TMI alert: I'm about done with this Paragard IUD. It was great the first few years and now I have pre-TOM spotting every month which makes my cycle seem much longer. I wanted to try a pack of BC pills to try and regulate it but the last GYN I saw was an associate from my usual Doc, she refused and suggested a very expensive endo test first which would be self pay. Um..no. I prefer the conservative approach first. I'm sure some of you remember, that last visit was a nightmare. I paid almost $800 out of pocket for this IUD so I'd hate to take it out.

What do you ladies do for BC?

I may try to convince my BF to get snipped in a few years since we're not planning any kids.

Is having your tubes tied an option? My mom did that and she was fine after two days or so.

I have PCOS so I use pills and expect to do so until menopause. If I didn't have PCOS, my husband would probably just get a vasectomy (we talked about it) and be done with pills forever.

Get BF to go for the snip job, it's less invasive than a tubal. If he hesitates because of potential future kids (life is nothing if not unexpected) have him put some juice on ice, it's not all that expensive.

If he's wimpy about sharp objects in that region ... well, my husband had it done, he's a complete wuss about pain and even he says it was nothing. A little surreal maybe but less painful than many dental procedures.

Any idea what a snip for a man costs? Do they have to go under general or is it done with a local injection?

Shoot, one of my college buddies just had it done on a Vicodin and some topical anesthetic for $200, in office. Not even a stitch; dr. used glue! Surreal was the word he used, too!

Some health insurance plans cover it. If not, the price will vary according to the physician and geography but it is still dramatically cheaper than a tubal. As ICU stated, a vasectomy is an outpatient procedure done with a local. Tubals require the patient to be under general anesthesia and all the dangers and monitoring that go along with that, not to mention the added cost.

It probably costs a lot of money since it's elective surgery otherwise I totally would. There's also another procedure called essure but I don't know too many details other than that's never reversible. ..probably costs a lot too.

Oh, ins might cover? Interesting. He has BCBS. Okay, thanks.

I remember trying the Nuvaring. No...just no.

I didn't see you post it, but have you tried one of the hormonal IUD's (Mirena, Skyla)? It makes periods lighter after the first few months. A lot of women stop having a period after a year (I am not so lucky yet )

Condoms. No hormones and their side effects, no implants, no surgeries for either of us. Works great and has been fine our entire marriage, when we're choosing to prevent.

I've had essure done - BCBS FEP covered the procedure with my OOP being only about $100 or so, IIRC. We decided that we were "two and through" as far as kids go (had them at 36 and 39), and now that we had our adorable boys, we didn't want any more kids.

I remember taking a pain pill the morning before and the afternoon after the procedure as a precaution, but it was very simple, IMHO.

I'm curious why you went with Paragard rather than Mirena? And I can't believe you had to pay so much for it! Yikes! But what's done is done. Honestly, I love my Mirena, and before that I loved my NuvaRing. But you've already said that's not an option. And then there's the one that goes in your arm...Implanon. But that is very similar to Mirena hormonally, so I imagine if you had reasons not to choose Mirena, it would be the same reason you wouldn't want Implanon.

Like others have said, "the snip" for your bf may be covered by insurance. Worth a phone call to the insurance company. Same for Essure, why not call and find out how much it would be? I haven't heard from anyone who has had it and it's still new, but could be an option for you. But in the end...your boyfriend getting a Vasectomy would probably be the most effective and cause the least amount of hormonal or other issues.

My boss got a vasectomy on his lunch break and came back to work. I don't think it's a huge to-do.

Worth asking the insurance company. Personally, after 5 years on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo I'll never put hormones in my body or mess with my periods again - seems like a big gamble when my mental and physical health are so delicately balanced.

I am on the "seasonal" pill. I have my period only 4 times a year. They are usually very light. I am 43.

Seasonale, Seasonique, Yaz, Beyaz, Yasmin, and Lybrel are the name brands it goes under.

I hate having to take a pill, but I love the freedom I have.

Here is some good information:

http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-contr...-control-pills