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I'm going to 3rd Kerfuffles Advice. When I got my IUD in, there was not even a mention of getting a shot  However, my doctor did give me a pill to stick up there the night before. I think it was a muscle relaxer/pain killer. So that might be another option?
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Sep 30, 2011 14:10
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2508084 posted:I went to my doctor today to talk about new birth control. After a couple years on depo I went off and realized that it was exacerbating my mental health issues a bit. While I loved the constant protection (and no period), I decided to stay off it. I tried the ring, but it wouldn't stay properly placed no matter what I did, so I gave up and went BC free for about two months. Relying solely on condoms to prevent babies kind of freaks me out so I asked my doc about an IUD. Okay, other ladies, please PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, but all of this sounds like overkill? Or an inexperienced gyno who may be working off of old information? I was told to take 800mg ibuprofin (which is, last I checked, the max safe amount to take in one dose) and to come in during my period. Nothing about abstaining for 10 days (she might have mentioned something about day-of intercourse?) and no numbing. I mean, I got the copper iud and you're getting the miriena, and every vagina is different so maybe your cervix is tiny and cranky to deal with and your gyno knows that, and I am pretty sure my gyno is a vaginal superhero who has put in about seven billion iuds and is totally comfortable doing so. I don't know, I would just make really, really sure your doctor knows what she is doing. If this thread has taught me anything, the best way to give yourself a good insertion experience is to go to someone who has done it a billion times. I'm sorry to poo poo on this comment specifically, and maybe your doctor is totally awesome and my concerns are unfounded, but for some reason that throws a bunch of red flags for me.
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Oct 1, 2011 19:02
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Nicol Bolas posted:Okay, other ladies, please PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, but all of this sounds like overkill? Or an inexperienced gyno who may be working off of old information? I was told to take 800mg ibuprofin (which is, last I checked, the max safe amount to take in one dose) and to come in during my period. Nothing about abstaining for 10 days (she might have mentioned something about day-of intercourse?) and no numbing. I mean, I got the copper iud and you're getting the miriena, and every vagina is different so maybe your cervix is tiny and cranky to deal with and your gyno knows that, and I am pretty sure my gyno is a vaginal superhero who has put in about seven billion iuds and is totally comfortable doing so. I don't know, I would just make really, really sure your doctor knows what she is doing. If this thread has taught me anything, the best way to give yourself a good insertion experience is to go to someone who has done it a billion times.
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Oct 1, 2011 19:07
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Just want to make sure, the 12 for 2 dollars condoms at my university health clinic are most likely just as effective as a name brand, right? I don't want to be a cheapskate if it would matter, but I have a hunch they are just as good.
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Oct 2, 2011 19:01
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It's time for another round of "poo poo my doctor says." After being told I'd have no hormonal side effects from Mirena because "it doesn't circulate," I went back and told her I absolutely do not want the Mirena, I'm done with hormones, give me the copper one. She said she was hesitant to do it because the Paragard has not been approved for use in women who have never given birth. She reluctantly agreed, though, once she realized I wasn't budging on the issue. So ladies, is there any truth to this? Also, they gave me two little white pills and told me to take them 6 hours before the insertion. I have no idea what the name is. I was only told that it would make it less painful. They also told me to take 800mg of ibuprofen an hour before. Definitely no shots. I am wondering why they would do shots, like others have mentioned, if there's a pill instead? Short insurance rant- After calling my insurance company and being assured that they will cover Paragard, I took the actual prescription to the pharmacy only to be told that my insurance didn't cover it. Next step is to have my doctor call and convince them this is the best option for me. Not sure if it will work and if it doesn't I have no idea what I'm going to do because 800 bucks is kind of a lot just for the IUD and that doesn't even include the insertion.
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Oct 2, 2011 20:37
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lunarian posted:It's time for another round of "poo poo my doctor says." After being told I'd have no hormonal side effects from Mirena because "it doesn't circulate," I went back and told her I absolutely do not want the Mirena, I'm done with hormones, give me the copper one. She said she was hesitant to do it because the Paragard has not been approved for use in women who have never given birth. She reluctantly agreed, though, once she realized I wasn't budging on the issue. So ladies, is there any truth to this? Also, they gave me two little white pills and told me to take them 6 hours before the insertion. I have no idea what the name is. I was only told that it would make it less painful. They also told me to take 800mg of ibuprofen an hour before. Definitely no shots. I am wondering why they would do shots, like others have mentioned, if there's a pill instead? Both IUD types are appropriate for women who have not given birth. The FDA approval doesn't discriminate based on whether or not you've given birth in the past. The little white pills were likely a drug called misoprostol. Misoprostol has been shown to have zero effect on ease of IUD insertion or pain perceived during insertion. The main reason perpetuating its use during IUD insertion is doctor-to-doctor word of mouth. Did the pharmacy try calling the insurance company, or did they just say that it wasn't covered based on what showed up on their computer? Typically when a patient says that the medication/medical device should be covered, they'll at least investigate a bit further.
