Birth Control

[rebeccajo 14]

Nooooooo. I had my tubes done rather than ask my partner to have a snip simply because it's less invasive.

Having your tubes tied requires general anesthesia and surgery. A vasectomy is done in a doctor's office under local anesthetic... takes 20 minutes. No scalpel required.

I still don't understand how tube tying is considered less invasive....

Jen

Hahahahaha!

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate. Either you are misreading or I am mis-typing.

Of course a vasectomy is less invasive. And that's the reason many couples have it done. Not a good enough reason in my book.

Edited July 22, 2006 by rebeccajo

[JenT 0]

Nooooooo. I had my tubes done rather than ask my partner to have a snip simply because it's less invasive.

Having your tubes tied requires general anesthesia and surgery. A vasectomy is done in a doctor's office under local anesthetic... takes 20 minutes. No scalpel required.

I still don't understand how tube tying is considered less invasive....

Jen

Hahahahaha!

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate. Either you are misreading or I am mis-typing.

Of course a vasectomy is less invasive. And that's the reason many couples have it done. Not a good enough reason in my book.

Ok - now I get the emphasis... sorry for the confusion...

Jen

[iceyspots 0]

I SWEAR by the ring. I had been on the pill for ages...(Like Gwen by soccer playing was bad for the patch...too sweaty all the time). I would miss a day cause i'm forgetful and then take two and then throw up...it was bad.

I mean it...I SWEAR by the ring. It's so easy - you just put it in and forget about it! In on the 10th, out on the 15th...so easy, you don't even feel it and neither does the guy...at least mine doesn't.

Honestly it's great and my periods are down to TWO days!! I used to have five day periods with lots of blood and MAJOR cramping.

TWO DAYS That's it! It's been a godsend

Does someone have to remind you ... or do you get email reminders? lol

[Cristy 4]

I have been on depo and it really screwed with me badly. I had a friend almost die from it. Be very careful if you do it.

My dr recommended an IUD but it is expensive.

[sparkofcreation 0]

I'm on Seasonale which is a 13-week cycle, so you have your period 4 times a year (once a season, get it?). I love it. My periods are also lighter than they were before when I was on the regular pill. I do get some breakthrough bleeding towards the end though (about 9-10 weeks into the pack).

Being wholly or partially incapacitated for seven days out of every 28 was just no good. Now I feel a little bad for two or three out of every 91. Much improved.

Edited July 22, 2006 by sparkofcreation

[dani_christine 0]

i have some pretty strong opinions about this topic, as well. if you are planning to start trying to conceive in a year or two, i would definitely avoid any of the "long term" hormonal birth control methods...the implantables, or injectables, or the seasonale pills...because they have a much higher risk of messing with your cycles and causing you to be anovulatory when you do decide to start trying for children.

i have used the nuvaring, and found it to be pretty good...the dosage of hormones was actually QUITE low, so i felt no side effects at all. (although, i did find removal a bit tricky)

any hormonal birth control has the potential to cause weight gain (because they contain estrogen), and also has a risk of potentially serious side effects like blood clots, stroke, ovarian cysts and infertility.

the PP was correct...an IUD shouldn't be used by anyone who wishes to have children in the future...they can cause scarring and infection which can render you irreversably infertile.

personally, i would recommend that you check out this book:

Taking Charge of Your Fertility

it's pretty much the standard for natural family planning these days. this information will be helpful to you not only for prevention of pregnancy, but also for pregnancy achievement when the time is right! in my opinion, this is the *only* way to go! no hormonal manipulation...no side effects. as they say, knowledge is power!

(by the way, i think it's sweet that your husband wants to come along for your doctor's office visit. i would agree...birth control and child bearing is the responsibility of both partners! good for him!)

[ChristinaM 0]

IUD's are not only used in women who have had children. There are a multitude of reasons one might have one fitted - in my case it was a history of being unreliable on the Pill and a man who used intercourse (among other things) as a weapon so I needed not to be going for the morning-after pill every other week.

[sparkofcreation 0]

i have some pretty strong opinions about this topic, as well. if you are planning to start trying to conceive in a year or two, i would definitely avoid any of the "long term" hormonal birth control methods...the implantables, or injectables, or the seasonale pills...because they have a much higher risk of messing with your cycles and causing you to be anovulatory when you do decide to start trying for children.

(emphasis mine)

Sources, please? The studies I read before starting Seasonale showed that it had absolutely no effect on the cycles of women who went off it and tried to get pregnant, and women who had been on Seasonale conceived at the same rate as women who went off the regular 28-day pill, which was also the same rate as women who had never used hormonal birth control.

Those were the studies that the FDA did before approving it. What studies are you referring to?

Edited July 23, 2006 by sparkofcreation

[JenT 0]

I'm on Seasonale which is a 13-week cycle, so you have your period 4 times a year (once a season, get it?). I love it. My periods are also lighter than they were before when I was on the regular pill. I do get some breakthrough bleeding towards the end though (about 9-10 weeks into the pack).

Being wholly or partially incapacitated for seven days out of every 28 was just no good. Now I feel a little bad for two or three out of every 91. Much improved.

