The Patch

[SueC]

I don't know where this belongs (if it belones her at all ) but I'm thinking of trying "the patch" over birth control pills. I'm a bad pill taker and I stay on them any longer I will be pregnant before the year is out. Has anyone had any bad experiences with them? I have one friend who couldn't handle the hormone levels, but don't really know anyne else who has gone this route.

The patch sounds interesting to me....but I doubt I would be eligible for it b/c I have really sensitive skin. You could just try it....

[Meenah]

How about Depo-provea? One injection every three months.
Luanne

[Michele]

I've heard some people react to the adhesive in the patch and it really irritates their skin...to the point of layers of skin peeling off....but others have no problems with it.

I went with an IUD...it hurt like hell to be put in and if I forget to take some pain killers while I'm menstruating, I get really crampy..but otherwise it's stress free BC...one I only think about once a month when I have to check to make sure it's still in place (which is really easy to do).

Michele

[Cumberland]

i was on depo for a while and I really liked it. it was nice to not have to worry, and just head in for the shot every three months. i had some spotting in the beginning, but then barely even had a period for the whole time i was on it.

[houseelf]

My girlfriend got a terrible migraine headache with Depo that lasted 3 months. I'm sure that she just had a freakish, rare reaction, but it was enough to scare me.

I would love to hear everyone's input on this issue. The B.C. issue will become a big one in our household after this baby is born. I've been on synthetic hormones for over a decade. I'm ready for a switch but not real happy with the options out there. F.A.M. is great, but you have to be very disciplined. Generally, I'm not on the ball enough to be great at tempeture tracking and having the discipline to refrain or use barriers during the critical points. I would love to hear some personal rave recommendations on some other option.

Kelly

[Michele]

Well I'll explain a little bit more about my IUD then.... (and if any OB/GYN spouses out there notice I have wrong info or left something out - let me know)

IUD intrauterine device...I have a ParaGard IUD....website here... http://www.paragardiud.com/ There is also Mirena http://www.mirena.com which releases levonorgestrel...

IUDs are usually only recommended for women who have had children already since your uterus will then be more stretched and your cervix more open. You also can't have more than one partner because it greatly increases your risk for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease if you get an STD.

It's this little T-shapped thing that they stick in your uterus and a string hangs out your cervix into your vagina...you have to check the string monthly after your period (stick your finger in and feel for it) to make sure it hasn't been expelled. (I'd think you'd know if it was expelled...I think it would hurt like nothing else...but I check anyway.)

If you become pregnant while using an IUD, it's a bad thing...because it means that the egg is probably in your tube and not your uterus, but that only happens in a small percentage of people and if you were prone to tubal pregnancies before you use an IUD, I think your chances are much higher...but if you aren't then I think your chances are probably minimal.

An IUD doesn't cause abortions...yes it can be used as emergency contraceptive because it begins working immediately...but it's primary mechanism of action is to prevent capacitation of the sperm...the sperm can't fully mature when an IUD is in place...(they used to put pebbles in camel vaginas to prevent them from getting pregnant when they made long treks across the desert in the olden days.)

I had my IUD inserted in Nov and it's good for 10 years...I can take it out early if I want to start my family sooner than that....they say the conception rates post IUD removal are comparable to regular rates and are a little better than pill users...since some people have trouble getting a normal cycle back.

I had to take 600 mg ibuprofen a few hours before my appointment which only lasted about 15 minutes. The actual insertion took about 1 minute...during which was the most excruciating pain that I have ever felt. I'm not exagerating. It hurt! But it was over after that and then I experieced severe cramping for the next 4-6 hours. It sucked!! I had a friend take me to the appointment and drive me home...thank god I did because I was so nauseated from the cramping.


After that though, I havne't thought about it much. I will cramp pretty badly...some months it's really bad...but if I take 2 advil every 6-8 hours when I am awake...before I get cramps....I never get them. For example the past two months I haven't had any cramps. The other drawback is you do bleed more....my periods are much heavier than when I was on the pill and just a bit heavier than before the pill. they also last a bit longer.

So it does have some draw backs.

My insurance company covered the insertion....I only paid $15 which is about one month of BC pills....otherwise planned parenthood wil insert one for about $300 and regular ob/gyns charge around $600.

My reasons for choosing the IUD verse the pill or depo.

I didn't want hormones (which is one reason I opted for Pragard over Mirena - that and it lasts longer 10 years verses Mirena's 5). I think they made me fat. It's stupid. I know. But I thought that it was the reason I gained the weight. When I stopped the pill is the same time I started dieting for the wedding so I'll never know if it was a factor or not...and my doctor laughed when I said I thought the pill made me fat...but I did try the skipping periods with the pill...I had to get one with a higher dose to do that...and the time when I was on the higher dose one my boobs were huge (insanely huge) and I felt bloated and huge the entire time....so maybe it did make a difference. Who knows....I was sick of mesing with my cycle and all and wanted to let my hormones regulate themselves...so I stuck a foreign body in my uterus instead!

So there's the long story about IUDs and Michele.

Hope that helps...

Michele

[mommax3]

First of all, I know nothing about the patch personally, but I would be happy to ask my husband anything you want to know. (He is an OB/GYN.)

