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| Sat, 05-15-2004 - 8:27pm |
Hi, all.
I used to post here more than a year ago, when I was on birth control pills to regulate my period. Judie, I remember, you. You were always so helpful. But not many others look too familiar. I am the one whose hair kept falling out, among other things. After 8 months, my gyno finally let me off the pill. My period's been pretty regular since then, thank goodness. (So regular that it should come next weekend — just in time for my trip to Europe! :( )
Anyway, I'm back after more than a year because I've since met a wonderful man and am most likely going to be getting married in the next couple of years or so. I want to wait until I'm married to have sex, but once I am, I plan to take full advantage of my marital perks. (I hope he's able to keep up! :)) Being the forward thinker that I am, I'm starting to ponder what the heck I'm going to do about birth control since the two brands of the pill I was on were not too good to me. Hormones in general don't mesh well with women in my family. My mom also conceived one of my siblings on the pill many years ago.
I really, really, really, really do not want to have children. I could list about 100 reasons, and my boyfriend and I keep a running list of reasons not to procreate. I even host a child-free message board! So the idea of a form of birth control that could go wrong is really scary. I've researched IUDs, but what I've read hasn't been too comforting. What I really want is a tubal. I hate to ask my boyfriend to go under the knife (Obviously not now, but when we are married. I hope I don't jinx myself by talking about marriage, LOL.). I wonder if I can trade some eggs for a tubal and call it even. :)
Anyway, I guess I don't really have any specific questions but more just wanted to know people's thoughts. Thanks for reading!

Well, you have a while to think about your choices. Just keep in mind that there is no method of contraception that is 100% effective except abstinence, not even tubals and vasectomies are 100%.
There are some really low maintenance hormonal methods available Ortho Evra (the patch) http://www.orthoevra.com/ and NuvaRing, http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/index.asp? a vaginal ring worn for 3 weeks and removed for one for your period. And then there is Depo Provera. For those who can tolerate it, it can be very effective and extremely low maintenance, a shot every 13 weeks. However it can have some harsh side effects such as irregular bleeding and weight gain.
I don’t know what you have heard about IUDs but they are very low maintenance and are extremely effective. ParaGard (the copper-T) http://www.paragardiud.com/ is non-hormonal and lasts from 8-10 years. Mirena http://www.mirena-us.com/ continuously releases a very small amount of progestin over the 5 year life of the device.
Then there are vaginal barriers some of which can be as effective as condoms if fitted and used correctly. I have been wearing a cervical cap as my primary means of contraception for almost 2 years now and am very pleased with how well the cap works for me.
There will be tradeoffs for every method so you will have to decide what you feel most comfortable with. If you are over 35 and/or are a heavy smoker then hormonal methods probably aren’t for you. If after marriage you think you are going to be very spontaneous and active sexually you might want to consider a low maintenance method such as NuvaRing or an IUD. My DF and I have a very spontaneous love life to the extent that I wars my cap continuously but using a vaginal barrier takes discipline and a certain amount of maintenance that you might not want to put up with. If you have any specific questions, please ask.
Good luck and welcome back.
Jill
Dancer,
Thanks for your reply. I am familiar with most of the information you posted. I just wish there were a button you could press to make yourself fertile or not fertile. None of this 99.9 percent nonsense. :)
I read the "bad things" about IUDs on this board. Most were from people who had heavier periods and a lot of pain on the insertion.
Thanks again.
Remember that women come to a message board such as this when they need information or help, so you are more likely to read about problems or the undesirable side effects of a method here than to read about the positive side. In general the negative aspects for most women are very, very small.
There is always the possibility of using two methods simultaneously which would reduce your chances of becoming pg even further, but not drop them to zero. You could pick complimentary methods like oral contraceptives and a diaphragm or cap. Just a thought...
Good luck
Jill
<< Remember that women come to a message board such as this when they need information or help, so you are more likely to read about problems or the undesirable side effects of a method here than to read about the positive side. In general the negative aspects for most women are very, very small. >>
Thank you for reminding me that, Dancer.
<< There is always the possibility of using two methods simultaneously which would reduce your chances of becoming pg even further, but not drop them to zero. You could pick complimentary methods like oral contraceptives and a diaphragm or cap. Just a thought... >>
Another valid point, but as I mentioned in my original post, oral contraceptives and I did NOT get along. My mom's side of the family has a history of having problems with hormones. My sisters haven't had any negative side effects with BCPs, though; I seem to be the lucky one to inherit the hormone problems.