Just a little positive thought I had as I thought about how much contraception changed my life.

I'm 25, I've always had really painful periods as you can imagine and in the last year I was experiencing episodes during and outside of periods that would put me to the floor crying unable to walk and force me to get out of work.

A doctor diagnosed me with endometriosis (and small ovary an cysts while we're at it) and prescribed the pill, which I never wanted to take because of all the side effects and risks and she wouldn't listen to me, made it seem like I was stupid for this choice.

I searched online and opted for the patch instead. I have not experienced cramps since, only mild pains during the first days of periods and that's it. I didn't get any side effects from the patch and it's just made all the pain go away. I'm so so grateful and happy for this and aware that I don't have the worse forms of endo compared with women who have to have surgery and all. Just sharing this in case someone out there is contemplating that contraception topic and unsure about it, this has been my experience :) love and health to all of you

I kind of want to see if anyone else has had a similar experience on the combined contraceptive pill.

For context I have CPTSD relating to a history of CSA - I suspect this has lead to me having such a high libido that it generally is kind of distressing, and pretty severe depression. These all calmed down when I started the pill at 18.

After almost 10 years of taking the pill, I decided to come off over 6 months ago. And god I haven't felt human, it reminded me how I felt in my teenage years - emotions all over the place, feeling numb to feeling everything in a matter of minutes, libido so high I couldnt function, genuinely felt so out of it all the time. I tried to stick it out as I'm aware of the side effects, but it's genuinely been such an awful 6 months

I caved and decided start taking them again a month ago and I feel so much more steadier, my emotions, libido, and view of the world just feels so much clearer and less volatile.

I know a lot of people have extremely bad experiences on the pill, but I genuinely am so grateful I get to have it- I feel human again and am able to function like normal. I dont think I'll ever come off it now until menopause, unless absolutely necessary - I finally feel like myself again

I'm really curious if others experience the lowered libido and mood alterations for the better as well? It'd be nice to know I'm not alone in this

Darlings.. If you're using birth control correctly you do NOT need to be taking plan b on top of that.. its a waste of money and medication.

All you're doing is adding a huge dose of hormones to your body which can mess things up for a while

morning after pills are to stop/delay ovulation when your condom or birth control fails or there was no protection it is not to be popped like aspirin.

Plan B is the same as 40 BC pills. .. and you're just dumping that into your system without any need.

I've used condoms.. and have been on 3 different types of hormonal BC and used cycle tracking.. I have never once needed a plan b. (when I started having sex plan b wasn't available)

i just got on nexplanon, i had an iud for 5 months until i decide to take it out due to uncomfortableness and it’d hurt sometimes. i didn’t really have bad side effects whilst on it, just irregular bleeding, bad mood swings, etc. the implant insertion was WAYYY less painful than the iud insertion. the most painful part of the whole procedure was the numbing process, but overall it was great! i was going to get the depo shot but i decided to get this instead, i hope it dont regret it. my point of this post is i just want to ask other people who have gotten the implant recently or who’ve been on it for a while if they’ve gotten any major side effects and if they’ve been liking it:)! and also, with the bruising & soreness; how long did it take for your bruising to go away and how bad did your arm hurt after you got it?

I’ve been on birth control for over two years and haven’t been having my period (skip the last week of pills, continue with a new pack you know the drill). But I just got surprised with blood in the shower. This has never happened to me, and cramps are coming along with it. I haven’t missed any doses, so why is this happening if it’s never happened before? Should I be worried?

I had unprotected sex today while on my 8th day on birth control first pack first time taking BC EVER. I take combo pills but I’m scared if I was protected because I did have a bit of diarrhea on my second pill and forth pill was 6hrs late but I still took the pill that day , and iv been taking my pills at the same hour time window (10:00am-10:40am) but not a specific time.

