mail order and it always comes on ice, but then I stash the spares in my sock drawer. If you needed to take six of them to Ecuador, you could most likely let them warm up long enough to travel with you. Just stash them in a fridge when you arrive wherever you’re staying.
I’m on my second month of the NuvaRing, and on the whole, I like it a lot. My two TMI issues with it:
[spoiler]1. When I first started it, though, my period came within the hour (it had been due) and didn’t completely stop for nearly 4 weeks. It only really stopped when I put in the new ring. In this second month, I’ve been spotting very lightly. But this was all listed under the possible side effects, and I’d rather have this than libido or mood changes.
Mine has come out a couple times during sex. It looped around my SO’s penis and popped out when he withdrew. I’ve gotten into the habit of making sure it’s still in there afterward.[/spoiler]
Other than that, I like it. It’s low maintenance, and I’ve felt no side effects. Inserting and removing it is easy to me, but if you’re not used to handling things in your hooha (tampons, Instead, DivaCup, etc.), it might be uncomfortable. My SO says he can only feel it with his fingers, and he doesn’t seem real bothered by that.
I’ve begun to take way too much glee referring to “craming things up my cram hole.” Folks, this is what having children does to you. Not only do you lose your modesty, but you start to think of your vagina as a handy coin purse.
If you decide to get the Mirena IUD, you may have to shop around a bit for a doctor who’ll let you have one. My former doctor and I had agreed on my getting an IUD, but she said she wasn’t comfortable with inserting it herself, so she’d refer me to a gynecologist to do that. On my next visit, she claimed that there isn’t a gynecologist in this whole town who will give a childless woman an IUD. I think it was because of a tiny risk of sterilization, either that or it’s harder to insert them into childless women, or there’s a higher risk of it falling out, I can’t remember for sure. However, she was a shitty doctor, so your mileage may vary. I have no idea if this is a common attitude.
I was on Depo for 5 years and adored it. I am still very hacked off with my doctor for making me come off of it due to age and potential ostoeporisis (sp?) risks. I am a PMS monster - I hate myself and everyone around me for about a week a month. My husband says he knows my period is coming when he sees me sharpening my fangs. I had one light period after my first Depo shot, then was period and PMS free for 5 lovely years. Now menopause is rearing her ugly head and I’m having cycles every three weeks. Pity me - and send chocolate.
I was on Depo for about 6 years. I loved loved loved it. Periods stopped completely and I had no bad side effects. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I know a lot of people had bad side effects, so maybe consider taking progesterone-only pills for a while first, to test it out.
I’ve just switched to Implanon, a progesterone-only implant into your arm. The insertion was a breeze, and I don’t have to worry about anything for three years. The stats on this thing are amazing - there have been NO pregnancies reported on it. It has a better rate than permanent sterilization! I’ve only had it for two weeks, so I can’t report yet on anything else. No period so far. If I get them, I might get it removed and go back to Depo.
I’m another huge NuvaRing fan. I’ve had it for probably 4 or 5 years - since it was first out. The first two months or so I had some spotting, and some grouchiness while adjusting to the hormones. (I hadn’t been using hormones prior.) It went away quickly and my periods got very very light, menstrual cramps completely obliterated, and almost no mood swings happened. After maybe two years, my doctor suggested not doing the week off every other month, making only 6 periods a year, and after a few months, I had NO PMS symptoms, even on the week I’d get a period. I used to have awful horrible PMS and cramps bad enough that I’d cry for hours. I can’t believe the difference.
Now my doctor has me only taking a week off every four months, so three periods a year. And they’re light and short - three days max, with almost no blood. No cramps, no moodiness, nothing. It’s the greatest invention ever, in my mind.
I’ve posted about this before, but just to throw my $0.02 out there - I HATED Depo with every ounce of my being. This was mostly my fault, as I didn’t inform myself well of the side effects before my first shot, and my doctor didn’t inform me either. My SIL loves it, and when I mentioned that to my doctor he told me it would be a “perfect” choice for me. The injection site hurt like a SOB for days afterward and I experieced a whole slew of side effects - depression (Depo is not recommended for people with a history of depression), fatigue, migranes. My doctor had actually told me to come back after the first month to get another shot, saying having so much in my system to start would minimize the side affects - yeah right. I refused my second shot and have been just dandy with my b/c pills since then. Oh, and when my doc asked when the husband and I planned to start having kids I said “in a few years” and he said I had better go off Depo now to make that possible YMMV of course, in fact probably will, and I know the pregnancy thing is not an issue for you. Just saying, I would never reccomend Depo to anyone, at least unless they are VERY well informed about the possible side- and long- term effects.
Y’all in the states need to get lobbying for Implanon to be made available, if it hasn’t happened since this discussion last came up.
I’m on my second course of Implanon. I personally didn’t stop the periods, and I’ve still got some PMS, but most women report a decrease in frequency, duration and severity of periods with a lot reporting like Helen’s that their periods have stopped completely.
My second course finishes next year, so I’ve been on Implanon for five years. Of that five years I’ve been with my husband for around three. We’ve gone bareback since we got together, on a regular basis and there’s been no accidents yet. There’s no having to remember to take pills, if you’re away from your PCP for an extended period, hell you’ve got three years before it needs replacing, you won’t lose effectiveness simply because you’ve been vomiting or had diarrhea. It is reported to lose some effectiveness if you’re overweight, but then I’m firmly in the “obese” camp and as I mentioned haven’t experienced any decrease in effectiveness in the years that I’ve been on it.
The implant is shot into the inside of your upper arm with a big-ass fuck-off needle. But they do use a local so if you don’t look, it’s almost like it’s not happening. Extraction was again under a local, in a family planning office. She snicked a tiny slice in my arm, pulled out the implant and injected a new one a few centimetres away from the cut zone. I’ve got no scarring, and you can just feel the implant under the top layer of muscle in my left bicep.
Finally, if/when you are ready to have kids, it’s reported that full fertility returns within a few days to a couple of weeks of the implant being removed.
I tried Depo for a while, and absolutely despised the side effects so much that I had to stop taking it. The first week of injection I was a raging irrational bitch, and I would go from screaming at someone to crying in the bathroom. It was horrible, and the whole time I had no idea what was wrong with me. I’ve been on various bc pills since, and LoEstrin 1.5/30 is what I’m settled on right now. The periods are light and short, and I don’t feel any major moodswings.
olives, if you’re experiencing major mood swings for a full half of the month, you might actually want to talk to your doctor about some kind of mood stabilizing medications.
The bottom line here is that there’s not really one solution that will fix everyone’s problems, one woman’s godsend is another woman’s nightmare. You have to jump around and find something that works best for whatever reason with your own chemistry.
YMMV of course, in fact probably will, and I know the pregnancy thing is not an issue for you. Just saying, I would never reccomend Depo to anyone, at least unless they are VERY well informed about the possible side- and long- term effects.