birth control options

[swatsd]

I recently went to my doctor to be put on birth control to prevent pregnancy. She perscribed tri sprintec. After doing a little research, however, I found that a lot of women had bad reactions to it. Most of whom were forced to switch to tri sprintec from the name brand option because of insurance coverage. I, on the other hand, have a very good insurance plan, and they will cover pretty much any drug i need, so I decided to go back to the doctor and ask to switch to a different option of birth control. (I figure as long as i have the opportunity, i might as well take advantage of the pill that has less side affects)

I made the appointment, but it isnt for a few days, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for other forms of birth control I should ask her about or look into further.

A little info about me: I am 18, and my main reason for taking the pill is to prevent pregnancy. I was recently diagnosed with an anxiety problem, so I was perscribed prozac to help with that, (I have heard some side affects from certain birth control pills can cause anxiety... thats why I included this in my description. Any more anxiety than i already have wouldnt be desirable.) For the most part i am average when it comes to my cycle... normal periods, not terribly bad cramps or anything like that

If anyone has any good/bad feedback about pills that they have taken, or pills that sound like they would be good for me, let me know.

Thank You!!!!

[sadiecor]

Condoms are great. I'd still be using them if my periods and ovulation wasnt so damn painful!

A combined pill is a good option best for preventing pregnancy in someone your age. There are so many brands, the GP will find one to suit you.If after trialing it, you dont like it, you can always change. There are always side effects but not everyone will get them.
Its always scary reading the notes in the packet, but as long as you recognise any signs or symptoms, and report them to your Dr, its fine.

In the first instance, you may feel somewhat unwell as the hormones start adjusting things in your body. 3 months is a long enough time for things to settle down, and if they dont, see your dr.

I tried marvelon, and got bad migraines.
Cilest made me bleed, and have a terrible temper
Loestrin made me bleed all the way through each month, and I was very down
Microgynon was good, but its no longer available im told
I'm trialing Yasmin now. Started off sickly, and extremely tired, now I've got limb pain and body aches.
Others I've trialed took away my libido, which defeats the object a little!

Sadie

[swatsd]

That was a big help! Thanks a lot!

[chananas]

hi.
i just wanted to give a little input about the pill and anxiety. i have posted a topic called birth control and anxiety because i have had anxiety since the age of 18 and it has been manageable and not a huge problem in my life until recently my anxiety has gotten worse. a lot of people have recommend i stop taking the pill and see if my anxiety gets better. i would suggest speaking with your doctor about this before STARTING. If I would have broached this subject at the beggining, maybe my anxiety would not have gotten worse. im not sure yet if this is the cause but i just wanted to give you a piece of my story.

trust me! i know you dont want your anxiety to get worse.
good luck

[Bracelet]

Some pills are also really well known for increasing anxiety. Namely Seasonale. This is the WORST pill by far to take if you are already anxious. And also Yasmin and Yaz are well known to make anxiety problems worse.

For women who are already predisposed to anxiety, the pill appears to exacerbate the problem. That's why I try to tell everyone to try to find another alternative to the hormonal birth control out there, because it's all more of the same thing. Whether it's the pill, shot, ring, IUD - they are all hormonal contraception and they have the major potential to cause anxiety side effects (among many other things).

You can try the pill and see how it goes, if you're determined to go on the pill. But if you experience anything weird or out of the ordinary, don't let the doctor tell you it's not related to the pill. The fact of the matter is, if you weren't experiencing a certain problem until you started taking the pill, then it stands to reason that the pill is to blame. That's just pure logic.

There are other methods of BC out there. FAM (which you can learn about in the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" - that book RULES, I highly reccommend it to ALL women), Condoms, VCF, diaphram, cervical cap, LadyComp or Pearly and Centchroman. After going off the pill, I personally use a condom with my b/f and practice FAM which involves charting your daily temps and checking both cervical position and mucus to determine your most fertile days - which means you don't want to have sex on those days. The LadyComp and Pearly, while expensive, is a device that will determine, based on your temperature, when your "red" (most fertile) days are, so you know when not to have sex.

The point is, there are other methods out there besides the pill. Don't feel pressured into going on the pill just because everyone else is doing it. Because I can pretty much guarantee that sooner or later, "everyone else" will be feeling some kind of effect from the pill at some point while they're on it. That's just a fact.