This is a nice discussion. In my part I never tried having any contraceptives in my whole life and have to babies now a boy and a girl. So, we decided this time not to have another baby because in my 1st and 2nd delivery is a CS and it’s very expensive you know. This time my 2nd baby is 2 mos and the eldest is 1 yr and 2 mos. So every year I give birth… lol!
Any piece of advice if which contraceptive is really effective?
Barrier methods like condoms, diaphragms, cervicals caps are fine conscience-wise… add spermicical jelly (kills sperm, but there is no killing of a conceived being!!). Of course, you have to be careful to use these properly… Azaria was conceived by not using a barrier method properly (I read the instructions AFTERWARDS to find out why it failed).
I prefer the rhythm method, that is, watching your cervical mucus to see when you are coming into fertility. I Use the oestrogen-progesterone Pill some of the time (not because I want to but because HE prefers it that way), but the moment I think I see any remotely fertile mucus I stop it straight away and see if I get a bleed or not. I am in tune enough with my body to be able to tell if the PIll isnt working 100% effectively, but still I prefer not to be on it. But there are benefits to being on that Pill… less heavy periods, very regular, less pimples…
A friend of mine told me last night she’s using Mirena, and I asked her to do some research, dont just blindly do it because her gyno says its OK. She says she gets spotting now and again. To me, that’s alarming. If bleeding isnt stopped 100%, how can you be sure ovulation hasnt been stopped 100%. And even if only one ovulation gets thru here or there, that’s one possible conception doomed to be eventually expelled by a hostile unwelcoming uterine environment. These are our children!!
I would recommend Mirena. No side effects and it lasts 5 years! (I have only lost weight since being on it… but that’s a given since it was inserted 8 weeks postpartum. :biggrin:) The hormone levels involved are MUCH lower than with the pill. I hated being on the pill, so would not have considered an IUS had my obstetrician not explained this to me. I haven’t had a period since I started using it - and no spotting either.
Re. IUDs as potential abortificants (from Wikipedia):
The presence of a device in the uterus prompts the release of leukocytes and prostaglandins by the endometrium. These substances are hostile to both sperm and eggs; the presence of copper increases this spermicidal effect.[40][41] The current medical consensus is that spermicidal and ovicidal mechanisms are the only way in which IUDs work.[35] Still, a few physicians have suggested they may have a secondary effect of interfering with the development of pre-implanted embryos;[42] this secondary effect is considered more plausible when the IUD is used as emergency contraception.
Notice the word “pre-implanted” - i.e. (according to Wikipedia) the IUD can only destroy a preexisting embryo. So it would only be an abortificant if you knowingly or unknowingly had it inserted when you were already pregnant.
Does anyone know if Mirena is available in Singapore? I have only heard of IUD, some of my colleagues use that too.
We are planning to stop at 2. Giving birth and raising kids in Singapore is expensive.
My friend using Mirena said her gynocologist gae her a little pamphlet to read which all sounded great so she had it implanted. Immediately afterwards, she was handed a big thick book to take home, full of all sorts of possible side effects! Strange not to be given that info beforehand, but afterwards…
I asked her if she had put on weight since she had it in, and she was surprised. “Yes, I have… I need to lose about 5 kilos…I just thought I mustve been eating more.”
Read the stuff by pro-mirena people, but read the stuff from anti-Mirena people.
Of course there will be tons of possible side effects from any birth control, many of them being similar. My doctor discussed everything with me before I got it placed. I think it is up to the woman to ask questions and do some of her own research when taking any sort of medication or contraceptive. Doctors will only willingly tell you so much, mainly because they are so pressed for time, but also because they cannot possibly discuss every possible side effect with every patient that walks through the door. That’s what those booklets are for. The info is also on their website.
I got it because it has lower hormones than any other contraceptive. I am still breastfeeding my son, and I am very not comfortable with him getting hormones. Plus my doc said that since the hormones aren’t ingested in pill form that they are less likely to get transmitted through my milk. The fact that it is in place for 5 years is good, although I don’t mind taking a pill. I just want to as little hormones as possible.
