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• Reputation: 1045 Q&A: 20 0 9 485 25 1 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 Luckier

  2 0 Please do not do this. Generally the Pill takes several weeks/cycles to level your cycle, so many side effects may subside after you find the right pill. So, if you are on and off the Pill, you are never going to feel right and the side effects will never get better. Plus, the spotting can be constant. If you just hate the Pill in general, consider trying a different form of BC. If you are careful and not completely adverse to the theoretical chance of a pregnancy, try condoms with an extra squirt of spermacide. If you are able to track when you ovulate, you can use condoms most of the time, and condoms plus the sponge (do they still make that?) or a diaphram when you're ovulating. It's fairly obvious to many women when they ovulate (Google mittelschmerz), but if not for you you can track your temperature or just estimate when your egg might drop. If your weight is fairly steady, try an IUD (but remember if you lose or gain a bunch of weight, your baby will be born clutching that thing in his tiny angry fist). Or, there is always prayer (this one doesn't work). Luckier answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report 5 comments by BasementDweller3, Luckier, and Griffin… 0 0 I did not know weight shifts affected IUDs - googled it but it's a bunch of people bitching about how they gained 10 lbs. on the Mirena (hormones, people, what did you think would happen?). Can you explain? BasementDweller3 commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Like a diaphram, the IUD comes in many sizes (plus, there are many types - some with hormones and some without.) It works by making your uterus inhospitable to implantation - little fertilized blastocysts or zygotes will find no purchase. Your doctor will fit one to the size of your uterus - really how much space your uterus takes. I understand that it is painful to put in, especially if you've never given birth (dr. has to dilate your cervix). Gaining or losing weight can effect the "size" of your uterus, so the little bugger can come out or get moved around, giving a little bugger room to implant. Anecdotal evidence: a friend of mine was dieting in the months before her wedding and lost about 15-20 pounds. She looked lovely in her dress, especially in the area of her rack. "Food poisoning" on her honeymoon led her to go to the doctor, who made her pee on a stick and told her all about how dieting could effect her IUD, which her doctor was able to remove so her son wasn't born clutching it in his angry little fist. Luckier commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Actually, in the US, there are only 2 IUDs currently approved for sale--Mirena and the Paragard. The devices are the same size for everyone (smaller in length than a US quarter), but the string length left attached is different for every woman because of space in the uterus and personal comfort preferences. They don't act by crowding out zygotes but by making the uterine walls hostile to implantation, either via hormones (Mirena) or copper ions (Paragard). It is somewhat painful to place an IUD if you are nulliparous, as I am. However, it's not as terrible as some would have you believe. However, you'd have to do something beyond gaining/losing weight to make an IUD fall out--your uterus' size doesn't change with weight changes unless you are pregnant. Luckier, I'm guessing that your friend's IUD wasn't placed properly or that she expelled it. Griffin commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Luckier - where are you that there are mult sizes? Seems like a better idea. BasementDweller3 commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Thanks for calling me out for posting bad information, Griffin. I was totally relying on what I remembered from talking to my doctor several years ago, when I should have either done my research or STFU. The story about my friend is true, however - she became pregnant with an IUD and had to have it removed about 8 weeks in to her pregnancy, as soon as she was diagnosed. Luckier commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 154 Q&A: 0 0 6 39 5 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 It's a bad idea. In order for the pill to be as effective as possible (99.whatever percent), you need to take a pill around the same time everyday for at least 14 days. If you don't take it regularly, or skip a month, then start a new pack, you won't be protected from day 1. Until day 14 you would need to use a back-up method anyway, so essentially, you would only getting half a 28-day cycle's worth of pill-only protection. And half of THAT time, you'll be on your period (in theory). If side effects are the issue, ask your doc about switching brands. There are SO many kinds nowadays that use different kinds and levels of hormones, so it might take awhile to find your favorite, but odds are, one will work for you. Or ask about switching to an alternate birth control method (like IUDs). Please don't attempt to regulate your own birth control pill cycle...it's not a good idea! K Lo answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by K Lo… 0 0 Just saw your above comment about the IUDs :( What about diaphragms and female condoms? Both are best if used with spermicide. Ask your doctor! K Lo commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 This sounds terrifying. BasementDweller3 answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Do you ever want to have (more) kids? If the answer is no and you can't tolerate hormones and want better reliability than barrier methods, have you considered sterilization? You can do it surgically or via Essure, or your partner can be vasectomized. Otherwise, you're best off with condoms (male and female), cervical caps, diaphragms, or spermicides instead of cycling on and off hormones, especially if you don't tolerate them well. Griffin answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 583 Q&A: 14 0 3 271 28 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 emily

  0 0 Have you tried different variations of the pill, or have you only tried taking one kind? Some women find they have to try several different formulations before they find one that works well for them. Or, find a different kind of birth control that might work better for you. Depo, Norplant, NuvaRing, the Patch, strict condom use, etc. The IUD is getting popular again, and this might work for you, but you should read into the side effects; and it's recommended more for women who have already had kids because otherwise insertion can be really painful. Going off and on the BCP every other month sounds like a pretty crummy idea, although I don't know how truly dangerous it might be. When you first start taking the pill, or if you've missed more than 2 days in a row, you're supposed to wait for ~7 days before it starts being effective. This means that for every 8 week cycle (4 weeks taking pill, 4 weeks off), you get maybe 3 weeks of pregnancy prevention w/o a backup method. You also have to consider that over time, initial side effects can wear off. Which means that every time you start the pill back up, you're putting your body through side effects that may not occur if you keep taking it regularly. Personally, I would look into other methods. emily answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report 4 comments by Kimberly, Griffin, and Kimberly… 0 0 i've had 2 iuds reject, and i've tried 4-5 different pills. right now i'm on the lowest dose available, and it's still no bueno. i'm thinking the hormones jsut don't work with my body. Kimberly commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Did you try Paragard or just Mirena IUDs? Mirena is hormonal, Paragard is not. Griffin commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 i tried teh paragard twice. and my body just pushed it out both times. Kimberly commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 The fact that your body rejected the Paragard doesn't contribute to the theory that hormones aren't combatible with your body, as it's totally non-hormonal. I had a really rough time with the pill after I gave birth, and have had Mirena for 2+ years now and really love it. If your insurance doesn't cover it it's pretty expensive, but it might be worth a try if your doctor thinks you won't reject it as well. It's a low-dose hormone and what my doctor told me was that the hormones tend to stay pretty local to your uterus/ovaries/etc instead of needing to go system-wide. The other benefit for me is that my periods have more or less disappeared. I know that Paraguard can cause really really heavy periods, which may have something to do with the rejection. Have you considered Nuvaring or the patch? Or Sponges? Diaphram or cervical cap? I gave female condoms a whirl and couldn't get on board, but maybe you would like those? Emily Steed commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 1 Not a great idea to stop and start hormones of any sort: though it IS a good idea to just plain stop taking hormones/ hormone controlling drugs (which might be what your body's begging for). Is it possible to use alternative Birth Control methods? (just stay away from Yaz) Rev.Enant answered in Health & Fitness about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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