[floiejo2]

I'm wondering if you all can tell me the in's and out's of birth control right now. It's been about 8 years since I was on the pill and/or depo shot. I got off a couple years after getting married and because I didn't want to do any more hormones. But now I'm wondering what the "newest" things are, how effective they are, any other information. I am currently breastfeeding my dd2 but am probably about to be done. (That's another thread) Anyway, what are you all on or using, do you like it, do you have any strange symptoms, how are your periods...? TIA!

 

[sharon.gmc]

I don't have any idea.

 

[Buzzer Beater]

I know there is another side of this story, but I had an excellent experience on Mirena IUD for over 4 years. I had no hormonal side effects (could never take the pill), no period and no problem having it removed. I would definately ask your ob/gyn about it to see if you are a candidate. Set it and forget it!

 

[fresh_veggie]

I have the paragard copper IUD - i absolutely LOVE being hormone-free (even low dose I couldn't handle). I love being myself again, and my husband loves it too.

I've had the iud for 3 AFs. Insertion was painful for me - I've never had children (but hope to in a couple of years!!!). Since insertion, my periods have been LESS painful, but I bleed insane amounts. I mean, I'm filling up my Keeper Mooncup in about half an hour to an hour for two days straight before it tapers off. My periods aren't longer... just HEAVIER. I don't feel anemic, though, which is good. And my husband doesn't mind blood, so it doesn't interrupt fun time (we do have a special towel that we put down though - a dark-colored-just-for-this-time towel lol).

You might think I'm crazy - but all that doesn't really bother me that much. It's the best birth control I've ever used - Orth-tricyclen-LO didn't work because of the hormonal/libido effects, ortho-cyclen was much worse - condoms I'm not a fan of (not to mention that my landlords just got pregnant after only a year of being together and using condoms - eek!).

All things considered, the copper iud is awesome! PM me if you have any more questions

 

[Manessa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater I know there is another side of this story, but I had an excellent experience on Mirena IUD for over 4 years. I had no hormonal side effects (could never take the pill), no period and no problem having it removed. I would definately ask your ob/gyn about it to see if you are a candidate. Set it and forget it!

My experience was wonderful too! I highly recommend the Mirena if you think it would be a good choice for you.

 

[SaraLe6]

I got ONE Depo shot 3.5 years ago and gained 30 pounds. They were the HARDEST 30 pounds to take off, no amount of calorie cutting/healthy eating/exercising would take those nasty pounds off! I took the Pill for a little while about a year after that but ultimately decided I was done with hormones.. they just aren't good for your body, I didn't like what they did to me and I wasn't comfortable with the possible side effects. I now use FAM with polyurethane condoms for backup on my fertile days. I love FAM!

 

[samari]

I've been on the pill for years and honestly have never had any problems. I find it convenient to know when exactly I will be getting my period. I was on yaz which was great b'c my periods were a lot less heavy. I recently asked my dr. for a generic pill and of course yaz isn't generic so I'm on yasmin and it's ok. My periods are normal and heavier than when on yaz. I would switch but I will be going off after the summer to ttc.
Never gained weight from any pill that I was on.

 

[SaraLe6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samari I find it convenient to know when exactly I will be getting my period.

Did you know this is also a convenience you can enjoy while using FAM/charting your cycles?

 

[Starzthatsmile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fresh_veggie I have the paragard copper IUD - i absolutely LOVE being hormone-free (even low dose I couldn't handle). I love being myself again, and my husband loves it too. I've had the iud for 3 AFs. Insertion was painful for me - I've never had children (but hope to in a couple of years!!!). Since insertion, my periods have been LESS painful, but I bleed insane amounts. I mean, I'm filling up my Keeper Mooncup in about half an hour to an hour for two days straight before it tapers off. My periods aren't longer... just HEAVIER. I don't feel anemic, though, which is good. And my husband doesn't mind blood, so it doesn't interrupt fun time (we do have a special towel that we put down though - a dark-colored-just-for-this-time towel lol). You might think I'm crazy - but all that doesn't really bother me that much. It's the best birth control I've ever used - Orth-tricyclen-LO didn't work because of the hormonal/libido effects, ortho-cyclen was much worse - condoms I'm not a fan of (not to mention that my landlords just got pregnant after only a year of being together and using condoms - eek!). All things considered, the copper iud is awesome! PM me if you have any more questions

I used the Paraguard also. I had it for about 2 years. It never bothered me, although it was a little painful for me to get put in because I too have not had children yet. There was some concern about the copper, but my body never had a bad reaction. It was nice not worrying about remembering to take a pill everyday, or ruining the mood to stop and put on a condom, and it was very nice to have all those hormones out of my body too.

My best advice, is to talk to your doc about your options. If you haven't had children, the IUD can be painful. I tried to have the Mariana IUD, but it was too painful, so they put in the Paraguard, which is a little smaller. Also, I believe it's the Paraguard that lasts for 10 years.

The only thing I actually noticed a change in my body with the IUD was that I started to get slight cramps around the time I was ovulating. My cramps during AF were a little worse than when I was on the pill, but not too bad.

I love this option because I didn't have to remember to take anything and it was the most natural option that I was comfortable with.

Let me know if I can give any more info.

Looks like you have lots of good info and experience from the wonderful ladies here.

 

[jojoboy]

I was on the pill for a while, but after our first son, I never felt comfortable taking hormones while I was breastfeeding. Maybe I'm just paranoid. We use NFP with great success. It wasn't too hard to learn, and I use a computer program Taking Charge of Your fertility, so I don't really have to chart and interpret myself.

After our second son, I'm trying to figure out long term birth control, which seems like our decision is between a vasectomy and this essure . We haven't decided yet, but I just heard about the essure the other day from my midwife, so thought I'd post it.

 

[Sol_y_Paz]

I have known two people miscarry on the low dose pills, they had younger children at that time, they were not breast feeding.

I was on ortho for about 8 years, I just stopped in Jan. Ortho can raise your risk for cervical cancer if you have HPV, but can lower risk for other cancers.