Birth control?

[Barbara!]

What sort of birth control do you use or have you used? What's your review on it?

I want to get on birth control immediately after Ryland is born. I have been considering the IUD, but I've heard some horror stories.

[FG167]

I used depo provera for 12 years. No periods for 11 of those. Easy, one shot every 3 months.

[LostAndConfused]

Implanon (the bar that goes in your arm). End of May will be 1 year since I had it implanted. So far, top notch. It doesn't keep the acne at bay like Yaz did, but I don't have to remember to take a pill. I've also only had 2 periods since then and they didn't include crippling cramps, so I'll consider it a success.

[GatorDog]

I've taken the pill for the last 5 years or so. I have horrible cramps/pains/bloating when I get my period (usually), so I was really hoping it would help. No side effects for me and no periods when I don't want them. When I do get them, they're mild. It's great.

[k9krazee]

Mirena IUD for 4.5 years. Spotting for 6 months straight then no periods since (until now...I think it might be time to remove it :-/ ). No side effects, it actually helped stable my bipolar tendencies and even though I no longer need BC, I am considering at least 5 more years with an IUD.

There are many birth control/IUD threads with lot of good info!

[ruffiangirl]

I had an iud, no hormones, for five year and never had any problems with it.

[stardogs]

I was on the BC pill for about 5 years, but now have a Mirena IUD.

The pills worked great for the first few years, but then I switched brands and had issues with breakthrough spotting. Remembering to take the pill was a pita at times, and I always worried about user error to the point that we used back up methods most times.

I love my IUD. It's been 3 years as of December and I haven't had a period since two months after placement. I lost 10 lbs within a month or two of going off the pill, too! I have noticed more cramping during what would normally be "shark week" over the last 6 months, but no spotting to date - I suspect that its a result of the hormone levels being gradually depleted over time. I'm also back to having acne since the hormones aren't systemic.

I do know that my doc was hesitant to place the IUD before I had a kid since that makes it more uncomfortable to place, and she did say it's something she is also more cautious about using with women who aren't married or in an otherwise long term relationship since the risks associated with uterine infections are much higher with an IUD in place. Certainly worth discussing with your doc!

[Julee]

Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. Anything other than a pill wigs me out super bad.

So far, so good. Been on it since August.

[GipsyQueen]

I just started a new BC pill today, that is new. We'll see if this one works...

[milos_mommy]

I have a super crappy relationship with birth control. I react horribly to lots of them, ranging from seizures to worsening of bipolar symptoms. I'm not really willing to "experiment" with different pills anymore, and longer-term things like depo, IUD, etc. aren't an option for me.

Yaz made me completely lose my mind, and Alesse gave me seizures. The nuvaring wasn't terrible, but when I went off of it it was really bad, and I couldn't afford to stay on it.

I went back on alesse after I started taking seizure meds for a while. APPARENTLY 467 medications interact with alesse/birth control pills in general and make them not work. Neither my gynecologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist thought that was worth mentioning.

After I have this baby...I don't know. I was on no BC for 4 years and didn't get pregnant...then I got pregnant 6 weeks after starting the pill. I might use the nuvaring again, but i don't even know if that would work with the medication I take.