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Oct 2, 2011 20:50
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Monitor posted:Just want to make sure, the 12 for 2 dollars condoms at my university health clinic are most likely just as effective as a name brand, right? This isn't the best thread for condoms, (sex question megathread should know) but I remember way back someone posted this thing showing condom effectiveness, and those weren't as effective as name brands. lunarian, this is my own personal opinion, but I'd find another doctor just because I wouldn't feel comfortable getting an IUD from her. Definitely fight your insurance for this too. Kerfuffle fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Oct 2, 2011 |
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Oct 2, 2011 21:03
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Wow. My college gave out Durex for free... by the drat handfuls. I had more condoms than I knew what to do with by the time I left college.
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Oct 2, 2011 21:06
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gently caress Mononessa, I'm trying something else. The problem: I can't get an appointment to get a prescription for a different pill until after the start of the second pack. Do I take a month off of birth control, or would that stress my body out even more? If I had a different terrible reaction every week (angry rage, apathy, deep depression, worse-than-usual PMS and almost daily headaches), would I do better on a triphasic pill, perhaps?
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Oct 2, 2011 21:41
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Yeah, I use the free give-out condoms for vibrators and the like, not for actual sex. They are great for sex toys!
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Oct 2, 2011 21:42
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Geolicious posted:Wow. My college gave out Durex for free... by the drat handfuls. I had more condoms than I knew what to do with by the time I left college. Yeah, my university clinic sat out big glass bowls full of condoms in the waiting rooms and pretty much anywhere else they could get away with. There was also usually one of the ubiquitous "brown paper bags" in each of the exam rooms. I too had an impressive collection of free condoms by the time I left. Even now the clinic I go to pretty much forces me to take a bag of 20 condoms and a weird little can of spermicidal foam with me everytime I visit even though I don't need them. The last ones were rainbow colors.  I can't really comment on their effectiveness since everytime I needed them the other person usually had their own brand name supply. Like Kerfuffle said, the Sex Questions Megathread seems to have a lot of wisdom about condoms.
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Oct 2, 2011 21:45
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My girlfriend had Mirena installed about three weeks ago, and all the soreness had gone until last night when we had fairly vigorous sex and I may have hit her cervix. Today she was complaining of pain in her cervix similar to when she had it installed. She also had some light bleeding that may or may not have been related. She's worried that the IUD may have moved or that something else might be wrong, like a puncture. She has a checkup scheduled for a week from now; should she just wait until then if things don't get worse, or make an appointment right away? Probably just jitters but this is her first experience with birth control. Mechafunkzilla fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Oct 3, 2011 |
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Oct 3, 2011 02:29
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DRP Solved! posted:Both IUD types are appropriate for women who have not given birth. The FDA approval doesn't discriminate based on whether or not you've given birth in the past. Thank you for this. The pharmacy did call and was still told that it wasn't covered. The pharmacist even asked them why they gave me false information. They said they only cover some pills and no IUDs whatsoever so they are unsure why I was told that. I am guessing I should find another doctor. This will be my fourth one since moving to LA a year ago. Not sure why I keep having so many issues. If anyone can recommend a good OBGYN in the Torrance or Santa Monica area it would be very much appreciated!
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Oct 3, 2011 06:20
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Hi ladies, I posted a while ago about being depressed on birth control... I just wanted to say that since I stopped taking it my head has been SO much clearer.  I no longer feel nothing but sadness, and life's gotten quite back to normal for me.I still have a huge problem with an abnormal period though. My last one was so heavy it ran through tampons and pads within an hour combined. I have made an appointment with my doctor to discuss seeing a obgyn perhaps. I'm quite stuck between a rock and a hard place now. Either I get wicked awful periods or I take BC which, well, wasn't exactly helpful either. Just wondering if anyone had any advice before I go see my doctor.
