Birth Controle Thoughts

I had the mirena iud for two years and then just had it taken out last month. I loved it. After the initial poke from the dr's office I didn't even notice it. We are going to try to have another one here soon. The only thing about the iud was that my husband could feel the string sometimes. He didn't care but he said that he noticed it. I didn't have any side effects from it at all. Good luck.

I had the Mirena IUD, and it was horrible! Yes, my periods got very light, almost totally gone infact (who wouldn't like that?). However, the negative side effects were nearly unbearable. I began to have migraine immediately after having the device implanted. I would have upwards of 5 dibilitating headaches a week, started taking powerful drugs to prevent and treat the migraines, had an MRI, but nothing helped them. I couldn't function, let alone take care of my kids. I also had terrible back pain. It would seize up whenever I laid down, and it would take me 15 minutes just to get out of bed in the morning. My OB/GYN wouldn't listen, kept saying it was not related, however, after a year I finally insited they take it out. My symptoms dissappeared with in a week after I had it removed. I would use caution with the Mirena. Well, actually, I would use caution with any IUD for that matter. It's a foriegn object and my body fought very hard against it's presence in my uterus. If you do choose it, listen to your body if it has a bad reaction. Don't wait to see if you adjust.

* After my experience with the Mirena, I opted for natural family planning. I read a great book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility, which shows you exactly how to avoid or how to get pregnant by knowing your body and your cycle. It can be a little regimented at first, but once you know what to look for, it really works!

Great question A.! I just had my 2nd child 7 wks ago and was thinking the same thing. I don't have an answer for you but I'm interested in what others have to say.

I'm not good about remembering the pills either. Not to mention the mood swings and depression they brought on. So I've had three IUDs over the last 12 years. The first was a copper one, paraguard. I won't use one of those ever again. Heavy heavy bleeding, nasty cramps, etc. The last two have been Mirena with an ultra low hormone dose. I now have a very light period. What a blessing! My insurance plan covered the Mirena completely this last time. I've tired just about every other method and I'm going to stick with this one.

Yes, it can be a bit painful going in, it's more who does it, and how good at it they are. The first and last I barely felt. And the sooner after delivery you have it put in the better as your uterus will still be a bit stretched out and makes it easier.

Good luck.

I asked for an IUD after my second child. there are two kinds, one with hormones and one just with copper, that makes your uterus too...acidic, unpleasant...to be implanted. anyway, I picked the coppper one, because i just can't handle the hormones, and i can never remember to take a pill, and the shot scares me... know IUD's got a bad rep from the 70's mishaps, but i love mine. it's never caused me problems, my periods (after the first few heavy ones) are the same as they've ever been, and i've had it for four years now.

I have had an IUD for five years and I love it! If you get one that has a hormone on it, you may never get a period. I only get an occasional spotting and cramping, it has been heavenly.

You could get the Depo Privera shot that you get every three months or the the inplant one in the arm then at least you don't have to take something everyday.

If you are unsure if you want a third, your best bet is the pill. If you aren't good about taking the pi;; just remember what the alternative may be. There are several low dose pills out there that work great and have litlle if any sie effects. The pill use to make me sick, but the low dose works great. It is also inexpensieve if you have insurance. If you don't have insurance then planeed parethood or your obgyn will help you out. Good luck to you and be safe....

I really liked the Merina IUD - I used it for 2 years, and just recently had it removed to have another child. It lasts up to 5 years before you need to replace it though. I will definately use that again after we have another child (or 2?). I think it cost me $80, and then you are good to go for 5 years! It was a bit painful when they put it in, they suggest you take Ibueprofen, but I forgot, - I will NOT forget next time!! so take the Ibueprofen if you choose to go that route! Once I got home and took some Ibueprofen, the pain went away, and never had any other pain or discomfort from it. I would recommend it to anyone. Also - I had no mood swings or anything like that either. So that is another plus! Anyways - good luck, I hope that you find something that works well for you! P.S. I am really sorry that you are pg, and going through a divorce, that must be very difficult!

Initially after having my son I used the pill because that's what I used before. After 8 months though, I noticed I was forgetting to take them, so I switched to the Mirena IUD. I love it! I like not having to remember to do anything daily other than take care of my family. We want to have another child in a couple years and I didn't want to take anything (like the shot or the patch) that wouldn't get out of my system when I wanted it to.

