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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? I just found out the other day that even sterilization has a failure rate. What the hell??
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Jan 21, 2011 05:47
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:00 |
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Ah, that makes way more sense. Thank you! I'm getting a Paragard. I'm going to go through the PP since I work for a religious institution and their insurance won't cover anything. Not looking forward to paying for it.
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Jan 21, 2011 06:01
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I'm very torn between Mirena and Paragard. So far, Mirena's big benefit seems to be no periods. Downsides include bad potential for acne, headaches, weight gain, price and the use of hormones. Paragard is hormone free, more affordable and won't cause as many side effects, but can cause bad cramps and heavy periods. Any insight? I appreciate all of the personal experiences so far.
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Jan 27, 2011 03:22
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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)
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Jan 27, 2011 03:33
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Cracker Jack posted:Planned parenthood? They gave me one at 22/no kids without a second thought. Seconded. They'll give you one (they did ask questions about new partners within the last three months... I don't if answering 'yes' would result in no IUD.)
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Feb 3, 2011 02:44
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untitled posted:I have an appt in a week to have a paraguard put in. I already paid for it so backing out isn't an option. I am so freaked out about how bad it will hurt to insert. I had an awful labor because of pitocin and am not looking forward to my cervix being touched in any way again. I agree with innovated salad, if you could deliver a kid then you can handle the paragard insertion. There was about a combined minute of intense pain for me, and the other 5 or so were not bad at all. Afterward, I felt about 24 hours of not-extraordinary menstrual cramping. Take some ibuprofen about an hour before your appointment, I think it definitely helps the turnaround time.
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Feb 19, 2011 18:17
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I don't think the Planned Parenthood thing will pass the Senate, and even if it does Congress probably can't scrounge up 2/3 of its members to override a presidential veto. Either way, the next time I get a couple of bucks I'm donating them to the PP. Some questions for those of you with a paragard (or any IUD for that matter.) I'm being super paranoid about its effectiveness - turns out, googling failure stories is not a great way to research birth control right after you get it! I'm mostly concerned about expulsion and being susceptible to pregnancy during that time. For those of you who had the IUD expel - -Did you bleed and cramp? -When people say you can feel the metal and plastic, what exactly does that mean? Sticking out of the cervix, or poking against it from the inside? I've been checking mine everyday and all seems well - not gonna lie, though, I'm actually looking forward to the reassurance of a period and the followup visit.
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Feb 24, 2011 00:39
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Try squatting low to the ground, that's the only way I can feel mine. I check mine everyday, if that sucka gets out of place I wanna know about it!
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Mar 11, 2011 05:10
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I've been taking vitamin E religiously with my paragard and I haven't had a problem with cramps at all.
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Mar 27, 2011 21:45
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Okay, I had someone tell me today she conceived despite being on Depo, using a condom (that broke) and taking emergency contraception within a day. I know no form of birth control is 100%... but if the Depo was current (didn't wait too long between shots or something) and the Plan B was taken within a reasonable time period, how possible is that, really?
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Apr 7, 2011 00:36
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I don't know why she took Plan B... My first thought was that maybe everything wasn't taken properly/facts have been distorted over time, but then I figured, someone has to be that teeny tiny percentage, right? Then I wondered if the Plan B and Depo somehow managed to work against each other, but I don't know if that's possible... I don't do the hormone thing. edit: Okay, if my math is right... If a broken condom is 50% effective (I made that number up... halfway point between "typical use" and "no birth control,) Plan B has a 12% failure rate if taken in 24 hours and Depo has a failure rate of .3% with perfect use, there's still 1.8 in 1,000 chance of all three methods together not working... in a year's time. So I guess a one time shot would be even lower. I don't know. lou reed fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 01:01
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PP said they could insert my IUD on the same day as my consult, but then changed their minds and asked me to come back on my period. Maybe ask if that's an option?
