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Maybe you should add in that most of the OP is an attempt to aggregate all the important info about all types of birth control, and it's not expected that anyone will read the whole thing before asking a question. 
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Jan 18, 2011 02:47
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Before I had my IUD inserted, I was required to have a STD test done - they drew blood in addition to the pap smear. I had an appointment at the hospital to get the blood drawn. I don't know if that's standard procedure or not, but I've never made an appointment specifically to get tested.
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Jan 18, 2011 04:03
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I seem to recall reading that if you get pregnant while on Depo/have recently been on Depo, there's a higher risk of some complications or illnesses in the baby's early years. Although I think in your case they're just hatin' on birth control because clearly you should be pregnant, married and raising a family by now. Edit: and yeah, it's probably a good idea to have some explanation of what, exactly, a typical and perfect use failure rate means. I've seen many people think the failure rate is for every time you have sex, and that would be... scary. :/ Bagleworm fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Jan 19, 2011 |
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Jan 19, 2011 15:07
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footaneurysm posted:I'm 23 and I've been on the pill for 3 years now, Yaz before and now Loestrine 24, and they both have 4 placebo pills instead of 7. Ever since I started taking the pill my period would come on the 3rd or 4th day into the placebo pills and go through the first day or two into the next pack. I'm concerned about the timing of my period. I've even tried putting off starting the next pack for a few days to make the placebo last 6 or 7 days rather than 4, but my period would then come a few days later the next month. I'm worried because that means I'm not getting the hormones in the last few days before my period, I just want to be sure I'm still protected. I know it's been answered before but the fact that my period is very insistent on being "late" I'm wondering if this has any impact on how effective the pill would be. I'm also concerned because due to health issues in the past few years my period is getting lighter and shorter and I've even missed a period here and there. If I miss a period would that also impact how protected I am on the pill, assuming it's not due to pregnancy? How your period behaves has nothing at all to do with the effectiveness of your hormonal birth control. Many women lose their periods entirely when on hormonal birth control and their BC is still at full effectiveness.
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Jan 19, 2011 21:27
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(I think I covered everything!) Birth control's effectiveness is measured by two different numbers: the typical use and the perfect use failure rate. Both of them attempt to give an idea of how many pregnancies will result from the use of a single method of birth control for a year. Perfect use is exactly what it sounds like: use the method perfectly for a year, and this failure rate is the chance the method will fail on its own. This result usually comes from clinical trials over the first year of use. Typical use is what an average person can be expected to see. Typical use usually comes from surveys and studies conducted in the real world, where people make mistakes. (They are occasionally estimated based on the typical use rates of similar methods) The result is calculated as a simple percentage: calculate how many women got pregnant while using this method as their only form of contraception, regardless of if they followed the method's instructions. (Typical use is usually calculated based on the first year. Some methods have lower typical use failure rates if you factor in more years!) Typical use failure rates can include things like missing pills, breaking a condom, not pulling out if the pull out method is your only means of contraception, being late for your Depo reinjection... that sort of thing. Typical use failure rates can vary a few percentage points depending who did the study and on their sample size, but they are generally a good indicator of how easy the method is to do correctly. Should the method have a small perfect use but a high typical use failure rate, it generally indicates that it is easy to mess up.
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Jan 19, 2011 22:46
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Not Impressed posted:After 7 years on the pill, I'm seriously considering the Mirena. I've never had regular periods off the pill, so I'm a little concerned about the spotting that people report for the first months. I don't want to end up having spotting for the entire duration. How have other goonettes found the Mirena to be in the spotting/periods department? I have a copper IUD and have used a Diva cup from very early on; just make sure to break the seal before pulling it out (you're supposed to anyway, even if you don't have an IUD.) My boyfriend can feel the strings with his fingers when I'm not aroused, but during sex rarely feels them. (Sometimes he'll notice a bit of chafing after, and we suspect some string rubbing, but he almost never feels it during). This is because during arousal the vagina lengthens and changes shape, pulling the cervix much further back. The strings themselves are very thin, too, and can be hard to notice if you're not specifically looking for them. Here's a question - would IUD strings potentially make breaking a condom more likely? Oh, and for anyone who just got an IUD - do not be alarmed if sometimes you can't find the strings right away - the placement of your cervix actually varies both during your cycle and depending on other factors, like arousal. If one day you can't find your strings (but you don't have severe cramping to indicate expulsion), just give it a bit of time and try again. PS: no one needs to feel embarrassed or like something is TMI in this thread. We're talking about vaginas and sex here - we're all comfortable with discussing blood, pain, discharge, smells, and the fact that other people gently caress.
