I have used many different versions of oral contraceptives but I always encounter the same problem. I can NEVER remember to take them every time. I can set phone alarms, have other people tell me, set a calender alert every day... I get easily distracted and/or easily engrossed at the matter at hand, so I sometimes don't hear or ignore the alarm. Or, worse yet, I turn off the alarm and forget to take the darn thing!!!!! I switched to the nuvaring and it rocks. (Currently taking nothing because paying for health insurance is way outside my budget) I like it because I literally have to remember it two times per month: the day I insert it and the day I remove it. It's a little awkward the first time or two you insert it, but after you figure out how complex your anatomy is not (:wink: because it really isn't as complex as you think!) then it's great. My DH says that he feels it sometimes but he doesn't mind it... it's not painful or anything, it's a piece of flexible plastic!

Considering going from nuvaring to an IUD just because I know I am about to enter a time of my life when my schedule and life are going to be crazy and I would feel terribly guilty if I brought a mini-me into the world.

Oh lordy can I talk about birth control!

I was on the pill (not sure the brand(s)...one type was while I was abroad and I switched to the other when I came back to the states). That was for about two years. About a year into it I started getting migraines. A couple of months later I was able to call in sick before I even got them (every fourth Wednesday like clockwork). Ended up in the ER at one point (the migraine lasted four days). To be fair, migraines run in my family. But obviously the pill is what aggravated it (I still think it must have been some sort of withdrawal thing...it was four days on the sugar pill). I stopped taking the pill in August of 2010 and have been pretty good since then.

Fast forward to the end of September. A coworker recommended I look into getting an IUD. I was going to go with the copper one since I figured the hormones (Mirena) would be bad for me. My doctor explained the pros and cons and he pretty much said I shouldn't have any issues with Mirena. So I went for it. It was uncomfortable getting it in, but it didn't feel much worse than cramps. I spotted on and off for a week or so. My periods have been MUCH lighter. My cramps are a bit worse. And I've had one migraine in almost a year and it wasn't that bad. Last month my period lasted for 14 days, when usually it is 5 or so (though it was very light, only needed a tampon 2 of those 14 days). My doctor suggested we wait it out and see what happens. If my period is long again the next two months I will probably get it removed (two weeks is just way too frustrating...if you know what I mean). My ex did tell me he could feel the wire, but he didn't complain.

After rereading that last paragraph I feel like I gave IUDs a bad review, but I really recommend it. You don't have to think about it. You don't have to remember to take anything or put anything in. And it is good for five years (or ten if you go with copper). My insurance covered most of it, but with what I paid it was still cheaper than paying for the pill for five years. If you have any questions about it, let me know. I could go on forever! lol. Good luck!

With a history of migraine with aura, I'm apparently not supposed to use an estrogen-containing birth control.

For a while I was on Progesterone-only pills, but 5 years ago I got a Mirena IUD. It's been good for me. No weight gain, very light periods.

Ashley, I randomly had a 20 day period earlier this year, then went right back to my 4-5 day version, so hopefully that will be your experience, too.

Haven't decided what to do when i need to replace the Mirena soon. May get another, may try the Prog-only pills again. I'll be 40 soon, would sort of like menopause to just hurry up and get here, haha.

I have a copper-T IUD. It's worked well for me but it's also really, really increased how heavy my periods are. I'm okay with the trade-off but if I'd started off with heavy or painful periods, it might be way too much.

I just went off of Depo, too. My last shot was in January, and I started BC pills in May (my doc told me Depo really lasts AT LEAST 4 months, not three, so I didn't hurry up to get on something else- also it takes an average of 18 mos. for a woman to become fertile again after she stops Depo- depending on how long she's been on it). So, I hated the pill, plus I have read several places that they are not as effective on women over 150lbs, which makes sense (why don't they dose hormones by weight???). Now, I've been using birth control film that you can buy at the drug store. I love it. It's 96% effective with perfect use, which is not much worse than the pill, and considering I can't remember to take the pill- let alone at the same time every day, it's probably more effective than the pill. It's just this little sheet of film, almost like one of those dissolving breath strips that were so popular a few years ago. You insert it at least 15 mins before, and it lasts for 3 hrs, it just dissolves up there. It's not messy, it's not noticeable, and so far, no babies!

