brightcrayon87.livejournal.comHey there superstars,
I need the opinion of a trustworthy friend who's not going to get squiked out by me talking about sex and my beautiful body--vagina included--so I'm posting here! All comments and suggestions and advice are VERY appreciated.
My background:
My man and I are in a happy, healthy, committed, long-term, (monogamous) relationship that, quite honestly, will lead to marriage in a few years, and children (in a few more). We also have a healthy, active sex life. I am 20. He will be 22 in August. So far our method of birth control has solely been condoms, but lately we've been beginning to see that probably we should switch methods.
I've done a lot of research about birth control and we narrowed it down to condoms originally because I'm not comfortable with inserting anything into my vagina (diaphrams, Nuvarings, etc, then, are out--I haven't ever used tampons even). It follows that I'm also not keen on the idea of getting an IUD.
For various reasons I won't bore you with unless you request it in a comment, I don't like the idea of getting Depo, or the patch, etc. Out of all hormonal methods, the one that makes sense for me (and my man) is the birth control pill. Realistically, it's the only other method of birth control (besides condoms) my man and I are comfortable with, though not without some grudges: I don't really like the idea of hormonal birth control because of the extra stress that is on your body. The fact it stops your natural cycle, that you just get withdrawl bleeding instead of real periods, etc etc.
Because of these misgivings, we've continued using condoms for a long time. However, the direction and exploration of our sex life has made it increasingly clear that condoms are no longer as convenient for us anymore, and we are responsible enough to recognize it's not worth risking our protection simply because we're hesistant to put the condom on. (It's also depressing to think that we will ALWAYS have to use condoms until we are TTC and only then). So we are seriously considering putting me on the pill (me, because the male birth control pill is not around yet!).
My questions:
1.) I was on the pill over a year ago for about eight months with no problems. I renewed my prescription when I went for my last pap in case him and I decided to go to the pill so that is already taken care of, but I still have a couple leftover packs. I could not find any place on them that said they have an expiry date. They were purchased in April 2007. Would it be safe to begin them on a day 1 start as soon as I get my next period, or do I have to go the pharmacy and get my perscription refilled before doing so?
2.) Will being on the pill during these years of my life make menopause worse for me later on? (This is a fear that my mom insists is a real fact.) I worry over all the effects these hormones are going to have on my body.
3.) My cycle has only just begun to even out back into its natural cycle. Is it mean to start feeding my body hormones like this again just as it's starting to relax into its own rhythm again?
4.) Can anyone refer me to some good sources on how the pill will affect my long-term fertility? (It's not supposed to at all, right.) Having children is something that my man and I really, really, really want to do one day--that day is just not now.
5.) To go on the pill or not to go on the pill?
In advance, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your replies.