Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but I am looking for all of your wonderful womanly advice on birth control. I have been on Depo for years and have recently gone off of it. I am in search of a new pill, or BC option and want to know your recommendations. I mean, what better place to come than 3FC!

Hi Peaches! I am on Lutera, which is a birth control pill -- it's the generic Alesse. I absolutely love it, never had a problem. It's low dose and my doctor said that it is one of the prescriptions of BC that can be used as emergency contraception (5 active pills the day after your birth control fails.) I was originally on Yasmin and I was pissed off and depressed all the time, so this was a welcome change.

My old room mate was on Nuva Ring, she loves that -- but I know during sex the guy can feel it sometimes. She told me that they didn't mind, even when one of them got "looped" Not for me, but I can see how not having to remember take a pill at the same time each day would be nice.

My cousin gained 60+lbs on depo, she recently stopped and is losing some of the weight, did you experience anything like that?

ETA: I am really good at remembering my pill every single day at 3pm, so just know that it will be something that you have to work into your routine. I use my phone alarm to remind me!

i was on the patch, ortho evra(?), for many many years and i loved it! one patch per week, and didnt experience any side affects....since my insurance quit covering it a few years ago, i switched to ortho novum/necon, which is a pill, and thats worked just fine for me too, no side affects etc

I've been on Seasonique for almost 4 years now.. and I love it. The first 6 months, 2 packs, were pretty crazy with spotting (when I would have normally had my friend!) and with mood issues, from the hormones, but now? LOVE IT. Love only having my period 4 times a year, I love the suuuuper light periods I have. I haven't spotted in forever... It's amazing. My "drive" is the same, too. I did gain about 10 lbs, but they dropped pretty quickly once things got back to normal.

Also, here's a site I like to look at before I go on any new meds!

http://www.askapatient.com/

I like to search for whatever I got prescribed, and check out the reviews and side effects!

GL with your BC search!!

I was on tricyclen-lo for a few months 2 years ago, but got off after becoming quite depressed. Sure, there could've been some other factors, but when I came off of it things started to improve. I also found out two of my friends had similar experiences on it and both quit. One found some success on another low-dosage BC but I've been too afraid.

Edit: Just looked it up on the site kateleestar shared - wish I could've read that before I started it!

I just switched from the pill to the nuvaring and LOVE it. If you're concerned about having it in during sex you can take it out for up to 3 hours and still be protected. I really wanted to get an iud but they are so expensive and not at all covered by my insurance so this is a happy medium.

I have the Implanon implant and its definitely what I needed. I was on the pill before and I would forget to take it everyday..haha! They put it right under the skin on the inside of your upper arm.. You can't see it but you can feel it.. The only problem I've ever had with that is one time my puppy jumped on my arm and pulled his nails down it.. It hurt for a couple days but didn't move or anything. It does however make you gain weight.. I gained about 15 pounds in 2 months... But the best part for me was that I spotted for about 3 weeks... (got this in January) But I haven't had a period at all since then! That part and not having to remind myself of taking anything for the next 3 years definitely makes it worth it to me! haha!

[QUOTE=Dorian5;3973444]

My cousin gained 60+lbs on depo, she recently stopped and is losing some of the weight, did you experience anything like that?

QUOTE]

I have gained weight, but over a period of time. One of the reasons for going off of it was that I was told the lack of weight loss since dieting and exercising do not seem to be helping much could possibly be because of the Depo. Was sure hoping to see that scale change after I went off of it, but havent seen anything yet. In fact saw about a 8-10 lb gain when I went off of it.

I use Yasmin currently, but have been on Ocella before. I admittedly have really easy periods so I cant speak to the degree each of these helps with cramping, heavy flow, moodiness, etc. I haven't had any negative side effects from either though. Periods are usually 3 days long, a bit of cramping on the first day, and that's it.

I'd recommend both. The only reason I switched is that I live in India and Yasmin is the only one widely available here.

I've been on ortho tricyclen low for about 6 months? The first 3-4 were frustrating .... I held onto weight and it was horrible. But things have leveled out and I'm feeling fine.

I do want an IUD in the next few months tho

Orthos Tri cyclen - I had a horrible time on. The Ring was even worse for me (hubs refered to it as my 'cheese grater'). I find I do better with the low-dose pills: Allesse, Yasmin and yaz (and the generic versions) I have had good luck with.

If you don't want to be on a pill, I had good luck with VCF (Vaginal Contraceptive Films). You have to put one in 15 mins b/f sex. But they are easy and not messy. There was that ONE TIME I said to hubs - we don't need to use one today! And *poof* I got PG. So - duh - you have to use one EVERY time.

I'm on the generic version of Yaz and it works pretty well for me. Before that I was on Nuva Ring for a few years. At first things were good, but for the last year it made me insanely emotional and even downright b*tchy sometimes.

Right? I look on there for everything anyone I know is prescribed. It's pretty scary. Makes me want to be one of those all natural no drugs people, lol. But, then, I have to realize that not everyone will get all, or any, of those side effects.

But death, if death is a side effect, I'm OUT!

I heart my Nuvaring. I've been on it for 5 years and I'm still thrilled with it. Hubs has never felt it during sex, and I haven't had any side effects with it. When I first started, I was ravenously, insatiably hungry for about three days. After that, it stopped, and I was fine (it was also my first time starting BC)

I know that I can't remember to take a pill every day, and I don't know anyone who has gotten pregnant while taking it. I skip my periods (by just leaving it in an extra week) almost every month (on avg 3-4 periods a year) and it's been just fine. Some people get squirmish about inserting them, but it's no big deal. the first time you put it in, it's a little awkward to figure out, but they're no more "involved" than inserting a tampon.

I completely agree with SouthLake - Another vote for Nuva Ring. Love, love, love it! Hubs never felt it. Was on it for 7 years, took it out, got pregnant within 3 months. And now, unfortunately, my insurance won't pay for it anymore and since I don't want to shell out $75/month, I'm back on pills (which I HATE).