Contraception Options

LegacyUser

Just wondering what are the available options to reduce the risk of pregnancy. I know about condoms and the pills, I heard of some injection you can get. What else? I am only in my 20's so I don't want a child but I will some time in my life I'm sure so castration isn't an option. Thanks!

TattyTeddy

There is an implant you can get for your arm which prevents pregnancy for 3 years. Don't go on the pill if you can at all avoid it. It severly fecks up your fertility and also, it's very dangerous if you're a smoker and on the pill (docs rarely tell people this)

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you going to provide links to back up those claims?

cormie

No Babies! wrote:

so castration isn't an option

Can girls get castrated? or are you a guy just wanting to know all ways?

TattyTeddy wrote:

There is an implant you can get for your arm which prevents pregnancy for 3 years.

Interesting, is that for guys or girls?

aidan_walsh

No Babies! wrote:

Just wondering what are the available options to reduce the risk of pregnancy.

Abstinance. The safest option.

Jim

Mordeth wrote:

you going to provide links to back up those claims?

If its written somewhere on the web, its gotta be true!

Er, implant in your arm? Sounds highly dubious.

Tiriel

Implant is for girls.. and yeah is supposed to be very effective. You can kind of feel it under the skin.. I don't have it but friend does.. she's well happy with it so far.

Jim

Cork_girl wrote:

Implant is for girls.. and yeah is supposed to be very effective. You can kind of feel it under the skin.. I don't have it but friend does.. she's well happy with it so far.

In her arm?
What exactly is it? How does it work?

b3t4

Injection = Depo provera. Do a search it's been spoken about previously in this forum.

Implant = Implanon. My friend is currently using this contraceptive. She hasn't noted any side effects to me except for spotting which is apparently normal for the first while. It's a small implant about the size of a match stick placed under the skin in the arm. More information http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100004325.html

A.

Tiriel

About Implants:

The implant is a prescription birth control method that offers prolonged protection against pregnancy. The implant contains a single hormone - a progestin - which stops ovulation and/or changes the cervical mucus thereby preventing pregnancy.

What does it look like?

The implant consists of one or six match-sized plastic rods which your family physician or gynecologist inserts under the skin of your upper arm, using a local anesthetic. The rods release a constant dose of a hormone, progestin, thereby protecting against pregnancy. A modern alternative consists of only one rod and is inserted by means of a specially designed disposable applicator.

How effective are they?

The implant is considered to be the most effective form of contraception available. Once in place it lasts for a period of three to five years. During that time it provides 99.8% or even more protection against unintended pregnancy.

Are there any other benefits besides contraception?

Yes. The implant offers additional health benefits or "non-contraceptive benefits" which are the same for all progestin-only contraceptive methods.

not sure if it's still available..

daymobrew

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

Er, implant in your arm? Sounds highly dubious.

Norplant is a contraceptive implant for women. I knew a girl in the US with it.
http://www.indiana.edu/~health/norplant.html
Side effects: http://www.adrugrecall.com/norplant/norplant.html

FranknFurter

my mother and sister both use it. (implant)
Both seem to find it great, *except* you need to make damn sure you make a note of when u will need it replaced, my sister forgot, which is why my sister now looks like a camel lolol

B

tovalee

What ever you choose, just remember that none of those choices will protect you from disease.


hpv

aidan_walsh

tovalee wrote:

What ever you choose, just remember that none of those choices will protect you from disease.

doodle_sketch wrote:

Abstinance. The safest option.

Speak for your own methods

isolde

The implant is available in Ireland. A friend of mine has it and it has worked successfully, the only side effect being it stopped her periods (good, but she didn't realise this was going to happen so it caused some panic).

Personally I'm thinking of trying the patch. Same as the pill but sort of like a nicorette patch idea, also very effective, but more expensive than the pill, though I guess it depends on what brand of pill you're on.

I think the injection lasts for about 4 months at a time or something like that. Best bet is to talk to your doctor about it and they'll advise you which is best for you.

~ isolde.

Stench Blossoms

I get the injections and they last for 3 months. I find them great and have been on them for the last year and a half or so...

only downfall is that it increases your appetite

miniperson

I have had many a chat with my doctor about contraception methods, here is what I understand:

1. Pill. Doesnt prevent disease (already mentioned). You shouldnt smoke on it (I do-unfortunately), can cause nausea and headaches due to oestrogen hormone present. You may have to try a few pills to get the right one (I tried 4), you should try each pill for at least 3 months to see if it is agreeing with you. A lower dose pill may combat period pains but it can also cause bleeding/spotting. For me, the Pill was the best option.