So I don’t know what to do at this point and maybe I’m just ranting but I could use advice and help

So when I was 15 (18 now) my mom forced me on Nexplanon, and I tried to bargain and say I couldn’t touch moody do the pill or go back on the shot, but she said no because the shot put me in the hospital, and she told me I was too stupid to remember to take the pill

But I’m still in school and I was told by cops themselves I legally cannot move out until I graduate? It’s stupid idk. But I go in November to get it removed and replaced but I don’t want it replaced and I want something different, but I’m too scared to talk to my mom about it and it’s all I can think about now a days since November is coming.

And my boyfriend’s(17y/o) mom won’t let me stay or sleepover anymore if I’m on anything other than this birth control, and my own boyfriend has gotten mad/upset at me for bringing up me being on a different birth control, and I don’t want to break up, as we’ve been together for two years now.

If I could get any advice I would greatly appreciate it, and even if I don’t get advice or anything like that, it just feels good to get this off my chest.

Hello, basically long story short, I struggled a lot with ED back in 2020-2024. I am recovered and in the best mindset with food now. However, I have been planning on getting an IUD, but I keep hearing that hormonal IUDs can cause weight gain which I am scared it will cause me to go back to that negative loop with food. With copper IUDs I already have a pretty heavy flow with really bad cramps and Im scared it will make it worse than it already is. Please inform me if I am wrong, I don't know too much and I doubt the obgyns in my country would try to talk about which would fit me the best.

Hello, everyone so I started Yaz generic birth control about 2 weeks ago and suddenly started getting pins and needles/tingling mostly in both my lower legs and feet. Sometimes I feel it around my knees or arms too. For context I NEVER had this before Yaz. It comes and goes and I notice it more when I’m sitting or lying down. My doctor said it’s not a common side effect and told me to continue for now since I have not shown other symptoms.✨

Has anyone else experienced this after starting Yaz?? Did it go away?

I’m 31 currently taking Vienva, but have been getting migraines & other negative side effects. I have been on the pill for 10+ years with no issues before, until about a year & a half ago. I tried to get off the pill completely then & ended up having panic attacks when I’ve never had those before & it was very scary. I went back on the pill & the panic went away, but I’m really not feeling good now otherwise. Has anyone struggled with side effects getting off the pill & transitioned to an iud? I also have very heavy periods when not on birth control. It’s come to a point where I have a migraine everyday & I can’t live like this anymore, but I am terrified to go off the pill again.

I’ve been on slynd for a few months & it’s been great not having periods, however the bloating/weight issues along with migraines and nausea have me strongly considering going off of this pill.

My question is , how risky is it to not start a new pack with recent unprotected sex? I know you’re covered during the placebo week but what about the day you’re supposed to start a new pack? And how does the 5 days sperm can *possibly* live factor into that?

I really wanted to stop taking the pill but if I’m risking a pregnancy by not starting a new pack right after unprotected sex then I would likely take it for at least another month.

Not sure what flair to put this under but yeah

I'm so confused why this happens, does anyone else deal with this?

I’ve had my IUD for about 2 and a half years now and although my flow was super inconsistent for the first year, I’d like to think that my body has now acclimated to the device. I am no longer spotting and I don’t ever get my period. I don’t have sex frequently as I am single, but the last 3 times that I’ve had sex in the past year, I’ve bled afterwards every time. It’s made it very hard to have consistent sex with a new partner, but it’s also painful and concerning. I had sex on Thursday and started bleeding lightly during intercourse and it started getting heavier as the days went on. It’s day 6 and I’m wearing an overnight pad as the flow is super heavy and I have cramps. I’m really confused as to why this is happening. I got the IUD thinking it would stop my periods, only for it to get triggered by having sex, where is the fun in that lol it’s really ruining the vibe for me and scaring me that something else is going on. I messaged my doctor but curious if anyone else experiences this? Almost makes me wonder if it’s worth having the IUD, for several months a partner could never give me oral cause I’d be bleeding, and we’d have to take precaution and clean up, but I may as well remove the IUD and have a normal period every month and have normal clean sex if this is what I’m dealing with.

