Birth Control - Dallas,TX

I have used the copper IUD for 6 yrs. I chose it because I was very forgetful with the pill and also the hormones gave me mood swings. It has been the best ever! I had it removed to have my 2nd child and I got pregnant within 2 mo. My cycle stayed the same with my IUD with exception of being slightly heavier. I would recomend it to everyone!

Hello E.,
I am a mother of a new baby girl just 3 months old. I was going thru the same thing you were about a month ago and deciede to go with the patches. Th reasoning is you deal with this once a week. It nevers tries to peel off. BC shots make you gain weight as even the pills do. But i wanted the iud and i talked to my doctor about it and he wont even give this type of bc because it doesnt keep you from concieving it causes you bascially to have a miscarriage. I was not up for that cause it just like you chose to abort the preggo, Hope this helps.
L.

E.,

I used the ring for a few months before I decided to get pregnant again. It was great! I have the same problem with pills, so it was nice to just put it in and forget about it until it was time to change it. It was nice also because when I did decide to get pregnant again, it didn't take too long.

Everything has risks. I can't do the pill or patch because of blood pressure issues. Everyone has their own issues and why they need to use certain things.

If you are terribly concerned you might want to just use condoms or a diaphram... but if you are like us, finding the time to play mommy and daddy is hard enough than to have to add another step in the process.

I am very anti-shot and very pro-mirena IUD.

As far as women not menstruating, research is starting to find that it isn't really good for us to menstruate every month, hence all the new bc pills that lower your flow or even only let you have your flow a few times a year. Long ago, women generally stayed pregnant most of their child bearing years.So they didn't have years of cycles and then a child. They had child after child and then once they stopped having babies their bodies were ready for menopause. (both of sets of my grandparents had siblings numbering in the teens, and it seems after that generation family size shrunk ALOT) I am betting research decides it is better for women to not have so many cycles. I tend to be anemic and not having mine has helped raise my numbers on that.

I have heard a lot of good about the Nuvaring- it is a monthly prescription just like the pill so a monthly cost. The shot was horrible, and I would never recommend and even try to talk someone out of that. The Mirena IUD is wonderful. There is some discomfort in getting it but nothing really more than having a pap smear with a small pinch at the end. I have never experienced any bad cramps. The first 2 or 3 months I had some erratic spotting, but after that I occasionally have some spotting at what should be my time of the month and even less often a few cramps at that time as well but nothing painful.Nothing comparative to normal cycle time cramping. I have had mine nearly 2 years. The IUD usually is just your copay and that is it, so no monthly expense. I don't even think about mine and most the time forget all together that I have it.

Good luck with your decision...

Hi E.. I don't know much about IUD, but I do have a good friend that got pregnant with it. She and the baby are doing well and she is due in the next couple of weeks. Thought you might want to know that it definitely isn't fool proof like all other birth controls.

Good luck!

Well I have the Paragard IUD and soon I will have it removed because of a condition called P.C.O.S. In my case I have not stopped bleeding for 10 months. My doc says that is normal for that IUD. He suggests the Mirena IUC but he also says that he is not down with the docs that say it is not harmful to stop your cycles. I am with you in that your cycle is meant to flush your body of toxins and I have experienced what it is like to stop for up to 10 months at a time. That has happened twice to me before I had my daughter. It is so embarrassing due to the worry that everyone can smell you. So I totally am going to try the Nuva Ring. Plus it is a lot cheaper than the Mirena or Paragard.

Hello E.,

I had the Merina IUD put in about 3 yrs. ago and I love it. I too would forget to take the pill. I figured that I would forget to change the patch and a friend did the shot and gained weight also got really sick all the time. Well my doc told me about the IUD and highly recommended it. I was learly at firs because you do stop having your periods and she told me that it was fine. I do have cramps once a month but no bleeding which I am thankful for, very cheap for me!!! The placement of it was a visit to the OB/GYN and it was only a short visit. Although it was like very bad menstrual cramps but if you have had children already then you should be able to handle that!! Also if you want to have children again all you have to do is make an appt. and they take it right out. All I know is that I will be getting this again, maybe even getting the 10 yr one. You will make the right decision.

this is kind of my job! and IUD's are great long-term, but not permanent options. like anything (depo, Implanon, etc.) there's going to be a few months of an adjustment period. you might cramp for the first couple of months and bleed a bit irregularly, but try to tough it out b/c in most cases IT WILL GET BETTER.

if most women can get past that first three months of depo, they'd enjoy eventual light-to-no periods, etc., but that 1st injection time period can be too much for some women. same w/implanon. it's like depo, but can last three years but can have some pitfalls in the beginning, too.

i liked nuvaring, but after childbirth and a stinkin' episiotimy it doesn't fit right anymore. SO, i'd probably do Paragard (the other IUD that doesn't have hormones) ...

you can email me or PM if you have any other questions. :-)

ETA: i know gals who had paragard and LOVE it, had intial crampiness and bleeding that resolved. i know gals who had mirena and had it removed for bleeding/cramp issues ... so, yeah, we're all different. as for nuvaring, yes, my husband said he could feel it, but that he didn't mind and it didn't hurt -- so yeah, maybe some men might be creeped by it.

