Comments on: Myth-Busting

By: Manda

Manda — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 15:54:48 +0000

In high school, a girl I knew went on the pill to control her periods, and gained almost 30 pounds in one summer. Let’s just say that, especially in high school, that was a scary prospect.

By: mythago

mythago — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 16:07:38 +0000

Plus: Oh condoms! How you like to abrade me too! :)

Not telling you that Everyone Must Use Condoms, but a) lube and b) they come in material other than latex.

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:34:39 +0000

Oh, I understand! I didn’t mean to imply you should take Yasmin, I was just using it as a cost example. My memory is shot these days as well, so a pill wouldn’t work for me either.I agree that it sucks that the nuvaring is much more expensive for you than the pill, considering it’s the same hormones, just a different method of delivery. I was just saying that it’s not necessarily more expensive everywhere, making it even more suspect that you have to pay so much for it now. Sorry if I wasn’t clear!

By: subgrrl8

subgrrl8 — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:00:23 +0000

Thanks for the links.

Hormonal pills just don’t work for me at all. I don’t remember to take them (shit, I have to have a gmail notification sent to my phone to remember to take my thyroid med!), I have a sensitive stomach (taking my thyroid hormones on an empty stomach gives me the same nausea), and I’m sensitive to high levels of estrogens- and the progesterones are the really crazy-making ones. The NuvaRing has the lowest dose of hormones on the market, and because it is a constant supply, I don’t get mood swings. Yasmin would be devastating to me- it has twice the level of progesterones that other monophasic pills have. It’s cool that it worked for you, and I’m glad that there are so many choices for those women who the pill works for.

It still pisses me off that those of us who can’t really use the pill effectively get monetarily punished- I went from spending $60 a year to $300. And only because the method that I’m getting hormones differs, and that the NuvaRing is a bit newer on the market. It’s like being told that you can have cough drops for $1 but cough syrup will cost you $20.

I am committed to finding out more about getting an IUD. Your stories of success give me hope. I am in a committed monogamous relationship (we just moved in together! crazy!), and I do trust my partner entirely that he wouldn’t cheat (we have An Agreement, and he’s a cool feminist guy). Plus: Oh condoms! How you like to abrade me too! :)

I now have a new problem: My work will probably be changing health insurance in the next few weeks. Shits! Man, working corporate (I’ve only ever worked public) sure is different.

By: Caja

Caja — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:08:37 +0000

Subgrrl8 – I read an LJ community dedicated to IUDs, and a lot of women have the same problems you do: 1) finding a doctor who is willing to give an IUD to a woman who doesn’t fit their stupid married-with-kids criteria and 2) paying for it. I don’t recall the details, but there are ways to get the cost lowered/covered by the manufacturer of the IUD. Anyway, here’s a link to the LJ group. I hope you can find some helpful info in there.

(I got my IUD (non-hormonal) paid for by my insurance (I had -really good- insurance back then); the doctor didn’t like the fact that I was under 30, never been pregnant AND (worst of all) am unmarried and polyamorous, but I convinced her I was smart about safe sex practices and my partners are trustworthy and etc.)

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:21:11 +0000

I also love the nuvaring and my husband says he can’t feel it during sex, (I’ve asked). I absolutely love the fact I only have to worry about it twice a month and the side effects are almost nil. I do have some mood swings, but I have yet to find any hormonal contraception that doesn’t give me mood swings and they are mild enough that I’ll deal with them over condoms, which I hate with a passion. I had been planning on staying on it only until we could save up for the mirena, but I like it so much, I doubt I’ll switch.
Subgrrl8- I think a lot depends on where you get it and what pill you take. When I was on the pill, I took Yasmin (which I loved, but having children seems to have depleted my ability to remember to take a pill everyday) and it was 30 a month, so when I switched to the nuvaring it was the same price. My pharmacy only charges 41.13 for the Nuvaring though, so the insurance doesn’t help much. We’ve recently switched insurance and yasmin and nuvaring are both in the same drug tier, with a 25 dollar co-pay. I could get a cheaper pill, but all of them mess with my moods horribly. I know my insurance was a PPO and they said they would cover half of the IUD, so maybe you could see how much planned parenthood charges? My doctor charges 495, so the 250 was not somehing we could do at that point, but PP may be less expensive or your insurance might be better than ours.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:59:48 +0000

subgrrl8 – There’s increasing acceptance for giving IUDs to younger/childless women, as more and more studies come out showing that the risks are much less than was previously thought (which was helped along, of course, by the whole Dalkon Shield debacle). I’m 27, no kids, and I’ve had my Paragard for six years now – and I love it to pieces: no hormones, nothing to remember besides checking the string every month, no worries about pregnancy for another six years – what’s not to like?

If you’re really interested in getting one, you should ask around – you can probably find a GYN that’ll do it for you (or try Planned Parenthood – that’s where I got mine, and they usually charge a *lot* less than a private practice will).

By: Hedonistic Pleasureseeker

Hedonistic Pleasureseeker — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:44:37 +0000

“What�s a sensitive skinned, sensitive-to-progesterones grrrl to do? ”

Not to blogwhore or anything, but anyone who’s supersensitive to hormones or struggling with mood swings related to her menstrual cycle is welcome to hang out at my blog. I have a tag on my sidebar titled “My Hormones are Kicking My Ass.”

My (googlebased) research on this topic has been extensive. Some little factoids:

1) You can get reeeeeeely drunk off the tiniest bit of alcohol if you’re on the Pill. It’s in the small print if you look hard enough. Please be careful! I used to get SICK.

2) If you struggle with hormonally related mood swings a typical medicalized response has been to treat with hormones (the Pill, progesterone creams, etc.). Unless you’re treating premenstral dysphoria with Yasmin or Yaz (the only b/c that’s FDA approved for this) DON’T GO THERE! If you’re already sensitive to hormones, more of them can drive you crazy. Literally.

3) If you’re sensitive to hormones the estrogen in the Pill can make you pack about 3 to 5 pounds. It’s just water retention, and yes it really did go to your tits; you’re not imagining things.

4) My contraception of choice? Condoms. I’m hearing and reading wonderful things about that “ring” and would probably consider it if I were happily partnered and 100% positive the relationship were monogamous. Unfortunately I’ve learned the hard way that most of my “exclusive” relationships never were. Caveat emptor.

By: Carrie S.

Carrie S. — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:37:13 +0000

I so wish I could use hormonal birth control. Unfortunately, it makes me wacky. No one wants to be around someone who’s irritable, weepy, and constantly slightly sick to her stomach, and I can’t say I blame them.

Since the primary use of hormones, for me, is to accurately predict the timing of my period, it’s not a huge deal. Still, it was nice to have that predictability.

By: D

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:20:09 +0000

I was a bit hasty. There does seem to be one class of anti-biotics that has been shown to interfere, however, none others. review 1 review 2