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Apr 21, 2011 01:25
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Fanky Malloons posted:This is probably what it is. I've been on depo off and on for between 4 and 5 years, and every time I go off it I drop 12-15lbs with barely any effort. Meanwhile while I'm on it, it's a huge struggle to even maintain my weight at a certain level, never mind lose any. However, I suck at taking pills, so I kept going back to it because nobody would give me an IUD because I haven't popped any babies out yet. Insertion (for Paragard) was pretty painful for me, but it was quick pain. There were three nonconsecutive moments of "swear at the nurse" level pain that were no more than 20 second each. The nice thing was that the pain wasn't lingering - at soon as she was done with whatever caused it, it faded away. After it was all over, I felt totally fine. I'm not going to lie, it hurts, but after having an IUD I can tell you it was totally worth it for me. I would do it again today if need be. The whole procedure was about five minutes, tops. I know they're all about the cervix being soft and open for the procedure, but I didn't think that was really the source of the pain. It felt more uterine, if that makes sense. I definitely felt the sounding and the placing of the IUD up against the top of the uterus. Ask your provider to tuck your strings up around your cervix when he or she trims them. Mine did and it's awesome. They don't hang down and they never move, so checking them is super easy.
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May 1, 2011 20:57
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Fanky Malloons posted:Also, IUD folks, is it normal to get random cramps for some time after insertion? I've had it for about a week and a half, and I still get the odd twinge from time to time - just wanted to make sure that's normal because my OB didn't tell me anything about it AT ALL. Yeah, it's three months to the day since I've had mine and I'm still getting occasional minor cramps and pelvic pain. It's usually quick and mild - not even worth taking an ibuprofen over. It's totally normal - your uterus is adjusting to life with its new foreign object friend, so there's a considerable adjustment period. Before getting my paragard, I knew to expect heaver menstrual cramps. What I've found is that the cramping that I get during my actual period hasn't changed at all (it's always been fairly minor/mild, for the most part.) What I have experienced over the past few months is weird cramping before my period. It feels like I'll get shoots of pain that start in my abdomen and rush down my pudendal nerve. They're quick and they don't linger at all, but usually when they happen it's enough to make me yelp cause those mothers HURT. All in all, it's been a small sacrifice to make for the amazingness that is the Paragard, so it's not a deal breaker or anything. Anyone else experience this?
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May 14, 2011 18:03
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I really like my copper IUD. I haven't had it too long, but I am starting to notice my periods starting to shorten/lighten up. It's an adjustment, though. My menstrual cramps are the same but the week or so before my period I'll get really short but very intense twinges of pain. It's like nothing/BOOM/oooow/over. Question for those of you with Paragards: do you ever get pelvic pain? I get weird pains that I'm certain are cervix-specific. It's not horrible but it's not super infrequent either. Is this normal?
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Jun 15, 2011 21:14
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global tetrahedron posted:My girlfriend and I have decided an IUD might be the best route. Now, she works a program where she makes next to no money. A friend of hers in a similar program said she got an IUD installed for next to nothing because of her low income. My girlfriend is wondering if income somehow determines the price, or if insurance might affect how much it costs? (We're totally clueless about navigating the loving healthcare system if you can't tell) She goes back on her mom's insurance in September so she's thinking it might be best to do it before that happens. How do clinics generally process or determine the pricing plans for an IUD procedure? The Planned Parenthood said it depends on the clinic. As my girlfriend moves around a lot it's hard to do specifics, so some general wisdom would be good enough... When I went to PP all I did was write my income on the initial form - they didn't ask for payslips or anything like that for me (but it sounds like it may differ from area to area? - maybe regulations are due to individual state funding.) My insurance won't cover any form of BC, but will cover office visits, tests, etc. I was making about $32k at the time and I paid $240 for the Paragard itself (Mirena is generally more expensive, though - they gave me a quote of a little over three hundred for it.) edit: 25/unmarried/no pregnancies/I love you Planned Parenthood lou reed fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 01:32
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It sounds like her doctor is inexperienced with IUDs. Is going to a different provider an option?