Second, for Kelly, I became uncomfortable with hormone-type birth control after I had my first baby --- mostly because of libido issues on my part, if you know what I mean. So we have used various forms of spermicide ever since --- mostly the suppository type (kind of goopy afterwards) and the contraceptive film (our current choice). Both are easy to use and don't interfere too much. And no accidents --- so far, anyway. The only caveat I have about this type is it isn't as reliable as the Pill or IUDs....but I am not the most fertile myrtle, either. The SHORTEST it has ever taken us to get pregnant was four months of trying.....although all of the time my husband has spent away from home during the past 10 years may be more the issue than me not being very fertile.

My husband recommends the IUD to people all the time. I am personally not comfortable with getting one, mostly because I am a HUGE WIMP --- I might consider one if I could get an epidural first!

If we don't decide to have another baby in the next six months or so, I think DH will be getting a vasectomy and we will be done with the issue forever, which will be very nice.

Sally

[SueC]

Thank you for all the info guys. I actually am interested in an IUD, despite my husband's reluctance. I don't have periods at all unless I'm on the pill, so I would love to have something non-hormonal. I decided just yesterday that I want to have another baby next year (if I can convince my husband) so I might put the IUD on hold until after I'm completely done. Depo is an option I kind of forgot about it. I have an appt. on Thurs. so maybe I'll check into that. I need something that I don't have to think about daily. I guess it is between the patch and depo.

[Auspicious]

My boyfriend did a clinical mentorship with a gyn last year and she LOVED the patch--recommended it highly to her patients and prescribed it left and right. Also, he said she always gave them the brand-name one, because many of her patients reported problems with the adhesive on the generic ones; they wouldn't stay stuck on.

I'd do a lot of reading up on my own before taking the plunge with depo. My understanding is that it has a high incidence of side effects, that some of the side effects are rather severe, and that once you get the shot, you're stuck with whatever side effects you get for the next three months at least. Back when I was trying to choose a hormonal method I initially thought it sounded great, plus I had a friend that I knew had gotten it the previous year, but then the more I read about it the riskier it sounded--the anecdotal evidence sounded way worse than the anecdotal evidence I was hearing for the other methods. So I asked my friend if she was still on it and she was like "NO! Don't do it! It was like having raging PMS every day for three solid months!" A lot of people love it of course, and maybe it's totally the right method for you, but I'm just saying, read up.

Also, you should consider the nuva-ring if you're considering the patch. (Just google "nuva ring".)

Good luck.

My best friend used the patch for several months and loved not having to remember to take a pill every night, although I think you do have to change it every week for three weeks and then use nothing for the fourth. She placed it on her lower back/upper butt. The one drawback for her was that she went up an entire cup size, and she already was a 32D! So, her chest was painful for a lot of the time, she said, and she recently switched back to the pill.

MY DH recently worked with someone who was using Norplant, an implanted device in your upper arm that releases homones. She wanted to start a family so went to her GYN to have it removed. Well, they couldn't find the device! It had somehow moved, and even after an MRI and going into her arm they still couldn't find it! I just asked him if he had heard what the resolution of the problem was but he hadn't see her in a while....he thinks surgery was probably necessary to find the darn thing.

Good luck!

I think this is the $64,000 question!!

[mommax3]

Vaginal Contraceptive Film (VCF is what it says on the box) is what I was talking about. It is just a little square of clear film (looks like scotch tape but w/o the stickiness) that is coated with spermicide. It works just like the spermicidal inserts without all of the melting goop. We get it just about anywhere (Target, grocery store, etc.) and it is with the condoms and other similar stuff.

Sally

Being a medical transcriptionist for two family practice doctors, I hear a lot about birth control. Some people love the Depo but I have heard of a lot of problems with breakthrough bleeding and you have to make sure you get into the doctor at the right time to have continual birth control. Some women can get migraines from them too.

My sister-in-law loved having an IUD but I never felt comfortable with the idea.

I have been on pills daily and it works great for me. I used to have bad PMS and it helped level me out so my poor family doesn't suffer! I didn't have any of the side effects with them so it has been our choice. We did try spermicides and condoms at one point when we were really poor and didn't want to pay for the pills. For us condoms = baby! That is how we got Dallin. Or I should say the lack of using a condom got us Dallin. It is much better if I control the birth control and not my husband!

Robin

[Rapunzel]

I can't use hormonal forms of birth control. I start developing all of the symptoms I get at the beginning of pregnancy: I get very bloated (I do gain weight - but it's probably mostly water-gain), constipated (I'll bet you all wanted to know that! :P ), my breasts ache, and I get nauseated right before my period begins (complete with vomiting!). On top of that it does nothing to stop my super-duper cramping and menstrual bleeding. So, I've sworn off hormones! 8)

Our preferred method of bc? The condom. I can't do hormones, I feel very uncomfortable with the uncertainties of the IUD method, and I'm unbelievably fertile (one time and I'm knocked up, baby - with twins to boot!) so spermicide alone isn't enough. So, that leaves barrier methods which have not failed us as long as we have been, um, responsible and level-headed (we've had three pregnancies in eight years so you do the math on our level of incompetence ).