But so far I am not happy with it. My face is broken out more than normal (a side effect), but I could live with that. The big problem is that I have been bleeding for well over a week now, and I wasn’t having any periods before.
Normally bleeding comes 2 weeks after ovulation that hasnt resulted in a pregnancy, or sometimes after a miscarriage. I had heavy bleeding 3weeks after I took the morning after pill years ago, and that’s when I got suspicious, went to a doctor and found out I’d had a miscarriage. Which is what started my mistrust of doctors, contraception and human nature. I dont feel doctors have our best interests at heart, and there are plenty of examples of this.
About 8 years ago in Australia a doctor performed an abortion (later term) on a woman who was paranoid her baby was going to be a dwarf. Some doctor had told her her baby had dwarfism, so she insisted it be aborted, and due to her mental state, a doctor performed the abortion. It’s a famous case in Australia, and just recently the doctor identified himself in the newspapers… he had no regrets yet felt vilified…
Poor him. Boo hoo. The truth of the matter was that the baby he went ahead and aborted was found to have NO dwarfism and was perfectly healthy, but regardless, he aborted anyway… then woke the mother to tell her the news!!
Well this has nothing to do with any miscarriage. Like I said, I wasn’t having periods before b/c I am breastfeeding. This is because of the mirena.
I have been finding it hard to lose my tummy fat since giving birth. I’m assuming I just need to work harder in the gym, but then I started wondering if Mirena is making it harder to lose weight.
I called a gynecologist today and he told me that Mirena wouldn’t cause weight gain because it’s progesterone only. But, I said, it’s well known that the contraceptive pill causes weight gain. He said that that comes from the estrogen.
Nikki, re. your bleeding, I found this online - perhaps you will find it useful:
[i]Q: I have had the Mirena IUD since January of 2006. In the first year, I had almost no bleeding at all, only a very small amount of spotting. After one year, I’m now experiencing long bleedings: the first one took a whole month, then there was a 2 weeks breake, and now again - it’s over a month of bleeding, and doesn’t seem to stop. The amount doesn’t require a tampon, it’s not “massive”, but I can not call it “spotting”. It is definately bleeding (red, not brown…). I also have abdominal pains every now and then, like in the time of the monthly period, and every now and then I suffer from a disturbing itching…
My doctor was not impressed, he said it is normal. He offered me “Ikaklomin” in a very small dosage, to prevent the bleeding. It didn’t help.
I have searched the web and didn’t find a problem similar to mine. The bleeding/spotting is supposed to last only a few months after insertion, not appear suddenly after a year, and last over a whole month. I’ve been checked [physically, also by ultrasound), everything is fine, and the Pap from 3 months ago is okay. Needless to mention that this is very disturbing to me. I’m considering taking the device out.
Have you heard of such a case before? I feel like I’m the only one. Is it possible that my body is not getting used to the IUD? Thanks in advance.
A: Your bleeding pattern following Mirena is seen in women using this excellent contraceptive. The bleeding pattern in women using Mirena is quite unpredictable. If you are not experiencing pain, your physician or nurse practitioner will most likely not even think of removing your IUD. One thing that you and your doctor might consider is to use a low-dose birth control pill, taken in the usual way 21/7, 21/7, 21/7 manner for 3 months. This should lead to 3 withdrawal bleeding episodes during the 7 placebo pills. Then you could stop taking the birth control pills. The dose of hormones you will receive from doing this would NOT be too high.[/i]
I have been looking online, and a lot of women do feel that they have been having unreasonable side effects from Mirena. I recognized a few of them (including hair loss, dizziness/palpitations and the weight problem mentioned above). However, the doctor I spoke to says that the hormone doesn’t leave the endometrium, so its effects on other parts of the body would be negligible. He says that hair loss commonly occurs in the year following childbirth, and I have heard that too. As for the dizziness (which was fleeting) - fatigue maybe?
I’m open to believing that Mirena causes side effects, but I would need to know the scientific reasons why. The doctor I spoke to said cysts on the ovaries are a real symptom he knows of. But, he added, Mirena also reduces the risk of endometrial cancer.
