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rvega
Aug 27, 2004, 12:29 AM
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Well girls we've had the birth control conversation before so I thought I'd let you all know that in 2 weeks I'm getting an IUD (Mirena). I'm sick of condoms and I hate the hormone side effects of BCP. Tweek and I are getting married so I thought that the timing was good for a new form of contraception. Yes, it's a little freaky to have a weird devise in your body but so is taking fake progesterone. Hopefully, I'll be in that 20% group that doesn't get their period at all for 5 years...that would eliminate the whole period on the rock or in the wilderness problem straight out. So I'll let you know how it all goes. Wish me luck!
FYI This new form of IUD is more effective than having your tubes tied! Whoo hoo!
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maculated
Aug 27, 2004, 6:36 PM
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Congrats on getting married! I'd be curious to see how it all goes if you'd check back at some point. I don't know anyone using it.
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dalguard
Aug 27, 2004, 7:10 PM
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I've heard of that one. I use the shot myself because I've never been bothered by hormonal BC. The big advantage of the IUD is not having to go in every 3 months, but I love not ever getting my period.
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gblauer
Moderator
Aug 27, 2004, 8:48 PM
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I use the Mirena...took a few months for things to settle down, but now I love it. No periods...ever...
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boadman
Aug 27, 2004, 9:54 PM
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My girlfriend used one for about two years, we thought that it would be great, very convenient. She ended up having a sort of constant menstrual drip which was quite unpleasant.
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rvega
Aug 27, 2004, 11:49 PM
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In reply to: My girlfriend used one for about two years, we thought that it would be great, very convenient. She ended up having a sort of constant menstrual drip which was quite unpleasant.
Yeh, I've heard about that and hopefully I'll be that lucky percentage with no real side effects.
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gblauer
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Aug 28, 2004, 1:04 AM
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hang in there if the first few months are strange. After 3 or 4 months everything stopped and all was well.
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dalguard
Aug 30, 2004, 2:53 PM
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Yeah, you see the same thing with the Depo. You have to suffer through a few months of breakthrough bleeding before life improves. It's worth it.
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bubbletoes
Aug 30, 2004, 10:28 PM
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I got my mirena about a month and a half ago and am still getting used to it. The spotting is a bummer to deal with, I hope it wont go on for much longer-but I am thinking its worth the wait because not having to think about birth control for the next five years is pretty sweet. I hope it works well for you.
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rvega
Aug 30, 2004, 11:14 PM
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In reply to: I got my mirena about a month and a half ago and am still getting used to it. The spotting is a bummer to deal with, I hope it wont go on for much longer-but I am thinking its worth the wait because not having to think about birth control for the next five years is pretty sweet. I hope it works well for you.
Hey I have a question. Did it hurt? How badly? They told me to take an alleve before hand which makes me a little apprehensive.
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slobmonster
Aug 31, 2004, 9:50 PM
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Caveat: I'm a dude. But this is a topic I've put some attention into :).
Regarding the Alleve: it's not a Percoset. I would gather that they advise taking one for perhaps two reasons: soreness; and it might have something to do with keeping your potential for clotting down.
I have several friends who just loooove their IUDs.
My girlfriend uses the Nuva-ring. Seems to work, though I admit that sometimes I can feel it... a little too much. But the instructions mention that due to its constant supply, you can take it out for intercourse. Kinda counterintuitive, but hey. What do I know.
Good luck with it. You can always have it removed.
And best wishes with your marriage.
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pemagetchel
Sep 1, 2004, 12:04 AM
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Has anyone tried the SEASONALE birth control. It is suppose to cause you to only have 4 periods a year. Sounds great to me. But I just want to know what other people have experienced before i start poppin them.
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bubbletoes
Sep 1, 2004, 12:36 AM
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I haven't tried the Seasonale pill but I have tried a few other birth control pills-didn't sit well with my stomach. Before I had my IUD I had the nuva ring which was okay but it came out during sex sometimes and I still had the same effects from the ring that I did from the pill...so I went IUD. I wonder if you get spotting with Seasonale?
