Girls: need advice on contraception.

Anon please.

So I've decided to go on contraception now I'm in a stable relationship, but as I've never been on it before, I thought I'd ask you guys what your experiences with different contraceptive methods has been.

I've heard mostly bad things about the Pill - one girl I knew had her period non-stop for 6 whole months, and I know several who gained large amounts of weight on it. Also, I am extremely scatterbrained and, knowing myself, would forget to take it, and get myself into trouble.

At the moment the one that I'm considering over the others is the Implant. It seems pretty reliable and doesn't need to be changed often so you can just forget about it.

What are your experiences with different methods of contraception, in particular the Implant?

The biggest thing I'm worried about is gaining weight. I've read studies online saying there is no evidence to suggest contraception causes weight gain, but still, I'm wary of it.

Thanks for any answers!

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Reply 1

redferry

I recently switched from the pill from the Implant.

I never had any issues with the pill and liked it because I could skip periods.

I don't even get periods with the Implant though, it's great. I would definitely recommend it. It did hurt like a bitch the first few days though. I haven't put on any extra weight than I would normally over winter!

At the end of the day if you do put on weight you can come off it whenever you like so it isn't an issue.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by redferry

Thanks for the answer. Yeah the no-period aspect of the Implant is one of the main things that attracted me to it. Although not all girls stop their periods completely so it's not definite.

How did they put it in? Was it just like an injection? How fast was it? I'm really squeamish so I'd hope it was fast haha.

Reply 3

redferry

Original post by Anonymous

The downside is if they don't stop you don't have the same control you do with the pill.

It's quick but worse than an injection. I was surprised by how gross it was to be honest lol because you can feel it in your arm and it's really ew.

after a couple of days it's fine though!!

Reply 4

gemmam

The depo injection is the only method which has been proven to have a direct link to weight gain, apparently the others only increase your appetite which I suppose if you kept an eye on what you eat wouldn't cause much of a problem. I've only ever been in the copper IUD which is none hormonal so doesn't increase your appetite or have any of the other possible side effects of hormonal contraceptives, although it comes with its own side effects luckily I haven't been too bad on it, I understand its not everyones cup of tea though. I know quite a few women who have/had the implant, it seems that they either love it and have no/very few problems with it or react really badly to it. Some people recommend trying the mini pill for a few months before getting the implant (apparently you have to have it in for a minimum of 3 months before they'll remove it, one of the reasons I decided not to get it) as they contain the same hormone so you'll have an idea of how you'll react to the implant plus can just stop taking it if you react badly to it.

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Reply 5

minimarshmallow

I take cerazette. I normally recommend people start the pill before they need it, because the amount of times that people forget it to start with. Set an alarm on your phone, or try and take it at the same time as something else (I take it with my anti-depressant and my daily vitamin tablet) so if you remember to take one you remember to take both.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post by redferry

Haha I felt it in my friend's arm, it is a bit ew but it's still at the top for me.

Cool, thanks, will definitely look into it and talk to my GP about it :smile:

Original post by gemmam

Thanks for the info! I hadn't heard about that "mini pill". I'll ask my GP about this.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

minimarshmallow

Original post by Anonymous

Thanks for the info! I hadn't heard about that "mini pill". I'll ask my GP about this.

The mini pill is a progesterone only pill (or POP), such as Cerazette (among others, this is just one of the most common ones). Of course sometimes people react badly to it, but it's the same with all pills. I've been fantastic on it.

Reply 8

gemmam

Original post by Anonymous

Haha I felt it in my friend's arm, it is a bit ew but it's still at the top for me.

Cool, thanks, will definitely look into it and talk to my GP about it :smile:

Shut up.

Thanks for the info! I hadn't heard about that "mini pill". I'll ask my GP about this.

No problem :smile:

Id also recommend going to a Brook or Family Planning clinic rather than to your GP, they're much more helpful in my experience, can take more time to go over things for you and less likely to try to fob you off. The nurse at my GP practice tried to convince me that the only 3 methods I could use was the pill, depo or condoms and that everything else was for women who had already had children and didn't even know that the copper IUD existed :facepalm:

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 9

Eveiebaby

Hey,

I can recommend going on the NUVARING. It's this plastic ring that you put inside yourself (on your first day of your period) and it slow releases hormones which prevent conception. If you miss the first day of your period, you're meant to put the ring in and use barrier methods (condoms or diaphram) for the next 7 days until it becomes effective enough to use on it's own. You take it out on the 3rd week leave it out for 7 days and then replace on the 7th day, by which time you probably would have had a period.

