Female Reproductive Health [explicit]

[Hesantia]

Yeah, that's what I loved with the pill and why I stayed on it for so long (about 7 years), you could totally control your period! Since my midwife convinced me I would probably not have periods I wouldn't have to worry about it, but they are still not regular, even though they are smaller with less blood. I still have some cramps though (as I did on the pill) and that was another thing she said would not be happening... of course, nothing is 100%, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed

If I felt like you do I would probably try something else, talk to your midwife about it, and voice your concerns. The trouble for me was that pills either lower your cramps or help you in bed so to speak, and those "ingredients" take out each other, one of them has to be in a larger amount. So she asked if I wanted to try something else, and well, it does work pretty well after all. If you do not need pills to control your cramps, you probably have more options as well

[Castile]

A good friend of mine uses the injection, apparently her only downside is that her periods are really irregular and very random, I don't think I could deal with that. >.<

Be very very careful with any injections - i had the once every 3 months one thinking it would be easier and the first dose seemed fine but the second...my body didn't react well. I actually blame it for my weight gain. I went from a size 8/10 to a 14/16. I bleed constantly for 3 months - non stop. It was horrible. I had to go back to the doctor to make sure I wasn't going to be anemic(sp) because i lost so much iron. I had to wait until after the 3 months was up to start the pill which put me back on track period wise but the weight never went. Since then its ballooned up and down were as before I could eat whatever and never gained a kilo. I think it really screwed my metabolisim and its taken a long time to be able to lose it again. So yeah be very cautious with those.

[Snowy]

ARRRGGG I really don't know what to do!! >___< I'm happy with my weight, I'm a size 12, always have been, eat whatever I want, never see much weight gain if any at all, I never, ever get period cramps, periods are always dead on time, start at the same time, finish at the same time (except for this month? I've been waiting all day for my period to start today like it's meant to and nothing. o.O And I know I can't be preggers lol.) and other than my ridiculously lacking sex life it's perfect. Which is what irks me the most. IT'S PERFECT... except for this one, rather large problem.

Me and my boyfriend have a very stable relationship. We'll have been together 5 years in February. We're both happy. But I'm always getting upset by this one detail. He has to comfort me all the time, telling me it's okay and that he really doesn't mind much, I know he would rather have a good sex life and honestly so would I!! But I'm almost too scared to start something new, if anything goes wrong with it I'll immediately panic and I do not react well at all to even the slightest bit of stress, which would probably make whatever symptoms worse...

Sorry for the rant, I always seem to end up ranting here, but it's such a consistent problem that I don't feel would be suitable for the rant thread. I might just stay on the pill for now...

[Castile]

Maybe just try a different dosage pill? I'm not sure if you have or not - perhaps a lower dose one. My doctor changed mine awhile back to help with my weight and I think it helped. I was able to lose 10kgs with just sensible eating and exercise whereas before just nothing would budge. Might have something to do with it.

[Snowy]

I did switch to a different pill which was supposedly lower in dosage but it didn't seem to make any difference to me. I'll just go back in and see what she says I guess. :/

[Silivren]

A good friend of mine uses the injection, apparently her only downside is that her periods are really irregular and very random, I don't think I could deal with that. >.<

I use the injection. My next appointment is in a week or two. I get one every three months. Its easy, after my first year of using it, well about the first six months actually, I have no periods. At all. And it is heaven. I love it. I still have a good sex drive and enjoy it thoroughly. Its so freeing to not have to worry about getting pregnant. The only difference from your friend is I get the injection in my hip. But other than that, I absolutely love the shot. I haven't gained any weight either. My only issue was after my first injection, about two weeks before my next appointment I had a two week long period. But as I said before, now I don't have them at all. Everyone is different though, my schedule isn't constant enough to allow for the pill so that was a no go for me.

[Jurz]

I did switch to a different pill which was supposedly lower in dosage but it didn't seem to make any difference to me. I'll just go back in and see what she says I guess. :/

There's a million different pills out there, you may just have keep going back to the doc until you're on the right one for you. You can try injections but the reason they either work wonders or have dreadful side effect is because they're pumping your body with a large amount of hormones. Huge. Enough to last 3 months. That's not actually the best for your body usually and everyone i've met has had some sort of side effect from it. Loss of sex drive is still a possible side effect but so is an increase in sexual drive. You can gain weight and you can become irritated very easily. I have a friend who gets injections and shes one of the most hateful people I know sometimes :/ you can have irregular periods or just never have one again. It really varies, but it should be a last resort because you're body isn't supposed to have these type of hormones in your body for 3 straight whole months but if you don't wanna try another pill then I say try the shot. Its better than getting pregnant when you're not ready

[Hesantia]

Yeah, if you really want pills, try something else During my 7 years I think I tried like 5-7 different brands, including minipills (no idea if that's what they're called in english though) that you are supposed to take all the time if I'm not mistaken.. and so do not get periods.

