What are my options?

[justtanyakmbq.livejournal.com]

Here's my current situation.

I've been on Depo for nearly 2 years and I H-A-T-E it! I've been looking into getting an IUD, however, I've been rejected from the majority of the "low-income" health care facilities in my area because of my age. (I'll be 21 at the end of the month). Here's my break down of options:

Pill: Any kind... I cannot swallow a pill of any size without literally choking. Also, I can't remember to take one.
Patch: I'm highly allergic to the glue. I have severe psorasis (60% of my body) and anywhere I put a patch gives my psorasis a flare-up.
NuvaRing: I don't trust this. It doesn't make sense how it works, and I frankly, am weirded out by putting a ring in my vagina every week.
Depo: As stated before, I hate it. Hate the dose of hormones, I've gained a lot of weight, and I'm terribly moody.
Condoms: They can break. Plus, latex allergy on the BF part. And I get dry and chaffed from any other one.
IUD: No one will give me one cause I"m so young.
Tubal: See Above.
Essure: See Above.


Are there any other options? Are there any "methods" other than absitience that I am missing?

I have NO desire for kids... EVER. No way in hell a child with ever be birthed by this body. Ever. If I could rip out my uterus and not be reproductive. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

Tanya

Comments

[ahota84.livejournal.com]

Planned Parenthood rejected you?

This is so sad, I got my wonderful IUD inserted on my 21st birthday. Not by PP, however.

[slow-awakening.livejournal.com]

Ovcon 35 (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01260.html) is a chewable birth control pill.

Also, HBC are so tiny. I don't even feel mine go down at all. Take it with a HUGE gulp of water if it can help.

Otherwise, ask your doc if you can get Ovcon 35 presribed ;)

[bronwe.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of the chewable bc pill. That's really cool! And lots of people can even feel the birth control pills going down, even with lots of water. It's part of the reason why I stopped using the pill. I'm sure it's partly psychological, but it still hurts. :'(

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that the chewable kind is a particular formulation of Ovcon; the Ovcon I've dealt with hasn't been packaged as chewable. Because it's a special formulation, it's likely more expensive, too.

[azuresunglasses.livejournal.com]

Thirded on the BC size. I can dry swallow mine.
Good luck finding something that works, the chewable one sounds like a good solution if you can handle the dose of hormones.

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

IT'S CHEWABLE?!?

Why hasn't anyone told me that?

I'm on ovcon-35 and nothing I have says it's chewable. I have to ask my doctor about this.

[ilikemytie.livejournal.com]

I had a Paragard inserted right after my 19th birthday by PP in Utah

[bronwe.livejournal.com]

You only insert the ring once a month. The hormones are absorbed by your body the same way they're absorbed by the patch. It sounds like your best bet for birth control.

[grntserendipity.livejournal.com]

I second this! I love my nuva_ring.

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

Pills can dissolve in your mouth - they don't taste bad. i don't recommend chewing - it can get stuck in your teeth, seems sketchy to me.

Nuvaring works because your body's heat releases the hormones progestin & estrogen, and they're absorbed via the blood vessels in the vagina.

Have you tried/considered polyurethane condoms with extra lube?

Many young women have trouble getting IUDs, but with persistence and alot of effort (calling around, etc) you will likely find a doc who will give you one. Check in at iud_divas and see if anyone has a recommendation in your area.

And I don't see Fertility Awareness mentioned; fam.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

NuvaRing: I don't trust this. It doesn't make sense how it works, and I frankly, am weirded out by putting a ring in my vagina every week.


Just to clear up some facts: you only have to replace the ring once a month, not once a week. :)

If you still feel uncomfortable inserting the ring, that's cool. But it's also worth knowing that the NuvaRing is equally as effective as HBC, and it may actually be more effective for women who have trouble remembering to take pills, since they have less chance of method failure.

And if it helps, the mechanism behind the NuvaRing isn't all that mysterious... it's the same basic concept as the patch in that it allows the hormones to be absorbed into the body, rather than ingested.

But beyond those things, you can always think about the Fertility Awareness Method, or FAM. (http://www.plannedparenthood.com/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/pub-fertility-chart.xml) There are actually multiple methods that fall under the FAM umbrella, but they all generally refer to the practice of closely and regularly monitoring one's body in order to identify potential fertile days.