If you want more infomation, please look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuvaRing

It uses a lower level of hormones than the pill and I don't experience so much disruption in my periods like I had with the injection.

Ask your doctor!

Reply 10

melissabishopx

i had the implant a few years ago after forgetting to take my pill too often but it was awful. i never had any problems with the pill (besides my forgetfulness) but the implant just gave me the worst side effects so i had it taken out and went back to the pill. having it put in isn't awful, but having it taken out is disgusting. especially as they can move in your arm like mine did, it had gone in deeper than it should have so it took ages for them to pull it out, and was quite painful. wouldn't recommend it, just try and remember the pill or use condoms if you forget xx

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Reply 11

eelnais

My experiences on the Pill have been fantastic. I know to the hour when my period will come, it last three days, and I know to the hour when it will stop. There is no pain, it's very light, and I can skip them anyway if I want to. I recommend the Pill to everyone, it's been amazing.

My best friend has been on the Implant as she felt she'd forget to take the Pill (I set an alarm on my phone to remember though) and has had an awful time. Nonstop periods for two years. She'll be on her period constantly for a month, then off for a day, then back on for weeks. I've never known such a nightmare.

Reply 12

awe

Microgynon, no problems from it. I regularly put strips together so I don't have a period if I don't want one, i.e it's anniversary or we're going away for a weekend etc.

I take it just before I go to bed so it's pretty easy, and I'm incredibly scatter-brained but it has become part of the routine. It's a bit more iffy sometimes because I live in two places, but I've just had one strip here one there and disregarded the specific days on my strip to take whatever whenever, merely marking in my diary when I've started that 'run' so that I can know when to stop without ruining the cycle.

I have considered the implant. I'm really freaked by having something 'foreign' inside me though, especially if I can feel it, and I don't know if I could settle with the fact that there's something like that under my skin... but we'll see.

Reply 13

syrettd

Everything you said you've heard about the pill is exactly what I've heard about the implant, and why I choose the pill over the implant everytime. All the stories I've heard about the implant, it seems people either get really lucky and have no periods and weight gain or are really unlucky and have constant periods and weight gain. There's several different types of contraceptive pill so it's pretty easy to swap onto a different one if you find any bad side effects with one. I've been on two and never had bad side effects with either, but I wanted to swap from a dianette (co-cyprindiol) to microgynon 30 because some of my friends said it would make my periods even lighter, which it did.

Reply 14

dead101

The pill is the best choice for reliability as in periods, weight gain wise. I don't know anyone that's had weird periods or put on loads of weight and I know lots of people on it. Though it has been known to make people more emotional... It's good because you have lots of control over when you get your period and if it's not right for you, you can just stop taking it instantly. Though you do need to take it properly or it might not work so you'd need to set an alarm or something.

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Reply 15

acciolucy

I'm not allowed to take combi pill/any oestrogen due to a family history of oestrogen caused cancer. I tried Cerzaette as it's progesterone but I got very moody, felt sick and had very long periods (I'm never normally moody or anything), the Dr said any other progesterone contraceptives would be identical except the progesterone only pill which has to be taken within an hour every day (even with an alarm it's awkward). Any suggestions?

Reply 16

gemmam

Original post by acciolucy

I can't have anything with oestrogen in either because my mum has had a stroke. As I've said earlier I have a copper coil which works fine for me. My sister has been on the mini pill, implant and depo and found that depo worked best for her although she did gain quite a lot of weight on it (a lot of my friends who were on it hated and had lots of problems with it though). The hormonal coil is progesterone only yet is meant to cause less side effects than other hormonal contraceptives as the hormones are in the womb rather than going into the blood stream.

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Reply 17

acciolucy

Original post by gemmam

I've looked at them but I found the coil rather scary looking! And isn't it awkward to remove if you don't get on with it? I've looked at the implant so might see about that :smile:

Reply 18

gemmam

Original post by acciolucy

I've looked at them but I found the coil rather scary looking! And isn't it awkward to remove if you don't get on with it? I've looked at the implant so might see about that :smile:

I haven't had mine removed yet still got 4 years left, but Family Planning clinics are more willing to remove them the one I go to does walk in appointments for coil removal. I remember reading a thread on here a few months back (you might still be able to find it) and a girl was saying that she had a bad time on the same mini pill you were on but was fine one the implant as the hormone is released at a lower dose.

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Reply 19

Shofeh

I wouldn't recommend the implant at all. I had mine put in last November and have been on my period ever since- it's a complete nightmare! I've also experienced rapid weight gain and I now have to wash my hair daily to prevent it from becoming greasy! Everyone's different though so you might be one of the lucky ones...