HELP...I Need Advice on Birth Control...what Do You Use/like?

I have been on the pill for most of my adult life. It's fine if you don't smoke! I Have been only having a three day spotting period for several years now! Talk about an easy period. and now that I am nearing menopause (I'm 48) I hardly notice any pre-menapausal symptoms which my dr. says is from the low dose pill. For me it's the only birth control! I feel it has been the right choice for me.

I too have problems with hormones and migraines. My headache specialist informed me that I better quit taking hormones for birth control because my clock work migraines were precursors to stroke. That is when my husband and I started using condoms. We had no problems with them other than the less than romantic pause to put it on. We later had a daughter which I got pregnant with right away and 3 years later a son. Both of our children were very much planned and since we had one of each we agreed to be done. He had a vasectomy a year after my son was born and we ceremoniously threw the condoms away. I would caution you about implanting devices and taking hormones. Both seem to cause more problems than a simple out patient procedure like a vasectomy. Just be sure that your husband clears all the sperm out or you might be in for one more baby.

Hi Maretta,

For personal health reasons I cannot use hormonal birth control, so after the birth of our second child (both of ours were surprise blessings!) just 21 months after our first, I decided to get a copper IUD. I think it is called Paraguard. I do have some spotting in-between, and the periods are certainly heavier than they were pre-IUDs, BUT it is 99% effective in birth control, so to me, the benefits outweigh the side effects. I've never had migraines, so I can't speak to that other than to say that I've not had any with the Paraguard. We weren't ready for any surgical options -- we haven't ruled out future children, we just would like a small break! Oh, and by the way, we were using condoms and still got pregnant with our 2nd child, so much for that. So the Paraguard was the best option for us. Hope this helps and good luck.

The only thing that I have found that is hormone free is the copper IUD. I can't use the synthetic hormones found in birth control. So my only option was the copper IUD. My periods are somewhat heavier and a little longer. But there's no spotting all the time. The cramping starts off really bad in the beginning, but I've had mine for a little over a year and they don't seem as bad anymore. And where there aren't any hormones you don't feel "crazy" the weight gain and other hormonal side effects aren't there. Hope this helps in your quest in the right birth control. The only other thing I suggest is an array of ways to convince your husband to get the snip and clip. 1. you had how many children come out of your reprductive system, and he can't go and have a small little office procedure? 2. If he gets it done then he knows that he's not going to get you pregnant. 3. Having a tubal ligation is an actually operation where you have to go and be put under and have a hospital stay. 4. Get a large cast iron fry pan and whack him on the head and drag him into the doctors office :).

I use Natural Family Planning, but you do have to work at it and it is harder to do if you don't have a normal cycle. There is also a copper IUD that doesn't have any hormones. It basically blocks the area for the sperm to go meet the eggs. I have heard good things about that. I plan on trying that next time. All the hormones I have tried give me lots of migraines.

In my younger days I used the pill. After the birth of my second child in 1987 I went back on the pill, Ortho Novum. But its such a pain trying to remember that dang thing daily. My husband was the same way. He didnt want to get a vasectomy. So in 1994 I decided it was time to get the tubal. It was great. No more worrys, no more condoms, no more pills. It makes a big difference in your sex life. I had my tubes burned, not just tied. In 2005 I got very sick, I lost 21 pounds in a 2 1/2 week period. I went to the doctor and he sent me to a gastoric specialist. Well guess what? I was pregnant! Yes, after 11 years the surgery failed. Boy were we in shock! I was 40 and pregnant...LOL. My point is, if you are planning some form of permament birth control, BOTH of you should take on the responsibility. He should get the vasectomy and you should get the tubal or there is a new procedure called Essure. Go to http://essure.com/ . Its permament b/c and its done in the doctors office and takes something like 90 secs. Wish I had heard of it before I had my tubes reburned. Yep, Ive had 2 tubals in my lifetime...LOL.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

The pill Karva is good I use to take something else and it made me to emotional. This one I am fine.

We are in a very similar situation. We have a 3 year old born 3/05 and a baby born 5/07. We are using condems, but I'm scared I will get pregnant again. I am still breastfeeding, so I don't want any hormones. I concidered getting an IUD, but I'm hearing alot of negative things about them. Good luck!