I take a low-dose birth control pill in the same way as people take Seasonale... but not for birth control... to control the hormonal fluctuations that have contributed to the migraines I've had. The migraines have been less frequent and less severe, and even when I have an 'off week', there's not enough build up to even have a period... like menopause without the side effects. I love it.

Jen

[sarah and hicham 3]

I have never had any side effects or super heavy/painful periods on mine. Also it keeps my skin very clear.

[dani_christine 0]

i am not quoting any studies...just my own anecdotal evidence from women that i know from infertility support websites that i am a part of. as the PP said, when she is "off" her week with the low dosage pill, there is not enough endometrial build up to cause a period. that's pretty much it, in a nut shell. if there isn't regular build up and shedding of the endometrial lining, it appears to cause difficulty with getting pregnant down the line. that's all i'm saying.

Menstrual Management

Jill Pearson's periods used to give her debilitating migraines. Then last fall the 30-year-old from Little Silver, NJ, began taking Seasonale, the newly FDA-approved birth control pill that allows women to bypass bleeding for 3 months at a time. "Before, I would get migraines for 2 days a month," she says. "Now I only get them four times a year. And they're less severe."

This year, the number of women doing what Pearson is doing--controlling their periods, and their side effects--surged to 200,000, and doctors expect many more women to join what experts consider a movement. According to Andrew M. Kaunitz, MD, assistant chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Jacksonville, "Using hormones to reduce or eliminate menstruation altogether is like a second revolution in the understanding of hormonal contraception, with the Pill being the first."

For years, women have been opting out of monthly menstruation on their own, using birth control pills to schedule their periods around vacations and honeymoons by discarding the placebo pills and continuously taking the active hormone-containing pills. Others have used Mirena, a progesterone-releasing intrauterine device (IUD), and Depo-Provera, a progesterone-only injection, both of which result in either fewer or no periods.

But Seasonale, which looks like and is taken just like the Pill, is more convenient and has fewer side effects than these other methods.

Women on Seasonale take 84 days of active pills containing estrogen and progestin, followed by a week of placebos. As with all birth control pills, you shouldn't try menstrual management if you're over age 35 and smoke, or if you have diabetes or high blood pressure, because extra estrogen can compromise your health. And though most contraceptives are quickly reversible, how fast Seasonale users return to fertility once use stops hasn't been studied.

source: http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s...647-1-P,00.html

[samir_shannon 0]

mandi not to be rude but, you sould always talk to your doctor. hormones can have serious side effects in the body and always get advice from the doctor. i had the shot one and it was a very bad experience for me. its a tough thing but, i havent heard too many good things about the patch either. i will ask my medical director what he thinks lol

Edited July 23, 2006 by samir_shannon

[sparkofcreation 0]

i am not quoting any studies...just my own anecdotal evidence from women that i know from infertility support websites that i am a part of. as the PP said, when she is "off" her week with the low dosage pill, there is not enough endometrial build up to cause a period. that's pretty much it, in a nut shell. if there isn't regular build up and shedding of the endometrial lining, it appears to cause difficulty with getting pregnant down the line. that's all i'm saying.

And all I'm saying is: you're stating your guess as a fact, when I'm telling you that I actually did look up and read studies on the subject before I started taking it, and those studies say that what you say is completely and utterly wrong.

It doesn't matter how much buildup of the endometrial lining there is while you're *on* the Pill, because that lining is shed *before* you next ovulate, just as getting your period happens before you next ovulate. And the FDA found that women who came off Seasonale were able to begin ovulating during the next month and had a 50% chance of conceiving in the next six months, just like women who come off the 28-day pill, and also just like women who weren't on any birth control at all.

Edited July 23, 2006 by sparkofcreation

[BelwinMills 0]

I enjoyed taking the pill but am no longer on it. Maybe cause he is so far away why waste the dough. I dont think I will go back on it for our wedding day. Don't think I will be ovaluting and I am not that scared of get pregnant. We want a little one soon... My sister in law does the shot and it has worked for her great.

Goodluck on your choosing. So are u making in decision yet over this comments?

[Mandi+Ryan 1]

Wow! Lots to reply to, and I was only away at work. LOL!

First off, TOGETHERNESS, is everything for BOTH Ryan and I. Ryan cares about me and is concerned about things that happen to me. This is his choice to be there for me in everything, I didn't twist his arm.

Secondly, "I think it is wonderful that she is including her spouse in decisions that effect their sexual relationship and her health and the future of their baby planning process. What is the issue? They are a couple!" Thank you. I couldn't have said it better.

"I feel that reproduction or avoiding pregancy is a decision that couples make together..." I couldn't agree more. My fiancé is not like most guys.

"(by the way, i think it's sweet that your husband wants to come along for your doctor's office visit. i would agree...birth control and child bearing is the responsibility of both partners! good for him!)" Totally agree! Adds character and shows he can take on the responsibility.

Thirdly, "Goodluck on your choosing. So are u making in decision yet over this comments?" No, like I said, it will be a decision Ryan and I make together.

Thanks for all your moral support and comments.