Looking for Birth Control Recommendations

I have the same problem you do. The pill makes me super-moody, super-hungry.. and leaves me no sex drive whatsoever. We used a diaphragm and spermicides when I was nursing.. but it's only considered about 80% effective. I just recently started Nuvaring, and I really like it. My doctor said that with the pill your hormones go up in the morning and then level out by the end of the day... with the ring.. they kind of go up at the beginning of the month, but then level out. Because the ring is in your vagina, you it doesn't have to have a lot of hormones to be effective.

The only thing I dont' like, is that I still don't have much of a sex drive... but we've decided it's worth it. The other thing that stinks is that our insurance doesn't cover it. So, it's about $40 a month.

Good luck!!

J.,
as you know via research short of abstinence there are many things that can alter your birth control plans leaving you with siblings. There are many natural books out there you can read, some work some don't. (even the "big" pill can have errors at certain times or when taking antibiotics) You can try a diaphragm and a condom together, and if you want to even be safer use an antispermicidal foam. I agree the whole concept is not very convenient.
K.

I am pretty much the same way. My body hates hormonal bith control. Last year my OB put me on Yaz and so far it seems to be working great for me. I had a little nausea at first but that went away in the first couple of weeks.

Basically, no method short of complete hystorectomy is 100% pregnancy-proof. However, I have several friends who use natural family planning. I'm sure there's a book on it and there are several OBGYNs who are proponents. It's more detailed than just counting the days of your cycle, so you definitely want to read up on it. However, you might use condoms until you're comfortable with it. I have one friend who has successfully remained not pregnant for nearly 4 years. Another one got a book to try it and found out she was pregnant that same week :-).

I was pretty regular after my first and knew we wanted to have another in 2 years, so I simply counted the days of my cycle and usually could tell when I was ovulating. Since I knew we would have another one soon, I didn't worry too much about another pregnancy. Now that I have 2 though, I didn't want to risk it and have chosen a different route.

Have you tried the Nuva Ring? I know the ring has a low dose of hormones and since they do not travel through the blood stream there are less side effects. I have used the ring for 3 years now and love it, I too can not take BCPs. I hope this helps.

T. N.