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Jan 20, 2011 14:59
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lou reed posted:The whole effectiveness percentage thing has always perplexed me. If condoms are 98% effective with perfect use, does that mean if you had 100 women use condoms perfectly and they all had sex at the same time, two of them would end up pregnant? What if one woman had sex 100 times while always using a condom perfectly? Will she get pregnant within the first 50 tries? Or is it if you go up to bat, you have a 2% chance of striking out? It's always over a year of use - completely ignores how frequently someone has sex. So, on average (since it's just a statistic!) If you followed 100 women who used condoms perfectly for a year, regardless of how often they had sex, about two of them would end up pregnant. If you followed 100 "typical" users - people who make mistakes - about 17 of them would end up pregnant. If you followed 1000 women instead of 100, about 20 of them would be pregnant by the end of the year, even if they were all perfect condom users. The failure rates are NOT the failure rates for a single act of intercourse. If they were, they would be much, much smaller.
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Jan 21, 2011 15:22
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SilverSliver posted:Then there was the time I was clotting... yeah... full blown actual panic attack over that one. I'm confused by this statement. Clots in menstrual blood are completely normal. Menstrual blood contains an anti-coagulate, but in very heavy bleeds it doesn't always have time to "work" so clots can form. It can be a symptom of something else, but on its own its nothing to worry about. E: NaturalLow posted:As far as I know, male birth control of any kind other than things like barrier methods and vasectomies doesn't really exist (outside of maybe some experimental stuff). I'm not an expert though, so others can chime in if I missed something. As far as I know, at least one male birth control has shown promise for use in humans with few side effects. Wiki says it might be available for use in as little as five years. This one works by affecting sperm development in a way that keeps the little guys from swimming, and it is fully reversible. There was a whole line of research into hormonal methods for men, but they always produced undesirable side effects (yeah, we know.) Bagleworm fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Jan 23, 2011 |
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Jan 23, 2011 17:31
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lou reed posted:I've heard it can kill sex drive, which is counterproductive to say the least. I know progesterone doesn't cause blood clots the way estrogen does, but I still don't love the idea of introducing hormones into my system. From everything I read, Mirena seems pretty solid, though. I do like paragard's longevity in comparison (12 years vs. 5) I have a copper IUD and I absolutely love not having artificial hormones in my body, but you do make a sacrifice - I still get moderately painful cramps and very heavy bleeding on my periods, and it's been almost four years. My periods only last about three days of heavy bleeding now, as opposed to the week they were for the first year... Still, I don't mind a bit of pain if I'm guaranteed that my sex drive and moods isn't being affected by my contraception. And I don't think I could ever put up with spotting. If you're fine with the idea of a low dose of hormones, potential spotting and other hormonal side effects and don't mind that the Mirena is effective for a shorter amount of time... I would recommend the Mirena, really. More women seem to have a hassle-free pleasant experience with a hormonal IUD, and the low hormonal dose can actually be a benefit - clear skin, reduced cramping, reduced bleeding and less PMS, etc.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:47
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Everything I've read states nonlatex condoms (excluding lambskin!) have the same effectiveness preventing pregnancy and protecting from STIs. I've heard better things about polyisoprene than polyurethane. I think polyurethane tends to be a little thicker and less stretchy. Last time I was at the drug store, Lifestyles had a polyisoprene line called "Skyn," and that's the only box of polyisoprene condoms I noticed. Never used them personally, maybe someone else wants to chime in? We don't use condoms much at all.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:11
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Cracker Jack posted:Any ladies here have migraines with auras? You can use any progestin-only method, it's the estrogen that increases the risk of stroke, on top of an increased risk from the migraine with aura. I don't know what the physiological difference is between migraines with aura and those without, though. I always had migraines with aura when I was a kid and through high school [they've stopped now; I don't know why though] and my doctor at one point put me on COCs and I don't know what the hell he was thinking.
