Infants? In MY Vagina? Birth Control Megathread: Now w/ free BC for all! THANKS OBAMA

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Infants? In MY Vagina? Birth Control Megathread: Now w/ free BC for all! THANKS OBAMA

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DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Shnooks posted:

I'm not, that's why I'm asking before I do anything. I figured someone here would know :|

That is fair, though theoretically we (this thread) are no more reliable than the ladies at IUD_Divas, so a real-life doctor or pharmacist or physician would be the most appropriate person to confirm that information for you.

With that said, I did give a recommendation for an ibuprofen dose just a few posts above!

# ¿ Feb 24, 2012 02:38

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 09:38

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Actually, if anything, it's typically the progestin - and not the estrogen - that worsens acne.

There's also no reason to see a dermatologist first about acne; a family doctor should be able to take care of that adequately.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2012 06:25

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

If your acne's not controlled with the use of first-line therapies then sure, it may be worth seeing a dermatologist. However, starting out with a dermatologist won't change much since they're probably going to start with the same treatments in a step-wise fashion. Those drugs are first-line for a reason; they're the best studied and the most effective overall.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2012 19:16

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Bagleworm posted:

The reason POPs are so time-critical is because they don't always prevent ovulation, and a significant part of their contraceptive action is actually in affecting your cervical mucous and making the environment hostile to sperm. Sperm can survive in the body for several days, so missing a pill days *after* having sex can still result in a lapse in contraceptive coverage.

For POPs, the upper limit is about 4 hours. You're *probably* okay at 5 hours, but it's definitely something of a risk. You should consult your specific pill's insert to see what you're supposed to do with a missed pill. I can understand wanting to avoid using EC, but it is likely to be worth it, in this case.

The upper limit is actually closer to 3 hours, so if I were a woman taking it I would likely get Plan B to be on the safe side.

Powdered Toast Man posted:

So, it's my understanding that Diane/Dianette is not available in the US. My wife has PCOS, so we were wondering what combined oral contraceptive would work best for her to help reduce her symptoms and prevent pregnancy...her gynecologist prescribed Lo Loestrin Fe 1/10 and I'm pretty convinced she's a complete idiot (trying to find another one).

Any estrogen-containing oral contraceptive will probably work just as well as another.

Aceofblue posted:

Anyone taking birth control pills containing drospirenone (Yaz or its generic variants) might want to be aware of this! The FDA just made an announcement stating that drospirenone-containing pills have a greatly increased risk of blood clots than do other progesterone-only pills. Some studies are reporting a three-fold increased risk. If clots are of concern to you, it might be time to talk to your doctor.

FDA Safety Alert

To give numbers for context, the risk of blood clots with a levonorgestrel-containing oral contraceptive (like Alesse) is about 1 per 10,000 women per year compared to 2-3 per 10,000 women per year with a drospirenone-containing oral contraceptive (Yasmin/Yaz). Pregnant women have a risk of blood clots of about 6 per 10,000 women per year.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2012 03:40

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Bollock Monkey posted:

Maybe I explained badly - I took two last night because I thought I'd missed one. But I hadn't. Taking today's on top of them seems like a silly idea?

Take one today and continue as if nothing had happened.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2012 21:16

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Bagleworm posted:

Theoretically, it's progesterone that suppresses sex drive, while estrogen stimulates it. (You have the highest level of estrogen right at ovulation time, and the highest level of progesterone when infertile, after ovulation. IIRC, estrogen stimulates testosterone production and progesterone will suppress it)

Practically, when it come to hormonal birth control, theory goes out the window. Some women find they are really sensitive to one of the two hormones, or even really sensitive to a specific synthetic progestin, while other progestins give fewer side effects. It's frustrating as anything, but you really do just have to experiment. Switching from a pill to a method like a hormonal IUD or the implant can reduce side effects, just because the amount of hormone going into your body is drastically decreased.

This is true. Other factors that play into the effect of hormonal contraceptives on libido are:

1) their effect on sex-hormone binding globulin (greater effect on this means lower free levels of testosterone and theoretically lower libido) and

2) the ability of the progestin to act like testosterone/androgens (rule of thumb is that newer products are less androgenic and thus would theoretically be expected to lower libido more).

Butt Wizard posted:

The Who Posted? results are funny because there're 5 or so of us who have 100+ posts who obviously live in here

Oh jeez... and that's just in this iteration of the thread!

# ¿ Apr 23, 2012 18:08

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

NaturalLow posted:

I'm kind of curious if anyone here has any experience with migraines and Mirena? Did it have any effect on them? I'm on the pill right now and even though I've always had migraines, they've gotten a lot more frequent/debilitating and nothing gets rid of them except expensive triptan drugs. I can't afford to take the pills so often or being in severe pain for 24+ hours every few weeks.

I've been interested in Mirena anyway for the convenience/effectiveness and hopefully stopping my pain in the rear end periods, but I wonder if it might help with the headaches too since it's progestin-only. Just from my experience with pills it seems the estrogen may be the culprit.

(And before it comes up, I don't get an aura with the migraines and my doctor was aware of them before prescribing the pill).

Are the migraines more severe/frequent during your placebo/no-pill week?

How long have you been on that particular pill? Do you mean that the migraines have been more frequent/severe since starting the pill, or just more frequent/severe lately?

