Sick of Being Stuck with The Pill? All About The Pill and a Few Options

[KittieCat]

I feel like I hear way too many stories about girls "stuck" on the pill and not knowing about their other options, so I wanted to try to help and list the most common female contraceptives along with their effectiveness, cost, and pros and cons as well as my experience if I have any with them :) So as my mother, who's a doctor, once said to me,

Suga, this is how you keep babies away from you

1. The pill!

Oh the pill, you hear good things and bad things about it but here's what it's all about. The pill basically releases hormones that tells your brain that you're pregnant but the doses are usually low enough that you won't get all the side effects of being pregnant.

How to use it: Take it daily at the same time, this is very important and can get you pregnant if you have sex without any other form of contraception and you don't take it at the same time. Take one week off (your sugar pills) every month or two months or whenever, but keep you cycle consistant. I believe the max cycle is your period week every 4 months (which I did).

Effectiveness: If you take it right, it's one of the best ones out there!

Pros: You know when you have your period and you can plan around it :)

Cons: You have to take at the same time religiously, forgetting a day is forgivable but make sure to use a condom just in case.

Cost: Off insurance, mine was about $30 a month, with insurance, I didn't pay anything

Experience: I didn't have a good experience at all, my gynecologist determined that it was due to the hormones in the prescription I didn't react well too. Taking the pill daily was easy for me as well :)

2. IUD

The IUD is a little T that is inserted into your uterus that can me medicated or unmedicated.

Effectiveness: Almost bullet proof. Both IUDs have a physical barrier that acts as a contraceptive and the medicated one gives it a little extra boost! The medicated one (Mirena), lasts for 5 years and the unmedicated one (ParaGard I think) lasts 12 years.

Pros: One procedure and done! Your period goes away in 6 months - 1 year. And once it's out, you can get pregnant pretty easy (If you want to)

Cons: Oh lord the procedure. For about 30seconds you get intense, and apparently similar to, labor pains. The worst pain is, is that they tell you it's going to be kinda uncomfortable... Damn liars. And you spot every so often, so wear panty liners for the first few months ladies.

Cost: Off insurance, it's about $850. With insurance, it costs nothing! :)

Experience: I recently switched from the pill to the Mirena and I love it. The only thing I dislike was the spotting which lasted about 2 months. It's treating my endrometriosis and evening out my hormones, I couldn't be happier!

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3. NuvaRing

Similar to the pill, you cycle yourself on with NuvaRing. You insert it into your vagina and leave it in for 3 weeks and remove it for your period week. It releases hormones that prevent eggs from leaving the ovaries

Effectiveness: Almost as good as the IUD. Less than 1% of women who have sex regularly get pregnant while using NuvaRing

Pros: Easy to put in, no daily pill to remember, is comfortable for you and your partner

Cons: Remembering to take it in and out. Set a date on your calendar to help! :)

Cost: You're gonna need a prescription for this, so add the doctors check up fee to the cost. The ring itself can be free or up to $80 a month

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4. The Shots (Depro-Provera)

Depro-Provera is a shot women can get every 3 months to prevent pregnancy

Effectiveness: About even with the NuvaRIng, less than 1% of women get pregnant. Remember to get your shots.

Pros: Doesn't contain estrogen, which can mess up some women's hormones. One shot every 3 months and you're covered. It's private, so no one really has to know about it.

Cons: You're gonna get stabbed with a needle which is always no fun, spotting also occurs. The big downside is that your side effects never go away with the shot, so make sure you love it when you get it.

Cost: This is one you're gonna want insurance for. Can up to $150 per shot plus the initial doctor's visit.

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So yeah! Those are the top 4 birth control methods I know of, but of course there are more for both females and males out there. Hope this helped! <3

[katkittie55]

I never had any issues with the pill. I know a few of my friends that gained a ton of weight on it though.

[ClassicRocker]

You forgot about Implanon. It's a subdermal that gets implanted on the upper arm and it lasts 3 years.

[KittieCat]

I know, I planned on making a second one as there's a lot more :)

[00Lelouchxx]

Isn't there like a day after pill just take that

[KittieCat]

Yes the Plan B emergency contraceptive. Not reliable

[ClassicRocker]

Also probably not healthy to use repeatedly. It's an "emergency" contraceptive for a reason...