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Feb 1, 2011 02:08
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Lackadaisical posted:This is kind of awkward but I'm on my period after getting the paragard. There's swelling... Should I be worried? Does this mean labial swelling? That's an odd side effect I've never heard of. You don't have a copper or nickel allergy, do you? It could possibly be contact irritation if you're wearing pads or liners. I would contact your doctor or pharmacist - I doubt it's anything serious, but I can't imagine it's pleasant. ---- Aurgh, ladies, I'm getting annoyed. After every period now it seems like I get a yeast infection. I know this is the BC megathread, but lots of women read this and I was wondering if any of you know what I can do to prevent it? I've tried changing or eliminating all the usual culprits - soap, scented pads/liners, tampons, diva cup - but to no avail. If I went to the doctor is there a pill or cream or something I could get to keep it at bay?
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Feb 6, 2011 16:44
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It starts up about halfway through my period, every period for about the past 6 months. (It was only last month that I put it together that it probably wasn't just normal vaginal irritation.) Minor itching, painful sex, unusual discharge, slightly wrong smell - not rancid, just not normal - and.. I don't know how to describe it, but it's like dry, peeling skin? Very textbook symptoms. This has been throwing me off though - it always comes with itchy, raised bumps (that aren't herpies or any other STD; I've been tested) I've tried all the usual stuff to prevent it, short of prescription treatments and yogurt. Twice I've gone "yup, it's a yeast infection" and treated it with OTC 3-day treatment (with both cream and vaginal suppository. Also used cream on the boyfriend) and it cleared right up. But I read that yeast infections can be triggered by menstruation or hormonal changes, which would explain why it happens every month. I think at this point I'll have to see my doctor about it. It sounds like there's some prescription stuff available that might be more potent. I guess I wanted to make sure I could go to the doctor saying I've tried everything :P
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Feb 7, 2011 04:30
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Eggplant Wizard posted:I have no idea whether there is such a pill, but if her period has decided to stop coming for no apparent reason, she should see a gyno and make sure something isn't wrong. I would hope that at PP they will examine her before prescribing anything... It's basically just a high dose hormonal pill - the idea is you take hormones for a couple days and then stop, initiating a withdrawal bleed. It's sometimes used to try to pinpoint the problem causing a missed period. I think they sometimes literally prescribe normal BC for a short time and then tell you to go off it. One missed period is generally just a fluke, but it's definitely a good idea to get it checked out.
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Feb 7, 2011 16:09
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TheSpiritFox posted:I'm about lost. We've run out of possible ideas because everything affects her in severe ways. Ideas, goons? Anything? Or are we kinda SOL? You can try other brands of pills, or perhaps a minipill (progestin only). As far as sex drive goes, pills with higher estrogen and lower progestin potency tend to be better; for emotions it's rather hit-or-miss. A copper IUD really would be your best option - but some people just can't get over the idea of having something in their uterus. Or others are misinformed about the risks from hearing horror stories from older family or friends... Lastly, you could combine natural family planning methods with condom use or another barrier method. Many people have great success with FAM (check the OP) where you take your temperature every morning and monitor other symptoms to determine where in your cycle you ovulate. You then abstain, or use another contraceptive, on the days around the ovulation date. Then you wouldn't need condoms every time, just a few days a month. Be forewarned though: you have to be very patient and dedicated with this method to do it properly. I'm only mentioning it because you don't have many other options. If you decide to go with a method that has a large failure rate (condoms-only, natural family planning, diaphragm without spermicide) you should get some emergency contraception to keep on hand, just in case. It's really unfortunate that there aren't many effective non-hormonal methods available. Best of luck!
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Feb 17, 2011 02:09
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Can someone explain what's up with the anti-Planned Parentood stuff in the States right now? Did it pass in house and is now going through Senate? Is that how it works? Is there any way to override this?
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Feb 23, 2011 05:31
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DrNutt posted:It's probably not going to make it past the Senate, but it might behoove you to check out with what is going on at the state level regarding your particular affiliate. To be honest if there is something you can do to help your local affiliate, it's probably more useful than calling the office of your US Congress people. But I do recommend signing the petition I posted at the top of this page and getting involved any way you can. Even if that's reminding others in your life just how important PP is to so many people. I'm Canadian, so I can't really get involved other than watching this thing unfold and crossing my fingers. At least I can understand federal American politics; the state level stuff confuses the hell out of me. I really hope you're right and that it dies in Senate.
