BC: Please give me your experiences.

[Kidzaplenty]

I am looking at some "short-longterm" BC options.  Must avoid for about a year.  So, I have been looking into everything there but never used it before.

Please, if you have used "long term" BC, could you tell me your experiences?  I am mostly looking at the patch, shot, and implant, because I know I will never remember to take something daily.

Thanks so much!

[healthyfamilies]

We have been using a diagram and love it!  I have even started making my own spermicide!  This is what we have been using for the past 15m.  I also have been starting to use fertility awareness it does take some thought but I love how it has helped me be more aware of my body. This is a great site that can help you get started.  http://www.tcoyf.com/ If you want to talk more about this let me know. 

I did take the pill for 6 years and it worked great until I got pregnant. haha! 

[LadyCatherine185]

we have used condoms in addition to fertility awareness. i can't ever remember to take anything either, and don't like the idea of taking hormones.. this works for us really well!

[Kidzaplenty]

I don't like the idea of hormones, but I have to be really, really sure for a "shortish" period of time.  And "timing" is just not good enough, and condoms are not something we can ensure will be done.  But, it is only for 12 months.  Not so very long, in the grand scheme of things.

[Alyantavid]

I loved the patch.  It was really easy and I didn't have to remember as much as with the pill.  And I had no side effects with it like I do with the pill.

[*MamaJen*]

The shot (Depo Provera) is the devil. It's awful, and literally everyone I know who's ever tried it has said the same thing. It made me: crazy, miserable, totally without a sex drive, overweight and with an insane period. Avoid.

[physics girl]

Nuvaring worked well for me, and I highly recommend it if you want to use hormonal birth control . I had a little nausea for the first few days I was on it, but other than that it was great, no problems with being a hormonal crying mess all the time and near-continuous breakthrough bleeding for weeks like I had on one formulation of the pill. My nurse practitioner said it has a relatively low dose of hormones since it is continuously released over three weeks instead of having levels in your system rise and fall every day. Plus, I found it very easy not to screw up putting it in for three weeks, taking it out for a week, and putting in a new ring, unlike trying to take a pill at the same time every day.

Are you planning on getting pregnant shortly after the year is up? According to Planned Parenthood, Depo-Provera can, in some cases, continue to prevent pregnancy for up to a year after the last injection, so it might not be ideal if that is the case.

[Kidzaplenty]

No, due to medical reasons, I must not get pg again, at least until I can get my bp under control, as well as other physical symptoms. I am perfectly healthy when I am not pg, but once I become pg, my bp skyrockets and bounces up and down the entire nine months but maintaining mostly a very high rate (like 295/180).  I am looking at permenant solutions but that will require prevention for at least 12 months in the interrum.  I am now 40, have my eight beautiful children here, and have a desperate desire to be around for them as they grow up and have families on their own.

[Dacks]

Originally Posted by *MamaJen* 

The shot (Depo Provera) is the devil. It's awful, and literally everyone I know who's ever tried it has said the same thing. It made me: crazy, miserable, totally without a sex drive, overweight and with an insane period. Avoid.

   This is totally Me after 3 years of Depo, and my BFF who was on it for 8 years. She just quit and 6 months later is suddenly verrrry happy, haha. Depo is definitely not a short-longish term solution, because it takes a long time to come back to normal after being on it. 

[healthyfamilies]

I do have some suggestions for high blood pressure that I have seen work on pageant mamas-also all natural! Let me know if you want them!

[HappyHappyMommy]

I've had lots and lots of issues with hormonal birth control methods, so I can't recommend any of those. If you're looking for something long-term that doesn't have a daily (e.g. the pill) or every time (e.g. condom) method, I recommend an IUD. (Some release a small amount of hormones, but not all do.)

Good luck and hugs!

[weliveintheforest]

I have very little personal experience with BC but I think I would choose an IUD if I seriously needed to avoid pregnancy.

[terrordactyl]

the shot was horrible and i've heard horrible things about the implant and the patch. all start off with high doses of hormones an then slowly get smaller so it messes with your system pretty bad. i've also tried the nuva ring and it worked for about 3 months and then after that it caused imence pain when i DTD it also has a high pregnancy rate

[physics girl]

Shaina, where did you hear Nuvaring has a high failure rate? All the sources I can find show better than 99% efficacy if used properly, and I found it much easier to use properly than pills, though of course there is more chance of user error than with an implant or IUD.

[springbabes]

I've had the Paragard (non-hormonal) IUD since March and I love it. Insertion was nearly painless and my periods were only slightly heavier the first couple months. It's been so easy and convenient! I would imagine that since you've had so many kids, it would be easy on you too (that's supposed to make a difference).

[cparkly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by springbabes 

I've had the Paragard (non-hormonal) IUD since March and I love it. Insertion was nearly painless and my periods were only slightly heavier the first couple months. It's been so easy and convenient! I would imagine that since you've had so many kids, it would be easy on you too (that's supposed to make a difference).

And, it is good for 5 yeras or until removed.

[terrordactyl]

Originally Posted by physics girl 

Shaina, where did you hear Nuvaring has a high failure rate? All the sources I can find show better than 99% efficacy if used properly, and I found it much easier to use properly than pills, though of course there is more chance of user error than with an implant or IUD.

it wasn't a documented source, when i was on the nuva ring i was really a few times and thought i was pregnant so i went searching for others who had gotten pregnant on the nuva ring and found numerous women who had gotten pregnant even more than once. it could just be that i found a large group that found each other but i highly doubt it. it was all over quite a few parenting boards

[WifeofAnt]

Originally Posted by Shaina 

it wasn't a documented source, when i was on the nuva ring i was really a few times and thought i was pregnant so i went searching for others who had gotten pregnant on the nuva ring and found numerous women who had gotten pregnant even more than once. it could just be that i found a large group that found each other but i highly doubt it. it was all over quite a few parenting boards

If you search long enough you can find anything.  Take MDC for example.  Join a DDC and half may be having home births in the US but they still make up a tiny little fraction of total births.  People who have no side effects from birth control aren't going to spend all their free time searching and posting about it like someone who had gotten pregnant multiple times.

[Oubli]

Other uses

Depo-Provera is also used with male sex offenders as a form of chemical castration as it has the effect of drastically reducing sex drive in males.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depo_provera#Other_uses

And yet the FDA approved this for female birth control??? What's even more incredible is that many of us took it and didn't even know we were volunteering for chemical castration!!!

*This is why I only trust my little copper friend called Paragard!