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I read an article on ovarian cancer which mentioned that due to the nature of the pill, it increases the number of effective periods that a woman will experience in her life and this leads to increased cancer. And the best pill was one that actually prevented all periods. So I have two requests, the first is anyone know what the article I'm talking about is? And I heard there's a new pill that was released earlier this year that would prevent any periods, anyone know what that's called?
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Jul 30, 2013 16:27
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Lanky Coconut Tree posted:I read an article on ovarian cancer which mentioned that due to the nature of the pill, it increases the number of effective periods that a woman will experience in her life and this leads to increased cancer. And the best pill was one that actually prevented all periods. So I have two requests, the first is anyone know what the article I'm talking about is? And I heard there's a new pill that was released earlier this year that would prevent any periods, anyone know what that's called? Not to be harsh, but that article is completely wrong. The pill actually decreases the risk of ovarian cancer very significantly. The periods you have on the pill are technically "withdrawal bleeding" and are not the same thing as actual menstrual cycles that involve hormonal changes to the reproductive organs like ovulation, thickening and shedding of the uterine lining. By basically shutting that cycle down, the pill has a protective effect against both ovarian and endometrial cancers. I know Wikipedia is kind of hit or miss, but this article is actually very well researched/cited: Wikipedia posted:The use of oral contraceptives (birth control pills) for five years or more decreases the risk of ovarian cancer in later life by 50%.[46] Combined oral contraceptive use reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by 40% and the risk of endometrial cancer by 50% compared to never users. The risk reduction increases with duration of use, with an 80% reduction in risk for both ovarian and endometrial cancer with use for more than 10 years. The risk reduction for both ovarian and endometrial cancer persists for at least 20 years.[21] As for stopping your period, you can safely do this with any combined birth control pill (or the ring and patch for that matter) just by skipping the placebo pills and moving on to a new pack. You'll probably have better luck with monophasic pills that have the same levels of hormones week to week, but it can be done with any combined pill. But there are some formulations that are made with this in mind like Seasonale, Seasonique, Lybrel, and probably others. They're technically called "Extended cycle" oral contraceptives if you want to do some Googling around on your own. I don't know about progestin-only pills though.
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Jul 30, 2013 17:16
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Kimmalah posted:I don't know about progestin-only pills though. So far my switch off the patch has been completely neutral--no new bad things have popped up, but none of my problems have backed off. I'm still having abysmal pain on one side (where there is a small cyst, but nothing that would be this painful) and on and off cramps that pop up regardless of what point I'm at in my cycle. I woke up in the middle of the night twice in the last week feeling like my uterus is trying to escape my body and even the new prescription for diclofenac that my gyno gave me last week only took the edge off. Fuuuuuuuck 
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Jul 30, 2013 18:28
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I went to the doctor's office to get the Mirena put in this morning, and it didn't work. On the first try, it slid out as the nurse practitioner was taking the speculum out. The second try, she couldn't get it in all the way. This is even using a dilator and another set of prongs. Now I have to go in tomorrow to get the internal sonogram to make sure my anatomy is okay before trying again in a month. loving cervix. At least she's only gonna charge for the office visit instead of the full shebang since today was a failure.
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Jul 30, 2013 18:56
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I'm five days into the minipill and nothing bad to report so far. My skin's cleared up for the first time since starting back on BC, but I'm a little hesitant to attribute that to the new BC just because I've been on vacation all week somewhere with better water quality, which could be a major factor as well. Hopefully this will go well and at my next pelvic exam I can talk to my gyno about long-term progestin-only options. She's been really dismissive so far, and the general practitioner nurse at the same clinic who I see for my antidepressants has said that she'd rather I be depressed and anxious than have an IUD, so I'll have to see.
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Jul 31, 2013 03:38
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Miz Kriss posted:I went to the doctor's office to get the Mirena put in this morning, and it didn't work. On the first try, it slid out as the nurse practitioner was taking the speculum out. The second try, she couldn't get it in all the way. This is even using a dilator and another set of prongs. Now I have to go in tomorrow to get the internal sonogram to make sure my anatomy is okay before trying again in a month. loving cervix. If it makes you feel any better, I had a failed insertion a year ago, and got one placed two months ago, no issue. 