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Feb 23, 2011 18:00
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I don't see why no one would give you a Mirena, but were okay with inserting a Paragard :/ They both have the same monogamous and must-have-baby misconceptions, and if you're on pills than you wouldn't be contraindicated for the hormones. If you were interested in IUDs because of the convenience, I have never heard of anyone who bled heavier on a hormonal IUD than when on nothing. Most women seem to eventually bleed less on a hormonal IUD than when they are on oral contraceptives, even.
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Feb 25, 2011 19:18
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Marshmallow Mayhem posted:Anybody know what the rate of never having a period again on Mirena is? Most studies put it near 45-50%, after 6+ months.
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Feb 25, 2011 23:49
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Cmere posted:I might've skipped this, but when do you official 'miss' bc pill? Twelve hours for combined oral contraceptives ("normal" pills), three hours for progestin-only (minipills). GenericOverusedName posted:How snug should a condom fit? I don't react well to hormones, so we've been using those. But they seem like they're too tight on him, and he feels like they're cutting off circulation. Both of us are new to this whole sex thing, so we're still trying to figure all this out. I'm not exactly sure; there isn't really any such thing as "too tight" when it comes to condom durability, so it's just up to comfort. Too loose is pretty obvious - if the ring/base of the condom slides around on the shaft at all, it's too loose. You can always get a pack of large condoms and try them out. You'll be able to tel if it's too loose when you put it on, and if it's too loose you can just go back to your normal condoms. You can also get condoms that are shaped differently - that give more room for the head but are the same circumference around the base. It might help with the "tight" feeling. Just look at the illustration of the condom on the back of the box to see what shape the condom is.
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Feb 28, 2011 05:29
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Cracker Jack posted:Muscle weighs more than fat. If you are working out you are probably replacing one with the other. I'm always hesitant to bring this up because some people get weird about it, but it's a likely explanation. If you're tracking changes in your body by a scale instead of a measuring tape, you can get an unpleasant surprise. If you want to track changes in your body more accurately, start regularly taking body measurements in addition to checking your weight. It's certainly true that hormonal birth control can affect weight, but I wouldn't hurry to put the blame on it right away here, especially if you've been working out and watching your diet.
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Mar 4, 2011 16:48
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^ Do you have access to any journals? There's a journal I refer to often, Contraception that is a prominent journal in the community, but like any scientific journal it requires a subscription. That's only if you want/need to point her to peer-reviewed articles, of course. (You can also find abstracts, and occasionally full papers, through Google Scholar or PubMed) I know for a fact that hormonal IUDs are often used to successfully treat endo, and rarely have negative side effects (at least, more negative than endo). They contain low-doses of hormones and almost always cause lighter, shorter and less painful periods. They can also clear up skin and smooth out moods caused by PMS or PMDD. The only thing they don't do is regulate the timing of periods. That would be the line of research I would suggest first for (what sounds like) severe endo. If you want more specific links or anecdotes or anything, feel free to ask. We love helping people work out their sexual health. (Personal opinion ahead: Of course, your greatest obstacle in this may be your wife's stubbornness, because it sounds like she's resigned/fated herself to reproductive issues. No matter how well you research, she will always be able to find things to support her (probable?) personal view that hormones are always bad. It really sounds to me like she's not being reasonable about this - some people get weird and stubborn about their health issues, and stop trusting experts like doctors, which is frustrating for their loved ones. I really hope this isn't the case with her, and wish you the best of luck.)
