contraceptives - S&D, POX, C/D, etc.

Have you thought about the patch? Kind of halfway btw DP and a pill. Put a fresh one on each week.

though if you don't want horomonal diaphragm, condom or tubal ligation are pretty much yr only choices.

Destroy: Basically everything else.

It is really ridiculous that the sponge is still off the market.

be aware that IUDs have low levels of hormones as well.

The sponge is my number one choice. I've gone through spells when I've imported them from Canada. Good choice if you can afford them (go to www.birthcontrol.com) I've never had any trouble with them.

Had the troubles with DP mentioned.

have you experiemented with different types of pills? There's lots of low-hormone ones available which you may like better.

my brother dodged the birth control pill *and* a period and still made it out alive.

Middle ground (ie 'they suck, but when you've got no other choice...'): abortion, morning-after-pill. (these things should only be used as a last-ditch effort)

Destroy: IUD, hormone implants, the standard 'one-type-of-pill' pill.

Indeed. It's not a very pleasant experience. (although recent improvements in some formulas have made it much better) I can't imagine how anybody would ever use it regularly.

Oof, Andrew, it always seemed to me like that should be done for medical reasons only, not as birth control. Removing an organ!

used correctly it is more effective than a condom by itself.

Indeed. It's not a very pleasant experience. (although recent improvements in some formulas have made it much better) I can't imagine how anybody would ever use it regularly.

And you know this how Andrew? My experiences with Morning-After pills have been completely problem free. No big deal, no voluminous bleeding or cramping, nothing. It's just like taking a handful of birth control pills all at once.

But then I also found an abortion to be no big deal either. . .

Search to the extreme: vasoctomies. . .

Oh yeah? Well, I dodged a tubal ligation to get here. I meant business.

My partner and I have been together 5 years...

My experiences with Morning-After pills have been completely problem free.

You're most fortunate. As I said, the formulation of the morning-after pills has improved greatly over the past few years reducing many of the problems experienced by some women. The most recent case where my GF used the morning after pill was almost completely uneventful.

It's just like taking a handful of birth control pills all at once.

And this is no big deal? There are many women whose bodies react quite badly to a normal course of birth control pills, let alone a handful in one go!

My point was that it's not something you want to have to do. It throws your hormones all out of whack, which is never a good thing no matter how small the effects are. Sure, I advocate its use when necessary, but I thought my point was clear as being that you should always use it as a secondary form of contraception.

Well I don't even have one myself! It can't be that bad! ;-)

At least I can be an active participant in assuring that condoms are used correctly. I don't feel comfortable relying on my partner to take care of contraception. (esp if it's a one-off thing)

Every woman acts differently to hormones indeed but I worry when people tell scare stories that it will keep others from trying all the options themselves. You won't know if you're one of the ones it affects badly unless you try. Most women don't suffer many serious side effects from hormonal contraceptives.

(stolen bus, try taking a B6 supplement, this can help. I have had a few that have caused depression but there are so many out there, you can find some that don't affect you so much.)

I hope they put the morning after pill OTC here. There are many months where I would rather spend the money on that than wait on pins and needles for ol' Aunt Flo.

although I heard Flinstone's chewable multi-vitamins are 99% effective.

disclaimer: i am joking.

stolenbus, what do you have against condoms? (just out of interest) Normally it's men who are against condoms, but I thought for most women it doesn't make much difference? They don't bother me much...

andrew, I wasn't trying to be so pointed. I just bristle, honestly, anytime someone who's not a woman speaks as if from personal experience. I don't think your partner's experience counts as your own.

It's as close as I can ever get as a male to understanding this. I apologise for my sex. If you honestly felt irked by my tone then you should probably evaluate why that is. (hint: it's not to do with me)

You won't know if you're one of the ones it affects badly unless you try. Most women don't suffer many serious side effects from hormonal contraceptives.

The words "most", "many", and "serious" in that sentence are basically my point.

I wasn't irked by your point in particular. It's just the way I am. Reproductive rights are one of the few things I would say I'm near-militant about. I won't go into anymore b/c I have no desire to bring the level-headed males of ILX down upon my head and turn this into a feminism c or d thread.

Condoms irritate me and sometimes give me yeast infections.

x-post w/ sam.

Fair enough. I just hate it when my opinion is discarded simply because of my sex. I am of the opinion that women have absolute rights over their own reproductive processes, and it too irritates me when people argue otherwise. I don't think anything I've said here really denounces the morning-after pill or abortion - I'm just an advocate of education and caution.

Condoms irritate me and sometimes give me yeast infections.

Yech. That sucks.

don't really care for them as they always end up being awkward and not quite as comfortable (for me) i guess. then again, i'm in a relationship where i don't need to worry about things that condoms are good for (aside from the pregnant thing).

Yah, I was in a similar position until my partner stopped taking the pill. She was originally worried that condoms would stifle the sex, but since then it's been better than ever before. Aparrently the pill in some cases supresses the libido somewhat.

Some states are exploring the idea of making morning-after pills available from pharmacists, but opponents to these proposals are evoking just those sorts of images.

