Poll: Birth Control

wrote:
Amy wrote:

My doc wouldn't give me a diaphragm - he said that he hadn't fitted
anyone for one in 4 years, and that "no one" uses them anymore!

Whattadork. I'm on the diaphragm -- although that's because my doc
wouldn't scrip anything hormonal *at all* for me because of the
preeclampsia, saying the side effects like clotting and such were too
strongly correlated with chronic hypertension for her to feel
comfortable doing so given my family history + preeclampsia (I'm not a
chronic hypertensive.)

Ironically, I've had high blood pressure for a couple of years, have a
strong family history of early-onset HBP on both sides, had either
"mild toxemia" or "pregnancy induced hypertension," depending on which
doctor you ask... I shouldn't be on hormonal birth control either...
But he said my ONLY options were the pill and the shot. I don't even
know if he took my history into consideration - I wonder if he just
defaults to those because they're easier for him.

Grrr... Doctors...

Amy

Circe wrote:
so as long as the IDEA doesn't bother you (it bothers some people)

You mean, the idea of having something in there all the time? It can't
be to big, right? It's not like you can feel it, is it?

Amy

We just used luck & withdrawal and sometimes condoms, if we had time.
I really wasn't too concerned about being pregnant again though. I too
asked my Dr. for a diaphragm when I was slightly interested in sex, but
he wouldn't.

I might consider an IUD this time around, because we may be finished
having kids but might have another one in hopes of a boy... The
husband will get snipped eventually, despite his claims.

KR

Amy wrote:

CY wrote:

Me too - so far I love it, though the insertion of it was VERY painful for
me and i cramped for a day or two afterwards. Still I like not having to
think about bc.


Excellent lead-in to my next question...

Those of you with IUDs, how bad did the insertion hurt? Like, on a
scale of one to ten, ten being labor?


What part of labor? It hurt less than the most painful part of labor,
but a whole heck of a lot more than early labor. OTOH, it was over
pretty quickly, and at least in my case, there was just a few hours of
cramping after that.

Clisby

"Amy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Circe wrote:
so as long as the IDEA doesn't bother you (it bothers some people)

You mean, the idea of having something in there all the time? It can't
be to big, right? It's not like you can feel it, is it?

They're quite tiny and you certainly can't feel it (although some women find
their partners feel the *strings* and find it uncomfortable and unpleasant).
Still, some women are just squicked by the idea of having a foreign,
synthetic object in their uteri. And, of course, the problems with the
Dalkon shield back in the '70s gave the IUD a bad name in a lot of people's
minds.
--
Be well, Barbara

Natural family planning can be extremely effective
if a good method is used and it's followed very carefully.
For information see the "Natural Family Planning Primer"
co-authored by me. I think there's a link
on my website:
http://www.ncf.ca/~an588

For example: the more effective nfp methods
involve waiting until after ovulation each cycle.
Such methods can be made far more effective by
waiting one extra day after the criteria of the
method have been satisfied; if the signs that
ovulation has passed are still there, there's
very high confidence of infertility until the
end of the cycle. Each couple can control the
degree of risk they wish to take.

NFP during breastfeeding can also be highly
effective. The natural infertility of
lactation amenhorrea combined with careful
watching for signs of fertility and following
well-designed rules even if you think you're
probably not fertile can lead to very effective
conception control. At least one study involving
hundreds of women had a zero pregnancy rate.

Since nobody makes much money from NFP, it
tends to be ignored: no advertising budget.

Hillary Israeli wrote:
In . com,
My first Mirena insertion hurt BIGtime. I
had labor-like cramps for a full 36 hours. Like, approaching transition
labor. Seriously. But when they had to replace it, the second one went in
easy - one cramp, and that was it.

Mine was a zero -- I could only just feel that it was going in at all,
like slipping a pencil between your lips. I did have cramps for a day
or so following, but they were pretty much like a normal first day of a
baddish period (baddish for me -- I don't get really horrible periods).
An ibuprofen here and there handled it fine.

--Helen

Amy wrote:

But he said my ONLY options were the pill and the shot. I don't even
know if he took my history into consideration - I wonder if he just
defaults to those because they're easier for him.

Grrr... Doctors...

But do you really want to be the first person he's fitted for a
diaphragm in 4 years? If you really care about not getting pregnant,
not getting UTIs, and not being uncomfortable (all things that happen
with poorly fitted diaphragms) I'd suggest that it wouldn't be such a
good idea. Believe me, you're in a very very small minority these days
for being interested in a diaphragm.

Kate, ignorant foot soldier of the medical cartel
and the Bug, 2 and 1/2

Amy wrote:

Those of you with IUDs, how bad did the insertion hurt? Like, on a
scale of one to ten, ten being labor?


My experience with labor was a really long time ago, but the IUD
insertion pain consisted of nothing more than a short pinch from the
uterine sound - lasted a second or two, and while it wasn't fun, it
wouldn't deter me from doing it again. Getting the stitches removed from
my c-section incision was more uncomfortable.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net

Amy wrote:

Is there a patch that's ok while
nursing? Friends of mine have had good success with the patch.


No, the only patch available is the combination one, and I wouldn't
recommend it.

Menstrual migraines, by the way, are usually related to estrogen. So the
shot *probably* wouldn't exacerbate your menstrual migraine. However, I
can tell you that I for one am in the minority of women who experience
menstrual migraine even from progesterone, so it *is* a possibility.
But, as a further however, if you're on Micronor and not experiencing
migraine, it's not likely that Depo would be different, since it's the
same hormone.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net