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Mar 5, 2011 04:45
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As far as I know, the typical use of IUDs includes IUD expulsion, and the typical use for Depo includes failing to get your shot on time, and possibly antibiotic use (?). AFAIK, "perfect use" only accounts for undetectable failure - for example, even if you were a "perfect" condom user, a condom being poorly manufactured and breaking would be considered "typical use." (I'd actually be interested to know if that assumption is correct, if anyone knows for sure.)Kerfuffle posted:Is it really as stretched as 12-14 weeks? I thought it was more stringent, but I assumed people set up appointments to go again after each shot. I actually read a study on this exact thing once. On the re-injection time frame and getting shots "late": quote:We found that extending the current WHO grace period [5] for reinjection of DMPA from 2 to 4 weeks does not increase the risk of pregnancy. The point estimate for the risk of pregnancy is well below 1% per 100 women-years for both intervals (0 and 0.4, respectively) with the upper bound of the 95% CI (1.88 and 2.29, respectively) below what is considered for the initial 12-month, typical-use pregnancy rate of DMPA (3%) IE "A recent study proposed that a grace period of up to 4 weeks from the time scheduled for the next shot won't result in a significant increase in unwanted pregnancies; the current grace period is 2 weeks. So if you miss your appointment to get your shot, as long as you get it in the following weeks, your chance of pregnancy is still considerably reduced." "Injectable contraception: what should the longest interval be for reinjections? " ; Contraception vol 77 issue 6 ; June 2008
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Mar 11, 2011 01:45
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Eggplant Wizard posted:There are stories about this all the time, and have been for ages. As I understand it,* it would probably work by regulating hormones to suppress sperm development. The tricky bit is that the hormones involved are involved in a lot of different things for men, including I think sexual arousal & ability. So it is tricky to work out a pill that will only suppress sperms and not lower sex drive or drop it entirely to impotency. Most hormonal approaches have been abandoned or deemed impractical, due to side effects [ loss of sex drive, development of breasts and moodiness being the main deal-breakers] and the most promising line of research is now in altering sperm potency and development directly. If I recall correctly, the one that seems to be most likely to reach a mass market introduces a chemical that affects sperm in the stage of development where their "tails" are activated. Sperm that are generated while taking this chemical [likely in the form of a daily pill] do not have a fully developed "tail" and so cannot move at all. This results in an almost 0% fertility rate, is fully reversible [by discontinuing use of the pill] and appears to have few side effects, unlike hormonal methods.
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Mar 15, 2011 02:21
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Geolicious posted:I wonder if men would take it? They seem to have this whole ego-type thing tied up with their perceived virility. I know some guys would, but I could see some men putting up the same fuss as they do about a vasectomy. I was talking about this very thing with my boyfriend not too long ago; his opinion was that it's the permanence of vasectomies that produce that reaction [for the majority of reasonable, intelligent men, heh.] He figured that as long as there's no change for it to permanently remove fertility, most guys would be thrilled to a) be in charge of their fertility and b) not have to use condoms. Assuming both partners are STI-free. That has been a point of concern for many people, actually: that men will be even less likely to use condoms if they're using a male birth control that is taken as a pill, or similar.
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Mar 15, 2011 22:05
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But, this is really the only subject that my guy is "typical" on.
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Eggplant Wizard posted:I know there used to be a PCOS thread in TGD, and I think maybe an endo one. I'd be perfectly happy for this one to become a general women's health thread (with a mod's help for title changing purposes), since so much of this stuff overlaps. Anyway, if people think that would be a good route, it seems reasonable to me. Otherwise, a general women's health issues thread could be good too. I don't mind when reproductive health questions are asked [haha, that sounds silly and formal], but it's certainly not my area of, er, expertise. Maybe it would generally be better to have a lady-part problem thread, and keep the BC thread separate? There's a lot of information to absorb just on the birth control end, I can imagine it getting very confusing if we threw in endo and PCOS and infertility and all that. A separate thread would probably make girls more comfortable going "off-topic" with rants/experiences than if there were only one catch-all megathread, which is also a good thing because it would be like a moral support thread for ladies dealing with these problems. :3
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Mar 16, 2011 16:40
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Sadsy Kitten posted:I can't take combined oral contraceptives because I get migraines and my blood pressure has been higher than normal lately, but I'm supposed to be taking combined oral contraceptives to prevent ovulation and the ovarian cysts to which I'm prone and had surgically removed last year. Do your get migraines with aura, or just plain 'ole migraines? It's only migraines with aura that are contraindicated. Migraines with aura increases your risk of stroke, but normal migraines don't.
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Mar 24, 2011 14:45
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Lackadaisical posted:I've been having a kind of weird side effect since getting the paragard IUD and was wondering if anyone else has had it... I think that's a not uncommon PMS/period symptom. Were you on hormonal BC before? Perhaps the hormonal BC was suppressing it. That is my first guess, because it's an odd symptom to be caused directly by a copper IUD.