Advocates also suggest asking your doctor in advance for a prescription for morning-after contraception, to have on hand in advance in case the condom breaks or whatever. Ask For Samantha, could you ask your doctor or Planned Parenthood for such a prescription?

But that involves a trip to an office, a visit, etc. before you even get the script to take to the pharmacy. When time is of an essence this is a pain. especially if you work etc. So much easier to be able to skip the office visit and just go to the pharmacy.

Breast tenderness (if that is your real name): be careful though and take another test in about a week if your symptoms don't go away, if you were preg you'd be reeeeally early and a non-sensitive, or even a sensitive test might not pick up the hormone yet. But it's encouraging anyway. So yay!

if you miss a pill or something and get pregnant, will you still have a 'fake' period if you don't realise you're pg and stop taking the pill? How will you know?

I'm very intrigued by the NuvaRing; does anyone know if it's avail. in the UK, on the NHS? 'Cause in all my meetings with dr's they haven't mentioned it as an option.

Also, same questions as Hanna.

Is the no-kid IUD thing an insertion problem or just dr.'s reluctance in case fertility is later compromised? I don't have kids, but I don't want them either, thus desire for IUD.

All I can say is that I wish someone would hurry the fuck up with a male pill!

Incidentally, there's absolutely no reason to have periods if you don't want to and if your doc isn't supportive, you should probably do some reading up on your own and maybe look for a new doctor. One place to start is the book Take Control of Your Period -- I know the title is totally cheesy but it's got the info you need (sorry, it's from a US publisher but I'm sure there's some UK equivalent). Historically there were all kinds of ideas about periods: that it was unnatural to suppress them completely because it was a woman's intended lot in life to have a menstrual cycle, or that women even PREFERRED to have them as proof that they hadn't gotten pregnant in the last month...so the original versions of the pill were designed to incorporate periods for mostly irrational/emotional reasons. Which is fine, if you don't suffer severe PMS or ovarian cysts or endometriosis or any number of other difficulties. But if it's easier for you not to have a period for whatever reason, that's up to you.

XP to Sunny: Absolutely not. I think they say it takes about 1-3 months for women's bodies to re-acclimate after discontinuing a hormonal contraceptive, but that's just ON AVERAGE and lots of people get back to normal even faster -- and the same is true even if you've been suppressing your period. It has no effect on fertility later. But don't take my word for it -- seriously read up on this!! You'll feel better, and you'll be in a position to pass on the info first-hand to someone else. :)

On hormonal birth control you aren't having a regular period. The bleeding is in reaction to the hormones being yanked and somewhat comforts women.

I've heard of no evidence or studies that say controlling your period with the pill (or whatever) is bad. When I'm using the pill (which I'm currently not) I choose to only have two or three "periods" a year. No doctor Ive told this to has told me to stop.

as for being pregnant and bleeding. . .My mother and Aunt both had light "periods" when they were already pregnant and still taking the pill.

(oh and only a certain type/brand of IUDs were banned. Modern ones are said to be very safe and effective.)

Every living woman in my family has had a hysterctomy. I might be the first one to actually experience menopause.

I've been on a triphasal pill for about 12 years, with a 6-month break 5 years ago, and it's been great for my skin (no acne, hurrah) and always worked fine, but during that 6-month break the weight just dropped off me, it was incredible... Now all the weight's back and I'm definitely noticing a drop in libido, which makes me sad :-( So NuvaRing comments, please...

and xxxxxxposts - just read Laurel's re the NR, which was encouraging!

I carried on with some reassurance, having heard a doctor on the radio talking about it. The medical argument in favour is that it's not normal (in biological terms) for a woman to have period after period throughout her fertile years. Prior to there being reliable contraception, and bottle feeding, women would have been either pregnant or breastfeeding almost continually for years at a time.

I hope you're right Laurel; I'm going to get on to my doctors asap.

(*suddenly getting a little bashful*) Haha I'm not sure how much detail my gf would want me to go into on a public website, but suffice it to say that yes the hormonal "issues" did (eventually) come up. I do suggest that when actually having sex to take it out (it can cause minor abrasions to both parties if left in.) It is as effective as the pill though.

Ladies: Periods, yay or nay?

I need to lose one ILx

Couple of days.

Alex, my vagina would be very very dry too if I was married to your dad. That said, there ARE products, y'know. Astroglide! KY! SPIT!

"Alex, my vagina would be very very dry too if I was married to your dad."

Well I'm glad you're not, because it would be creepy if my mom posted to the same threads as I do.

Everyone else is raving about it, maybe I'm the only one who had this problem? I just went back on the patch (which I had gone off b/c of the blood clot risk) which i was on before for 1+ year and liked, but I'm totally feeling the hormones messing with my moods, eh I guess you can't win with this stuff.

Also, my ex-roommate seems to have had the exact same reaction to the pill as Rosalita: when she stopped taking them she lost weight, but her acne came back. Is this a common phenomenon? Do the hormones in the pill make you want to eat more or something?

if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

http://www.jamsponge.co.uk/

wait sorry, this is the wrong thread

haha

Lovely name for a consumer product