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Aug 16, 2011 05:54
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I've had a Paragard a little over six months. My periods so far have been heavy and between 5-8 days, this one was considerably lighter and 3/4 days. I know it's common for periods to improve over time with the paragard, but it this normal? Truth be told the stronger cramps and the heavier bleeding were a little reassuring, since I felt that if it was giving me grief, it was working. I checked it and everything feels fine - should I be worried that there was such a dramatic improvement in a month's time?
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Aug 19, 2011 04:29
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Thank you all for the reassurance! It turns out my period wasn't short, it just took two days off....
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Aug 20, 2011 01:53
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If her cycle is normal she was probably most fertile a week ago. Still, better safe than sorry.
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Sep 9, 2011 13:59
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I didn't take any days off from work for my IUD. I ran errands after getting it in. That's not to say it didn't hurt like hell to insert, but the pain subsided pretty quickly. By the time the nurse finished trimming the strings, I felt sore and crampy but otherwise fine.
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Oct 9, 2011 19:44
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If your cycle's pretty typical (like 28 days, is regular) then your condom probably broke several days after ovulation, so it would be really unlikely that you conceived. Can't hurt to take a test though, since stressing over your period probably will make it later.
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Nov 25, 2011 19:43
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It's funny that so many people are fearful of IUDs. People put all sorts of things in their bodies - contact lenses, tampons, piercings, not to mention dental work... the IUD is just one more thing, and probably the most comfortable of the aforementioned. Unless you go digging for it, there's really no outside indication that the IUD is in there.
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Dec 23, 2011 07:11
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This is only partially related to birth control but this thread gets lots of traffic so I figured someone might know what was up. I have a Paragard and have had it since last February. On Saturday, out of the blue, I got a bad pain in my lower middle abdomen. It wasn't horrible Saturday and Sunday but it was pretty constant. It felt worse on Monday so I went to an instacare center. They took a urine test (normal) and a blood test (elevated white blood cell count) so they sent me for a CT scan, which I had today (still very painful.) The doctor said my scan was totally normal except for a grape-size cyst on my left ovary. My period should arrive Friday. This is so painful that I'm perplexed it's only a little cyst. It's bad enough that I missed work today and am considering calling in tomorrow, and I can barely stand up straight. I have never had this kind of pain before, ever. The doctor said maybe going on the pill or switching to Mirena could help alleviate the cysts, which I don't really want to do because the whole reason I got paragard in the first place was to avoid hormones (not to mention my Catholic employer won't cover any type of BC, so the paragard was out of pocket.) Anyone have any experience with this? It's ridiculous and I can't do this again in a month. I have a copy of my scan and an appointment at Planned Parenthood for Thursday. I'm also going to ask around for recommendations for a regular OBGYN.
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Jan 11, 2012 00:44
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Are you in the US? Planned Parenthood and other clinics are good options for more affordable birth control since they charge on a sliding scale. I was quoted for a Mirena at around $300 when I was making a salary of about $32k. (I ended up with a paragard for slightly less.)
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Jan 24, 2012 02:56
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muscat_gummy posted:
Yeah, about the eight month mark things really calmed down for me.
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Feb 23, 2012 04:35
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I wouldn't worry about it (well, worry about the state of the nation, not worry about this being in effect.) It's so unconstitutional that it will never happen. I wonder whose idea it was to alienate half the country thinking it would win them an election?
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Mar 16, 2012 01:14
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Aceofblue posted:Hey ladies, If you were to be pregnant (with the odds being that you're not) the test would be positive even before showing any symptoms, right? You should just buy the test and take it to clear your mind. In my experience all it takes is one $15 test to get your body back on track regardless of what's going on.
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Apr 20, 2012 04:18
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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
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May 31, 2012 14:24
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:00 |
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Menschsein posted:Was it this one?  How the hell could those even get through a cervix? The neatly folded Paragard hurt bad enough to insert... I can't even imagine. No wonder women's reproductive organs said "gently caress this" after receiving a Dalkon Shield.
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Jul 27, 2012 22:28
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