Birth Control options?

[Holly95]

Well, I would prefer to call it "Hormone regulating" or something, since any birth control I end up on isn't primarily used for birth control, but anyhow..

I am 18, and have been on oral contraceptives since I was 12 due to horrendous periods that would put me in hospital every time I got one, they tested for endometriosis and that come back negative thank goodness(though knowing what I now do about that hospital I would like it to be tested again elsewhere), but that doesn't stop the excruciating pain and long heavy periods that I have had since that age.
I have been on around 5 different pills but for the past few months my one hasn't been working, and I'm guessing it's got something to do with every day or two being a "stomach upset" type day, in the technical terms on the prescription instructions :lol: so therefore I don't even reach the 7 day mark where the contraceptive is counted as "working" and "safe".

I am now started on Prednisone and my surgeon wants me to be put on a better method of birth control, purely for birth control (not that I need it, but since I'm an 18yo female I'm obviously working every street corner in the eyes of doctors right?) but I want it for period control anyway.

So far I have thought about the injection, the rod, and an IUD. With my thoughts I have knocked out the idea of the injection, because if I react to it like I have to several pills in the past, I can't just up and say oh, well lets take it out, or lets stop it. I would have to let it run it's course.

I have thought about Mirena, and I would qualify for it for free thanks to Aunt Flow being so abusive towards my system for up to 3 months at a time! (Yep, not kidding, I've bled for 3 months straight many times before).
But I've heard a lot about bad side effects, the mirena not being inserted properly, it becoming imbedded into the uterus, being "lost" inside the body, causing horrendous side effects for months after removal etc. Plus the feeling of having to open up for my doctor to insert it really doesn't appeal to me.

I have also thought about both Jadelle and Implanon, I have a friend who is on implanon. But I couldn't seem to find as much information on these as I did with Mirena. With these i'm only really worried about the period control either going to one extreme or the other, the side effects obviously, and the insertion and removal causing scars.

I don't like messing with my system, especially since I'm only just being started on two new drugs, but it's a case of having to since all week I've been curled up on the couch not only from the pain of what we now know is crohns, but period pain also. I can deal (just) with one or the other, not both at once, that's too much right now.

Has anybody got any BC opinions or experiences, both good and bad? OR any that I haven't thought of yet? I want to know what I could possibly be getting myself into before I go to the doctors on Friday for a discussion with him, and I don't like walking into a doctors office without first knowing a little bit about what I'm asking about, then I'm not made to feel like such a naiive little girl in my own head.
Sorry, that was longer than intended, I'm good like that :tongue:

 

[Jennifer]

I used to have really bad periods as well where I had to be sent home from school due to extreme pain and vomiting. Started on birth control pills when I was 14. I still take the pill but a different one now. I take Junel because its supposed to make you not have a period at all. Certain medications I took did make me bleed for some reason (Remicade, Humira and Methotrexate) doctors didn't know why and didn't know if they might have made the pill less effective either but they assumed it didn't. It was only a light period for a day or two and went back to no period once the medication was stopped.

If you did decide to go with a pill option like Junel you could use a back up birth control method during intercourse until you know how it works for you.

I know Afidz used the shot so maybe she can talk to you about that some more along with addressing your concerns about it.

I've never used an IUD but my mom and one of my sisters did and they both had to get it removed. With my mom is was embedded in her uterus and had to be surgically removed and with my sister it slipped out of place and would have needed to be fixed (she said it was really painful and did have breakthrough bleeding, she had it taken out though rather than dealing with placement over and over).

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I'm not sure if they offer the ring (nuvaring) or the birth control patch in NZ, but if so then you may want to consider those options too. I had been on the pill for years, but when I developed IBD and was suddenly having diarrhea all the time, I became concerned that I might not be absorbing my pills very well and therefore may be at risk of becoming pregnant. I definitely did not want an oopsie pregnancy to happen when I was feeling so icky (not that an oopsie would be ideal at any time, but it would have been particularly bad then). So I switched to the ring, and I've been quite happy with it.

I haven't been on the shot myself, but I've heard that it affects some women negatively. This is because you get all the hormones etc in one fell swoop, so some women experience things like crazy mood swings right after getting their injection. With things like the ring or the patch, you get the hormones continuously but never in one huge dose like with the injection, so less risk of that type of side effect. Just something to think about! Good luck, I hope you can find something that fits your needs well.

 

[Holly95]

I feel your pain, I was exactly the same with mine, and they have started to go back to how they were even though I've been on the same pill for a while now, I'm wondering if it's something to do with nothing staying in my system long enough to work right now?
I'm on Ava 30 ED currently, but have been on several others.