I have had my Mirena IUD since July 2. I had really bad cramps for about 6 hours after having it inserted, (BAD but not unbearable - I took prescription Motrin to ease the pain), then I had light cramps for about the next 2 weeks. Since then, I have less cramping than I did before getting the IUD. The thing I had the hardest time dealing with was the light bleeding for the first two months. I almost had it taken out, but decided to stick with it a little longer, and am glad I did. My periods still have not regulated, but they are very light so it's not too bad. My doctor told me that most women end up having cycles that last 2-4 days every 3-4 months. Even if I have one every month, it is still worth it to me not to have to remember to take the pills or struggle with other forms. The Mirena is just too easy!

I cannot recommend Natural Family Planning enough. Check out some facts at www.creightonmodel.com. You can ask me questions too.

Hi E.! I understand your concerns about this, as I've had some of the same thoughts myself... I used the NuvaRing for a year, and I didn't like it, simply because it was a hassle. Granted, it was only 2x/month (once to put it in, once to take it out), but I really didn't like it. I've heard the new IUDs are great, but the horror stories from the past (perforated uterus and such) have made me to nervous to try it, although I know that's illogical. Personally, the pill works for me, I just have it by the bed and take it every night before getting into bed.
I hope this helped some.
A.

Hello E.,
There's alot of problems with all birth control. I've tried the pill, patch, nuva ring... I have the Merina. It was a toss up for the IUD and the Nuva ring too, so I tried the temporary one first. Not to sound gross, but you have to constantly check for it. It can fall out and you wouldn't even know it... Happens to alot of people.

The Merina, is a double edged sword. It's great protection, but like me I have 0 periods. The first few months was hair pulling, but after that it was smooth sailing. The bad bad news about Merina is you can still get pregnant. I've read tons of articles and I don't seriously know where they come up with the 99.9% safety percentage of not getting pregnant. I still wouldn't change my mind about it though. It's my life savor... 3 years and running.

OK THIS IS KINDA LONG _ SORRY!!!

I had an IUD for several years (not the Merina one but another that was for 10 yrs), I got it in 2000. I had the IUD removed two months after I married my dh which was back in 2005.

It is only recommended if you are in a long term relationship or married - so you single girls don't go getting it thinking it is the answer to your prayers. Dr's are not quick to give it to you without questions.

The IUD was great because I didn't have to keep forgetting to take my bc pills (which was always an issue) plus the hormones were not messed with either as you would with bc and Norplant. There was some discomfort if I did a twist or something that was out of the ordinary - but it was seriously easy to deal with and quite forgotten til I did get married and my dh wanted to try for a child. I also did not experience bad cramps - I did experience a higher amount of menstruating in the first two days of my cycle rather than I had previously. I have to say - I experience more cramping now without it than I did with it.

I do not know if the IUD that I had is causing me the issues that I now have with infertility, it is possible - but I do know some other factors have come to light with me going thru fertility treatments.

My sister in law also had one - but had to have it removed as she developed a nasty yeast infection (due to other reasons) and in having it removed - got pregnant within two months. She is fine now and has no issues but is back on the pill rather than an IUD.

Most Drs believe the IUD's now are safer than they were back in the 70's. Back then - there was a huge "recall" and a class action lawsuit related to the problems of ladies getting pregnant with the IUD in place. My OB/Gyn that gave me mine - never indicated issues of infertility with the removal of an IUD.

Hope this helps!

I loved my Mirena and although I did have a few hours of mild cramping following the insertion, that was pretty much all the discomfort I ever had with it. I had it removed because after 4 kids my husband had a vasectomy.

Enjoy the reduction of periods! Nature intends for women to have far fewer periods than we do now that we have birth control. We were designed to have a baby every 2 - 3 years and spend 3 to 4 years (in comparison with other mammals and in humans in many parts of the world, even today) nursing the baby. There would, of course, be no periods when the mother was pregnant and reduced periods while nursing. I've even read studies that say that women who have fewer periods have a reduced risk of breast cancer!

Good luck choosing! :)

I was never a good "candidate" for any of these methods... so we had to stick to the old condoms.

