b-control questions

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2007
b-control questions
9
Wed, 03-28-2007 - 5:09pm
So...I'm trying to figure out what the best form of birth control would be for me. I originally was on Depo for almost three years (no one bothered to tell me i shouldn't take it for more than two years, had to find that out on my own.) And the last year i gained a lot of weight, and despite a strict diet and exercising vigorously for 4 days a week, i was unable to loose a single pound in 4 months :(. So i stopped taking depo and about a year later I started taking the progesterone only pills. those were ok, but my period was very irregular. it would be much longer (10 days) and/or i would have two periods a month, ugh. so i'm tossing around the idea of the Mirena IUD. Can anyone tell me the typical side affects? I would love to be able to stop my period like the Depo did, but without the bone loss and weight gain. An IUD kinda scares me because i'm afraid that there's a risk of damaging something, and thus making it hard/impossible for me to have children in the future(which i really want to be able to do)I don't smoke and am in great overall health. The only hang up is that my selection is kind of limited because i get migraine headaches with "auras" that can last for a long time. any suggestions? Thanks for everyones' help!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Wed, 03-28-2007 - 7:29pm

Hi, skeeter2007, welcome!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2007
Thu, 03-29-2007 - 10:49am
Thanks for all the information that you provided, it was very helpful!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2007
Thu, 03-29-2007 - 2:50pm

The Mirena IUD has been an absolute godsend for me! I have had bleeding problems after every pregnancy, even after having a D&C after the last. I have gone through Depo, and various types of the pill over the years.
This thing stopped the bleeding *which went on for eight months straight! And since I was always pretty bad about remembering to take pills, this completely relieves that burden. I went for about four months I think without a period after it was put in. Then I started getting periods again, but only for about three days, with not alot of bleeding and very few cramps, compared with my old 7 or 8 days, heavy bleeding and lots of cramps!
I have had absolutely no side effects from it. No weight gain, no headaches, no nausea, NOTHING!

The only problem we may have run into is that my husband says he can feel the string, and it is a bit painful, but my doctor says he can cut it shorter or otherwise deal with it.
I would recommend it to ANYONE!
It is not like the old-fashioned cooper IUDs either, which there used to be significant problems with. I'm told that I can have it taken out at any time, and should be able to get pregnant quickly anytime I want.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2004
Thu, 03-29-2007 - 8:53pm
I'm just curious about what your doctor told you about the b/c and migraine thing.. I too have migraines with aura have noticed the auras have been lasting longer and longer. The other day I had one that lasted almost 2 hours!! (The kind where there is a big black "dot" right in front of your eye, and I was home alone with my 2 kids!!) I was ready to go to the ER because of it, just waiting for my husband to get home to take me, but it went away just before he got here. Anyway, I haven't heard of a connection between b/c and migraine auras, I would love to hear any info you had!!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2003
Thu, 03-29-2007 - 9:51pm
I have the same kind of migranes and I am not allowed to take estrogen bc. I did it against my doctors advice and i started to have migranes all the time and then I lost vision and the enitre left side of my body went numb. Now no doctor will allow me to take any bc with estrogen no matter how low the dose. I was looking into the ring and they even say on their website that it is not appropriate for certain types of migranes. I am getting an IUD inserted on the 9th. I would stop taking the bc pills immediately if I were you. People who suffer from the type of migranes you do are at an increased risk for stroke.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2004
Fri, 03-30-2007 - 12:41am
Wow!! Yeah, I did just a simple google search for it and found a bunch of info.. I can't believe my doctor has never mentioned it before, that's pretty scary!! I will definitely have to talk to him about it!! (I use
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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2007
Tue, 04-03-2007 - 3:25pm
Sorry it took so long for me to reply. but what others have said about estrogen in bc is what i have also heard. when i last went to the doctor they told me that if i have auras lasting more then 10-15 minutes that i should never take bc with estrogen in it because of the increased risk of stroke. I went to a different doctor once and she was about to prescribe the ring to me, and i had to say,"doesn't' that have estrogen in it" before she asked if i had any auras associated with my migraines. good luck with everything. I think that i'm going to try the marina iud, but i'm kind of afraid of the risk of it puncturing the uterus. does anyone know how often that happens, and how serious it can be?
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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Tue, 04-03-2007 - 5:07pm

Hi skeeter2007, welcome back!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2007
Tue, 04-03-2007 - 5:53pm
Thanks!
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