2. Patch. Basically you attach a patch to a certain area of your body (like a ban-aid). Reason I didnt go with this is because 1. you have to have an unslightly patch on your body and 2. I was scared it would fall off hence messing up things "down there". Good for if you are someone who may forget to take the pill.

3. Ring: This is inserted into your vagina and secrets hormones also. Like the patch but is inserted "up there".

4. Injections: Heard these are fairly agreeable but if you do get a shot of something that doesnt agree with you, it has to say in your bottom for upto 3 months.

5. Implant. Projestrone only. Good for if you are prone to headaches etc on the pill: Most recent one I was told about. Doc said that it is inserted into your forearm. Then secrets hormones. Again a reaction can happen (if it does just take it out). Costs 200 for the implant and I think she said about 100 to insert. Thats 300 yo yos over 3 years. I asked her if near the end of the 3 years it might wear off and she said no that it would work up until the very moment you take it out.

You should go to a doc anyways. They will check you out (blood pressure and all that) and make sure that everything is ok.

Antisocialiser

What is the safe zone after the period?

LegacyUser

Antisocialiser wrote:

What is the safe zone after the period?

There is no real safe zone. Believe me. I just found out i am pregnant and it was after non concentual sex. I was in shock and didn't bother with the MAP because i was in a state of shock and disbelief and STUPIDNESS. Checking dates i was not near ovulation or so i thought. I found out i was pregnant when i went to get the pill last week. They say during your period is the safest time. Maybe it is, i dunno. I found out when it is not safe though.

rainglow

Another thing to take into consideration is that weight gain (more so than with the pill) is a side effect of the injection and the implant. I considered coming off the pill for a while so I explored other alternatives with my doctor.

I had to try 4 different pills before I found one that I wasn't psycho on and she said to me that with the injections and implants, once they go in you're stuck with the side effects for their natural duration, unlike the pill where you can stop if you're piling on weight or turning into a psycho-hosebeast.

The Sweeper

First, there isn't any 100% safe time to have sex.

week one
When you have your period, your body is shedding the lining of your womb, which is where a fertilised egg would usually embed, therefore when you have your period you are least likely to get pregnant. But not utterly unlikely. Chances of pregnancy are more likely to be slim because you're too busy nursing a hot water bottle and eating chocolate than for any biological reason.

week two
Immediately after your period your body is preparing to ovulate. This is like 6pm on a Saturday night. While you don't think you'll score and be in bed by 8pm, YOU MIGHT GET LUCKY. Same with pregnancy. Depending on how athletic your partner's sperm is, it can last inside your body for quite a number of days waiting for an attractive egg to pass by. If a likely looking egg passes by and the sperm's still fit, bingo, await the patter of tiny feet. You are more likely to become pregnant during this time than you are when you have your period.

Your most fertile time

In a typical four-week cycle, you ovulate around the end of week two, start of week three (so two weeks after the start day of your period). You are MOST likely to get pregnant at this time. This is like 10pm on a good night out. You're body is fully prepped to get pregnant. Your involuntary physical responses to stimulus of a sexual nature are right up there. This is the time you are likely to think it's funny to flash your breasts at the nightclub.

Indeed, if you were in a relationship where you were actively trying to get pregnant, this would be the time you'd be at it like bunnies.

week three
There is still a high chance of pregnancy after ovulation, during the third week of your cycle, as the egg makes its way to the womb, doing something similar to that desperate 2am nightclub dash where it'll pounce on anything that'll take it home and make it feel good. While you're not as perfectly prepped as you were, (your hair's flopped and your tights have a ladder), you could still get some.

week four
The last week of your four-week menstrual cycle is like Copper Face Jacks at 3.30am. Your egg is still there, hanging around, its mascara down to its jawline, crying into a stale beer while your body gets ready to discard the unused lining of your womb, like a still-sober barman sweeping up the fag ends and beer mats. Like most party goers who are still single at 3.30am, chances are your egg will be ousted from your body unfertilised, stuck in a taxi and sent off home.

HOWEVER, YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THAT BARMAN. The same way we all have friends who score at the unlikeliest moments, you can still get pregnant.

While I think it's very important that you know when you're more fertile, I don't think you should ever take chances.