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dalguard
Sep 1, 2004, 2:58 PM
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If you've used hormonal birth control sucessfully in the past, I wouldn't think Seasonale would be any different. Basically it's just what some women were doing with regular BCP bill anyway, which is not taking the 7 placebo pills in between the real the ones. If you're OK with hormonal birth control, I would recommend looking into the depo (unless you're afraid of shots).
That said, some people don't tolerate hormonal birth control well.
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iamthewallress
Sep 2, 2004, 5:57 PM
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Has anyone here tried the patch? Thoughts?
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newyorker
Sep 4, 2004, 3:40 AM
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Yup, I've tried the patch -- it was weird at first, I kept checking constantly the first couple of weeks to make sure it hadn't fallen off -- but I loved it. Very convenient, and a great side benefit was that I always knew when my period would start -- the week without the patch. Unfortunately, a follow-up exam after six months showed that my blood pressure was up, and after some more follow ups my doctor recommended I stop it. I've switched to the mini-progestin-only pill, which is not as convenient (not only do you have to take it every day, it has to be roughly the same time every day!) I also have more spotting problems with it. But I guess it works well enough...
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calamity_chk
Sep 4, 2004, 3:37 PM
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I've thought about getting an IUD, but havent been able to get psyched about it. Of the people with IUDs, how many of you have had problems with depression/mood swings - particularly when on the pill?
I tend to have really bad issues with BCPs and had an absolutely horrible time with the depo shot. I've noticed that IUDs carry similar warnings - "Mirena can cause weight gain, headaches, increased blood pressure, acne, depression, and decrease in sex drive."
Anyone have any other complications?
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rvega
Oct 3, 2004, 11:26 PM
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Okay I'm finally going to tell you about my experience.
I was scheduled to have the Mirena "inserted" last month but then I had to have a VD test to ensure no infections were possible. No VD! Alright things are going good. Then they schedule my appointment. They suggest that I'm on my period when they "insert" the IUD. Alright, well I just had mine so I had to wait a month. So now I'm ready but I then there's this giant harvest full moon and wham...period one week early. Damn. So I call the clinic and they say they can do it now but I won't have my normal doctor. Lame, but whatever.
I go in on Wed, take my two Aleve's and my new doctor is not so keen about letting me have this procedure. Look Dr. I spent three months inverstigating this, and had a two hour consultation meeting, a VD check and a pregnacy test and now you're giving me bad vibes about it, ten minutes before I'm supposed to assume the position? Not cool. To make matters worse my blood pressure is low and I'm crazy nervous. But then she agrees reluctantly.
There's a med student and a nurse assisting the gynocologist and actually I enjoyed the med student because it was something to focus my attention on besides the ceiling. All is going well and actually I'm not in that much pain at all, but this doesn't last long. Because I haven't had kids they have to "dialate" my cervix which is nothing more than them putting a big stick through it which I do have to say is really quite painful. I'm pretty darn tough and it made me gasp and shudder. But luckily it only lasted a second or two. Then they inserted the IUD but something wasn't quite right with my uterus so they kept messing around with it. So after 20 minutes or so of this I'm starting to get a bit peeved and extremely uncomfortable. I keep asking if there is a problem, but no they reply that its just hard because my uterus takes a "nasty" turn. Great! Well finally its all done and there's not too much residual pain. I ask if they're anything I should expect. Dr. replies "some mild cramping." Okay no worries.
Ten minutes after I leave I want to die. The cramping is unbearable. I can't drive. I call my friends and they come get me and I lie on their couch writhing in pain for about 2 hours before I fall asleep. I wake up feel better, then head off to the car and my two hour drive home. On the way home the cramping returns but its bearable now. All night the cramping continues but when I wake up the next morning it was if nothing had happened. I felt fine.
