Contraception Question

[caela]

IUD's, anyone use them? Thoughts, pro or con, on them? I'm considering getting one since I don't like hormone based contraception (makes me a total bitch) and condoms haven't always proved effective for me...as the recent birth of my daughter shows lol.

Just wanted some input from other women out there. Thanks!

 

[CutieMouse]

I'll drop you a PM.

 

[LifelongCyn]

Hi, Caela. First of all, congratulations! I loved the newborn stage once I got the logistics down lol.

As for your question, I use the Mirena IUD, the one that has the low dose of hormones. This one lasts for 5 years. I believe the IUD that doesn't use hormones may be good for 8-10 years. I haven't had any problems with it, and my period stopped almost completely within 3 months. I still have some monthly hormonal changes, like tender breasts, skin breakouts, and spotting, but they're diminishing.

The only cons I can think of are that the insertion is uncomfortable, like really bad cramps, and the removal strings that are left in the vagina can be a little pokey for your partner during sex, but your ob/gyn can sometimes trim them if it's a problem.

One caveat, I didn't get mine until about 3 years after I gave birth, so I don't know if the low dose hormones in the Mirena will have any effect on normal post-partum hormonal fluctuations.

Hope that helps.

 

[Essene]

Great topic

 

[CutieMouse]

Even still, I personally would take the risk of it falling out over a pulmonary embolism or stroke.

Of course, if I had male anatomy I might feel differently.

There is still a risk of ectopic pregnancy with the IUD; I can't remember the numbers on it, though. Not that I'm exactly sexually active these days, but I do remember it was low enough that it didn't concern me [more fertile than God] much. LOL

 

[FurryFury]

I use one and have since about six weeks after my 15 year old was born.

There was a little discomfort and bleeding when they first put it in. Not much.

It's worked well for me so far.

My monthly cramps have been easier for most of these years, until now.

I'm not sure why there has been a change these last few months. Menopause maybe?

It's been very cost effective for me.

No unwanted pregnancies have happened either.

 

[PertPerth]

A friend of mine got an IUD after her second child - she loved it. She's currently trying for their third baby and so far have been unsucessful and blames the IUD.
So, my suggestion would be to wait for using IUDs until after you've finished having children.

 

[caela]

Thanks everyone.

Fury, cost effectiveness was one of the reasons I decided on and IUD. I work for a catholic hospital so my insurance doesn't cover the cost of any sort of contraception and while the IUD has a larger, initial, out of pocket cost, over the long haul it ends up being cheaper since I only have to pay for it once.

Perth, do you know if your friend was using one of the IUD's that have hormones in them? Even low doses of hormones can make getting pregnant harder when you stop using them because you have to wait for your body to re-adjust again. The IUD I'm planning on has no hormones and honestly I'm quite content with the idea of Peyton being an only child lol.

 

[FurryFury]

I was on the pill for a long time before my first child was planned. It always pissed me off and still does that Viagra and such is covered by insurance but birth control is not. How does that make any sense just on a cost analysis for the insurance company? The cost of a birth and another person insured has to be greater. KWIM?

 

[caela]

I was on the pill for a long time before my first child was planned. It always pissed me off and still does that Viagra and such is covered by insurance but birth control is not. How does that make any sense just on a cost analysis for the insurance company? The cost of a birth and another person insured has to be greater. KWIM?

lol...That same thing has pissed me off as well but in the end it's kinda apples and oranges since one keeps people from getting pregnant and the other helps old men have sex. I'd be more pissed if my insurance didn't cover birth control for women but did cover a vasectomy for men. In my case it doesn't cause I work for a catholic hospital and they don't cover any form of birth control.

Hell we had a doctor get in trouble for telling a patient that she couldn't have any more children. The woman in question had had 6 c-sections and her uterus was just too damaged from the repeated trauma of surgery after surgery and the doctor wanted to do a hysterectomy. She got reprimanded and had to do the hysterectomy at the hospital across town because there wasn't actually anything, medically, wrong with the woman's uterus, it just wouldn't have stood up to the abuse of another pregnancy so the hysterectomy was actually a permanent form of birth control.

That pissed me off.

 

[FurryFury]

I don't blame you, that's pretty terrible.

 

[graceanne]

My mother used to have an IUD. She got it taken out because of a pregnancy scare, then she got pregnant. *rolleyes*

She liked using it. She didn't complain and used it from the time my other sister was born until my littlest sister was born (a 15 year span). Then my stepdad got fixed and she didn't need to use birth control anymore.

 

[caela]

I don't blame you, that's pretty terrible.

I thought it was too, especially since the doctor was looking out for the best interests of her patient. The woman's uterus just hadn't scarred well after being gone into so many times and if she'd gotten pregnant again it probably would have ruptured guaranteeing the baby would be miscarried and running the risk of the patient bleeding out as well. Sometimes I just want to beat upper management with a hard, blunt object.

 

[FurryFury]

My mother used to have an IUD. She got it taken out because of a pregnancy scare, then she got pregnant. *rolleyes*

She liked using it. She didn't complain and used it from the time my other sister was born until my littlest sister was born (a 15 year span). Then my stepdad got fixed and she didn't need to use birth control anymore.

Get the men fixed! Hell yeah!

 

[ownedsubgal]

the fact that you've given birth makes you a good candidate for the IUD, however your sex life is a major factor as well. hormonal birth control really causes me lots of problems, and i would LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to use the copper IUD, however multiple gynecologists and nurses have told me that i would not be a suitable candidate due to my sex life: i have multiple sexual partners, and engage in "intense" (by vanilla standards) sexual activity. the IUD significantly increases your chances of getting a STI and even PID, so if you have more than one sexual partner, and/or regularly engage in sexual activity like vaginal fisting, deep penetration, DP, etc. which causes bruising and tearing, you really should not use the IUD.

if only they would invent a hormone free birth control for sluts. *wistful sigh*

 

[caela]

lol OSG...Love the last line! Honestly I'm not even having sex with anyone right now and I'll never stop using condoms for STD protection, I just wanted something hormone free as a backup in case a condom breaks. I've discussed my options with my doctor and while I enjoy some of the things you've mentioned I don't engage in them regularly even when I am having sex so he wasn't worried about them. If I end up in a relationship where that changes I'll have to re-evaluate with my doctor then.