Birth Control
 

Today my girlfriend went to see a planned parenthood doctor to research options for birth control. We'd been talking about this for the last couple of weeks because sometimes we just get lost in the heat of the moment, forget to put on a condom then have to stop ourselves to put one on; shit kills the mood, yo. (Or, in before LOL PREMACHURE EJACUMALATION) I wanted to go with her but I got pulled off to work and she just took initiative and spoke to a doctor about the whole thing. We're looking into the daily pill and her doctor also recommended the use of "emergency contraceptives" (which, as some of you may remember, I've had intimate experience with). I figure most of you people are adults and a few of you may even (inexplicably) be in relationships with someone you care about. This is probably a multiple answer thread:

• Where do a lot of you stand on birth control?
  
• What, if any, birth control methods do you and your girlfriend/boyfriend/mountain goat (Circle one please) use?
  
• What's been the mode of discussion on this topic with your partner? (Mountain goat is excluded because, silly nerds, mountain goats can't speak human speak)
  
• Have any of you had any experience with these "emergency contraceptives"?
  
• To those of you who already have children, do you use birth control at all or in conjunction with family planning?

It should be noted that this is the first time I've actually seriously discussed options for birth control with any of my girlfriends. I was actually thinking about it today and it really hit me why. It's also the first time our age difference (she's 21, I'm 31) really impacted me. Most of my former girlfriends fell into one of the following descriptions: They already expected me to use a condom, didn't believe in contraceptives because their imaginary friend "god" told them it was bad or something, already had their set birth control methods (pills, diaphragm, etc) or, as was the case for one, had a fallopian tube ligation procedure done before we met, so this was never once discussed. I find it pretty curious that this all seems rather new to me.

So, yeah, long story short:

YouTube Video

I use the pill. I've been on the pill since I was 15, for the most part. There was no discussion about this. There doesn't need to be a discussion about it.

I went to Planned Parenthood as a teenager to get my pills until I got my own health insurance. Since then, I go to an OBGYN once a year for inspections. Planned Parenthood is an excellent resource for girls who are under 18 but have ridiculous parents who won't acknowledge their daughters are sexually active.

When I go to the OBGYN, I get checked (for free) for all the STDs and shit, too. While it's not really necessary, I still do it since it's free and takes no extra effort.

My girlfriend has been taking baby killers for years and the experience has been positive as far as I'm concerned. They work as advertised: No babies and regulated periods. We've never had to use emergency contraceptives, so I can't tell you much about that. Just make sure she stays true to the schedule otherwise they may fail you and next thing you know you'll have a few dozen more children to cram in your wood-paneled station wagon every time you want to go to CVS.

I don't know anything about your girl but she better have military precision on taking her pills every single day. When you don't, accidents happen.

Buy Condoms from Condom Man, Best Condoms for Safe Sex - Durex, Trojan Condoms

I've had pretty solid experiences here. Maybe you should try out the combo packs so you can find a rubber that doesn't suck, paco.

(I was pretty amazed by the difference between brands.)

To expand on this sentiment, have her train herself to remember her pill at lunch, dinner, or something else she does at the same time every day.

Some birth control pills require that you take the pill at the same time, every day, with military precision, like Lurks said. Others, you can usually get away with a 4-6 hours window.

Be sure to have her check with the doctor or pharmacist, and seriously, follow that shit religiously. Timing CAN be important.

I've been on the pill since my Mum took me to get started at 16. She is a very practical woman, which I appreciate. I've forgotten it a handful of times over the years, and if I'd been active in the past 24 hours I'd take Plan B. Nine baby-free years later, I'm pretty happy with it. *nods*

Oh, we use condoms and I've been using them for years and have had no problems (when I don't forget to fucking use them) with them at all. I used to use the Trojan Naturalamb condoms but my girl really didn't like them. I've never had a girl complain about them before either but whatever. I think she was allergic to them or something but I had to switch brands because of this and, after buying a sampler pack about 7 months ago, we finally settled on a nice assortment of Beyond Seven, Crown (these are my favorite by a long shot) and Beyond Seven Studded condoms as our regulars. The problem has never been the condom; the problem is that, if you forget to put one on, its usefulness goes right out the window.