I have no worries about the birth control side of it, I personally only want it for period control, my bf and I have watched both his siblings go through the dramas of having unplanned children rather young and have no plans to do that so we are extremely cautious anyway, though I seem to have an issue with latex, hmm :/

I did consider the shot for a while but like I said in my earlier post my only concern with that is having a possible reaction to it and not being able to take it out, but having to wait it out. I have reacted and had bad side effects to many different medications, and several OCPs so I'm a little nervous with injections in that department.

Yeah that was my worry, I hear of a lot of people around me in person who have no problems with it, but it just seems like a bit of a risk that I'm not sure is worth it right now since knowing my luck it probably will go wrong, and I don't really need anything else going wrong in the general abdominal area at the moment lol

 

[Holly95]

Cat, I have heard of the nuvaring, but I don't really know much about it other than its a patch haha.
Absolutely on the oopsy pregnancy, though that's not a problem for me since I haven't ever relied on just the pill as a contraceptive, I've just never trusted it, and would rather suffer through the irritation from the latex afterwards than get pregnant accidentally.
I might add that to my list of ask-the-doctor about, my appointment is tomorrow morning so hopefully I can get it sorted out before then, I just don't want to end up being convinced by my doctor into something I'm not so sure about.

That's true, I didn't think of the injection in that light but it does make sense if it's releasing all the hormones at once like that

 

[Jennifer]

Ortho Evra is the patch http://www.orthoevra.com/. Nuva Ring is not a patch, you insert it yourself. http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/index.asp Maybe those may be an option if possible. I forgot about them.

 

[Holly95]

woops, read it wrong haha. I have heard of both of them before, but obviously not in depth since I know zilch about the both of them. I'll have a read up on the sites, thanks

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

If you're relying on condoms as your main pregnancy preventative, be careful with that. Condoms are only something like 70% effective against pregnancy, even when you use them correctly. (Anecdotally - my sister-in-law told me she and her partner only use condoms, no other form of birth control, and she's now got 5 kids, and at least 3 of them were oopsies!) The pill, the ring, and the patch are all 99.9% effective against pregnancy when used properly (you need to take the pill around the same time every day for maximum effectiveness, don't skip a pill, etc). Just a thought for you - the pill or whatever you switch to will likely be much more reliable and effective against pregnancy than condoms will. Of course, using condoms and the pill (or ring, patch, etc) together is a good idea as well, so if you plan to continue on like that then you'll probably be just fine.

And yes, as Jennifer said, the nuvaring is a ring that you insert. You leave it in for 3 weeks, take it out for a week and have your period, then put in a new ring for another 3 weeks, etc. (I am on the ring, and although it sounds like it may be uncomfortable in theory, I never even notice it, it's very comfortable and my hubby said he doesn't notice its presence in there either.) The patch is similar I believe, in that you wear it for 3 weeks, remove it for a week, put a new one on for another 3 weeks, and so on. Definitely do some reading up on the ring & the patch. Good luck!

 

[xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx]

My sister is on the patch and I think you change it every week, for three weeks, then have a one week break for your period.

I'm on the pill and not ... sexually active at the moment. (Don't you hate that term!?)

But I think when I am next in a relationship I might change for these reasons. I think I would try the patch. I like the idea of being in control of your contraceptive as with the pill, rather than something like the implant which is just there... If you know what I mean?

 

[Holly95]

Yeah I much prefer to have 2 methods of contraceptive going at once if we're trying to not get pregnant haha. And I think that with everything going on right now the last thing I need is to end up pregnant, so we're very strict on making sure that does not happen

I went to the doctor this morning and he doesn't want to change anything yet since I've only just been put on Pentasa and Prednisone, which is fair enough, so we will wait a little longer until we're sure of any side effects of the medication etc. It took some convincing from my side to get him to believe that the prednisone and pentasa haven't been the cause of this months issues, since I got my period before I got put on these two drugs, and because of my history of womanly woes, he listened in the end. (I'm getting good at this!)

Haha LittleMissValentine, yes I hate that term! It's such an awkward thing to say.

Yeah I get what you mean, only my skin hates me and I have a lot of dry/red/itchy skin, eczema? I'm not sure. But it's all over my arms, legs and face, so i'm not sure how well I would deal with the adhesive, but I'm going to go into the family planning clinic and ask about my options there, like my gp suggested. (Talking about contraceptives is still a little wierd when talking to a male doctor!)
He wanted to give me ibuprofen for my periods, um, no thanks, i'm good without that one. So he gave me accupan and tramadol instead, we'll see how those go next time.