Birth Control

Birth Control - what do/have you primarily used? And what are/were your experiences with it?

After having two pill babies, and having never been friends with hormones anyway, I had an IUD (Paragard) inserted when I was 20. Which I would wear for 26 years.  The IUD certainly isn't for all women, but I'd gladly do it again.

Negative. Insertions are PAINFUL! I had three of them (10-year intervals), and dreaded each one. I had each insertion done while I was menstruating, while the cervix was naturally dilated. After the first one, at 20, I kept menstruating for another two weeks – and it was very heavy, as if my body was trying to expel the IUD. My gynecologist said she had never seen menstruation so heavy. Periods over the next couple of months would be very heavy, but each one would be a little bit lighter than the previous one. It took about a year before my periods were somewhat back to close to what they were, but still rather heavy, and would remain so, until I had it removed.

Another negative. Our first intercourse after insertion, my husband at the time hit the strings, which he definitely did not like. Let’s say it’s because he’s “rather big”. I waited three months, then went back to the gynecologist, to get the strings trimmed. And that problem went away. Until the next re-insertaion; the same frustrating three-month wait for both of us.

Positive. Big positive. Assuming you and your man have a monogamous relationship, the IUD is about as worry-free and low-maintenance as it gets, short of getting a tubal. If you're able to get Mirena instead of Paragard, Mirena curtails menstruations. But my gynecologist determined that Mirena was not for me.

When I had what would be my last re-insertion, at 40, I was wondering if menopause would kick in before I turned 50, which would have taken care of the the next re-insertion, or if I would need that re-insertion. But my Coming-Out took care of this problem (women can't get women pregnant!), along with many others. Since I no longer needed it, I had it removed last month during my annual gynecologist visit.