I will caution that in order to see optimum pregnancy protection with FAM, one needs to really commit to the method -- taking basal body temperature and checking cervical mucuous daily, and keeping accurate charts of the information.

With very attentive and educated use, FAM can be very effective... as you can see from the Planned Parenthood site linked above, perfect use of FAM can be about as effective as the typical use of HBC.

For more info, check out fam, and the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.

[br0ken_dolly]

i might try shopping around for doctors, personally. i'm not sure where you're at, but there's totally doctors out there who'll respect your childfree decisions. i'm sorry you havent found any :(

the ring does sound like an option for you, though i've never tried it so i can't talk about it. pill-swallowing i've found is largely psychological. sometimes it helps to practice with candy-- stuff that is supposed to go down there, so to speak. m&m's or whatever (mini ones even!). i've heard that helps. or put something in a lump of food that doesnt have to be chewed (mashed potatoes, ice cream, etc) and just swallow. the trick is not to think about what you're doing ;) (i used to have to take a LOT of pills at once and i HATED it.)

anyhow. have you tried polyurethane condoms? good for latex allergies (but as discussed in a previous post, they do slide off, so you have to be careful).

good luck :/

[kaelstra.livejournal.com]

NuvaRing: I don't trust this. It doesn't make sense how it works, and I frankly, am weirded out by putting a ring in my vagina every week.

It's only once a month you put it in, and it works in the same way the Patch does. It's highly effective, and many women love it. I'm actually considering it myself, as I'm a Patch user at the moment.

[pirogoeth.livejournal.com]

Have you thought of a non-hormonal method like the diaphragm + spermacide, perchance?

[liquorlyles.livejournal.com]

Thats wierd, I got my IUD put in when I was 17, my Doctor had no problem with it since my health was fine and I had been in a relationship for 2 years.

[kayleyuh.livejournal.com]

To me, it seems that your best bets would be the FAM method of birth control. fam is wonderful and active if you've got any questions. From the jist of it, you track temperatures, cervical mucus, and other bodily signs to know when you're fertile. Your other option would be the NuvaRing, which was explained above.

You may just have to call around and talk to doctors to see if one will insert an IUD.

[kayleyuh.livejournal.com]

That was fam.

[brokensemaphore.livejournal.com]

Ooh, have you used that? I've been trying to find people who have, but I've been unsuccessful

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

I was initially a little squicked out by the idea of having a bit of plastic in my vagina, but I got over it and I've been using NuvaRing for six months now. I absolutely love it. I'd like to get an IUD sometime in the next year or so, but for now I'm delighted with the Ring.

I am a wee bit forgetful, and can't remember to take a pill every day, much less at the same time every day, so the Ring is great for me. As queensugar said, it's not only just as effective as traditional hormonal birth control, but for forgetful people it can be more effective than something like the Pill because it's much, much harder to "miss" a dose since you only have to remember to put one in once a month.

It sucks that you're having a hard time getting an IUD, though, because it sounds like that would be the perfect option for you. Maybe you could go with one of your other options (a chewable hormonal b.c. pill, or the Ring, or condoms plus another barrier method, or FAM) and just bide your time until you can find a clinic that will give you an IUD.

Good luck! I hope you can find something that works for you. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_newo/]

If I could rip out my uterus and not be reproductive. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I think you can do something like that. Surgically. Having your tubes tied, or something.

[angel-eyes224.livejournal.com]

It's generally a hard thing to get done if you are under a certain age and don't have kids. They're scared you might change your mind I think.

[loonylupinlover.livejournal.com]

Bazillionthing the support for NuvaRing. It does the same exact thing as the Pill in much the same way the Patch does it -- absorption into the bloodstream instead of through the stomach. You can replace it as little as every 5 weeks (4 weeks in, 1 week out), they're silicone so latex allergy isn't a problem, sex partners generally don't feel it (and if they do they don't usually complain), and it's a lower dose of hormones than some other methods. I love its convenience and I love that I almost never feel it -- only at the end of the month once in a while. NuvaRing is highly trustworthy and as others have said, it's much easier to attain perfect use with this method because it need only be replaced once a month, instead of a pill that must be taken every day. That's one reason why I went with it. It really is trustworthy. :) I understand if you are uncomfortable with insertion, but please don't be afraid to look into this option, as it could be something to tide you over until you can find a doctor who will insert an IUD for you.