Never say never.

tinkerbell

TattyTeddy wrote:

There is an implant you can get for your arm which prevents pregnancy for 3 years. Don't go on the pill if you can at all avoid it. It severly fecks up your fertility and also, it's very dangerous if you're a smoker and on the pill (docs rarely tell people this)

That is total rubbish about the pill - it says on the information booklet supplied with the pill that should you wish to stop taking the pill in order to get pregnant, it doesn't mess up your fertility - also doctors have said this too.

Perhaps you're missing the point that it is SMOKING that is dangerous, not the pill.

D!ve^Bomb!

as someone else has already said earlier, it might protect you from pregnancy but not from deseases so you are goin to insist on latex magic on your next night of passion are you not? so whats the point?

angeldelight

Depot provera is very handy! Basically it's the contraceptive in an oil solution which is injected into muscle and as blood is aqueous, takes v long time (continuously over 12 weeks) to join circulation. Appetite can go either way with it, I lost weight. Only pain is you have to get it on very exact dates, i.e 1st oen during period, rest exactly 3 months later. Can take up to a year for everything to get back to normal which is a bit of a pain but very handy and in my case meant there were no pills for my mum to 'accidentally' come across while looking in my room

Implant in arm is an option, works cause polymer it's made of breaks down very slowly over long period of time, releasing drug. I heard there are more unwelcome side effects tho.

Stench Blossoms

Ive seen people left with nasty scars after getting the implant removed,...

Victor

b3t4 wrote:

Implant = Implanon...... It's a small implant about the size of a match stick placed under the skin in the arm.

"SMALL" :eek: :eek: :eek:

LegacyUser

AngelDelight I got Depo Provera for the same reason as you...privacy!

b3t4 Depo Provera is just an injection in your backside not an implant...hurts a little bit for a day or two afterwards...a bit like someone kicking you in the shins...but it is 99.7% effective :-D

I'm on it a year and a half and when I got my last injection was speaking to the nurse about other options...

theres the mirena coil that lasts 5 years and the advantage of that is that once it comes out you are immediately fertile again...something I'm considering having put in 'cos I'm on meds and if I want to have a child its better that I come off/lower my dosage so it'd be nice to say in 5 years time come off my tablets and be able to conceive immediately rather than juggling my meds for a while not knowing if i'm fertile which is what would happen with Depo Provera! So it'll be decision time for me soon so anyone with expreience of the Mirena Coil I'd love to hear about it!

To the orriginal poster everyone is different. And everyone feels different about different options...to use hormones or not yada yada yada. But one thing you must be is safe. If you're not in a long term relationship where you know that both partners are free from any infections then use condoms...every time!

Nala

No Babies! wrote:

Just wondering what are the available options to reduce the risk of pregnancy. I know about condoms and the pills, I heard of some injection you can get. What else? I am only in my 20's so I don't want a child but I will some time in my life I'm sure so castration isn't an option. Thanks!

I suggest you see a doctor.

DArcy

The patch is great. I've been using it for a good while now. I decided to use it cuz everytime I went drinking (whilst on the pill) I would be really sick that night or the following day.

I've tried a few different types of pill but each one made me sick once alcohol was involved. The patch is fantastic. Haven't been sick once. & it has never fallen off...really sticky. It can be put on in loadsa different places too, so nobody has to see it or know it's there. Definitely gets my vote, even those it's pricey.

Plastic Scouser

On a similar topic, can anyone give me an idea of how much the different options cost?

I'm moving over from the UK soon - everyone over here is entitled to free contraception so it's going to be a shock to my bank balance to have to pay for my pil!!

b3t4

MoreAdvice wrote:

b3t4 Depo Provera is just an injection in your backside not an implant

You will find, if you had read my post, that Victors quoting of me is misleading. I too was on the injection for a year or so.

mirena coil

My friend tried to get this and made an appointment with a doctor. The doctor told her that she could not get it fitted as she has not had a child.

A.

DArcy

The Patch (Evra) costs €26 a month. Pills like Yasmin cost around €12, while older generation pills such as Cilest are cheaper again, at about €6. The longer it's on the market, the cheaper it gets.

Plastic Scouser

DArcy wrote:

The Patch (Evra) costs €26 a month. Pills like Yasmin cost around €12, while older generation pills such as Cilest are cheaper again, at about €6. The longer it's on the market, the cheaper it gets.

Thanks DArcy!

LegacyUser

isolde wrote:

The implant is available in Ireland. A friend of mine has it and it has worked successfully, the only side effect being it stopped her periods (good, but she didn't realise this was going to happen so it caused some panic).

