Monday, February 09, 2004
Adventures in Birth Control Land
As folks seem to know I am very pro birth control. I have decided to detail my experiences with birth control just in case any young women are reading this. Below I cover my experience with condoms, the pill, a diaphragm and a few stories along the way.
Honesty, I had sex for the first time when I was 18 to somebody who I went on to date for three years. I knew I was going to beforehand so months earlier I went to the doctor and was prescribed my first pill. The pill is super duper effective if taken properly and I really did love it. Your body chemistry changes every few years so I eventually had to switch brands. Mostly because my mid cycle bleeding had become too much. I never; gained weight because of the pill, got acne because of the pill, my breast never got any bigger. I did; become extremely regular (I knew when it was coming down to the hour), I had my cramps decrease, and you get the fun ability to manipulate your period so that you don't get in on vacation.
I loved the security of the pill and I hated condoms. First of all I am allergic to spermicide. Finding this out for the first time utterly sucked. Heat of the moment woohoo and wa pow .... searing burning pain....telling boyfriend to get the hell out of me and jumping into shower...which doesn't exactly work when the problem is internal. Henceforth, no more spermicide. Spermicide only causes this reaction in some people. It may work for you and if it does, use it. It is added protection that adds a lot.
I've also had a condom break on me. I was on the pill so it wasn't so scary HOWEVER, a piece of the condom didn't come out of me till about three days later resulting in a terrible infection. And that really sucked. However, that was one condom breaking in SIX years of sexual activity.
I've been happily on the pill for four years when my cervix became fryable, which means it would occasionally bleed. This really sucked. I found out that the high estrogen in my pill was a contributing factor so I switch to a pill with low estrogen.
Problem, that resulted in me not getting my period. Some chicks may be cool with that, I am not. So after two months on my fourth brand of pills I am going off the pill for the first time in six years. There are pills with many different hormone levels. Eventually you will find the hormone level right for you. It may take a bit but I think it is worth it.
SO adventure in diaphragm land began. The doctor first suggested the IUD. Apparently, it is the most popular birth control in Europe amongst women in their twenties. My doctor doesn't like how American doctors so readily prescribe hormones. It works because it tricks your body into thinking you are pregnant because there is an object attached to your uterus. The IUD now is very different from the way it was decades ago. The are made of plastic and are really small. Personally, I don't like the idea of placing something in my body permanently (you can leave it in for up to ten years). Compared to the pill and other methods it is very cheap.
I decided on a diaphragm and I had to go for a fitting. A fitting!!! I mean how does one measure a vagina. I got rather terrified of the concept but I didn't want to be without a back up method. Really the fitting wasn't that bad. No worse than an annual exam. And really, if you are sexually active you should be going for an annual and you should be getting a pap smear. I mean I got to see my cervix which I had never seen before and that was rather interesting. As for relaxing during an exam. Try yoga breathing. I am the type that gets really tense, but breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth with my hands on my stomach really helps.
The diaphragm goes in pretty much like an OB tampon. I love applicatorless tampons because I am an environmentalist. It was super duper easy and I got it right on the first try. You fold it and push it in and when it gets to the right spot it just opens itself up. You get it out by gently pulling on the rim (and it comes out rather easy). I never thought it would be that easy. You have to be comfortable with your own body. (If you are not comfortable enough with your body to insert a tampon or a diaphragm I really suggest working on it...not just for tampons and diaphragms but because it makes your sex life much better). Diaphragms are around 85-90% effective, which is why I will be using condoms again. Fortunately, I can afford the ones I like .
As to condoms, planned parenthood gives them away or sells them for like next to nothing. If you are not comfortable enough with someone to ask them to wear a condom you shouldn't be having sex with them. If they are not smart enough to wear it because it needs to be worn, you shouldn't be having sex with them. I highly suggest learning how to put a condom on the guy yourself. If you are in a relationship your man will like it, it'll probably turn him on. If you are not in a relationship this could just cut out the "please put the condom on conversation" you could just spring it on him.
There are so many birth control options out there people have very little excuse for not picking one. Legislation has been passed that requires insurance companies to cover birth control and planned parenthood helps those without insurance.