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Jul 31, 2013 03:45
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GabrielAisling posted:she'd rather I be depressed and anxious than have an IUD, so I'll have to see. What? Why?
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Jul 31, 2013 04:42
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GabrielAisling posted:I'm five days into the minipill and nothing bad to report so far. My skin's cleared up for the first time since starting back on BC, but I'm a little hesitant to attribute that to the new BC just because I've been on vacation all week somewhere with better water quality, which could be a major factor as well. Hopefully this will go well and at my next pelvic exam I can talk to my gyno about long-term progestin-only options. She's been really dismissive so far, and the general practitioner nurse at the same clinic who I see for my antidepressants has said that she'd rather I be depressed and anxious than have an IUD, so I'll have to see.  Is there any way you can switch doctors for this? Because the ones you have now don't seem very helpful to say the least.
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Jul 31, 2013 04:46
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Kimmalah posted:Not to be harsh, but that article is completely wrong. The pill actually decreases the risk of ovarian cancer very significantly. The periods you have on the pill are technically "withdrawal bleeding" and are not the same thing as actual menstrual cycles that involve hormonal changes to the reproductive organs like ovulation, thickening and shedding of the uterine lining. By basically shutting that cycle down, the pill has a protective effect against both ovarian and endometrial cancers. I know Wikipedia is kind of hit or miss, but this article is actually very well researched/cited: Thanks for all this, I don't know much about this stuff as it's not really my area. Going to start looking into extended cycle pills as my girlfriend suffers really bad cramps.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:13
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Kimmalah posted:
If they continue to give me grief about it I will, but as things are, I can visit the student health center for free, which is significantly better than the $35-$50 copay I'd have just for an office visit with an in-network gynecologist. The student health center has plenty of pamphlets for Mirena and Implanon, but they're on display because the school gets kickbacks from the companies to display them, not because the health center will actually do insertions for either of them if you're not 25+ and/or have a kid. I did finally have one of my healthcare professionals listen to me when I said I wanted an IUD. It was my therapist, but she does have some say over my medication even though the actual prescriptions are done by the nurse. She's already told me to go back once fall semester starts and ask for a proper sleep aid instead of having me use my rescue anxiety medicine to knock me out every night. I know it's a small victory, having someone who can't prescribe the medication listen to my concerns and treat me like I'm not an idiot, but it's a step in the right direction. And I might be the one to make this path available for other women at my school without as much resistance as I've met, which would be great. On another note, I think it was mentioned somewhere in the recesses of this thread, but was it Skyla that is the lowest possible hormone dosage for the hormonal methods?
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Jul 31, 2013 06:21
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I found the article I was talking about actually. Referred to breast cancer, not ovarian. http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_03_10_a_rock.html Anyone heard of Minulet? Apparently it was discontinued in the UK after a law suit.
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Jul 31, 2013 11:10
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GabrielAisling posted:If they continue to give me grief about it I will, but as things are, I can visit the student health center for free, which is significantly better than the $35-$50 copay I'd have just for an office visit with an in-network gynecologist. The student health center has plenty of pamphlets for Mirena and Implanon, but they're on display because the school gets kickbacks from the companies to display them, not because the health center will actually do insertions for either of them if you're not 25+ and/or have a kid. I did finally have one of my healthcare professionals listen to me when I said I wanted an IUD. It was my therapist, but she does have some say over my medication even though the actual prescriptions are done by the nurse. She's already told me to go back once fall semester starts and ask for a proper sleep aid instead of having me use my rescue anxiety medicine to knock me out every night. I know it's a small victory, having someone who can't prescribe the medication listen to my concerns and treat me like I'm not an idiot, but it's a step in the right direction. And I might be the one to make this path available for other women at my school without as much resistance as I've met, which would be great. Yeah I understand wanting to stick with a clinic that's affordable/convenient and knows your history. There's nothing wrong with waiting and seeing how it goes. I just think you should be very careful when a doctor is so opposed to an IUD that they've actually said they would prefer you just continue living with side-effects that are negatively affecting your life. That's just awful. There's no medical reason you couldn't handle an IUD. And it worries me to see a doctor trying to force you to stick with something because of their own outdated ideas rather than sound medical reasoning. I've had doctors like that before and you either have to take a very strong stance with them or find another doctor. Hopefully your therapist will help, although I don't know how much she can do officially.