"Ashley, I randomly had a 20 day period earlier this year, then went right back to my 4-5 day version, so hopefully that will be your experience, too."

Thanks! That is what I'm hoping. My doctor pretty much said it probably was just random.

"I have read several places that they are not as effective on women over 150lbs, which makes sense (why don't they dose hormones by weight???)"

Interesting. I have a coworker that is no heavier than 115lbs soaking wet. She got pregnant while on the pill...it was the low dose, but still shouldn't have happened.

I first started on Alesse, and had terrible moodswings and depression. So, the doctor decided it was because that pill had the wrong amounts of hormones for me, and switched me to ortho tricyclen-lo and I've had no problems with it since

I know of several people who have gotten pregnant on low dose pills in the last year. None of them forgot a pill either, just got too far out of whack on the timeschedule.

I love IUDs. I've had the Mirena and the copper Paragard. Like a PP, it does give me slightly heavier periods but the amazing thing is that I HAVE periods. Because of my PCOS, I was told I would have to be on hormones to force me to have a period more than once every 18 - 24 months. So far, that hasn't been necessary. I'm not on a perfect schedule but about once every month or two.

The heavier periods aren't ideal but neither are a crapload of hormones.

IUDs are meant for people who have had a baby before. I made the mistake of talking my doctor (who I no longer see any more for this reason) into letting me get an IUD (Paragard) because I wanted something I didn't have to remember, and something non-hormonal. She should have NEVER agreed to this, being as I have never had a child. But she did. I went and got one put in. First of all, they did give me a "cervix softener", that didn't do ****. Secondly, the doctor who put it in inserted it wrong AND bent it in the process. So it was extra painful and caused me lots of problems. I am not going to get into the rest of the details, but it was horrible, caused me a lot of discomfort & pain, and I lasted 2 months before I had it removed. So, if you are childless, please don't get an IUD. It isn't meant for us, and if your doctor agrees to it - I would seek out a new doctor.

Anyway! I am currently on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. It's ok. I can't take full hormonal bc pills. But obviously if you have a bad memory for stuff like taking pills, that it out the window.

See here: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/...ens/48687984/1

Sounds like you had a sh*tty doctor. I have never given birth and it was fine. I know several people that have never given birth and it has been fine. For anything there are people that have had bad experiences. But this isn't the norm.

nikkinouille - one last thing...where you on your period when they inserted it? This is the recommended time of month for women that haven't had children because the cervix is more open.

I am using Mirena. It is an IUD and lasts for 5 years, however you can take it out before then (have your doctor do it) if you want to have kids before the 5 years is up. I love it. No side effects that I have noticed, no "ringing" like the nuva ring, and no forgetting to take anything. Also I haven't had my period in almost 5 years!!

That reminds me I need to make an appt in the next few months to have this one out and a new on in!!!

Not so.

This attitude came from the US history of litigation surrounding the Dalkon Shield, which hasn't been on the market in close to 40 years and which had horrific side effects (like perforated uteruses and death).

I'm sorry you had an imcompetent doctor and a bad experience, but that's not the same thing as an inappropriate choice of method.

More IUD info:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/hea...l/iud-4245.htm
http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/healtht...Gard%20IUD.pdf
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/10/4/gpr100419.html

If you haven't had a child before, and are considering an IUD- have a doctor check the size of yout uterus beforehand. (should be standard, but you'd be surprised) When I asked about an IUD, my MD informed me that I have a smaller than average uterus, and while it wouldn't necessarily be painful, I would most likely always know it was there. No thanks. My sister got one, MD didn't check size, and she was in a lot of pain, had it removed two weeks later by another MD who told her she never should have had one to begin with based on the size of her uterus.
From everything else I've heard, they're great. And I do know people who have had them before having children.