Safe(er) birth control, and large condoms.

[warm-th.livejournal.com]

The other day my boyfriend turned to me and said, "Is there any birth control other than condoms that doesn't make you crazy?"


It occurred to me that since I've been biased about any other form of birth control, I'm probably behind the times.

My first(and only) experience with birth control was Alesse, and it made me quite insane(I took it for less than a year).
Since then the idea of anything unnatural has turned me off.

Also, the main problem with condoms is that my boyfriend is above average in size (if you know what I mean).

So! My requests are:

1. Information on any other alternatives, as well as their side effects.
(I do not want another brand of the pill.)

2. Information / experience with large(er) condoms, also their effects on feeling(for him).


Thanks in advance. <3




(Also, sorry if this is asked a lot, I don't check this community as much as I should.)

Comments

[askmeaskmeaskme.livejournal.com]

the biggest condoms i've found are magnums XL, and they've worked fine for me. i hate the smell of trojans though. yuck.

[warm-th.livejournal.com]

How big?
It's not as if he's a horse, just too big for the regular ones.

[askmeaskmeaskme.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure of the exact size, but they're a big bigger than the regular magnums, which you may want to try.

[beachbanshee.livejournal.com]

When hubby and I used condoms we both like Inspiral http://www.condomsexpress.com/express/condoms/i1223.html. More roomy in the head area for more feeling. You may want to check out the above website for some new and different condoms. Good Luck!

kc

[10yearsgone.livejournal.com]

the best condoms i've found for large sizes (probably good for smalls too) are called theyfit. the largest you can get are much bigger than magnums, and they also have very small if you have problems keeping normal size on. you can download the size chart and order them from condommania.com. i can't say enough how wonderful it is to be able to order the length and width that you need. its still a condom, but they're decent quality and the fact that they fit perfectly makes a huge difference. i can't say enough what a wonderdul thing these are. they're also pretty cheap and ship rather quickly.
any sort of birth control pill that contained estrogen and the nuva ring all made me insane. i'm on the pop and i'm fine. it was the estrogen that was bothering me. you should talk to your doctor about the pop and see if they think its worth trying if you still want to try pills.

[poonchkie.livejournal.com]

What is the "pop"?

[vaverine.livejournal.com]

It's a birth control pill with no estrogen. Also called the mini-pill. POP = "progestin only pill". More at: http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/minipill.htm

[bamber-nz.livejournal.com]

One thing to remember about the mini-pill is that there is much less of a window of possible times to take it each day. Combination pills can be taken within a few hours of your normal time without much of a problem, but the mini-pill really does need to be taken at the exact same time every day. Just something to keep in mind if you're liable to forget it now and again - it's a good option for some, less so for people who are a bit more likely to forget.

Also, I just read that the mini pill has a slightly statistically lower rate of effectiveness than the combination pill - not by much, but something to be aware of when making the decision. It does say that there are far fewer side effects though, so this may be useful if you had problems with combination pills.

[10yearsgone.livejournal.com]

sorry the progesterin only pill or mini pill.

[br0ken_dolly]

i think a lot of condoms are just trial and error, but i really think it's worth a shot. and some of the super thin ones and the better quality ones really don't make him lose sensation. yay technology :)

i hear ya on the crazies, btw. *sigh!*

[sweetseadragon.livejournal.com]

Have you seen this chart (scroll down) : http://www.wdxcyber.com/ncontr13.htm

I've tried 8 different types of hbc and have just finally found something that works for me. I'm trying out Yaz. It has made a seriously positive effect on my fluctuating hormones and miserable PMS (I get extremely depressed, irritable and moody).

I think the best thing to do is discuss your experiences and concerns with your health care provider and see what they think.

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

You may want to check out VP's tagged posts on IUDs (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/tag/iuds), Nuva Ring (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/tag/nuva-ring), non-hormonal birth control (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/tag/non-hormonal-birth-control-methods), and male condoms (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/tag/condoms) to get a better idea of which alternatives (and condom types) might work for you.

Good luck!

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

As frolicnaked mentioned, the VP archives have some good info.

The first thing that popped into my mind in regards to your question was Lea's Shield, an alternative barried method of BC. Here's the link to their site in case you want more information: http://www.leasshield.com/index.htm

Good luck with whatever you decide is the right BC for you! :)

[violet-tigress1.livejournal.com]

I don't rreally have any advice but I found the people at http://www.mayerlabs.com/ to be helpful. Goood luck!

[myfavouritescar.livejournal.com]

http://www.plannedparenthood.com/pp2/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/;jsessionid=B67328EE416ED4117BF8C0BA9FAB7AE3

I think this is a great link for explaining birth control options.

[zellie-bean.livejournal.com]

The only thing I've come up with that MIGHT not have made me crazy is an IUD buuut then the nonhormonal one may cause cramping and I'd rather die than have more cramping. I really think we need to get more scientists on the BC boat because it all just sucks right now >_> at least for me. I mean, I'm only on HBC a few months before I confirm my sterilization and even THAT is more than enough for me, I can't imagine having to actually rely on it as a long-term method of birth control x_x

[misslynn.livejournal.com]

let me just say that i do not own a penis, therefore, i have no idea what it's actually like to wear a condom.

but i do find the "i need a bigger one" argument mildly amusing, because you can get those suckers pretty darn big. i mean, people have stuck their arms in them, their heads, they've been blown up huge... latex stretches, people. but, again, no penis, so i probably just don't get it :)

that said, yeah, they do make the magnums. :)

[jacquelinewas17.livejournal.com]

I know you don't want people to say "try another pill!" but I am going to, because I've taken three and know for a fact that they have all affected me differently. This is the case with all women, to the best of my knowledge. Alesse made me fat, mood-swingy, and pimply. Ortho-cyclen made me EXTREMELY emotionally stable to the point that I didn't know if I actually had emotions anymore, and killed my sex drive. Desogen/Apri didn't change my physical shape or emotions, but it did not fix anything that Ortho Cyclen broke in terms of my sex drive. I am going off the pill for a few months now, and will try out the NuvaRing after this break. I hear amazing things about it.

If you've got a lot of motivation and can do things consistently on schedule, you should look into the fertility awareness method. It requires the use of condoms or a backup-birth-control for 1-2 weeks out of the cycle as well as for the first few months of using the method, but if it's something you're into, you should try it. www.fwhc.org has a lot of information about it

[wretched-snail.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend likes Magnums. He's not huge or anything, but the base of his penis is thick and regular condoms leave an angry purple ring there.