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Oct 3, 2011 07:23
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Chicken Doodle posted:Hi ladies, I posted a while ago about being depressed on birth control... I just wanted to say that since I stopped taking it my head has been SO much clearer. I don't have any helpful advice other than urging you to get to the doctor asap because bleeding that heavily is not okay. 
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Oct 3, 2011 07:53
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Mechafunkzilla posted:My girlfriend had Mirena installed about three weeks ago, and all the soreness had gone until last night when we had fairly vigorous sex and I may have hit her cervix. Today she was complaining of pain in her cervix similar to when she had it installed. She also had some light bleeding that may or may not have been related. She's worried that the IUD may have moved or that something else might be wrong, like a puncture. I had mine put in five weeks ago and was still spotting throughout the day until about a week ago. Even when I wasn't spotting, I'd bleed during/after sex. That seems to have cleared up a lot, but I think bleeding a bit is pretty normal. If she gets bad cervical pain I guess she should go in early, but some cramping is normal, even after she thinks it's all settled in.
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Oct 3, 2011 10:33
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fork bomb posted:I don't have any helpful advice other than urging you to get to the doctor asap because bleeding that heavily is not okay. Quoting for emphasis because that really isn't normal or good.
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Oct 3, 2011 18:11
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Mechafunkzilla posted:My girlfriend had Mirena installed about three weeks ago, and all the soreness had gone until last night when we had fairly vigorous sex and I may have hit her cervix. Today she was complaining of pain in her cervix similar to when she had it installed. She also had some light bleeding that may or may not have been related. She's worried that the IUD may have moved or that something else might be wrong, like a puncture. Would it be possible for her to call the doctor and ask about it? My guess is that if she had a puncture or something like that she would be in a pretty severe amount of pain, but I'm not an expert either. If she could get advice from her doctor, it could save her a trip and give her some peace of mind (or get her an early appointment, whichever is necessary). Chicken Doodle posted:Hi ladies, I posted a while ago about being depressed on birth control... I just wanted to say that since I stopped taking it my head has been SO much clearer. I've kind of lost track of all your posts in the thread, but what kinds of birth control have you tried? Sometimes it takes a few tries and being depressed on one formulation doesn't mean you're doomed to be depressed on every other pill/patch/ring/whatever. It's tough until you find it, but periods like that are worrisome. I'm pretty sure going through a pad and a tampon in an hour is when a lot of people start advising an ER visit.
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Oct 3, 2011 20:18
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Mechafunkzilla posted:My girlfriend had Mirena installed about three weeks ago, and all the soreness had gone until last night when we had fairly vigorous sex and I may have hit her cervix. Today she was complaining of pain in her cervix similar to when she had it installed. She also had some light bleeding that may or may not have been related. She's worried that the IUD may have moved or that something else might be wrong, like a puncture. Yeah I had wicked cramps pretty frequently the first year my IUD was in, now I only get them when I'm about to have my "period" aka light spotting. It should be fine. Most of the puncturing cases were during insertion if I remember correctly. TBH, I don't know if I'd get another IUD once this one is done. I was totally knocked out when they inserted it so I don't know if I want to deal with the pain of inserting a new one...or having my uterus rage at me during the adjusting period. I'll probably go back to the NuvaRing.
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Oct 3, 2011 21:11
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NaturalLow posted:Would it be possible for her to call the doctor and ask about it? My guess is that if she had a puncture or something like that she would be in a pretty severe amount of pain, but I'm not an expert either. If she could get advice from her doctor, it could save her a trip and give her some peace of mind (or get her an early appointment, whichever is necessary). Well she says that it's much better today, but yeah I encouraged her to call her doctor and ask if she was really worried about something. I'm sure it'll be fine, it sounds like some discomfort and bleeding coming and going in the weeks after insertion is fairly normal.
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Oct 3, 2011 21:21
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About the condom thing, don't they have to conform to standards? They do here in the UK, at least- they all carry a logo to say they've been tested and certified. I did some clicking around, and condoms seem to be governed by Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but I'm finding it hard to find exactly what standards they have to conform to. I'd say, though, that they all surely have to have a certain point of efficacy, otherwise you'd be selling a faulty product which could have pretty loving big consequences. This has a bunch of info about the tests they do on condoms, I'm pretty sure if they failed then they'd be unfit for sale. Bollock Monkey fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Oct 3, 2011 |
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Oct 3, 2011 22:48
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Bollock Monkey posted:About the condom thing, don't they have to conform to standards? They do here in the UK, at least- they all carry a logo to say they've been tested and certified. Good point. Maybe it's just a case of the "you get what you pay for" mentality with a little confirmation bias thrown in. I guess it's also possible that people have gotten bad batches or something. There's no telling what kind of conditions some free condoms are stored in - like in my previous post where they were just kind of left sitting out wherever for god only knows how long. It would be pretty easy to grab a bunch that were expired or stored improperly which will increase the chances of failure.