Personally I'm thinking of trying the patch. Same as the pill but sort of like a nicorette patch idea, also very effective, but more expensive than the pill, though I guess it depends on what brand of pill you're on.

I think the injection lasts for about 4 months at a time or something like that. Best bet is to talk to your doctor about it and they'll advise you which is best for you.

~ isolde.

cousin and friend had bad experiences with patch, worse than pill, but maybe tis just them

Miss Polaris

Hi

The Mirena IUS is an ideal contraceptive for a woman of any age! The addage that a woman must have children before she can get it fitted is not technically correct. For some doctors it will prove more difficult to insert the Mirena in a woman who has never had children.

However, I have the Mirena nearly 5 years, it is excellent. I have never had and am not likely to ever have children. It was inserted very easily with local anaesthetic. I did however have it fitted in London, as my local hospital and gp's felt that it was unethical for an unmarried woman with no children to choose to have a Mirena and also declare that she did not want to have children. Bearing in mind too that the Mirena IUS is an excellent treatment for menhorragia, and in some cases for endometriosis. I had many reasons for asking for it!

As I said very happy with it. I have had Depo Provera and all shapes and forms of the OCP. This is by far one of the best pieces of plastic ever invented!!

If you want more info PM me, I will attach some files (space permitting here) that can be of help.

:-)

Miss Polaris

cormie wrote:

Can girls get castrated? or are you a guy just wanting to know all ways?


Women are castrated by removing the overies. Its a medical term, it can be done surgically. Medical castration involves medication to "switch off" ovarian function.

Victor

b3t4 wrote:

You will find, if you had read my post, that Victors quoting of me is misleading. I too was on the injection for a year or so.

Opps, corrected.

Ali Cat

I too have the Mirena IUS and must say that I love it dearly. I did find it very hard to find a doctor who was willing to fit it in a young woman with no children but did eventually find a very nice one in Dublin (if you want information about where to go PM me). I wasn't offered a local anisthetic though and it hurt quite a bit when they put it in and for several hours afterwards I had the worst cramps ever. One of the best things about it is that the hormones are entirely localised in the uterus so you don't have any side effects, other than your period stopping which I personally think is fabulous.Also it lasts for 5 years but can be taken out sooner and is as effective as female sterilisation.

I will say though that I did get more lazy about using protection after I got it, which, as several people have pointed out SHOULD BE USED BY EVERYONE IN ORDER TO AVOID DISEASE.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the info on the Mirena. I still have another 8 weeks before my next depo so I'm still thinking of it... I haven't had any children and the doctor said she'd be happy to fit me. Just as was mentioned that I'd get cramps and stuff for the first day or two.
As for the cost Plastic Scouser my depo costs 41 euro(or around that) at the WWC. You're supposed to get the injection every 12 weeks.

cajun_tiger

http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/female-sterilisation.htm
http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/contraception-diaphragm.htm
http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/contraception-iud-ius.htm
http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/contraception-pill.htm http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/contraception-inject.htm
http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/uk/contraception-implant.htm

revelate

I too have the Mirena IUS and must say that I love it dearly. I did find it very hard to find a doctor who was willing to fit it in a young woman with no children but did eventually find a very nice one in Dublin (if you want information about where to go PM me). I wasn't offered a local anisthetic though and it hurt quite a bit when they put it in and for several hours afterwards I had the worst cramps ever. One of the best things about it is that the hormones are entirely localised in the uterus so you don't have any side effects, other than your period stopping which I personally think is fabulous.Also it lasts for 5 years but can be taken out sooner and is as effective as female sterilisation.

I absolutely second the above. While I had it fitted primarily to treat endometriosis, it also had the added advantage of reducing periods to almost nothing and has no appreciable side effects.

Can't believe you didn't get a local anaesthetic! I was knocked out under a general one..although that was probably b/c another procedure was done at the same time.

I will say that the cramps were pretty bad for about 2-3 days afterwards but after that all be well!

Again, if you're looking for information about doctors etc, just pm me.

LegacyUser

i have been thinking about getting the bar inserted in my arm. i know a few girls on it.they say they bled for quite a while after having it done,one friend bled for a month,bled after sex(as did most of the other girls i know on it) and said she was very angry at the start. does anyone know any other side effects of the bar?? does it effect your fertility in any way(i think 3 years-the period of time its in,is very long and might effect your fertility)

LegacyUser

the implant doesnt affect your fertility, as soon as you get it removed you will be fertile again. I've had it over a year now - had spotting for the first few weeks but havent had periods. Its very reliable, very safe.