Trans man on testosterone needing help deciding on a secondary BC method

[0h60dd4mni7.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone!

I’m a trans man who takes testosterone, but often go without it due to money issues and needle anxiety. I’ve currently been off it for 3-4 months but plan on starting up again very soon.

I’m in a monogamous relationship with a non-trans man, coming up on our one-year anniversary. We have sex pretty often (at least several times a week, sometimes more than once in a day) and it’s always PIV. Sometimes we start out condom-less and put one on once things move past a certain point, and sometimes he puts a condom on right from the start. He knows his body very well and we’ve never had any close calls.


I DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, want to get pregnant. Lately I’ve found myself thinking, hours after sex, when he’s not around “You’re playing Russian Roulette, and if you get shot, it’s your fault.” Which is a terrible thing to think about sex, especially awesome, loving, safe sex with one’s committed partner. So I’m looking for a second BC method to mitigate that anxiety.

Currently I’ve narrowed down to Implanon and Mirena. My main concerns are:
a) Making sure the method doesn’t decrease the effectiveness of the testosterone, once I start it again
b) Cost (I’m a student with little to no income. I have insurance through my mom's work but I think I’m going to have to call and see what they cover, and my phone anxiety makes that an unfun prospect)

So do y’all have any thoughts on my specific situation, whether just advice about Implanon versus Mirena, other methods that might work better, or general advice that came to mind when reading this? I’ve done a lot of research, but I feel like there’s probably things I’ve missed or just haven’t thought about, and so I wanted to ask this community to weigh in. The only methods I’ve ever used are condoms and spermicide, so venturing into dealing with other methods is a little overwhelming.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[mandaszoo.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to your specific situation, although I do have a Mirena. I LOVE my mirena!! I haven't had a "real" period since I had it put in almost a year ago. I'm not sure how it would interact with testosterone so I'm not much help there.

[sabishii-kirito.livejournal.com]

I'm sure someone else will have better advice, but if hormones are an issue, would a copper IUD be an option? As far as I know, copper IUDs don't have hormones like Mirena does, so if there is a possibility of hormonal interactions you might want to ask about them when you can call.

[six-dollar-baby.livejournal.com]

Not wanting to make assumptions about your life plan, so please excuse me if this is a totally ignorant question, but...do you plan on ever wanting to give birth? (i'm assuming you don't, but you know what they say about assuming...!)

If not, you might consider the Essure or Adiana procedures. They're non-hormonal and permanent, and wouldn't interfere with your testosterone at all. They wouldn't have any effect on your cycles in any way, but they have ridiculously high effectiveness rates. Essure is 99.8% effective as birth control.

[sxdx.livejournal.com]

I'd go for Mirena personally. If you want something less invasive the mini-pill progesterone only and most people I know (I haven't researched for official numbers) including myself don't get a period on it.

[stateofwonder.livejournal.com]

I would also highly recommend the Mirena. I had mine inserted when I was 22. Never had children. It hurt a bit on insertion, but otherwise it was my best friend for 5 years. Didn't have to worry about birth control, and my period disappeared completely after a couple of months. So awesome.

Actually my current partner is a trans boi and is considering getting a Mirena as well simply to reduce his menstruation (although it works differently for different people).

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

I don't have any suggestions on the birth control, but I will commiserate on the testosterone injections. TheEngineer takes them every 2 weeks, also.

He's a cis-male, but he and his sister were both born with birth defects, we're thinking because their mother was raised downwind (and close) to the nuclear bomb testing site in New Mexico. She had to have a hysterectomy at age 15, and he was born with only a small portion of one testicle, which was removed when he was 5. So he's been on hormone therapy most of his life.

As I use insulin, I'm understanding of his (and your) hatred of the needle, I really am. And I know the testosterone is worse because it's a more viscous liquid. I hate taking my shots too. :(

[kaberett.livejournal.com]

I'm trans and react really badly to progesterone. The Mirena contributed significantly to my depression, but I appear to be hyper-sensitive to the damn stuff. I also found that when I *did* have periods they were about eleven billionty times more unpleasant (like, not-able-to-call-for-help levels of pain), but I have endometriosis so that's probably less relevant to you!

Without knowing more about how you react to progestins, I'd be wary, honestly. If you know from past experience that they're not a problem for you, then GO FOR IT.

(I will also say that when I had my Mirena out early, it took about 3 days for me to get back to normal mood-wise. That's much better than typical for Implanon!)

[viva-hater.livejournal.com]

Have you asked about Paraguard? It's the non-hormonal IUD.