I am on depo and it wasn't actually a shot. I took 1 medroxyprogesterone 10mg pill once a day for 10 days. I do this once every 3 months. I like it because I don't have all of the side effects that estrogen containing pills do, and it isn't likely to cause long-term issues with getting pregnant in the future.

I have also used nuva-ring for several years prior and I LOVED it. It was easy to use, can't tell its there, and I didn't have to remember to take something every day.

HTH, FWIW.

L.

Hi. I have an IUD without hormones. I have had it for two years and I am happy with it. At first I did have cramps for two months, but since then I have a period that lasts for 3 days and is pretty light, without cramps. I would definitely recommend this. You just have to remember that the first few months your body is adjusting to having it there.

E.,

I had some really ugly problems with the pill. I could never remember to take it every day and the hormones eventually gave me migranes that were just awful. Some of my girlfriends RAVED about Nuvaring that when I was so fed up with the pill - I talked with my Dr (also a guy)about the switch. The great thing about the ring is that just like the pill, you can stop at any time and begin trying to get pregnant. I recently stopped using the ring as my husband and I are trying to get pregnant...and even that wasnt bad. Since the ring is localized hormone stuff - you dont get the mood swings that the pill can cause because it is going through your blood stream.

I have recommended the ring to EVERYONE I talk to! It is fabulous - and you only have to remember two days a month (I did a sunday insert and removal)....SUPER fast - really easy and best of all: My husband didnt even notice that I had changed methods! Talk about great all around!

I hope you would give it a try before having a more substantial long term approach. It is by far the best secret in birth control!

Hi E.,
I had the Mirena IUD put in 6 weeks after my baby girl was born. It is a no-brainer! You literally don't even have to think about it. It took about 5 minutes to insert and it lasts up to 5 years! I feel the same way about other forms of bc. I didn't need anymore hormones after being pregnant! Also - with a new baby and a 2 year old, I couldn't remember to take a pill to save my life!! Ha.
Good luck.
J.

I agree with you on the bc thing. It is hard to find the right one. I can't handle the hormones and it is very easy for us to get preggo, so i got the copper iud. It doesn't have any hormones, so it doesn't mess up your periods and make you infertile when that time comes that you want another baby. I have had the copper iud since my baby was 6 weeks old and he is 5 months now. because of nursing, i have not had a period yet, so i'm not sure how it is with the cramping and everything. But so far, the only cramping i had was the day i got it. it wasn't anything that tylenol couldn't take care of. I havent had any trouble with it at all. And when we want to have another one, we'll just get it taken out. Anyway, that is just my experience. i hope this helps! Good luck

i love my mirena iud. a friend of mine used a nuvaring and she said her husband hated it b/c he could feel it. ive also read that they can come out during intercourse. not a time when you want it to fail! mirena is supposed to be 100% reversable. hope that helps.

The patch is not bad.. I was on it before and after I had my daughter... It stuck well until the day or two before I would need to change it.. I was a police officer and a correction officer at the time so I sweat alot and run also.. I rode horses and so on.. I would shower all the time... It was great the only down fall was I gained weight from it... I have always been scared of IUDs but thats a personal thing.. I am on Seasonal where I only have 3 or 4 periods a yr..But I am also single and not doing anything.=) so its what u feel best with and it sounds as if u have done ur studings.... Good luck

Hi E.,

I had the Merina IUD and loved it. After two to three months, I barely had a period. I highly recommend it. However, everyone reacts differently to this. A friend had to have her taken out because she cramped and bled all the time. Good luck.

Hi E.,
I have tried the patch, the pill and the nuva ring. I have to say I liked the patch the best. It really does stay on, through swimming, daily showers etc. I was suprised, the only thing I did experience was little itching/irritation around the edges from the adhesive I guess, but not too bad and it went away.
The pill..of course I would forget to take.
The nuva ring was the worst for me, it made me really moody and gave me horrible migraines. I only used it for two weeks, so don't know maybe I didn't give it enough time but the migraines were unbearable.
The patch & pill were pre-baby. The nuva ring was about 10 months after my son was born.
I would try the patch if I were you,
Good luck & God bless!

Hi E.!
I WOULD NOT recomment the patch... I got pregnant on the patch! Plus, it sticks so well that I had so much trouble getting it off! After I delivered the first one, I had the Mirena IUD inserted. It was painful with some bad cramps in the beginning. But then that went away. It was so easy. I never had to think about it. About 2 years later I had it removed. I had mild cramping when it was removed, but nothing bad. And I got pregnant again in 3 months.
I think its a great choice if you want to have kids again. Plus, its safe with nursing!
Good luck with your choice!
C.

