The Birth Control Thread!!!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

I’ve been on Depo Provera for over 5 years. No complaints. I had extremely scanty/irregular periods before I started getting the shot (I only got a period about 3-4 times per year), and they went away entirely as soon as I got the first shot. None of the whacko side-effects that people have complained about (headaches, dizziness, lack of sex drive, etc.)

As far as weight gain is concerned, I actually lost about 40 lbs in the first year I was on Depo, but that was attributable to gallbladder disease. Since my gallbladder surgery, I’ve gained it all back. I’m trying to lose it again (and then some), but things are going very slowly. I’m considering giving up Depo in favor of the IUD, which is non-hormonal. Since I’ve both lost and gained while on Depo, I don’t feel comfortable blaming the shot for my weight, but I definitely think I’ll be better off if I can get away from the hormones.

I don’t have kids, nor do I want any, and I’m over 30. I’m hoping my gyno will consider me an acceptable candidate, since, as Nymysys pointed out, the risk of expulsion in people who have never had kids is lower as you get older and I’m not really concerned about the (minimal) risks to my fertility.

My IUD appointment is in 2 days. Wish me luck. :smiley:

22

There is some progress being made towards a male hormonal contraceptive, you can read a little about it from CNN.

What’s this about Depo being effective for a year? I thought it was supposed to be only good for 12 weeks or so.

I’m also curious about IUDs, I’ve never (knowingly) met anyone who uses one, so they don’t seem common. Are there many out there?

23

I just don’t plan on having pre-marital sex. When i do tie the knot, after a few kids, i’ll probably get the snip. OUCH!

24

<giggle> Did y’all read the article on the male contraceptive?

Hey, this means men could be getting PMS too! :smiley:

I’ve done bc pills, condoms and spermicides. Unfortunately, spermicides can cause yeast infections, and I’m especially vulnerable for some reason, even a condom with spermicide lubricant will start a nasty one. (Yes, I know about lactobacillus acidophilus)

25

the few women my personality doesn’t scare away, my face does.

26

My sexual orientation counts as a form of birth control…

But as long as we’re talking about such devices, I favour Lifestyle plain lubricated condoms (the red packages). They’re available free in a lot of places (like La Track and the Project 10 gay youth group), which is nice. I’ve had a few break on me, though, which always puts a damper on the evening. I also use Wet lube, my bottle of which I can’t find at the moment, but it has a maroon cap.

27

I guess I’ll go out on a limb and be the first (perhaps the only) to say that I use FAM, aka the “Fertility Awareness Method.” I am not a practicing Catholic. I am not trying to get pregnant. It is not the rhythm method.

The rhythm method went basically like this: “Most women have a cycle of 28 days. Therefore you ovulate on day 14. Therefore if you abstain from sex during days 12-16 (or something, I’m not familiar with the exact rules) you will not get pregnant.” For obvious reasons, the rhythm method was a big failure.

FAM (it’s called NFP by the Catholics, who actually abstain during the woman’s fertile time; people who use FAM simply use barrier methods) relies on temperature taking and fluid monitoring. Essentially, by taking the woman’s temperature every morning and charting it, you can see a temperature jump the day after ovulation. Monitoring your cervical fluid every day gives you another indicator of your fertile times.

I started using this method because 1) I am in a stable and monogamous relationship, and we have both been tested for STDs; I would never use non-condom birth control in any other situation, 2) every birth control pill I have tried has given me awful mood swings and I dislike altering my body’s chemistry so dramatically, 3) I don’t really like condoms (and my partner agrees with me here), and 4) my mom has used this method for ten years and has avoided pregnancy successfully.

For me this method is really great. For usually about half the month, we can have sex without condoms. The rest of the time, we use condoms. Yes, taking my temperature every morning is a slight pain, but in my opinion it’s worth it. Since using this method (we’ve been using it for eight months now and did it on a trial basis for three months prior to that) I also feel like I am much more aware of my body and what happens to it as I move through each month’s cycle.

I hope I don’t sound like some kind of granola ultra-hippie. My partner and I really put a lot of thought into this before doing it, really did a lot of research on it, and decided that it was the best decision for us. I’ve taken a lot of crap about it, mostly from people who assume it’s the rhythm method. One of our acquaintances went so far as to accuse me of deliberately trying to “trick” Keith into getting me pregnant. I mean, how do you even respond to something like that?

Anyway, that’s the birth control method we use.

28

At the moment, my boyfriend and I are using condoms. However, the Family Planning doctor recently suggested that we try a more long-term method of birth control. So I’m wavering between:

  1. The Pill (Probably won’t be able to remember to take it)
  2. Depo (Don’t like the side effects)

There was also a blue chip that could get inserted into your arm that lasted for years, but the side effects involved acne, weight gain and other nasty things. :frowning:

Oh well … the search continues.