What have you tried other than triptans to treat the migraines? How many migraines do you get on average in a month?

# ¿ May 1, 2012 20:05

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

NaturalLow posted:

I haven't really noticed an increase in them during the placebo week, but I'll admit I haven't been keeping records like I should. I'm going to try and document them on a calendar or something to get a better idea.

I've been on this pill for about 3 years now. It's been this way since I started the pill, it's just that I'm getting to the point where it's getting hard to live with. I've had the same problem in the past too (Ortho Tri Cyclen now and Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo like 5 years ago.) There was a gap where I was off the pill completely and it improved.

I've tried pretty much every OTC pain-reliever on the market and they have no effect. Aspirin works occasionally, but only if I take a HUGE (probably unsafe) dose and I'm pretty sure it's hurting my stomach/giving me tinnitus. Like I said before I haven't been good about keeping track, but I'd say I get about 2 or 3 migraines a month that last one or two days each without the triptans. But sometimes I go through spells where I have many more or none at all. I've tried to look for triggers, but I can't really pinpoint a pattern. It's like my brain just says "time for a migraine!" every few weeks.

For the financial aspect of triptans, there are less-expensive prescription drugs like metoclopramide and prochlorperazine that are just as effective and safe as triptans. Might be worth a try.

Depending on how you feel about taking a drug every day, you could also look into preventive migraine treatment like amitriptyline or propranolol, which usually reduce migraines by a day or two per month.

# ¿ May 1, 2012 21:50

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Lava Lamp Goddess posted:

Edit: I feel I should ask. I mostly take birth control for really bad menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea. What are other effective ways to manage this when pills (numerous), Depo, and Mirena aren't helpful?

Mostly NSAIDs, and procedures I know nothing about.

# ¿ May 4, 2012 11:15

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

lou reed posted:

Here's a resource that calculates effectiveness of combined birth control methods: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/reproduction/the_buddy_system_effectiveness_rates_for_backing_up_your_birth_control_with_a_s

The only issue that I have with this calculator is that (as mentioned on the webpage, to be fair) it's not based on any actual evidence, just statistical estimates which may or may not be true. As such, I don't feel that it adds much to the "2 is at least as good or theoretically better than 1," and may be misleading. An example of how this mathematical model fails: "Male Condoms + Spermicide = 99.64% effective with perfect use - 95.65% effective with typical use." Adding spermicide has in fact been shown not to make condoms more effective (and leads to unpleasant side-effects like vaginal irritation, increased risk of UTIs, and potentially increased transmission of STIs).

I think that achieving "perfect use" of one of the more effective BCs would trump any combination of 2 at "typical use".

# ¿ Jun 1, 2012 18:06

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Ceridwen posted:

Except that the problems with using "condoms + spermicide" are from condoms with spermicidal lube (which is not helpful and can be detrimental as you point out), which is a different thing altogether from using condoms and a separate spermicide. The problem with condoms with spermicidal lube in them is that there isn't enough to kill sperm, but there is enough to irritate the vaginal tissues. When you use a separate spermicide + condoms there is enough spermicide to actually do its job and kill the sperm, so you will get a benefit in terms of pregnancy prevention. Obviously you will still run into problems with UTI, STIs, and irritation, but they shouldn't be any worse than spermicide alone.

Honestly, the main thing that should jump out at you when you use those calculators, is that even under ideal circumstances when you double up on birth control you are most often adding a lot of hassle for not much benefit. You are better off going for a SINGLE form of birth control that is highly effective than using multiple less effective ones in nearly all cases.

I think we're in agreement on all points. I was simply emphasizing the fact that these estimates are very misleading, especially if one compares the calculated effectiveness of combinations of less-than-optimally-effective forms of BC like "withdrawal+Plan B" or "spermicide+Plan B" to the highly-effective forms of BC like the IUD or Depo on their own.

# ¿ Jun 1, 2012 20:34

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Reformed Tomboy posted:

Ah! That's right. I forgot the ring is technically good for four weeks. Worked out okay after all

That's only when it's in for four weeks though. I'd still advise getting Plan B if you're late putting in a new ring, as do regulating bodies: http://www.fsrh.org/pdfs/CEUStatementMissedPills.pdf.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2012 09:02

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Lakshmi posted:

Ok, but do I have to wait until Sunday to start the new pack? Or can I take the first Wednesday pill of the new brand instead of the Wednesday pill of the old pack? Thanks for the help, I'd like to stop taking the recalled pills as soon as possible, but don't want to mess things up.

Do you know why they were recalled?

# ¿ Jul 18, 2012 03:55

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

Reformed Tomboy posted:

2. Not great, yet. Wait until you've taken 14 pills (two weeks). Since you didn't start during your period you have to wait longer for it to become effective and to make sure you hadn't already ovulated.

Nah, I'd say Tshirt Ninja's fine on this point unless she's missed doses. It takes 7 days to suppress ovulation and any egg that would have been released prior to that is long dead now.

# ¿ Aug 1, 2012 03:20

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 09:38

DRP Solved!: Dec 2, 2009

No it does not.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 03:19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Infants? In MY Vagina? Birth Control Megathread: Now w/ free BC for all! THANKS OBAMA

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