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Oct 3, 2011 23:59
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A few questions: Do all birth control pills affect strength gains, or is that something that could vary pill by pill? I'm going off of Mononessa but this would determine if I try a different pill or just stay the hell away from hormones overall. (I am into powerlifting.) Do diaphragms really have a 6% failure rate? It seems awfully high.  Am I correct that condoms, an IUD, a diaphragm, or that centchroman/Saheli pill are the only non-hormonal options with reasonably low failure rates?
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Oct 4, 2011 03:54
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muscat_gummy posted:A few questions: If I remember there wasn't any clear evidence one way or the other because no particular studies have been done on it. One ladygoon who I think was a bodybuilder opted for a copper IUD because she had similar concerns. And yeah diaphragms are pretty outdated and bad. The Saheli pill isn't available in the US as far as I still know.
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Oct 4, 2011 04:24
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Doesn't the pill have a 5% failure rate though?
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Oct 4, 2011 04:36
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With "typical" use (missing pills and whatever). Diaphragm is 6% failure rate with "perfect" use, it's 15-20% with "typical" use. e:Woops nevermind on outdated thing I was thinking of goddamn sponges for some reason. Sorry. I guess they're only a little worse than male condoms. Seriously does anyone use sponges anymore, are those still sold? Kerfuffle fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Oct 4, 2011 |
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Oct 4, 2011 04:41
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The regular hormonal birth control pill? It has a .2% failure rate with perfect use and 8 or 9% with imperfect use. Saheli has between 2% and 5%, I believe. Condoms are also at 2% with perfect use. Planned Parenthood still has a page about sponges! http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-sponge-today-sponge-4224.htm Kerfuffle posted:The Saheli pill isn't available in the US as far as I still know. Oh, but I can get it. I used to take it and it treated me just fine, but my boyfriend at the time was super paranoid about pregnancy so we used condoms plus Saheli. This time I'm looking for an alternative to condoms. But hey, Saheli has a lower failure rate than diaphragms so it'll probably be fine. 
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Oct 4, 2011 04:48
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muscat_gummy posted:A few questions: I can't really say anything about strength gains and hormones. I know we had a poster with a similar dilemma once, but I can't remember her name offhand dammit. Are you looking at typical use failure rates or perfect use? Because typical use failure for diaphragms and condoms both appear to be way above 6%, depending on the population you're looking at so they're both kind of high for you. Perfect use is lower than 6 which is why I'm getting confused here. And to my knowledge, Saheli isn't legally available in most countries so unless you're in India or have some other means to get it I'm not sure that's an option. Edit: Took too long with my post. You all got that covered fast!
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Oct 4, 2011 04:49
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muscat_gummy posted:A few questions: It probably varies by pill, though the effect of birth control pills on strength is a very under-studied area. In general, studies haven't shown a significant reduction in strength. I'm basing what I said just now on this article: Burrows M, et al. The Influence of Oral Contraceptives on Athletic Performance in Female Athletes. Sports Med 2007; 37: 557-74. Let me know if you are interested in reading this article but don't have access, I can try to PM/e-mail you a PDF or summarize the results in more detail. quote:Do diaphragms really have a 6% failure rate? It seems awfully high. See the figure at the bottom of my post! Lanthanum posted:Doesn't the pill have a 5% failure rate though? Only with "typical use"; with perfect use it is closer to 0.1%. Conversely, it's 20% with typical use of diaphragm and 6% even with perfect use. It's also arguably a lot easier to use the pill "perfectly" compared to a diaphragm.
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Oct 4, 2011 04:55
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I found that article, thanks! Because of the depression issue I may just shy away from hormones though. It's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction since I know not all pills will turn me into a useless husk of a human being. I like to think that I'm pretty close to perfect use. For the pill, I have a 30 minute window I'm comfortable taking it, and if I don't make it, condoms for a week. I guess I get kind of OCD about this stuff.
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Oct 4, 2011 05:09
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So, this is really more a survey, I guess... I used a sponge a couple of weeks ago, and my male partner couldn't stand them. He described the sensation as "rubbing against a pumice stone," and we ended up switching to condoms. This really surprised me, since one of my exes really enjoyed sponges, and I've just never heard anything like that before. Has anyone had a similar experience?