I have an IUD and have no problems with it and it has been 3 years. Some changes I have noticed is that my cycle is heavier, so I use super tampons instead of regular ones, and it lasts 7 days instead of 5. I am very happy with it. I forget the name of mine, but it is the nonhormonal IUD. The procedure is painless and fast.

I think the Mirena IUD is the best thing since sliced bread. Next month will mark the one year mark since I got it. It was a little uncomfortable when they put it in. And I got up too soon to get dressed afterwards and fainted! How embarrasing (I really don't think that's normal though). My periods start at the same time every month, they are pretty light. I don't have any cramping at all, although the first couple of months afterwards I did. I think it's great and definitely would do it again in a heartbeat.

I'm currently using Nuva Ring but looking into an IUD. Nuva ring has been effective but I keep forgetting to put it in at the end of my cycle. I can usually remember in 2-3 days as long as I have a refill waiting. If I need a refill it may be 1-2 months until I get it and am able to use it (2 kids under 2 - my memory and time are both limited.) However, it is effective and has no crazy side effects or problems from randomly stopping and starting it.

I have that IUD and love it. It has stopped my period but I can still tell when I'm SHOULD be having a period so my body is still doing what it's supposed to do. I just have a little more tenderness in my uterus and an occasional cramp. I was on the depo shot for 3 yrs when I was younger, like 18-21 and didn't have a period with that either. I must just be suseptible to that...(no complaints). I did not have any problems getting pregnant either... I now have 3, all within 4 months of trying.

Good luck,
M.

I will be getting mine in Monday, and my biggest concern was that most people dont have their periods, and like you I feel like our body has a period for a reason. But my OB, and good friend, assured me that all it does is thicken the lining, just like if you were pregnant or breastfeeding, and that it does not affect your hormones any more than that. I am a little uneasy about it, but mostly alright, and I really trust my ob ( a woman BTW), so I feel like she would not let me do anything unsafe. She has a Mirena too. I will let you know how it goes on Monday if you want!

E.,

Why don't you just stop having sex?! JUST KIDDING!!! :) I had the Merena IUD for two years and it was wonderful!!! I would totally recommend that above all else to anyone looking for BC. For me, I cramped really bad when it was inserted. I remember it was about two days later before they were completely gone. No, they weren't severed the next day...you just knew you were uncomfortable. I had a little bleeding in the beginning, but didn't have a period the entire time I was on it. I took it out b/c my husband and I were trying to get pregnant...and the removal was so easy. After that, things went back to normal.
My boss also had the Merena inserted...she didn't cramp at all, but she had a light period for quite some time. Last time we spoke about it, she was going on six weeks...But she said it was a light flow to just spotting on some days. But, she said that was the best thing she could have done.
Good luck...I'm sure you'll do fine.

I've had the Mirena IUD for the past 2 yrs after the birth of my first child. I will admit the first 6 months I spotted off and on and did have some cramping. I now don't cramp with my periods. I do have less heavy periods, but I have them every month for about a week. I think every woman is different. I'm glad I have an IUD because I wasn't sure I wanted more kids but didn't want to get anything done yet since I wasn't sure.

Hi E., I've had the Mirena going on 3 years and have not had any problems. There is also the ParaGard IUD and that is the one that is known to cause very heavy periods and bad cramping. I wanted it simply because it's good for 10 years, but my OB (a woman) advised against it due to the heavy periods and cramping. The Mirena is good for 5 years and most of the nurses in her office have it. The Mirena thins out the lining in the uterus and that's why your periods are light or stop. The lining that normally builds up during the month and is shed when you have your period doesn't happen so it's not like there's stuff building up inside you that isn't coming out. You still get all the other wonderul PMS symptoms though like sore, tender breasts, moodiness, and bloating. At least I do. LOL

Mirena is a tiny T-shaped piece of plastic. Once Mirena is in place, it begins to slowly release small amounts of the hormone levonorgestrel into your uterus. It does not contain estrogen, so you can be free of estrogen-related side effects.
Levonorgestrel is a synthetic progestogen. Progestogens are hormones that produce effects similar to those of progesterone, the only natural progestagen. All other progestogens are synthetic and are often referred to as progestins. (from the Mirena website and wikipedia)

If you decide to get it take some Motrin when you get to the Dr.'s office. The insertion is quick, but it felt like a really intense menstrual cramp for a few seconds when she was putting it in. My husband has never felt the string and I've never had any pain with it. The only negative side effects I've had were bloating and a constant light period for about 3 months after having it inserted. I've had 3 or 4 light periods since having it once the initial bleeding stopped.