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Mar 27, 2011 20:24
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monkeyboydc posted:I know that back up birth control is not needed during the placebo week, but does the irregular period indicate some sort of fault in the birth control? Long story short, we're too afraid to have sex because we're not sure if this stuff is working the way it's supposed to now that this has happened. How your period acts has nothing to do with the effectiveness of hormonal birth control. She is just as protected now as she ever is. Some women will start spotting/bleeding a few days after they miss a pill, but it's because of the extreme change in the level of hormones and it's generally obvious when someone missed a pill. Some women randomly start spotting and bleeding for no reason in particular; things like stress can have an effect on the hormonal cycle, and most of the time there's no discernible cause as to why their cycle is acting up. Bagleworm fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Mar 29, 2011 |
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Mar 29, 2011 15:43
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EvilHawk posted:My girlfriend is going to go to the pharmacy on Monday, but when I looked through the leaflet, it says that taking the pill more than once in a menstrual cycle can make it less effective, so I have two questions: You should't need to take a second morning after pill if your incidents of unprotected sex were only a day apart. Your second condom broke within half an hour of her taking the pill, eh? Morning after pills work by altering the menstrual cycle in the hopes of preventing an imminent ovulation. They're not 100% effective because the woman could have ovulated before taking the pill and the hormones in the pill won't do anything/much [it's under debate] to prevent fertilization. It decreases in effectiveness if taken a long time after sex because there is a higher chance the woman will be able to ovulate between sex and when the pill is taken. I'm not sure how you think morning after pills work, but it seems like you're expecting it to kill the sperm or egg that are present; that's not what happens. A morning after pill prevents ovulation, and thus you should only need one for incidents that are only a day apart. Taking two would likely make her quite sick, too. If her period acts weird in the next few weeks don't immediately panic - the high dose of hormones is almost guaranteed to mess with her menstrual cycle. She may be late or early, or it may be lighter or heavier than normal... but she should take a pregnancy test in the next few weeks just to be sure, if condoms are your only method of birth control.
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Apr 3, 2011 15:25
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Eggplant Wizard posted:eta: If I understand correctly, you have had your placebo week and are now back into active pills, yes? If so, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get a proper period till the next placebo week. Take a pregnancy test to calm your nerves, but it will be okay. POPs don't have a placebo week, so its even more likely your body is just going "WTF?" without the placebo week to kickstart a period.
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Apr 14, 2011 14:22
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Olive Bar posted:The question I get asked the most is what will happen if you fall in love with someone who wants biological children? And my response to that is, well, if that person would seriously rather I risk my life to pass on these lovely genes, then that just isn't the one for me anyway. Aurgh, I can't get over how weird people get if a woman gets sterilized. It's none of your business if she doesn't ever want to squirt a kid out of her vagina. I'm very glad you found a doctor willing to do the procedure!
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May 10, 2011 01:11
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And just a note: the morning after pill can disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle, causing her period to come early or late, be heavy or light, long, short, or painful. So don't get too scared if she doesn't get her period on time, or if it's "weird" when it does come - and remember, stress affects the menstrual cycle too. So morning after pill + worrying about being pregnant may make her skip her next period. Your best course of action is to take a pregnancy test if she doesn't her her period on time, although you don't have too much to worry about - emergency contraception is quite effective when taken promptly, as you have done.
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May 14, 2011 21:01
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VoodooSchmoodoo posted:At this point, I have no idea how to come off the pill without losing a ton of my hair and have no idea what to try next. Have you considered a hormonal IUD? The hormone dose is much lower than that in pills, so women generally experience fewer hormone-related side effects like depression, mood swings and changes in sex drive (they still happen though, but from what I've hears it's less frequent and less severe.) I believe the most common side effect is spotting or loss of periods and cramping, though with the hormonal IUD the cramping isn't as bad or common as it is for the non-hormonal IUD. You can go right from the pill to a hormonal IUD with no break in hormones - just the lower dose. It might be something to look in to - have a talk with your doctor at least!
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May 24, 2011 17:51
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NaturalLow posted:
I'm not convinced that taking a placebo week one week after staring birth control for the first time will fix the breakthrough bleeding, and it certainly won't help mood swings. Rapid changes in hormone levels = not good for side effects...
