Birth Control

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

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?

1. I'm not sure if injecting yourself / availability of the syringe in the state of California is legal or not. As long as I can remember my prescriptions were always in a vial.
2. To be fair, the doctor's office I went to was in the same building as the pharmacist and they delivered the package (vial) up to the office on the day of my appointments for free.
3. I would never trust myself with a intramuscular injection and the pap-smear test once a year was free; making myself go to the clinic/doctor's office (I was in-and-out of the office for my shots in 20 minutes most of the time since it was just the nurse administering the shot) 4~5 times a year wasn't all that bad.

I'm actually not quite sure if the ones I had were generic or brand name. I'm pretty sure they were the brand since they were so expensive, but I could be wrong. How much do Depo prescriptions cost? I'm sure you know a lot better about the differences than I do. Mine were close to $50 per vial.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by a_lurker

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.

I suppose eating whole fishes bones and all don't count, huh?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Dope: Thanks for answering my question. I'm not going to cry over spilled milk, but that was interesting to find out.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

(Coincidentally Shorty, there is a study being worked on by Columbia University regarding self-administered vs. clinician-administered intramuscular injections.)

Oh.
Spiffy.

Thanks for the info! =)

I was speaking idiomatically.

Being 6000 miles away works rather well too.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?