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Jul 31, 2013 15:24
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Well, pretty much doubled over in pain right now, so it's safe to say that my cyst isn't gone at all.
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Jul 31, 2013 19:34
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Did you ask why they won't do Implanon? In the old days, they didn't give IUDs to women who hadn't been pregnant because they were concerned about fit -- but Implanon goes in your arm, they can't even try to pretend that's a reason. You can call the maker and report the practice. I don't think they'd be pleased patients are being turned away for bullshit reasons.
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Jul 31, 2013 21:26
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i like nice words
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Driving 150 miles each way tomorrow to get my Depo shot on time. Love living in rural areas with no doctors on my insurance. I'm going to be starting grad school with some pretty nice health insurance this month though, so I'm thinking about switching to something longer term than the shot. Has anyone switched from the shot to Implanon? I had some bad side effects with the combination pill, but with the shot I don't even notice I'm on birth control. And I don't even have spotting any more. It's so nice.
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Jul 31, 2013 21:33
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Apri: I was on it for more than a year and it was alright. Light, short periods. Cleared up my acne. Made me crave junk food nonstop though and I gained about 20lbs. I have dropped 7 pounds of water weight (I am not and never was overweight) since switching to Mirena a few weeks ago - my diet turned on a dime back to where it was before I was on the pill. It doesn't really feel like a coincidence; I'm pretty in touch with my hunger, cravings and dietary needs. I'm still bleeding from my Mirena and it's been more than three weeks inlcuding the period I got before the insertion. Huge bummer.
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Aug 2, 2013 07:54
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Tshirt Ninja posted:I'm still bleeding from my Mirena and it's been more than three weeks inlcuding the period I got before the insertion. Huge bummer. Same here But at least the cramps eased up.
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Aug 2, 2013 15:31
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So kind of an emergency question. My girlfriend is on birth control pills, and yesterday we had unprotected sex as we normally do. Today she went to get her prescription filled only to realize it had expired, and given that it is Sunday she can't call the doctor to get a prescription filled. According to her, Walgreens won't give her an emergency refill (something I've always been able to do at other pharmacies for other types of prescriptions). Is there any chance that she may get pregnant? I know that sperm can live in the body for several days and all that. If so, she'll probably be able to get her prescription filled tomorrow- if she takes the pill then will that negate any risk, or should she get a morning after pill?
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Aug 4, 2013 17:29
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Arven posted:So kind of an emergency question. My girlfriend is on birth control pills, and yesterday we had unprotected sex as we normally do. Today she went to get her prescription filled only to realize it had expired ... If so, she'll probably be able to get her prescription filled tomorrow- if she takes the pill then will that negate any risk, or should she get a morning after pill? To clarify: She took a pill on Saturday, but could not take one today, Sunday (ran out, Rx expired)? IF she gets her new Rx tomorrow (Monday) and takes two pills right away (one for today, and one for Monday), she will be fine. IF she CAN'T get the new Rx until Tuesday or later, she should take a Plan B right away (today). Missing one pill is okay, but missing two is not. If she gets her new Rx on Monday, she's only missed one day (Sunday). If it's after Tuesday, she's missed more than one day and needs to use a back-up (in this case, an after-the-fact back-up). Reformed Tomboy fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Aug 4, 2013 |
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Aug 4, 2013 17:44
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Reformed Tomboy posted:To clarify: She took a pill on Saturday, but could not take one today, Sunday (ran out, Rx expired)? OK. Thanks so much!
