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How many forms of birth control do you know?
Former Member
Fruit loopDeactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
Hey folks i've wanted to make a post about the various forms of birth control for ages now and it popped back into my mind tonight.
For ages i thought the pill was only the thing that i could use and the lack of info in college was outstanding i thought i'd put a bit about all the ones i know
The Pill: The one we all know may know about. There is the combined pill and the mini pill(pop)
combined contains two forms of artificial hormones to mimic oestrogen and progesterone. the mini pill is progesterone only.
This when taken perfectly is over 99% effective. the pro's are:
helps with heavy or painful periods. only commonly has minor side effects and has no evidence to prove it causes weight gain.
cons are:
has to be remembered every day,
effective rate can go down if not taken on time,
can be affected by other medications
is not suggested for women over 35 who smoke or have certain conditions(commonly dvts)
The injection: This is injected by a nurse or doctor and lasts commonly for 8 to 13 weeks (depending on type) and if done correctly can be over 99% effective.
Pro's are: Not having to remember to take a pill every day.
Good for women who cannot have contraceptives with oestrogen
is not affected by other medications.
cons are: having to remember to book another appointment before it runs out.
having to get an injection often.
it can take a year for fertility to return to normal so not best to consider if you plan on having kids soon.
it may make periods longer or heavier (though it can stop them or make them lighter)
The Implant(my current one): is a small flexible rod inserted under the skin in the upper arm.
this is also progesterone only and lasts 3 years.
inserted correctly is over 99% effective and actually the most effective(99.95%)
pro's: no contraceptive concerns for 3 years.
can stop periods or make them lighter(done wonders for my endo)
good for women who can't take oestrogen based ones
can be removed whenever and fertility returns to normal very quickly.
Cons:
can make periods constant or heavier(a month of the pill alongside it can help)
may cause some swelling and bruising after insertion
the idea of it getting put in may not be great to some
some medicines can make it less effective
The IUD/Coil: these are almost as effective as the implant making them over 99%. and can last between 5 to 10 years (there is a hormonal one and non hormonal one) these are inserted into the cervix
pro's consist of: it works as soon as inserted,
can be inserted at any point during menstrual cycle
can be make periods stop or lighter(but has potential to make them heavier for first few months)
cons are:
can be painful during and after fitting, painkillers may be needed to help.
theres a small risk of infection after
and a small risk of it being pushed out.
it has to be checked every so often.
there is also less commonly known the patch. which lasts for 1 one week. you do this for 3 weeks then have a week off from it. This contains oestrogen and progesterone. you can wear it in shower, but it may raise blood pressure and can in rare cases cause a blood clot. this is also over 99% effective.
sorry for the lengthy thread but if you have any questions or want to share your experiences go ahead! i can share my experience of the pill too
For ages i thought the pill was only the thing that i could use and the lack of info in college was outstanding i thought i'd put a bit about all the ones i know
The Pill: The one we all know may know about. There is the combined pill and the mini pill(pop)
combined contains two forms of artificial hormones to mimic oestrogen and progesterone. the mini pill is progesterone only.
This when taken perfectly is over 99% effective. the pro's are:
helps with heavy or painful periods. only commonly has minor side effects and has no evidence to prove it causes weight gain.
cons are:
has to be remembered every day,
effective rate can go down if not taken on time,
can be affected by other medications
is not suggested for women over 35 who smoke or have certain conditions(commonly dvts)
The injection: This is injected by a nurse or doctor and lasts commonly for 8 to 13 weeks (depending on type) and if done correctly can be over 99% effective.
Pro's are: Not having to remember to take a pill every day.
Good for women who cannot have contraceptives with oestrogen
is not affected by other medications.
cons are: having to remember to book another appointment before it runs out.
having to get an injection often.
it can take a year for fertility to return to normal so not best to consider if you plan on having kids soon.
it may make periods longer or heavier (though it can stop them or make them lighter)
The Implant(my current one): is a small flexible rod inserted under the skin in the upper arm.
this is also progesterone only and lasts 3 years.
inserted correctly is over 99% effective and actually the most effective(99.95%)
pro's: no contraceptive concerns for 3 years.
can stop periods or make them lighter(done wonders for my endo)
good for women who can't take oestrogen based ones
can be removed whenever and fertility returns to normal very quickly.
Cons:
can make periods constant or heavier(a month of the pill alongside it can help)
may cause some swelling and bruising after insertion
the idea of it getting put in may not be great to some
some medicines can make it less effective
The IUD/Coil: these are almost as effective as the implant making them over 99%. and can last between 5 to 10 years (there is a hormonal one and non hormonal one) these are inserted into the cervix
pro's consist of: it works as soon as inserted,
can be inserted at any point during menstrual cycle
can be make periods stop or lighter(but has potential to make them heavier for first few months)
cons are:
can be painful during and after fitting, painkillers may be needed to help.
theres a small risk of infection after
and a small risk of it being pushed out.
it has to be checked every so often.
there is also less commonly known the patch. which lasts for 1 one week. you do this for 3 weeks then have a week off from it. This contains oestrogen and progesterone. you can wear it in shower, but it may raise blood pressure and can in rare cases cause a blood clot. this is also over 99% effective.
sorry for the lengthy thread but if you have any questions or want to share your experiences go ahead! i can share my experience of the pill too
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Comments
I miss how good it was for my periods as I still have regular ones on my implant but it's still better than without
I get quite dry skin and rashes from pads myself but I also can't use tampons it's a struggle lol
I actually didn't had any issues before but I got cramps since I use the pill xd
I know what you mean re the anxiety about taking the pill on time when using it for contraception, I do overthink it even if it’s an hour or so later than normal. But the thought of injections, implants etc scare me a lot lol I hate needles.
I now experience painful cramping but mild so that I can still go about my day.
Periods on contraception aren't really real periods so it can be different for others. For me it's far mild but if you never got cramps you will probably feel them
I get that @independent_
I have awful needle issues so the Injection was a no go. I liked the idea if an implant and talked to a sexual nurse about it who then offered to do it there and then lol I think it was better as choosing I may have chickened out but it was great looked away and only experienced a minor sting of the local anesthetic before my arm went numb didn't feel the implant go in and didn't have any pain much after
Of course wee also have female condoms but they look weird! Lol
Some very effective methods of birth control there @Aidan good to see the men getting involved 😂
Hey I have the implant too! I had a really good experience on mine as it stopped my periods, Giving me time to recover mentally from a truama.
I've never really thought about other contraception ways but I know for a fact I'll be so forgetful with pills!
I had a friend on the patch who fell pregnant and I've read several stories about how it isn't very effective.
I'm due to have my implant out but I'm absolutely shitting it. has anyone had experience of having it removed?
another downside to the injection is it thins the bones if you're on it for a long period of time … I got taken off it cause I already have thin bones due to my ed history
Admittedly i was terrified of that after getting it in thinking what have i done??! lol
did you get given a local anaesthetic during insertion? its pretty similar process taking out you get some local, get it removed which is 2 seconds if it was inserted correctly and then if you want another they pop the new in
A good point @Past User ! a friend of mine is on the injection and told me it can't be too long term for that reason
its important to remember its not common aha
i felt a bit faint after she told me to sit up as i tried to stand straight away haha
its not so bad it doesn't hurt at all its best to breathe and let them know if you're worried!
you get a bandage for removal to prevent bruising
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