Most girls I've slept with were on the pill. Of those that weren't, I relied on one of two methods. The first being not telling her my real name and phone number, the second being anal.

Never used the pill. For starters I was too afraid of admitting I needed it when I was 13 and I'm glad now that I didn't - anything with oestrogen in it will more than likely end up killing me (maternal family history of heart problems). Considering I have only needed emergency contraceptive measures twice in the past seven years I am thinking I cope well enough without female-based birth control (watch fate get all pissed with me and make me end up pregnant by the end of the week), so I haven't really considered my other options.

Well, I pulled out for the entirety of the time I was married. OBV this doesn't work for everybody, but it did for me. I had to buy Plan B once because a condom broke, though.

Girl I'm with now, though, has the matchstick in her arm. It's awesome. I don't worry, she doesn't worry, and there's no way to forget it for 3 years.

Implantable Contraception

It's relatively inexpensive for the convenience. About $500 I hear.

I'm an avid fan of the shot. Depo Provera is by far, my most favorite form of birth control to date.

I've been on the pill before, and something about the hormonal control just didn't settle right with me and made me kind of go crazy. The nurse who prescribed it to me said (at the time) that it was the lowest possible dose of any amount of hormones it would affect, and yet I had issues. I don't know if it was the circumstances I was in or the drug that affected my psyche or not, but I figure it would be safe to assume it was a little of both.

Depo was great. You get an injection every 3 months (it was $50 for the injection each time since my health insurance didn't cover brand-name products). For me, the co-pay was $25 for the OBGYN visit each time so adding that up, it's about $300 a year. My boy and I split the cost when I was on it since I didn't see why I had to be the one "fixed" like I was some dog off the street while he got the enjoyment out of doing it condom-free.
Oh yeah, best part about Depo: No periods while you're on it. Ever.

My take on birth control is that it takes two to tango (or tangle, which ever you prefer). There shouldn't be a question/discussion on where you stand if you're serious about either your partner or your stance on pregnancy with said partner.

Seconded. She should also be seeing a doctor for yearly (or at least every other year(ly)) pap smears.

To each its own, Devo.

I personally liked the Depo shot because my menstruation cycle was never regular to begin with. When you have periods coming every 3 to 28 weeks and have no reliability on it, it's definitely easier not having it at all.

Though I do caution with any medication that messes with a woman's hormones is that it tends to put the weight control out of whack. Although I never thought it troublesome, I did gain a tad bit on Depo. It might be different for other women. And as I've mentioned before, it did stop my menstruation cycle for about 1.5 ~ 2 years after having stopped taking the medication. I would definitely not recommend Depo to a woman who's in their 30's or planning on getting pregnant within the next 2 years.

Paco, it's up to you and you girl to decide what method works best for your relationship. Depo is a favorable option for someone your girl's age, but there are drawbacks and benefits and both should be weighed carefully.

You could also try abstinence. I hear that shit works pretty well.

YouTube Video

Here's one thing I'm always curious about when I see prescriptions for Depo Provera (or medroxyprogesterone acetate, or MPA): do you personally inject the shot yourself or do you take it to your doctor? I ask because both the vial and the prefilled syringe are available (at least at my pharmacy) but the vast majority of MPA prescriptions we dispense are for the vial and I assume most patients take it to their doctor when syringes are pretty cheap (if your pharmacy/state law allows you to buy them) and making a return trip to the doctor's office for an intramuscular injection you expect regularly probably means another office visit fee. I just figure if you can learn to inject yourself with the stuff, cutting out the middle man seems like a good idea?

I'm also curious to know if you get brand or generic and, if the brand, why?

All you bitches should be taking calcium anyway (whether in the form of a daily multivitamin or extra supplements in amounts prescribed by your doctor). Women start losing bone density in their thirties, which is not far out for anybody on this forum.

Ladies in the past used the pill. Personally speaking (without getting in to it too much), I'm darn near infertile due to mysterious medical stuff :( BARREN. THE LADIES WILL NEVER SHAKE MY HAND ONCE WORD GETS OUT.

Echoing the issue about the pill and timing, though. Given that and the fact that nothing is perfect, a "double-bagging" approach is ideal, just to be safe.

You know that the only reason you get periods on the pill is because doctors figured women wouldn't take it if it stopped them completely?

Bitches be crazy.