Birth control if you are done having kids

[DirtySouth]

I'm on the pill but hate it because I'm really bad about remembering.  I'm one and done, and I've also never given birth because my son is adopted.  I'd really like to find a more long term and hassle free birth control option.

Has anyone done essure?  I love the idea of a one time, permanent procedure, but it sounds kinda scary - coils put into your fallopian tubes that cause scar tissue to form (and insertion of going through the cervix and uterus to get them into the fallopian tubes sounds awful).

I've heard great things about the IUD, but insertion is supposed to be incredibly painful for a lot of women who haven't given birth, and the risk of expelling it is higher as well.

Do people still do Norplant?  I did Depo Provera twice in the past and will never touch that stuff again.  I was hungry all the time and gained a bunch of weight.

I had a doctor who was hesitant to put me on the vaginal ring due to my weight.

What do you do?

[arterr0]

I have had my Paragard for nearly 5 years, and plan to have it replaced with another when its 10 years are up. I have never given birth, and (at this point) don't ever plan to. Insertion wasn't the most fun thing I've ever done, but it wasn't terrible. I took 800 mg of ibuprofen an hour or so before the procedure, and made it through fine. I've read that the increased rate of expulsion among women who haven't given birth has been somewhat overstated. I talked to a couple of GYNs before getting my Paragard; the one who ultimately did the insertion said that of all the IUDs she has inserted, less than 2% were spontaneously expelled.

[Deleted]

DH will get a vasectomy. But I'll also go back on the pill since I have miserable periods and prefer my life when on it. And since taking the pill each day isn't a big deal for me I haven't looked into anything else.

[hocus2]

I had an iud and my doctor gave me pain med so I didn't feel anything.

[sporky]

DH got a vasectomy.

[Deleted]

DH got a vasectomy. Easiest solution.

[evans]

I have an IUD and have never had children. It was uncomfortable but not painful. I've had it for four years and am already planning to have another after this one is finished next year.

[itsme]

I have the arm one called Implanon which is good for 3 years. Norplant was taken off the market in the early 2000s.

[DirtySouth]

Apr 20, 2015 12:45:50 GMT -5 evans said:

I have an IUD and have never had children. It was uncomfortable but not painful. I've had it for four years and am already planning to have another after this one is finished next year.

Mirena or Paraguard? 

The IUD really does seem like the best option for me.  I'd prefer Mirena to get lighter or no periods, and the hormones help keep my PCOS symptoms in check.

[LoveTrains]

Apr 20, 2015 12:48:58 GMT -5 DirtySouth said:

Apr 20, 2015 12:45:50 GMT -5 evans said:

I have an IUD and have never had children. It was uncomfortable but not painful. I've had it for four years and am already planning to have another after this one is finished next year.

Mirena or Paraguard? 

The IUD really does seem like the best option for me.  I'd prefer Mirena to get lighter or no periods, and the hormones help keep my PCOS symptoms in check.

I have a mirena and have never had children. I never get my period anymore. I am on my second one. 

[ssmjlm]

FYI there have been a couple MMM that had their mirena expel.

And I had mine removed early due to side effects.

[evans]

Apr 20, 2015 12:48:58 GMT -5 DirtySouth said:

Apr 20, 2015 12:45:50 GMT -5 evans said:

I have an IUD and have never had children. It was uncomfortable but not painful. I've had it for four years and am already planning to have another after this one is finished next year.

Mirena or Paraguard? 

The IUD really does seem like the best option for me.  I'd prefer Mirena to get lighter or no periods, and the hormones help keep my PCOS symptoms in check.

Mirena. I also don't have any periods and mine were heavy before which is why I didn't go with the paraguard.

[badgergrl]

Vasectomy for the win!!!

[lindyanne]

DH had a vasectomy. I had no issue with my Mirena pre-kid though.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2015 13:04:46 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

FYI there have been a couple MMM that had their mirena expel.

And I had mine removed early due to side effects.

I bled semi-heavily for > 6 months before I gave up and had it removed. DH could also feel it but I am told we could have gotten the strings cut to fix that problem.

Much happier with the vasectomy.

[iheartbanjos]

H has a vasectomy and I have a paraguard.