29

Does anyone use Norplant anymore? I’ve never used it myself but I knew a woman that was on it 8 or 9 years ago. It was 5 little stick like things that went in the underside of your upper arm. They were supposed to be effective for 5 years. I heard a lot of bad things about it back then… mostly that it caused infertility. I didn’t know if it was still around or not.

As for me, I used the pill and condoms until last year. I liked taking the pill. I had no side effects from it, no weight gain, no mood swings, etc. It worked like a charm until I ran out of pills and the pharmacy was closed for Christmas and I couldn’t get them for 2 days. I only missed 2 pills (maybe 3, I can’t remember) and I got pregnant. I didn’t use any birth control after my daughter was born and then I got pregnant again. After my son was born I used condoms and the pill again, only for about 9 months though. I had to have surgery last summer to remove my fallopian tubes because one of them had ruptured so now I don’t use any birth control because I can’t get pregnant without invitro fertilization and I’m also in a stable, long-term, monogamous relationship. It’s kind of nice not having to remember to take my pill and I no longer freak out if my period is a day late.

As far as the Depo shot, I’ve known several people on it and all of them had a bad experience using it. One woman used it for 5 years and when she and her husband decided to try to have another baby she got off of it and waited 18 months before trying to get pregnant and they tried to conceive for 2 years and no luck. She had to get fertility treatments… I think they lasted for 6 months before she finally got pregnant. I don’t know if it was the shot that caused her problems or not but I know she didn’t have any trouble conceiving her first son and she was taking the pill before she got pregnant with him. She said she’ll only go back on that shot after she’s done having kids.

The other women just had different side effects. Mood swings, weight gain, loss of sex drive, etc. One of them quit taking the shot after the first 3 months were up because she bled the entire 3 months!!! The rest didn’t have a period at all. I don’t think I would use it but only because of the bad things I’ve heard about it. Obviously there’s women out there who have no problems with it at all… I think it just depends on your body chemistry.

30

So the general concensus that I’m getting is that IF someone has an adverse reaction to Depo, it’s usually after a sort of honeymoon period (oy, I KILL ME…) in which everything is fine. Has anyone had an immediate bad reaction?

My fear with the Pill is that I am flake of the first degree. I am someone who has been known to leave her wallet at home before, so you can imagine what I could do with the Pill.

I’m curious: those of you former Depo users who exhibited weight gain. Have you always had to be concious of your weight, and the Depo just exacerbated the problem, or were you always skinny minis and then BOOM?

Another thing to keep in mind is that people rarely talk about birth control unless it doesn’t work. For instance, my best friend got pregant and had to have an abortion. My first question was “How the hell did you manage to get pregant?” Turns out she was on some serious antidepressants (she’s always been a bit wiggy, and I say that in the most affectionate way,) and neglected to tell her doctor she was also on the pill. One of the antidepressants counteracted the pill, and she got pregnant. I have NEVER heard of this before, and to be honest, I don’t know if she was telling me the truth, but there you are.

** MsWhatsit ** I assume you have always had really regular cycles, right? I can’t imagine FAM working for someone who can’t set their clock by thier ovulation.

** Zyada ** ::snicker:: And can you imagine? If male birth control can give a man PMS, and the woman is also on birth control (double bag it, people!), the house would be an amusing thing around that time of the month. Hey, the couple that suffers through PMS together, stays together.

Keep the stories coming, people!

31

My exgf had used the Norplant inserts for 5 years, then got them out about six months before we started going at it. She got the Depo shots at first, but the docs said later she should not have gone so long under Norplant and gone into Depo so quickly. She went chemical-free, I invested in condoms, and at the first PMS/period, I was kicked to the curb.

But her experience, no leakage, mild weight gain (8-10#), and absolutely no ill effect on libido at all.

32

I’m on good ol’ Lo/Ovral. Been around for years and seems to work fine for me.

No weight gain, no PMS, no bloating, reduced cramps and period length. Truly a blessing.

What I wish is that my mom or someone had been wise enough to tell me when I was young how much the Pill can reduce your cramps/severity of your periods. I went for a number of years (before I got married) tolerating HORRIBLE periods: cramps so bad you throw up, flow so heavy you go through a Super Absorbant tampon in 5 minutes. Ugh.

I would be more than happy to use the FAM that MsWhatsit is using - I’d prefer not to be putting strange chemicals in my body, but my cycles were always extremely irregular and I’d be afraid I’d get pregnant too easy.