Thanks, Maddy
I know that from speaking to my doctor and also reading the pamphlet and site that weight gain is not supposed to be a side effect. Weights fluctuate from day to day, especially for women.
I also know that abnormal bleeding is to be expected after placement of the mirena. However, I did not expect it. It’s like a period that’s not going away >:( I was rather enjoying not having periods. It would be ok if it was like a regular one and lasted under a week, but this is getting annoying. I just hope it stops soon and then stays away for a while. The doctor even said that it wouldn’t make me have a period, so I guess this is just my body getting used to it. In any case, it sucks, and I would like it to stop any day now.
As for the hair loss, it’s true that after you have a baby you lose a lot more hair. When your pregnant you lose less, and I guess it’s your bodies way of getting back to normal. I remember losing tons of hair, especially when I showered, for many months after I had Gabriel. It’s not as bad now, but I still lose a lot (in the shower mainly). My hair is really long and wavy and hard to comb through wet, so I think that has something to do with it.
Like I said before, everything you take can cause many side effects. My doctor told me that the most common one for the Mirena was cramping. I guess you just have to make a choice whether to live with them and hope they get better, or choose some other method of birth control.
I have a friend who had a Depo Provera stick inserted in her arm… meant to last 3 years… she had to have it removed she absolutely ballooned. Dont know what that is exactly (havent checked), I thought it was progesterone only… another friend has used it for years because as a lesbian she didnt want to do the feminine thing and bleed… she has been getting fatter and fatter over the years… she’s huge now, size 24ish.
when I was single I used to take pills and I get fat but now I’m trying to lose weight but I cant, I dont want to take any pill until my baby stops breastfeeding because believe it or not all what you eat goes to your baby and I dont want a future problems in my baby’s health
Nikki, my hair loss sounds exactly like yours - and yes, it is falling out less these days. I just notice that I have less hair than I used to. 
But hey, it will come back - some temporary hair loss is worth it for a beautiful baby. 
So would you consider taking the pill temporarily for your problem? That answer said low-dose, so maybe it wouldn’t be that bad for Gabriel. At least you could speak to your doctor about it.
I’m lucky I haven’t had any bleeds… have had the cramping, but even that’s stopped now.
Nikita, Depo causes weight gain, apparently, because it’s an anabolic steroid and therefore increases your appetite. So you gain weight from eating more, not from the hormone (which, you’re right, is progesterone only).
If I remember rightly the combined pill made me hungrier. But Mirena definitely doesn’t. In fact, it continues to amaze me that I am so much less hungry while breastfeeding than I was when pregnant - even though you burn more calories BFing than being PG.
Paolita, the combined pill is not recommended while you’re BFing. The progesterone-only pill and Mirena are meant to be okay though - and with Mirena, you get the lowest dose of hormone. However, I do know that you’re meant to wait till at least 6 weeks postpartum to get Mirena - apparently the risk of expulsion is greater before then, and the baby is more sensitive to hormones too.
Nope Maddy. I didn’t want to take the mini pill in the first place. I’m not comfortable with Gabriel getting any hormones. That’s why I chose the Mirena b/c it’s lower than the mini pill. If it doesn’t clear up then I’ll talk to my doctor.
I agree with Nikki on the killing your babies we do the Natural family planing. follow your mucuse. and its easy. I have never taken any pills for birthcontrol and dont want to unless hubby says I HAVE TO we will use condums, pull our or nothing at all!!!
thanks for the info.
I can’t agree with you both more!
There are other ways to pay attention to what’s going on at the sexual level, both in male and female. And also to control the process of conception.
Mucuse - an easy way, indeed, cause it’s changes are as they say in the books. You just have to respect yourself as a woman and take care of your body, in its wholiness. And concerning the males - they can control themselves, if they want it. It’s all about education, willingness and practice/exercise.
Andrea
I personally prefer the rythym method. birth control gives me too may side effects
yaz 28 works really well for me
have you heard of the injection?