You may want to look into "natural family planning"! I think in your case it may be helpful! You will learn a lot about your body and how it works! You will learn when/and when not to be intimate! Or if you do take extra precautions! Once you get the routine down it will suit you perfectly! My co-worker is married with 2 kids and she has not been on BC for years (none)! And her youngest is 5 soon to be six! So natural family planning does work! So may you should give a try!

You need to check out a book by Toni Weschler called Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

It is Natural Family Planning. You have to take your body temp first thing in the morning, check all your other "body" signs, etc...every day. Keep track of them. You can then monitor your most fertile days to "naturally" avoid a pregnancy. There are no hormones to take.

There is even a free software CD that comes with the book to help you monitor all your signs and tells YOU when you are fertile and when you are not. There are also several other websites that do charting also.

Check out FertilityFriend.com --- another free service to keep track of it all.

If when the fertile time comes around, you can either abstain from making love to your husband or protect yourself other ways.

I have used the Depo Provera shot, pills, the patch, nuvaring, even Tubal Ligation (wrong idea-I had more pain and symptoms) that I even had it reversed (yes the symptoms went away) that I now use the NFP method.

Good Luck!

we had a similar problem... i don't do well with hormones, and i wanted a tubal. we never really had a good conversation about it so i signed up. it could have caused a problem in the long run, but after a very hard pregnancy (life-threatening for both of us) i had made up my mind. afterwards, he will admit i am right, but not before. he says the risk for those few hours was too much to endure.

as for iud's, from what i found on package inserts and web sites, minera has a low-level hormone in it. as i said before, i don't do well with hormones, and i used a paraguard with no problems. after 6 wks of spotting (and a baby 6 wks before that), all was normal.

i hope this helps.

I used the diaphragm for years and it was very successful. You just have to use it each time you make love. I think it is less invasive than other methods. See what other people have done. J. K.

the easiest thing for you would be to have your tubes tied. there is little recovery, and no side effects that i can think of. i had mine done when my 4th child was born (by c-section), but doing it at another time is still very easy. most men don't like the idea of a vasectomy, but having your tubes tied shouldn't freak him out. it's great to not worry about getting pregnant, or having to remember to take a pill, or deal with other side effects from the hormones. good luck.

If you are wanting to go natural, you might look into the Lady-Comp: http://ladycomp-babycomp.com/show.php/index. It takes some of the guesswork out of NFP. Downside is that it is pricey. Good luck!

If the pill worked for you then you might want to start taking it again until you and your husband make a more permanent decision. My husband & I used the pill and then condoms while I was nursing for obvious reasons and we surely didn't want to get pregnant again right away! When we decided that we didn't want to have any more children we chose a tubal ligation. It was an outpatient surgery. That worked great for us. Hope this helps. God bless!

Research Implanon - www.implanon.com
It is a 3 yr implant that goes in your arm. I got mine in a few weeks ago. I haven't had any problems or side effects yet. Of course, I haven't gone through a cycle yet either.
But I had three different OB's recommend it to me.

I am in the same boat as you. I have not tried the IUD as I feel I would run into the same issues. We use condoms & I hate that - kills the spontanaety (sorry spelling is probably wrong). I hope others have responses that can help us both out.

Nikki

Hello!! It really sounds like you are having issues with hormones as I did, there is an IUD that is non-hormonal, I've had mine for 6 years and it's great! Just something you may want to look into... good luck!

As much as your husband may cringe, if you two have decided to stop having kids vasectomy is the way to go. I have two girls and my husband and I decided we were done and he went through the procedure. I have had the IUD implant, the shot, the pill and I will sing it from the top of the mountain that the vasectomy is the best thing that happened to my body! I am more regular than I have EVER been. Yes, my husband was uncomfortable for a few days but now we have nothing to worry about.

Good luck.

At this point you need permanent birth control. If your husband won't get a vasectomy (which is cheaper and less invasive than having a tubal ligation, but that's his choice), I don't think he should stand in your way to get a tubal ligation. Offer him that choice or condoms. Betcha he'll let you get your tubes tied then!

We have always used condoms since we got married, and they have worked great. You have to ALWAYS wear them. If you are worried, use the kind with a spermicide lubricant.