Go to www.plannedparenthood.org
Hope this has been in the least informative
As folks seem to know I am very pro birth control. I have decided to detail my experiences with birth control just in case any young women are reading this. Below I cover my experience with condoms, the pill, a diaphragm and a few stories along the way.
Honesty, I had sex for the first time when I was 18 to somebody who I went on to date for three years. I knew I was going to beforehand so months earlier I went to the doctor and was prescribed my first pill. The pill is super duper effective if taken properly and I really did love it. Your body chemistry changes every few years so I eventually had to switch brands. Mostly because my mid cycle bleeding had become too much. I never; gained weight because of the pill, got acne because of the pill, my breast never got any bigger. I did; become extremely regular (I knew when it was coming down to the hour), I had my cramps decrease, and you get the fun ability to manipulate your period so that you don't get in on vacation.
I loved the security of the pill and I hated condoms. First of all I am allergic to spermicide. Finding this out for the first time utterly sucked. Heat of the moment woohoo and wa pow .... searing burning pain....telling boyfriend to get the hell out of me and jumping into shower...which doesn't exactly work when the problem is internal. Henceforth, no more spermicide. Spermicide only causes this reaction in some people. It may work for you and if it does, use it. It is added protection that adds a lot.
I've also had a condom break on me. I was on the pill so it wasn't so scary HOWEVER, a piece of the condom didn't come out of me till about three days later resulting in a terrible infection. And that really sucked. However, that was one condom breaking in SIX years of sexual activity.
I've been happily on the pill for four years when my cervix became fryable, which means it would occasionally bleed. This really sucked. I found out that the high estrogen in my pill was a contributing factor so I switch to a pill with low estrogen.
Problem, that resulted in me not getting my period. Some chicks may be cool with that, I am not. So after two months on my fourth brand of pills I am going off the pill for the first time in six years. There are pills with many different hormone levels. Eventually you will find the hormone level right for you. It may take a bit but I think it is worth it.
SO adventure in diaphragm land began. The doctor first suggested the IUD. Apparently, it is the most popular birth control in Europe amongst women in their twenties. My doctor doesn't like how American doctors so readily prescribe hormones. It works because it tricks your body into thinking you are pregnant because there is an object attached to your uterus. The IUD now is very different from the way it was decades ago. The are made of plastic and are really small. Personally, I don't like the idea of placing something in my body permanently (you can leave it in for up to ten years). Compared to the pill and other methods it is very cheap.
I decided on a diaphragm and I had to go for a fitting. A fitting!!! I mean how does one measure a vagina. I got rather terrified of the concept but I didn't want to be without a back up method. Really the fitting wasn't that bad. No worse than an annual exam. And really, if you are sexually active you should be going for an annual and you should be getting a pap smear. I mean I got to see my cervix which I had never seen before and that was rather interesting. As for relaxing during an exam. Try yoga breathing. I am the type that gets really tense, but breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth with my hands on my stomach really helps.
The diaphragm goes in pretty much like an OB tampon. I love applicatorless tampons because I am an environmentalist. It was super duper easy and I got it right on the first try. You fold it and push it in and when it gets to the right spot it just opens itself up. You get it out by gently pulling on the rim (and it comes out rather easy). I never thought it would be that easy. You have to be comfortable with your own body. (If you are not comfortable enough with your body to insert a tampon or a diaphragm I really suggest working on it...not just for tampons and diaphragms but because it makes your sex life much better). Diaphragms are around 85-90% effective, which is why I will be using condoms again. Fortunately, I can afford the ones I like .
As to condoms, planned parenthood gives them away or sells them for like next to nothing. If you are not comfortable enough with someone to ask them to wear a condom you shouldn't be having sex with them. If they are not smart enough to wear it because it needs to be worn, you shouldn't be having sex with them. I highly suggest learning how to put a condom on the guy yourself. If you are in a relationship your man will like it, it'll probably turn him on. If you are not in a relationship this could just cut out the "please put the condom on conversation" you could just spring it on him.
There are so many birth control options out there people have very little excuse for not picking one. Legislation has been passed that requires insurance companies to cover birth control and planned parenthood helps those without insurance.
Go to www.plannedparenthood.org
Hope this has been in the least informative
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