Good luck!

A.,

What about the nuva ring or depo-provera? Contact your obgyn and see what they recommend for you. Also, there is mirena if you know you don't want another child for 5 years. Just a thought. :) Congratulations on your new arrival coming!

Take care,

Molly

I got pregnant on the Nuva ring with my son because it flew out while I was having sex and I didn't find it until weeks later. Oops. Personally I would go with the IUD, there are two kinds, copper and hormone based. Copper will protect you for 10 years and the hormone will protect you for 5 years. If you are struggling for funds Planned Parenthood can help you get it at a discount or for free depending on your finances. The Depo shot apparently works for a lot of people and is easier to remember than the pill (you go once every 3 months) but then again that's how my daughter came into this world so it's not perfect, but as they say the best is abstinence and that's not really the most fun so I guess go with second best? LOL Anyway hope that info helps.

Self help, (who needs a man anyways) or abstinence if your divorced. I would not bring anymore children into the world if not married and your divorced to the father. Just a personal opinion though. As a 35 yo women you are drawing a fine line of taking the pill safely anyways. The older you get the more dangerous it becomes to take the pill. You run the risk of DVT's or blood clots. This is why I stopped taking it.

good luck

i know i am not reliable to take the pill. while i was nursing my son (w/o a cycle) I learned to "chart" my fertility with natural family planning by making observations on my discharge. it may sound gross at first but i was able to correctly guess when i first ovulated after not having a cycle throughout a year of breastfeeding. i pinpointed the start of my period within two days. i'd never been able to do that before in my life with cycles and suddenly i could do it w/o even having a cycle to go off of. so it does work even though you will hear people say that NFP moms have a million kids, etc. Maybe they have that many because they wanted that many!

anyhow, it's not for everyone but it was certainly for me because i think the side affects of the pill are not worth it... increased chance of stroke is not for me when two of my grandmothers both had strokes.

plus i really wanted non-hormonal birth control because of the breastfeeding aspect as well. good luck - it is a tough decision. can you just use condoms until you figure it out?

I used the Murena IUD for 2 years - no periods at all after the first few months. Yippee!! I did get the PMS blues every 6 weeks or so but otherwise it was o.k. I also used a regular IUD for about 8 years before we had our son - it did make my periods a little more crampy and sometimes was noticable during sex - but the Pill made me super fat and depressed with 8 day migraines every month. The IUD is not reccommended if you aren't in a committed, monogamus (sp?)
relationship because it makes you a little more vulnerable to STD's. I had a long talk with my hubby before we decided to use it to make sure he understood that cheating was never acceptible but now it was also dangerous for me. Everybody is different - I tried 5 different types of the Pill and they all had bad side affects for me - but my friends had no problems. Talk to you GYNie.
Speedy delivery!!!

Hello ~

I used the IUD after my pregnancy. It's a no-brainer. I did end up having it removed after 2 years for other reasons unrelated to it but now use the Nuva Ring - another no brainer. You insert it once a month and that's it!

Talk to your doctor to see what is best for you, but those were both great methods for me, especially since I always forgot to take my pills.

Good luck. =)

IF you have a regular cycle, meaning, it works like clock-work.....then I recommend the book: Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It's a natural form that helps you figure out when you ovulate, then you use protection during that time (about a week period to be safe). Like I said, it works great for someone with a regular cycle. If you don't have that it'll still work for you, you just have to pay a lot more attention to it. There's also a section in the book for breastfeeding mothers. let me know if you have any questions.

V.

I highly reccommend a Murena IUD - its fairily new and great. your periodds will be so much better and it lasts years.

Check to see if your insurance will cover an IUD. If they do it ends up being cheaper than the pill in the long run and its way more effective. I plan on getting one after my second baby.

I have had the mirena for almost 5 years and love it! I haven't even had periods for most of that time! It is a 5 year IUD, but you can have it removed at anytime, you do not have to wait 5 years!

I love the Nuva Ring. I have gotten a lot of my friends to go on it too and they have all loved it also. It is a ring you put "up there" and it stays there for three weeks. When you take it out you have you period and then you put a new one in. I'm not very good about taking the pill either so this way you only have to remember once a month. You can't feel it while it is in, and it is low dose so there is less chance of weight gane and other side effects. Unfortunatley it is the same price as most pills though. I hope this helps.
S. R.