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Aug 4, 2013 17:50
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My pharmacy switched generics on me this month and I hate this one. "There should be no discernible difference" is what the pharmacist said. The pharmacist can kiss my rear end. Tired all the time. Bloated beyond belief. Irritable. Depressed. Now I get to go hunting down a pharmacy that has my old pills. There has to be one somewhere
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Aug 5, 2013 20:52
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Sorry for the following wall of text; I'm feeling kind of venty and emotive right now. I saw my FNP for my yearly "well woman" visit and came out of it feeling pretty discouraged. I'm currently on Yasmin/its generics and have been for 7 years; she's pushing for me to switch to a different BCP because it has an increased risk of blood clots over other pills. I was prescribed it when it was new and the increased risk wasn't known. Because I have lupus I'm considered to be at an increased (albeit still extremely small) risk for clotting. Typically this association is due to the fact that people with lupus often also have a condition called antiphospholipid syndrome that puts you at a high risk for clotting; I definitely have tested negative for it and my lupus itself is very mild but apparently I get treated like I might have an increased risk anyway. For what it's worth, my rheumatologist is fully aware of which pill I'm on and has never expressed concern about it. Regardless, I don't think my FNP is going to renew my Yasmin scrip and will force me to switch when my current 3-mo refill runs out. I'm bummed because I tend to react badly to new medications and I'm extremely resistant to changing something I know works for me. She said she'd have suggested an IUD except that they haven't been shown to prevent ovarian cysts, which I went on the pill for in the first place. I was kind of frazzled by her insistence that I switch and started bringing up all the reasons why I like Yasmin, but in the wrong order and made it sound like I was more concerned with controlling my acne and not retaining water weight than, say, controlling my severe cramps and PMS. So her reaction was very dismissive, "you're more concerned with a few pimples than the risk of a blood clot?" and I don't think I fully explained myself to her. When I first went on Yasmin I gained a fair amount of weight, particularly in my breasts. I did not like this and I have never been comfortable with the size of my breasts since. My weight stabilized after that and I've been ok with my weight since then; but when I started taking the pill continuously (skipping the placebo for 3 months) I gained another cup size (maybe 2 - I haven't found a bra that fits properly since) without gaining weight anywhere else. Mostly I'm just terrified of switching to another pill, my body freaking out at the change, and my breasts getting even bigger; I already have a pretty terrible body image in that regard. Also, my boobs have some bizarre fat-retaining ability in that even when I lose weight I never lose it in my breasts, so if I gain weight there it seems to be non-reversable. (This is the reason why I don't like her suggestion of "well, try it for a few months and if you can't stand it, switch back" - even if I switch back the "damage" would already be done.) I also have issues with depression and anxiety and I'm worried about how switching to a different progestin might affect my mood. Before going on the pill I had very severe PMS; since starting Yasmin I have just one or two really bad days and am otherwise relatively stable. So I guess what I'm saying in this wall of text is that I like the pill I'm on for very specific reasons, most of which are related to my mental health, except I managed to convey absolutely none of this to my FNP and made it sound like my concerns were entirely shallow and superficial. She asked me to look into Seasonale, Nordette, and Ortho 1/35 and said she'd give me a call in a few weeks to talk about it further. I've tried looking at them online but they all list the same side effects so it's hard to judge just from their rxlist.com entries. Do you guys think I'll be ok switching? Have any of you switched progestins and had very different experiences with them? Any advice on how to talk to the FNP so I don't sound like I'm just concerned about pimples? Or just how to calm myself down over the thought of switching?
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Aug 7, 2013 05:38
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You said your rheumatologist was aware of your birth control and didn't seem too concerned. Would it be possible to talk it over with them and see if they're OK with giving you a prescription for Yasmin instead if the FNP cuts it off? Not that I normally encourage "shopping" around for prescriptions, but I would think if anyone would know whether Yasmin is a real problem with regards to your lupus, it would be the doctor that actually specializes in it and is familiar with your medical history.