[Snowy]

Yeah I've heard of the minipill, my mother uses it and doesn't get periods, other than that I'm not sure how it's different from a regular pill though? Thanks for the advice though guys, I know there's a million different options out there it's just that while I'm busy dealing with stress I'm getting from uni (and currently, Christmas x____x) I really, really don't need something else screwing my body over. So I really want to be sure with what I'm doing. I might just ask for another variant of pill though I'm not sure how many she'll have available to me, I use a health clinic and not my GP.

[Hesantia]

I think that the difference is that the minipill has less hormones, but are less forgiving if you don't take the pill the time of day you should. When I tried them I forgot to take it for like 30 mins one time, and I got a period...

[Castile]

I think that the difference is that the minipill has less hormones, but are less forgiving if you don't take the pill the time of day you should. When I tried them I forgot to take it for like 30 mins one time, and I got a period...

Wow thats crazy! I hope you find a solution Snowy

[Snowy]

*resurrects this thread*

I came off the pill this month (no sex, no pill lol) for the first time in like 7 years... not noticed anything different yet but... When the hell does my period start?! I used to rely on the pill to remember when my period was due, now I have nothing and I've completely lost track of when I'm due haha. Just gunna have to hope I don't make a mess in the middle of the night!

[Jurz]

I forgot about this thread! I should take advantage of this!

So, I started taking hormonal injections. Partially because I had extreme cramping which normally put me out of commission throughout my entire period and the pills weren't working, and partially because I've been with my bf for over 3 years and wanted to finally have sex with him. I've just been so scared to because my grandmother had 10 kids and she had to take birth control because she had heart problems and getting pregnant made it worse and she would still get pregnant. Injections is supposed to be one of the best forms of birth control, but I'm still kind of uneasy. I know some people on here have probably gotten injections before, what were the side effects? I haven't been cramping since I started, but I've been feeling bloated and gassy since my second shot. I feel nauseated sometimes too. Are these normal side effects? I'm not sure what to make of them. I know weight gain is a side effect and I haven't gained a massive amount, but 10 pounds still sucks especially since I gained about 25 pounds after I got with my bf (darn you love chub!) I probably shouldn't be complaining since 135 pounds still isn't overweight or anything, but I just don't feel good or comfortable anymore, you know?

[Novikova]

So, I learned the hard way that sometimes pads will twist around and give you an impromptu bikini wax. YEOW.

[Castile]

I forgot about this thread! I should take advantage of this!

So, I started taking hormonal injections. Partially because I had extreme cramping which normally put me out of commission throughout my entire period and the pills weren't working, and partially because I've been with my bf for over 3 years and wanted to finally have sex with him. I've just been so scared to because my grandmother had 10 kids and she had to take birth control because she had heart problems and getting pregnant made it worse and she would still get pregnant. Injections is supposed to be one of the best forms of birth control, but I'm still kind of uneasy. I know some people on here have probably gotten injections before, what were the side effects? I haven't been cramping since I started, but I've been feeling bloated and gassy since my second shot. I feel nauseated sometimes too. Are these normal side effects? I'm not sure what to make of them. I know weight gain is a side effect and I haven't gained a massive amount, but 10 pounds still sucks especially since I gained about 25 pounds after I got with my bf (darn you love chub!) I probably shouldn't be complaining since 135 pounds still isn't overweight or anything, but I just don't feel good or comfortable anymore, you know?

I had quite a bad reaction the second time I had the injection so I'd advise caution. First 3 months were fine but the second made me bleed constantly for 3 months! It was not nice and I'm pretty sure it messed my metabolisim up for life - before it I ate what i wanted and didn't gain any weight and after I went from a tiny size 8 to a 12 then a 16! It is now very hard to loose this weight - even on a calorie controlled diet and exercise. If you can try the pill and condoms I'd recommend that as I think it messes with your system less than this injection does but thats just my experience.