Condoms and a little more

[devotion666.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone!

I recently quite taking my birth control pills for several reasons. The main ones being that I could no longer afford it and that I had the suspicion that it was affeceting my libido. Sadly enough, it was affecting my libido.
Anyhow, my problem is that I'm terribly paranoid about an unwanted pregnancy.
So here goes my question: Is there anything else, besides condoms, that I can use to help avoid pregnancy?
(apart from abstinance, of course XD)
I've been reading about spermicides, and that they "destroy" your vaginal wallsin the long run, leaving you more exposed to STD's and infections (like yeast)...

Thanks in advance for your help!

ps: Oh! I almost forgot, are there "thicker" types of condoms?

Comments

[stacy288.livejournal.com]

Condoms have very low rates of pregnancy, similar to BC pills, you just have to be diligent about using them every single time.

Some things that can help make sure that you're using them properly is to make sure the condom fits properly, it shouldn't be "Skin Tight" over the penis and shouldn't fall off either. There should always be a bubble at the tip of the condom so that the semen has a place to fit and you should always hold onto the condom when the man exits you.

A precaution I take is to follow a bit of the natural BC calendar and I ask my boyfriend to finish outside of me from ovulation time until I start my period (So about 1/2 the month) should the condom break.

I'm a firm believer in condoms, used properly they can work effectively.

There aren't "Thicker" condoms that I know of, but be sure to NEVER double up condoms, it actually increases chances of breakage. As far as spermicides, there are many women who are allergic to them and as a woman that is, its the worst pain I've ever had *shudder* so use at your own risk.

Good luck! Be safe!

[honkytonk80girl.livejournal.com]

"A precaution I take is to follow a bit of the natural BC calendar and I ask my boyfriend to finish outside of me from ovulation time until I start my period (So about 1/2 the month) should the condom break."

This is the "safe" or infertile time though. After you ovulate??

I use the FAM (http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/fam.htm) as my birthcontrol method and love it.

[stacy288.livejournal.com]

Since I've had irregular periods my entire life and I don't feel when I ovulate, I estimate 14-15 days after the start of my period to be "Safe" as in "Prior to ovulation" and after that time period until I start my period the time in which I could be fertile. YMMV.

[honkytonk80girl.livejournal.com]

I see, the way I read it at first didn't make sense. Thanks:-)

[archangelbeth]

Condoms aren't as good as HBC, actually. Their perfect use rate is in the high 90%, but that still means that -- depending on what site you go to -- something like 2 to 4 women, out of 100, are expected to get pregnant in a year of using condoms alone, presumably due to mechanical defects in the condoms themselves.

That's still 98 to 96 women who don't, though.

However, HBC's perfect use failure rate is around 2 in a thousand women. That's 998 people who don't get pregnant despite the pill.

On the other hand, personally? Condoms are what I and my spouse are comfortable with, and in 18 years of marriage, I've only been pregnant when we deliberately ditched the condoms for that year. For us, the emotional risks of HBC totally outweigh the possible benefits.

We also use Naturalamb brand lambskin condoms, mostly (though we're branching out to Lifestyles Skyns), which are reputedly stronger than latex condoms. They're also more expensive, not rated to protect against STIs (not an issue for us), and entirely anti-vegain.

For the OP: if condoms alone aren't enough for you, you can double-up with other methods. You can use FAM to learn your physical symptoms of impending ovulation and avoid PIV intercourse during your fertile times. You can add withdrawal to condom use. You could add the diaphragm or cervical cap to condom use, or use a contraceptive sponge (e.g., todaysponge.com); the latter might be a bit pricey if you're a one-sex-act-per-24-hours person, but if you are likely to have several interludes in that time-period, the price-per-sex-act on the sponge starts going down nicely.

Personally, the times we're not using condoms -- it's a Today sponge and a crude FAM/calendar method. I would not be at all comfortable relying on my use of the latter alone! And I'm not quite comfortable with a Sponge alone anymore (don't like its perfect use stats, I don't), but together, I'm fine.

Another thing I'd suggest... Well, I think it's a good idea in any case where there's sexual activity that could lead to pregnancy. Talk to your partner and have a Plan for what happens if it turns out he has teleporting ninja supersperm with medical devices to tickle an ovary into ovulation right then despite it being a non-fertile time. Sometimes knowing your options, and having researched the steps that those options would require, can be very settling -- it turns off fear of the unknown, and can provide a sense of "This would be hard, this might even suck, but here's the map; I can do this, step by step."

Luck!

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify, because I was confused when I first read your comment. There should be SPACE at the top of the condom for the semen to go into. That's why you pinch the tip when you roll the condom on. However, its not a "bubble" in the sense that it is filled with air. It should NOT be filled with air, but rather should just be empty space.

[poppleshatesyou.livejournal.com]

For more information about condoms and other types of Non hormonal options, check out VP's Non Hormonal Birth Control (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Non-Hormonal_Birth_Control) entry from the Vulvapedia

[bron-the-brin.livejournal.com]

I have a copper IUD, which is hormone free and gives a 99,4% protection against pregnancy. For me, this is the perfect BC; they insert it and I don't need to think about it again for 5 years, except for when I check for my strings. I DON'T have heavy periods and cramps (in fact, sometimes I only have spotting/light bleeding for a few days), which is what some people might get with a copper IUD (which means periods may stay the same way they used to be pre-IUD). Because it protects so well against pregnancy (but not for STD's!), I've never worried about pregnancy. And what I like the most, is that my libido is sky-high during the time of the month it should be, because there are no hormones involved!
There's also an IUD with some hormones, that protects even more against pregnancy (99,9%?) and may with time make your periods lighter or nonexistent.

iud_divas is a great community with a lot of useful info!

[bron-the-brin.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add: The copper IUD in the US (Paragard) can be in the uterus for up to 10 years (I've heard of someone who had one for 14yrs!), but I have a European IUD and they recommend you to change after 5 years here, even though it's pretty much the same kind with the same amount of copper. I guess the Paragard has been studied more when it comes to that.

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they keep lengthening the time on the paragard, which is weird. I think my doctor told me 13 years, but don't quote me on that!

[iuddivanoob.livejournal.com]

This. I have a Mirena - love it.

[imindiaunajones.livejournal.com]

Sadly enough, it was affecting my libido.

Do I ever hear that! I went off HBC this past month and oh my goodness. Like a raging bull right around (what I assume was) ovulation. I don't think that I was that sex-driven since my freshman year of college, haha.

Anyway, although I use condoms, I also (right off the bat) started charting my cycle using the basics of FAM (monitoring temperature, cervical fluid and cervix position). Of course, I had a problem maintaining self-control this month during my most "fertile" times, but if you are like me and absolutely, "OMG, need sex now!" that's when condoms are nice and handy. ;) If anything, it is nice to know where you are in your cycle and it gives you a better idea of where your risks are.

[coco1040.livejournal.com]

Check out the IUD DIVAS livejournal group.
I can't use condoms, or any artificial hormones, or spermicide, so my copper-t IUD is my liberation.
Good luck.