Birth Control???

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2003
Birth Control???
5
Sun, 07-27-2003 - 7:47pm
Hi! I didn't really know where else to post this question...I'm 17 and the only reason I want birth control is to regulate my period. I was wondering whether or not you had to be 18 to go to the doctor by yourself and request a prescription? I don't want my parents to know that I want to get this.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-18-2003
Sun, 07-27-2003 - 7:54pm
If you are only looking for the birth control pills to regulate your period, I would suggest that you talk to your parents (or your mom) about it. I went on birth control when I was 17 by going to planned parenthood. They will provide birth control pills to you without telling your parents, but I would suggest that you talk to your parents about it. It was a hard secret to keep and would have been a lot easier if I would have had someone to ask questions. This is just my two cents. Good luck to you.

Megan

 

april08

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2003
Sun, 07-27-2003 - 8:58pm
What's the planned parenthood place? I would tell my mom, but she's actually in another country right now and it's just my dad and I at home. She's supposed to come home sometime during the fall, but I don't want to wait any longer for these pills. I heard somewhere that medical insurance covers the cost of this. Is that true? Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it! ^_^
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2003
Sun, 07-27-2003 - 9:45pm
Look in the phone book and look for a family/parenthood planning center or call around to different clinics and ask them if there is a family planning center in your area. There are usually places that offer free birth control to teens, when I was 15 I started on birth control through a family planning center that offered free birth control as well as paps and all that fun stuff. Everything was confidential and I had to sign a paper saying I wanted everything to be confidential. But if you go to a family planning center you might want to tell them you want the pill as a form of birth control.. only because these facilities are non-profit organizations who's main goal is to provide teens with a place to get contraceptives for the sole purpose of preventing teen pregnancy and also offer condoms and such so that they could have safe sex and prevents STDs. If you told them it was only to regulate your period they might not want to help you. And if you really ONLY want to get them to regulate your period and not at all for protection against pregnancy I would suggest you talk to your parents and talk to a real doctor about it. You are still young eneough that your periods may have just not had the chance to become regular yet. Unless you want birth control for preventing pregnancy as well... i suggest you be a little more patient with yout body and let it regulate itself naturally... besides.. it can be a pain to have to remember the pill everyday :) And all those hormones can make a girl crazy.

Good Luck

~*KRISTIN*~

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2003
Sun, 07-27-2003 - 11:48pm
Wow, thanks you guys! You're so helpful! I have one last question...have you personally experienced any side effects from the pill? I'll call that parental place as soon as I can...my period is horrible, it comes twice a month! AHH!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2003
Mon, 07-28-2003 - 4:27am
I just recently went off the pill.. and the biggest thing I've noticed different is that while I was on it I was sooo moody and ever since I went off of it I have been fine. When I first started on it I had some depression which may or may not have been directly caused by the pill. I also had extremely painful cramps with my period. The side effects are different for everyone... my best friend can't take the pill because it made her severely depressed, to the point that she wasn't herself anymore and she was attempting suicide.. As soon as she went off of it she was fine. However, most everyone else I've known have had no problems like that at all. I think it all depends on the hormones.. and there are lots of different types of birth control too. There are different doses of hormones for each kind. But that is something you will have to talk to your doc about. Also, make sure you tell the doc if you smoke. If you wear contact lenses sometimes the pill can cause the contacts to be irritableto your eyes... You can find alot more info here:

http://plannedparenthood.org.master.com/texis/master/search/?q=the+pill&s=SS

Also, here is a link that you can go to to find a clininc in your area:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/Zip.htm

Well I hope that helps you :)

Good luck (((((HUGS)))))

~*KRISTIN*~