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Oct 4, 2011 06:22
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muscat_gummy posted:Is depression due to the pill a side effect that might go away? I've been on it for only 3 weeks and I haven't felt sane that entire time. I want to lay around and cry all day and barely have the energy to get up out of my chair... when I'm not super irritable at anything and everything. It's awful. Should I tough it out? Acting like a crazy person is putting a strain on my relationship. Depression and mood changes are definitely possible symptoms of certain hormones. I remember when I switched to estrogen pills I had a couple of days where I was super tired and just slept all day. I was also super sensitive about everything. The worst of the symptoms went away after about a week so I wasn't sleeping 16 hours a day and constantly feeling super moody, but I was still really weepy for the couple of months that I was on them. Three weeks sounds like a long time to have such severe symptoms, and if I was experiencing that I would call my doctor to talk about using a different method... I actually posted on here about my symptoms, and several folks said that things as simple as switching brands can work wonders.
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Oct 4, 2011 06:32
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Nicol Bolas posted:I was told to take 800mg ibuprofin (which is, last I checked, the max safe amount to take in one dose) quote:and no numbing. She did say the numbing wasn't entirely necessary, just that it would help me (pain-wise, I'm assuming). I'm hoping it works and isn't too awful. If the plastic Mirena IUD doesn't work, I assume that a copper one wouldn't either? \/I didn't know it was made of plastic as well 
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Oct 4, 2011 06:46
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2508084 posted:She didn't specify 1000mg. I didn't mean to phrase it like she had. That is actually my family's standard dose. You always take 1000mg. I never questioned why, I didn't even know it was unsafe :\ I might be completely missing the point of your question here but the copper IUD is made of plastic too. The copper part is wire wrapped around it. I personally heaven't heard of materials making a difference other than something like a metal allergy.
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Oct 4, 2011 07:29
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2508084 posted:She did say the numbing wasn't entirely necessary, just that it would help me (pain-wise, I'm assuming). I'm hoping it works and isn't too awful. In my case the injection was to get my cervix to relax and open. Doc told me there was only a 50/50 chance it would work, and luckily it did. It's not her standard practice to do it by default, though. But I guess if your doc has had a lot of nulliparous patients who have had difficult cervixes, doing the injection from the get-go could save time/pain of getting prodded a lot.
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Oct 4, 2011 08:40
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porkypocky posted:TBH, I don't know if I'd get another IUD once this one is done. I was totally knocked out when they inserted it so I don't know if I want to deal with the pain of inserting a new one...or having my uterus rage at me during the adjusting period. I'll probably go back to the NuvaRing. At least for me there was pretty much zero adjustment period with the second IUD. Despite the fact that I had a hellish removal of the first IUD and had to have my cervix prodded and poked for >20 min and eventually have it numbed. I expected several days of bad cramping (like after the first insertion) and got almost nothing. Just a couple of light cramps.
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Oct 4, 2011 09:05
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Big ups to the IUD crew. Don't have one myself but I know from this thread that it's a trial by fire ordeal. I'm on my second Implanon because I couldn't make myself go that route, not even for 5(?) years protection.
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Oct 4, 2011 09:12
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I had a copper IUD. Saved up for a year to pay the $1200 for it and then it poked itself out two months later. Luckily not through the uterine wall. Despite being a parous woman, they said my uterus was too small to accommodate one. Most expensive two months of birth control ever.
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Oct 4, 2011 10:37
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Chib posted:I had a copper IUD. Saved up for a year to pay the $1200 for it and then it poked itself out two months later. Luckily not through the uterine wall. Despite being a parous woman, they said my uterus was too small to accommodate one. Most expensive two months of birth control ever. Holy crap, you're definitely (hopefully) the exception to all the IUD loving crew. Tell me more about how it "poked itself out" and how you knew something was wrong. Also, please explain why you chose to get an IUD without insurance.
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Oct 4, 2011 10:45
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fork bomb posted:Also, please explain why you chose to get an IUD without insurance. I don't know her reasons, but I am trying to save up for one, too. As previously discussed, my insurance won't cover IUDs, so I'd have to pony up. I'm so tired of worrying about the pill failing because of my weight (whether that's a valid worry or not is another story). I have a little saved, but I may be back at square one after I buy my plane ticket home for Christmas
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Oct 4, 2011 12:10
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