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Aug 7, 2013 06:22
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My rheumatologist and I haven't really discussed it. It only came up the first time I saw him as he was reviewing my current medications; he just said something along the lines of "I see you're taking the birth control pill; that's good and you should stay on it." (Unplanned pregnancy + lupus is a bad idea, both because you need to go off the meds while pregnant and because it's automatically a high-risk pregnancy. So they really don't want you getting knocked up without the go-ahead from your rheumatologist and a specialist OB first.) I did suggest to the FNP that I ask the rheumatologist about it to get his opinion and she said that was fine. I'm not comfortable shopping around for the prescription though, as you said. Ultimately this is her specialty and she prescribes bc all day long so presumably she's more up-to-date with the relevant literature. I just feel like the absolute risk of clotting is still so small - even if it's elevated relatively - that's it's difficult for me to evaluate if avoiding that potential harm is worth the potential (but also small) risk of side effects, and vice versa.
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Aug 7, 2013 09:00
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I still get acne. My husband wants me to try birth control pills because it might help. Topical stuff has done a lot and it's mostly gone except a few that pop up here and there... but I walk to work in really hot weather and end up sweaty constantly at work. I absolutely don't want to screw with my body and honestly I'm wary of going on any type of medication for something so small as acne. I don't want to be am emotional mess, gain weight, or get any of the other "possible side effects." I'm happy as I am, and screwing around with my hormones seems like a bad idea. If I would stay me without any stupid mental/physical effects I'd be a lot happier to do it. I am willing to try it even though I'm not really excited about it. I'm 27, 120lbs, I don't smoke but I drink a little, I've got no diseases but I do have a tendency to get random, harmless cysts in random places on my body. There are a lot of cancers in my family along with a lot of high blood pressure and stroke risks. I don't have a doctor so it would probably be off to PP if I wanted to do this. Any advice? Edit: no, it's not about the sex thing really. I should add that I used to have horrible bacne, now it's down to a literal two zits-- and I feel like I still get a couple here and there because I am out in the heat sweating like mad for a half hour a day. I get really sweaty. In total I have four zits right now, and one of them is more of a "you plucked your eyebrow and now it's angry" sort of thing. He pretty much said "let's try something new to get rid of all of it" and then it ended up with us talking about BC because I felt that if I go to a doctor, that's probably what they're going to want me to do. Pretty much all my searches end up with people going, "Well you're a girl, just take BC! It's easy!" Scathach fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Aug 11, 2013 |
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Aug 11, 2013 12:01
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What age are you? edit: read the post Silver!  What are you currently using for birth control? The reason I asked was because if you are not on any kind of hormonal birth control pill there are pills you can get from your doctor that help to clear up acne though they mess with hormonal birth control which is a 'why bother' situation. Ultimately it sounds to me like you don't like the idea of the birth control pill so don't! Try different washes and see what works for you. Ask around in here for advice or try out this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3519520 SilverSliver fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Aug 11, 2013 |
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Aug 11, 2013 12:15
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Scathach: to echo SilverSliver, if you don't wanna use birth control to manage your acne, then don't! I don't mean to sound dismissive but bc did less to help my acne than a benzoyl peroxide facewash. YMMV but it's true that there are risks and it is a commitment and if you don't want to take those risks to deal with pimples, don't. Is it possible your husband wants you to try bc for reasons other than dealing with your acne or was it just a suggestion? Not to make him sound sinister or anything since I totally don't think he is, but I had a boyfriend make the same suggestion cause he thought it'd help and the perks would be cool, haha. Robo Kitty (LONG POST INCOMING): Your rheumatologist isn't actually going to know terrifically much about how your birth control is going to affect you-- at least, not more than your OBGYN-- and while I kind of hate to echo her (especially since I know for a fact that switching birth controls really blows), I am also at very slightly elevated risk for blood clotting because of a mutated gene. I was on Yasmin when I was 15 