It is silly to consider a tubal ligation unless you are already on the surgical table cut open for anotehr reason. You risk your life (even if it is a very small risk) every time you go under anesthesia. If you are sure you don't want any more children, a vasectomy is the safest and most reliable method. A real man would not risk his wife's life on a tubal ligation when a vasectomy is an office procedure.

First I say I am sorry that you are having problems with your IUD. I am curious to know which one you have is it the Mirena which is good for 5 years or the other which is good for 10 years. I have the IUD that is good for 10 years and I like it because it has no hormones and it was the same cost as the other and lasts twice as long. The only problem I have had with it is that my periods are heavier.
I have tried every birth control method out there short of my husband or I having surgery and the IUD has been the best for us. Try talking to your DR when you go and see what he says. I have a fried that only uses a condom and it has worked for them. Good Luck.

You may want to ask your Dr. about the birth control shot.It is injected into the muscle of the upper arm and you will have some dicomfort for a couple of days after receiving the shot. You will be administered this every 3 months and when I was on this, I never had a menstral cycle. It took about a month for the cycle to disappear, but it was really great not having to worry about that time of the month.
Hope that this is another option for you and best of luck!
J.

I had my tubes tied after giving birth to twins. I was unsure at the time but now I feel like it was the right thing to do. I was on the pill briefly right after we got married and hated it. After that, we used condoms. We never got pregnant using them. You can get a bunch from ebay. They never bothered my husband and are easiest option for both of you--no surgery, no hormones...

The Aleese pill is very good. Low estrogene. Gain very little weight while on there at all if any. Very gentle on your body.

Hi Maretta,

first, I have found the Marina IUD to be a miracle form of birth control, so we obviously have different bodies, but I wanted to let you know that there is another IUD that doesn't involve hormones. I have heard that, unlike the Marina, which usually stops the period, this other kind has no hormones, which sounds like a really good thing for you, and makes the monthly period heavier. It is good for 10 years, and it is available in the Woodlands at Nativiti, where I got my Marina. Just an idea... I think it's effectiveness is up there with the pill, although not as high as the Marina, which is, I am told, more effective than a tubal ligation!

Best of luck!
M.

well, i was in the military for about 6 years and 4 years ago my husband and i got pregnant with our daoughet (3 yo) but before that the only thng i did was the DEPO shot. it worked for me very good. i did not gained weight, but i was very active too. after my kid was born i did not take the shot until she was 6 moths old and my husband was coming back from deployment. using the shot again and 9 months later discontinued it took us one year to get pregnant with our second kid. i tried the patch and the pill, but none worked for me. i love the shot.

that is all what i can say.

I have had issues as well with several birth controls. Currently I am taking Loestrin 24 And I love it. My periods are lighter and not as long either. Plus my cramps are now almost gone completely.As for the Depo shot dont do it. I bled on that thing for the full year and a half I was on it. Not to mention my husband informed me he was kinda glad to go to active duty because my mood swings made me unbearable to live with.That right there made me quit going and getting the shot. The best thing I can say though it talk with your doctor, they can listen to your concerns and find the best pill for you.

i know he cringes as the thought of a vasectomy, but we did it, $20 co-pay, very short recovery time, and NO change in sex life. it really is a great option, the least invasive (much more so than a tubal ligation), and the man will stay every bit of the man he was before. consider it!

First of all, my understanding of any birth control is that it makes your body think it is already pregnant, whether through hormones or an IUD fooling the body into thinking that there is already a baby inplanted on the uterin lining. Then your body doesn't even release an egg from your ovaries. So don't buy into what one of the other postings said about you may be miscarrying every month instead of not getting pregnant.

Now, if you and your husband are sure that you don't want anymore children, a vasectomy is the most cost effective and safest in the long run. It is less invasive than a tubal ligation for you, and the recovery time is much less. I see that you are a SAHM, and recoving from a tubal ligation would be difficult with 2 little ones running around. Also, a vasectomy is much safer than you continuing to stay on a hormonal birth control.

Talk to your doctor when you go to have the IUD removed, then discuss your options with your husband before you decide on anything that is long term. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

I know your husband says no way but I had a tubal following the birth of my third. I had used the depo shot for four years between my last two. I always felt not right I had no period and had a lot of side effects such as weight gain acne and other things associated with the hormones. If you are positive that you don't want any more kids I would talk to your doc about a more permanent method tke your husband with you a tubal is very safe. It is surgery but I have been very happy with my decision.