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May 25, 2011 02:57
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akulol posted:Sorry if this was asked recently, but I'm kind of freaking out and not sure what's going on. I read through the OP and didn't see anything that I thought was completely related. I've heard it theorized - though never confirmed - that IUDs can increase the frequency of UTIs. I've found that once I got my first UTI, it didn't take much for me to get another, almost as if there's still some bacteria just hanging around ready to strike. I'll get a mild one if I don't pee right away after sex, for example. UTIs can be triggered by a lot of things - holding in your urine, wiping back-to-front, wearing thongs or very tight underwear/pants, not peeing after sex. When avoiding all these triggers, I haven't had a UTI; if I forget to pee after sex and feel one coming on, I just drink more water and cranberry juice/pills and it clears up... If you get them a lot, or feel like they never quite clear up, you could probably get a prescription for antibiotics. Generally, I avoid antibiotics unless I really need them, because they often give me a yeast infection. Aurgh. As for unexpected bleeding, sometimes that happens with no apparent cause. Usually it's caused by something like stress. As long as you're not getting any severe pain, there's probably nothing to worry about.
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May 27, 2011 17:02
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akulol posted:I make sure I pee after sex and I don't wear anything super tight, and I wipe the right way. The first time I got a UTI was when I started dating my current bf. I had the IUD for a year and change with my last bf and had no indications of a UTI, ever. My current boyfriend is possibly the most hygienic I have ever seen, so I can't really explain the UTI frequency. I've pretty much gotten in the habit of taking cranberry pills after we have sex every time. If you're coming back negative on the tests, it could be something else. While UTI is the most common, there are other things that have the same symptoms. At this point it might be a good idea to get a doctor to run some more thorough tests. (I doubt the bleeding and UTI symptoms are connected... weird things happen with hormones)
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May 27, 2011 20:48
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Miss Michi posted:It has been four days since I had a Paragard copper IUD inserted, and the blood flow has been steadily increasing ever since. The strange thing is that my period had ended only three days prior to the insertion. There isn't very much pain involved at this point--just some slight cramping. The doctor did say that there would be a little bleeding, but does the IUD usually induce full-on periods like this when it is first put in? Why would that be possible with a non-hormonal birth control method? You just shoved a foreign metal object into your uterus. It's understandable that it's a little cranky about that. :P (I also got a "period" after my IUD insertion. It's normal, as long as there isn't severe pain!)
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May 29, 2011 03:47
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AlphaDog posted:Am I correct that the risks involved with a copper IUD are extremely small, and that it would be eminently suitable for a woman for whom hormonal birth control is an issue? I'm talking to her about it tonight / this weekend, but we're both going to research it for a week (including her talking to the doctor) before a decision is made about what to do. I also have a copper IUD, I've had it for aboout four years now. The risks are small, and are extremely rare if you get the insertion done by someone with practice. The risk of expulsion is a bit higher if you've never had kids, though it's still admirably low. I got mine inserted when I was 17 and haven't had any trouble with it, other than the expected bleeding/cramping. I even use a menstrual cup with it because my strings were cut short enough to not get in the way. The cramping and bleeding was pretty extreme. I had had long periods most of my teenage life (think a week+ of bleeding and then three or four days of spotting at each end), and they got heavier and crampier on the copper IUD. I'd have to stuff myself with ibuprofen and cuddle a hot water bottle. After about two years they suddenly turned very short, and I only got minor cramps at the beginning and end. Many women only have the cramping and extra bleeding for a few months before things return to normal. Many women find the bleeding and cramping to be a dealbreaker, but I absolutely love my copper IUD and I'll probably use copper IUDs for the rest of my life, even with the inconvenience of heavy periods.
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Jun 3, 2011 18:23
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Geolicious posted:I've been following this thread and wanted to ask if it's common, or at least not unheard of to take the pill to control your period while you had something else like the IUD or Implanon. I think I've seen a few people mention it. I've certainly heard of it, but it's generally a short-term thing (a few months). It's usually to coax your body into not being stupid (e.g. to stop 25/7 breakthrough bleeding), and a few months seems to be all most women need to sort that stuff out. chapstickie posted:They won't make me get rid of my non-hormonal IUD so they can hormonally treat my hair loss, will they? No. The only way I could see them doing that was if they wanted to treat with a hormonal IUD, which I've never heard of. I think it needs to contain estrogen to be effective against things like that, and the hormonal IUD has only progestin.
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Jun 4, 2011 17:52
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