I got up took a shower and then the pain came back but get this is was worse and nothing like "cramping" at all. It was more like stabbing! No matter which way I moved it stabbed me. Then I started bleeding a disturbing abnormal amount. I couldn't work so I went home. By then pain was so bad I couldn't sleep and this is when I start freaking out. I called the doctor three times but no one answered. I left three messages about "stabbing" and "bleeding" and "perforations." Pretty much at this point I was convinced I had just destroyed any chance of having kids because I was vain and didn't want to go on birth control. What have I done to myself?
To make this long story shorter, I get prescibed some killer pain medications and am sent to the local hospital for an ultrasound to make sure the IUD wasn't anywhere inside my body besides my uterus. Drs. say that I'm fine and that the excessive pain was due to again that "nasty" turn in my urteus. So five days of pain meds later, I'm feeling fine. I have the occassional cramp, but at least there's no whole in my womb. And I'm not writing this to discourage people from the IUD, but I told everyone I'd fess up about the experience. I know that this was the best option for me and what I keep telling myself is that the pain I had was nothing compared to actually having a baby, so all in all its worth it. Yeah birth control.
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winter
Oct 21, 2004, 5:21 PM
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Wow, that is quite the story. I would consider one if I were in a serious relationship but the problem I see with it is that what if you do get your period normally and can't skip it?
My favorite thing about the pill is taking it straight through and skipping my period at my leisure...how many people who get an IUD don't get their period at all??
VEga, I hope that it turns out better for you, please keep us posted on the cramps bleeding. Sounds scary.
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acacongua
Oct 22, 2004, 1:11 AM
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Holy moly, that's quite a story and unfortunately, it turned me off from every considering it!!
On the topic of Seasonale: it's a birth control that's already out there - it's just marketed this way (kind of like how a certain antidepressant has a different name for a drug that helps cessation of smoking). I believe it's very similar to Ortho Tri (NOT Lo). I strongly recommend Yasmin though - very little side effects. Downside: you can't skip your period because it's a very potent pill.
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rvega
Oct 22, 2004, 5:35 PM
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A 30 year study came out this week about the long term effects of birth control pills. The story is only good now! Scientists have found that BCP reduces a woman's chance of developing heart disease and several forms of cancer, with no increase in the chance of getting brest cancer as previously thought. This is pretty remarkble.
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sportyj
Nov 5, 2004, 10:19 PM
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OK so I am SO CONVINCED that I want an IUD (especially since this is the third time in 4 months that I have forgotten to put in a aew NuvaRing and hubby and I have to use condoms now for a WEEK AGAIN!) ANYWAY - I HATE hormonal BC. I LOVE Nuvaring but hate the monsterous headaches I get, the ten pounds that WON'T come off, the moodiness, ugh I just don't feel like myself. PLUS I am pterified of having kids, I do not want kids for like 8 years.
So I do a ton of research and go armed with my Dr. to say "GIVE ME AN IUD!" Well GP says, cool, okay but I don't do them you have to go to a gyno so I show up to the gyno and she says before anyhting 'so I hear you are interested in an IUD' YUP 'Have you had kids?' NOPE 'Well our conversation is over.' She refuses to give IUD's to people who have not had children because of the risk of perforation. SO am I out of luck? Or should I find someone who WILL because I know people have OBVIOUSLY gotten them without having been pregnant before...hmmm....
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rvega
Nov 5, 2004, 10:46 PM
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Find a new doctor, one who's done enough that perforation is not an issue. My OBGYN thinks IUD are great for anyone in a long term monogomous relationship. Yes, it hurt being put in and the first week sucked but I have had no bad side effects since. It's been over a month and I've not gained a pound, and so far no mood swings (besides the ones induced by the election) or BC related nausia.
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winter
Nov 5, 2004, 10:59 PM
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I know a few girls who have them! (ones who haven't had kids).
I do like the flexibility of the pill, how it lets me skip my period, don't think I could give that up...
IUD would be cheaper though.
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girlyclimber83
Nov 11, 2004, 7:50 PM
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ABout the Patch... I was on the patch for about 6 months. I didn't like it at all. It would fall off and the area around it would get all sticky and gross looking. It aslo made me puke every time I put it back on after my period. I wouldnt ever use it again, but I am sure other have had more pleasnt experiances.
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