I don't know anything about diaphragms really, but can someone tell me if the male can feel them? If not they wouldn't aggravate your BF's latex allergy. Used with a spermicide they are relatively effective. However they are not the most effective things out there, for sure (I was a diaphragm baby, for instance.)

My recommendation would be that you give the Ring a chance because it really is a good method. However, if that's just not something you feel you can do, perhaps a diaphragm or even spermicide on its own could be something to try, or if you think you can handle daily charting and monitoring, there's FAM. But that one sounds the most difficult to me.

[alitaorg.livejournal.com]

NuvaRing: I don't trust this. It doesn't make sense how it works, and I frankly, am weirded out by putting a ring in my vagina every week.

now, because i feel your pain (i, too, had to get the hell off depo)...i will be strict with you. every other birth control option you are PHYSICALLY unable to do, yes? yet, with the nuvaring, which i would recommend most of all, you won't take because you're weirded out by putting things up your vagina?

my vote is: try it out.

[justtanyakmbq.livejournal.com]

I guess moreso, I don't understand how it stays there. I'd be freaked out by it "falling" out or something. Or to be blunt... what if my bf and I engage in rough sex, Can "he" move it? I know it works for a ton of women, but something just doesn't seem QUITE right with it.

I guess, with my near OCD about birth control... I want THE most FOOL PROOF method in the world. Which, I know is getting my tubes tied or next best, and IUD. However, I'm barely 21 and NO ONE will do it.

The one doc that MIGHT, Is at a hospital, so he obviously isn't Planned Parenthood and isn't free. I don't have health insurance, and am on the low-income end, so I don't have many options, other than free clinics.

I've ALWAYS said, the one thing EVERYONE needs at some point in their life (health care) should be free.


And after witnessing my cousin's birth when I was about 7, I think I was scarred, I don't want kids ever. Can't stand them, I hate them. Never from me.


Why don't docs understand that not ALL 21 year olds are stupid? Some of us TRULY know what we REALLY DO want!

[zellie-bean.livejournal.com]

I'm just a couple years older than you and I'm approved for Essure. I would say, keep shopping around for doctors. You sound like me in that all other methods suck and you really just want to NOT have kids ;) and for me it was REALLY worth it to get it as soon as possible because no other BC works for me. Nuvaring was great until it prevented me from EVER having sex :P www.essure.com will list doctors by your zip code. I found one half an hour from me who is AWESOME but before that I was planning on heading out to North Carolina where I heard about a doctor willing to do tubals to the young and childfree. My doctor didn't question my age or my decision, it was great (:

[laughing-dreams.livejournal.com]

uhmm even if you hate depo you are at the time limit of being on it, there's your argument for getting the iud (i'm 22 and i just got one at theend of may i had to go to a couple of doctors but i got mine and i loooooooooooooooooooooooove it)

[slow-awakening.livejournal.com]

I will support the other posters in saying you should probably just do a research on NuvaRing before making any pre-conceived assumptions about it. Ask your clinic about it. I am sure they'd be glad to help you if they are hell bent on NOT inserting an IUD

FYI, my brother is an IUD baby so even that is not fool-proof :(

The only 100% method of No-Baby at all is abstience and obviously, that's not an option. I don't blame you! If I had a steady BF I would not abstain from sex.

The shield has been mentionned. I checked their website http://www.leasshield.com/ and it doesn't look too complicated.

Or the cervical cap: http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/capinfo.htm

Or the Today's Sponge: http://www.todaysponge.com/overview.htm (only up to 91% effective if used perfectly... not as great as HBC which is 99.9% with perfect use)

[hopingforrain.livejournal.com]

Sounds to me like you should:

1. Keep trying to find someone to give you the IUD

or

2. See if you can get used to the Nuvaring. Youu never know, it might just take a little getting used to.

I keep hearing bad things about Depro...

[alitaorg.livejournal.com]

it is the devil. >;( i have no idea how it got past the fda, or why it wasn't pulled off the shelves in 2004.

[pixidance.livejournal.com]

Have you looked into Lunelle. It is different than Depo, chemically and it's injected once a month. Depo made me crazy and I had no problems with Lunelle at all.