33

Alright, I’ll share my BC experiences. I have been on the pill, which was no good for me. I missed an occasional day and was worried the rest of the month. Most pills are combination, they contain both estrogen and gestagen, and since I’m prone to yeast infections I have been recommended to avoid BC containing estrogen.

katrina said:

But Depo doesn’t contain Estrogen, see this page, about halfway down.

Anyway, when I decided to go back on BC, I had a long talk with my gynecologist and we decided that Depo might work for me. To make sure I had no negative side effect I went on the Provera pill for three months. That way, if I didn’t like it I could get off right away. I was happy with the pill, so I got the shot last month. I have no period, a sex drive sent from heaven and no more yeast infections.

The tranexamic acid is not a birth control method, but a medication which reduces bleeding during periods. It’s safe to use with any BC method and it’s available over the counter here in Sweden. Do talk to your doctor, if it’s available here it should at least be available on prescription in the US.

I would have wanted a hormonal IUD, but she adviced against it since I haven’t had children yet and my uterus is (supposedly) too small and I risk expulsion. Not good. I would have liked it though because the dose of hormones is way lower than with other methods since it’s placed in the uterus and it’s sort of a direct effect if you know what I mean.

My man would definitely take a shot or a pill if it was available, but I’ve heard that the ones that work not only makes the men infertile but also impotent. And what’s the point then?

34

I’ve been on a multiphasic pill for about 14-15 years now. I’d like to get off of them, because in the last 5 years or so, I’ve started getting migraines before my period and I have gained weight (very slowly and not a huge amount) and I do have a stress problem that the pills might be aggravating. I can’t prove any of those are linked to the pills, though, because I took them for 10 years with no problem. I miss pills occasionally, but probably because I’ve been taking them so long, I have never even had a “late scare.”

On a slight hijack, if you girls who are on the pill want to meet a man, the best way to provoke that is to go off the pill! I did, went without pills for a month, at the end of the month, met the man I eventualy married. So I had to go back on the pill, which meant waiting for the right time to start back, then another month before it was “safe” not to use other forms of birth control! :eek:

Oh, yeah, and condoms are not an option for me. They cause too much irritation.

35

I’m not a woman, nor do I play one on TV, so I can’t add much to the discussion except to say that life is better with a vasectomy. Anytime, anyplace. At the drop of a hat. No worrying about pills and shots and emplants and coverups. Just go to town. Like bunnies. Ahhh, life is good.

36

I’m another combination pill user. I was originally put on them because my menstrual cramps were so terrible. (All the screaming and agony used to cause me to burst capillaries in my eyes – not a pretty sight.) I’ve been on the pill for about 5 years now. Used to use condoms as well, but we stopped being extra cautious after we got married. Recently my cramps have been getting worse again, so my doctor told me to skip every other period. Works for me!

37

Went on depo after I got married, some years ago. Ended up in the hospital (severe abdominal pain), turned out it was a tubal pregnancy.

Gyn was called, they gave me demerol, he came in a little later…

“Well, you can be happy you’ve made it safe for 999 other women”…

I wanted to punch him, but the world was kinda fuzzy at that point. My sense of humor had recovered after the surgery (he was lucky I wasn’t mobile when he said that, though)

38

I have four kids, only one of them planned. The only advice I can offer is if you are on the pill, take it everyday at the same time. Never rely soley on just the condom or just the sponge. Especially not the sponge!!! The sponge was the reason I had to move to a mini-van to cart my kids around.

The vasectomy that Feynn got works great, and I didn’t experience any uncomfortable side effects.

39

Is it just me, or does this thread load like snails… well, like snails that should look into birth control?

::sheepish:: I don’t know where else to ask this…

I know stress can affect your period, but how? for example: my period usualy starts within 2 days of when I think it should, gives me Horrible Cramps, a heavy flow, and lasts 5-6 days. Yet this round, I was 2 weeks late, no cramps, a light flow, and it only lasted 3 days. Was this due to stress, or should I go back to a gyno before starting my first pack of pills? The only reason I’m going on the pill is to cure my cramps. If I get pregnant, it will be the Christ child…

Anyone have advice?

40

relic are you absolutely sure you’re not pregnant? I don’t want to offend you or anything, but if there’s the slightest risk of pregnancy I would strongly recommend that you call your doctor. Especially since it sounds like it’s so different from your previous periods.

Oh, hell, call your doc anyway, just to be on the safe side. God knows I’ve bugged my gyno to pieces calling her with all kinds of dumb questions. They’re used to it. And it’s their job.

Stress has affected my period before, but it only delayed it, it didn’t change it when it finally arrived.