and it admittedly made me bonkers, but I didn't actually stop taking it until at sixteen years old I got a blood clot. It completely hosed me over for school, I almost lost the year, but more importantly I was in horrible pain and had to have a loving embolectomy before my junior year of high school. The absolute risk of clotting seems small until it happens to you. Elevated risks (I know you tested negative for APLS but my mom also has Lupus and is APLS negative and she is cautioned similarly, I'm not sure increased risk is just associated with APLS?) are scary, increasing age is scary, and Yasmin (like your doctor says) is associated with increased risk of blood clotting. I know three other women who had blood clots on Yasmin and only one was a smoker and none were over 30, and this isn't because I went to a support group, this is because I went to high school and college. I don't want to caution people against birth controls that work for them, but I don't think your doctor is coming out of nowhere and as somebody who also suffers severe cramps (my uterus is flipped and I have PCOS) I would rather have those two weeks a month for the rest of my goddamn life than ever have a blood clot again. Of course, you might feel differently and that's fine-- it's your body! I just can totally understand why your doctor would be like "you do realize you can get blood clots right" because they're loving terrible, they disrupt your life in a big way. And that's only if you live through it/don't suffer serious necrosis. Luckily mine was in my leg and my mom recognized what it could be and took me to the doctor right away. That said, I am on the minipill now; my cramps are way more chill and I don't really have PMS issues. I tried other combined pills before I switched for migraines/out of fear of getting another clot, and Ortho-tricyclen actually really helped with my acne, cramps and PMS. You are probably not going to have the same reaction from one pill to the next for better or for worse, but if I were in your doctor's shoes I'd also recommend trying another combined pill because of the risks associated with drospirenone in particular. It is very likely not the only pill that would help all the problems you want addressed. I have friends with all those problems all on different birth controls and, again, while switching sucks, as someone who has experienced a blood clot as a direct result of taking Yasmin I would recommend giving something else a shot before you commit. I haven't tried many combined pills but I've switched progestins and the only time it ever made a difference emotionally or physically was quitting Yasmin because I stopped feeling "crazy" and didn't get another blood clot. Good luck though! It's a difficult mess to navigate and it's not like you'd be making a mistake in staying on Yasmin or anything, it's just that it makes absolute sense to me why a doctor would seem a little "no seriously" about blood clots-- they gotta deal with people who actually have them and they understand completely what it means.
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Aug 11, 2013 21:55
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Jeez planned parenthood, so much for privacy. Some telemarketing sounding dude just called asking for me by name, about whether I'd had "birth control or a mirena iud implanted and had medical issues with it", to my dad. wtf. And he called my home phone, which is pretty odd considering that I never gave that number out. On another note, the past two times I've had sex I had severe cramping during and had to stop and lay on my stomach for a half hour before they subsided. It was INTENSE. I still have an ache this morning if I tense my abs. It felt like when I had the mirena put in, and I have no idea why I'm getting this pain. I'm gonna have to get it checked out if it continues. bobula fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Aug 12, 2013 |
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Aug 12, 2013 18:24
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Is getting an IUD a bad idea if one enjoys minor cervical stimulation during sex?
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Aug 12, 2013 18:41
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That was one of the big reasons I went with Implanon rather than an IUD. An IUD seemed likely to cause issues, while Implanon obviously won't. Bobula, that is a huge HIPAA violation. It sounds like an ambulance-chasing lawyer call, but he got your info from somewhere. I would call up PP mad as hell, because it's a major fuckup that could cost them a ton. e: I'm spoiled living in New York. If you're in an area where PP is controversial, it could potentially be sabotage, intended to do exactly what it did. Regardless, I would be on the phone to PP. Anne Whateley fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Aug 12, 2013 |
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Aug 12, 2013 18:52
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Anosmia posted:Is getting an IUD a bad idea if one enjoys minor cervical stimulation during sex? It made mine more sensitive for a while but eventually things were back to normal.