[DirtySouth]

I made an appointment with a gyn next week to discuss Implanon and the IUD. I wish it were possible to just get it done the same day, but apparently they have to order the device (and if you haven't given birth, prescribe a cervix softening medication to use prior to IUD insertion).

[Susie]

My doctor has recommended that I go back on BCPs after kids because preventing ovulation in a greater number of months (either by being on BCPs or being pregnant early/often) has been shown to be correlated with lower rates of ovarian cancer. We don't know if my mom's ovarian ca is heritable, but I'm on board with anything reasonably minor that I can do to avoid it myself.

[Deleted]

I think the new IUD, Skyla, is better for women that have not given birth.

[DirtySouth]

Apr 20, 2015 14:08:42 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Any reason not to go the sterilization route? Once we're sure we're done (we're 99% there), DH will be getting el snippo.

Well, I'm not married, although I've asked my BF if he'd consider a vasectomy since he is also 100% sure he's one and done.  He is adamantly against a vasectomy. 

I'd get Essure in a heartbeat if the procedure didn't sound so invasive.  I should probably talk to the gynecologist about this option as well.

[aurora]

Another + for Mirena. It's been really nice not to have a period for almost 5 years now. (I've also never been pregnant, did expel 2 Paragards, but the Mirena is great.)

[lys]

DH had a vasectomy.

[wesleycrusher4ever]

I love my mirena. I've never had a child and the doctor gave me Valium and muscle relaxers and insertion was fine (the next day wasn't...but I have little pain tolerance, so I took it easy and took meds). There's a new iud out called Skyla. It's smaller and for women that haven't given birth. That may be an option.

[cajunmom]

I had the Mirena but also had it removed due to side effects. DH had a vasectomy and we don't use anything else for BC.

[Mrs.Rad888]

Unless you need the hormones, why not get a tubal? I got a tubal with ablation done 5 years ago, and it's been the best thing ever.
Why is BF against a vasectomy? Even though I got the tubal, it kind of pisses me off when the guy expects the woman to take all the burden of birth control.

[mcsangel2]

I have never given birth, and I had an IUD put in when I was 40, after having a stroke due to bc pills (which I had been on for the better part of 17 years at that point). I have the paraguard, because I can't have hormones in any form now. My age and the 10 year effectiveness of the paraguard means that I hope to be finished needing birth control when I have it taken out when I'm 50.

Not going to lie, having it inserted was really awful (and that is after taking both pain meds and the med to soften my cervix), but it only lasted for a few minutes. I wouldn't let it deter me if I needed to do it again.

ETA: after about 18 months or so, my period has mostly kinda disappeared. Bonus.

[loreleigilmore]

youtu.be/-YWyZG_vII8

[steph96]

Apr 20, 2015 14:18:47 GMT -5 @amydm said:

I think the new IUD, Skyla, is better for women that have not given birth.

I have the Skyla.  It is smaller and also has less hormones than Mirena.  I don't remember the stats, but Mirena is more effective at stopping your period.  With Skyla, a larger percentage of women still get their period (or at least the symptoms such as cramping) every month.  The Skyla is also only effective for 3 years.  Mirena is effective for 5 years.

My IUD was painful at first, but after that I haven't even noticed it.  I love it.  I would much rather have to deal with getting an IUD every once every 3-7 years than to go through the procedure that you described for Essure.  

[steph96]

Apr 20, 2015 17:47:39 GMT -5 loreleigilmore said:

youtu.be/-YWyZG_vII8

FYI to everyone else:  this is a link to a Family Guy song.  I was so afraid that this would end up being a video of an IUD insertion or something.  Anyone else remember when someone embedded a video of a removal in someone's thread?  Eekkk.

[loreleigilmore]

Apr 20, 2015 18:07:19 GMT -5 steph96 said:

Apr 20, 2015 17:47:39 GMT -5 loreleigilmore said:

youtu.be/-YWyZG_vII8

FYI to everyone else:  this is a link to a Family Guy song.  I was so afraid that this would end up being a video of an IUD insertion or something.  Anyone else remember when someone embedded a video of a removal in someone's thread?  Eekkk.

Haha yes. Sorry. I thought it would imbed the video!