Trying to work through fears about birth control pills....

[mandica]

Im 23 and have a 9 month old daughter, am happily married.. and DO NOT want to get pregnant again... for a while - if ever.

Before we got pregnant, we used FAM, it worked.. but our sex life wasnt great at all, dh knew i wanted a baby and mostly just stayed away as best he could until he was ready too.

I was on the pill for 4 or so years, in highschool/college. When I went off the pills (environmental/political choice.. none of which resignates anymore) I noticed a complete change in me, and realized that much of my teen years had been robbed by the pill. I had been emotionally unstable for years and thought that it was just me, the way i was. I have kept pretty negative views on the pill since then. But now - I want to go on it again... so that I dont have to worry about being pregnant.. and so that dh and i can start working through some of our intimacy issues (mine mostly) and nurture our love and sex life. (we both hate condoms.. would never happen)

The pill seems like the best option for me right now, iud's scare me, the needle... scares me. I like the pill because you can stpo taking it whenever you want. Im just afraid of a) going crazy emotionally again and b) gaining weight (ive worked really really hard to lose pregnancy pounds and am finally starting to like the way i look)

Any insight from anyone? Just feel the fear and do it anyway? (my moms fav saying)

How do you know which pills will make you gain weight or make you unstable?

Anyone BTDT?

[*MamaJen*]

I can only speak to my own experiences...I was on the pill for a while, went off it, and went back on, then went off for good. Every type of pill I've ever been on, and in general, every type of hormonal method, has completely demolished my libido. I'm like, physiologically incapable of climaxing while I'm on hormonal birth control. Some methods, like Depo Provera, give me horrible mental/emotional side effects too.

There are a lot of women who have really bad, deal-breaker side effects from the pill, whether it's diminished libido, mood swings, depression, weight gain, what have you. It's not uncommon.

If you know you have side effects from the birth control pill that will significantly diminish your quality of life, that's not foolish fear. That's being sensible. And most other hormonal methods, like the Nuvaring, Implanon, patch, Mirena IUD, etc, will have similar side effects. I'd look at other non-hormonal methods.

I have a copper (non-hormonal) IUD and I love, love love it. Some women get bad cramps on an IUD, but my cramps actually totally disappeared after I got mine. It's worth considering. If your insurance doesn't cover it, it is a high up-front cost, but IUDs are incredibly cost effective if you plan to have them for at least 2 - 3 years.

You could also look at a combination method of temp charting + withdrawal, or diaphragm + spermicide + withdrawal.

[Sol_y_Paz]

We also practice NFP in our marriage. I did take hormonal birth control pills for many years without any breaks.  I never did like taking them and finally researched the pill and what it really is and what it does to a woman's body then I researched other methods that would be effective but not give me so many side effects.  I am so happy not to be taking those little hormone pills.  NFP in conjunction with withdraw has been successful in preventing pregnancy.  

[phathui5]

We've successfully used condoms for the past three years. I'm now starting to look into adding in natural family planning so that we can have days where we don't use condoms. If you're not comfortable with using the pill, there are other effective non-hormonal methods you can use.