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Aug 12, 2013 19:26
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Anosmia posted:Is getting an IUD a bad idea if one enjoys minor cervical stimulation during sex? I found it made my cervix a little more sensitive. Which for me, made sex feel better actually but your mileage may vary there. It's never really been painful or anything just more like a "Woah I'm feeling things I haven't felt before" kind of feeling.
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Aug 12, 2013 21:39
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bobula posted:Jeez planned parenthood, so much for privacy. Some telemarketing sounding dude just called asking for me by name, about whether I'd had "birth control or a mirena iud implanted and had medical issues with it", to my dad. wtf. And he called my home phone, which is pretty odd considering that I never gave that number out. I got one of those in robocall version but not only have I not been to Planned Parenthood in years, I don't have an IUD. I think they're looking for girls to farm lawsuits basically (I've seen a commercial for it too so there must be some class-action suit against certain IUDs for some reason). If you didn't give PP your home phone then they got the info somewhere else-- information like "here's the phone number and full name of someone fitting a certain demographic!" can be really valuable. Information is definitely one of the largest industries in the world so I don't know that I'd be super quick to blame PP. e: Unless you mean the only place you gave out your home phone is PP, in which case call them mad as fuckin' hell as previously suggested
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Aug 12, 2013 21:52
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Yeah, I've gotten emails and calls like that before I ever had an IUD (let alone the fact that it's not a Mirena). Planned Parenthood doesn't even have the phone number or email addresses they've used. They just know that generally Mirena users are going to be women of childbearing age and they're taking the shotgun approach to find more claimants in these lawsuits. This seems more likely considering they called a number you don't give out (so presumably didn't give to PP). I seriously doubt that a clinic that has ANY sense of self-preservation is going to give out your information in any way without your permission because that's a surefire way to incur massive fines and maybe even get shut down.
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Aug 13, 2013 00:29
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It's a freaky coincidence, then. I figured maybe they (PP) register the info of everyone they get Mirenas for with the company that produces Mirena and it was required publicized information from a lawsuit ruling or something of that sort (does that make sense?) The only info I've ever given PP connecting to my home is my address, so I thought perhaps they got my address and name and just looked up a phone number matching my last name + address = home phone. Either way, it was jarring and unexpected and I got accusing looks from my dad (he's one of those religious guys) so I wasn't too happy. I'm going to ask PP about it anyway, just in case they had some breach of information that they may or may not know about. I live in California so they're definitely not under fire here.
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Aug 13, 2013 03:57
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My guess is that because it is an implantable medical device, the company would want to have your contact info on file just in case there was some reason for a recall or something. Chances are it was probably a coincidence since the person who contacted you wasn't from the manufacturer.
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Aug 14, 2013 01:23
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I thought I should add to this thread since there's an Essure story in the OP but no tubal ligation story (and the html to that story is kinda broken Eggplant...). I considered putting this in the vasectomy thread, or starting a new female sterilization megathread, but this seems like a better home. I got sterilized via tubal ligation @ 25. I was unmarried and had no children. Hormonal birth control of all types causes me to become insane and suicidal, and in a long term relationship condoms were becoming depressing. I've never wanted children and always figured I'd get this done eventually. So shortly after college I decided to ask my doctor to refer me and he did. The gyno surgeon was hesitant at first, but after a fifteen minute conversation discussing every other form of birth control available to me, and my refusal to even consider an IUD, he was confident that I understood what I was asking for and had done my homework. I cannot speak of costs because  , it was free.Another key feature here is that you can't sue doctors for surgeries you consent to that were performed properly, which may be a factor in allowing younger people to get sterilized without much trouble vs America's lawsuit fetish. I know someone who had her tubal @ 21, also childless and unmarried. Essure at that time was new to Canada and was only being performed by one doctor in the entire province. Also I opted for the tubal because they're impossible to gently caress up and you wake up sterile, whereas Essure can have serious placement issues/might not work at all and involves waiting and follow-up tests When the surgeon came in to the ER I high fived him. He was clearly not used to patients being this jazzed about surgery. I was prepped and had my legs put up in tall J-shaped stirrups. I signed a 2nd form in pre-op giving them permission to perform a standard gyno exam + pap smear while he was in there, so that was convenient. Tubal ligation is performed through laparoscopic surgery. A scope is inserted into the navel, another one through the pubic area, and the abdomen is inflated with gas. The fallopian tubes have sections cut out of them and the ends of these cuts are burned. It is an exceptionally fast surgery, one of the most performed surgical procedures on the planet, and is the #1 birth control method in use world-wide. All the nurses prepping me in the operating room reassured me - they'd all had tubals as well. Woke up 3 hours later high as balls in the recovery room. It took longer to wake up from the anesthetic than the surgery itself. The procedure only took half an hour vs two hours in recovery. The surgeon came in to tell me it all went well, he had nothing of interest to report about my ovaries or uterus "And hey your appendix and internal organs all look great too!", Good to have someone take a peek at my liver from the inside I suppose. He's a weird guy. I felt somewhat gypped in that I was given no fancy drugs, only a note to take plain old Ibuprofen as needed. Recovery took about 5 days. It felt like a horse had kicked me in the abdomen. I had taken the week off work as I had a rather physical job, but someone with a desk job could easily be back quicker than that, as long as they could wear loose fitting pants. The first 24 hours were spent in bed, waiting for the leftover gas to dissipate so I could sit up without shoulder pain. After that it was just a matter of the extreme soreness fading away. The thing no one warned me about was the deep yellow bruise that developed slowly right under my belly button from all the scope movement. It was pretty gross looking, as were the stitches and dried blood coming out of my bellybutton. What followed the recovery week was 2 weeks of no sex, no tampons, no masturbation, nothing. The first time I had sex afterwards, I cried because i was so happy to finally be free from pregnancy forever. The bother of surgery was nothing compared to this. It was worth it a thousand times over. I was free. Despite any nasty myths you may have heard, my period was unchanged afterwards. My cycle was a bit... confused for the first few months, as is to be expected with any surgery of this nature, but it went back to normal quickly enough. There is no physical reason for this to affect your periods. Your body has no idea that this happened. Your hormones remain the same. I have a scar hidden inside my bellybutton, and another that was hidden by pubes but now it's faded away so much that I can't even find it. That surgery was 8 years ago. I'm 33 now and being sterile still totally rules every single day. Resource for ladies looking to get sterilized when younger and/or childless: This community lists experiences and doctor info for gynos willing to help. Yes it's Livejournal but its the only resource of this kind that I know of: http://sterilizationqa.livejournal.com/
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Aug 14, 2013 05:02
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Thanks so much for sharing that! I've thought seriously about a TL myself - if anyone else has stories to share I'd love to hear them.
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Aug 14, 2013 06:46
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Hell cramps and breakthrough bleeding before I've even gotten to the pill stacking point, why you gotta be like this, Marvelon Hopefully, it's all just my body settling down. Also, the diclofenac I was prescribed by my gyno didn't even touch the cramps or the ongoing weird stabby pain up my left side. Sigh.
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Aug 14, 2013 16:59
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Hey guys, it's Bulletkiss and I posted the Essure story in the OP. Just wanted to let you all know that I still plan on posting about the follow up procedure...once I have it. See, the follow up exam can happen 3 months after the procedure and also (as I found out when I called to schedule the follow up) when my period starts. I take active birth control pills until I start spotting, then stop the pill for 3 days, then start up again (per my gyno). I usually have a period every 3 or 4 months. I had my Essure procedure in March and figured that would be good timing since June or July I'd get my period and would be able to get the follow up. Well, I still haven't started spotting! I know I can stop taking the pill and make my body start spotting, but I'm super paranoid in case the Essure didn't scar/block up right and then oopsie...baby time! So I'll just wait until my body does its normal thing, then after the test I'll stop taking the pill. The doc I talked to said the follow up isn't as uncomfortable as the procedure itself, but I expressed concern since I passed out during the procedure and she gave me some Percocet. So I'm all set and will post as soon as I get the follow up!
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Aug 15, 2013 05:23
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