I’ve been on birth control since I was 15, and I just turned 21 yesterday. I know people have been on birth control longer than 5.5 years but I’ve been thinking about going off for the last few months. Since I was 13 my periods have been incredibly painful and usually pretty heavy, I started the pill after I went to the doctor at 15 because the pain made me throw up multiple period cycles in a row. I will say that while I was on the pill, if I missed a cycle of my pills and had a *mostly* unmedicated period I still couldn’t do anything, had to call out sick from class, work, etc. I’ve now been on nexplanon since August of ‘24 and it’s not been great, I truthfully just want to not have to worry about it anymore. So here’s my long winded question:
What can I expect when I do eventually get off birth control after being on for so long? I don’t expect it to be awful but it’s been an anxiety for a while. For those of you that have bad periods too have there been any other solutions besides birth control for you? I’m really tired of letting my periods rule my life and any advice would be appreciated.

I haven't gotten my withdrawal bleed. I've been on birth control for years, and I'm on day four of the placebo pills. I'm just kind of worried right now because I am sexually active however I take my birth control on time every day and I’ve never missed a pill.

Hi, I’m getting my iud replaced tomorrow morning, I was checking the anxiety and pain meds they prescribed me that I need to take before, but they didn’t add a leaflet with dosage info..

the anxiety med is oxazepam, they gave me 2 x 10 mg, and for pain I got naproxen 500 mg (10 total). There’s no time to call before to check the dosage and when I get there it will be too late.

Does anyone have experience with these, and how much should I take? I was thinking 1 of each, 1 hour before. But what if that’s not enough? (Slightly very nervous for tomorrow). Hope someone knows, thanks!

I got a prescription for Macrobid, dicyclomine, and zofran. I take aurovela 1.3/30 everyday. I was pretty sure I need to wait to have sex until I finish the antibiotics. lol asked chat and it said that macrobid is not one to worry about but I looked at a drug interaction website and it said it may interact. My husband and I can live without sex for a week or so I’m just curious.

Hi all! I was previously on mercilon but stopped at the beginning of the year. Now i'm planning an upcoming trip and the dates fall right on when my period is expected to come so i was wondering if anyone has ever tried to time their cycle with one month of birth control or just to delay it in general using birth control. Any advice or warnings appreciated :)

I’m 19 and have just gotten into having sex with my boyfriend a few months ago.
We have used condoms every time and he doesn’t mind using them whatsoever. I on the other hand can find them to be a little annoying. lots of friction (not allergic but can be irritating)
We use lube, but we also kinda just jump into it, leaving out room for foreplay so I can be properly aroused and lubricated naturally - also likely aiding in the friction.

Anyways, i’ve been doing a LOT of research on types of birth controls/side effects/ benefits. My boyfriend doesn’t think i need to get on bc - as he’s fine with using a condom - but I think it would be a good thing to give me peace of mind about not getting pregnant despite using a condom or not.

Now my issue/ concern with this is that my hormones/ periods are very chill and super regular. I don’t suffer from hormonal acne (besides the normal amount leading up to shark week) , heavy bleeding, intense cramping, pcos, endometriosis or anything of the sort. I’m worried starting a bc would disrupt this or start something not needed.

Copper iuds have sparked my interest mostly but the paraguard just seems big and pointy asf, and the bleeding that comes with it makes me nervy… Do i just stick it out until the Miudella is readily available or take the chance with a hormonal bc.

(Mind you we’ve been dating for less than a year and while I love my bf dearly I don’t wanna mess up my hormones for something not yet concrete)

Any input/ advice/ thoughts would be helpful thx 😅😊

I’m 18f and getting on birth control to help regulate my period or at least try do something with it I vape and I’m getting really bad anxiety about blood clots but I’m terrified to tell my doctor I vape incase my parents find out or if I do and my doctor gives me some kind of mini pill (I’ve read that this is much better to use if you vape) that they’ll fine it suspicious since from what I’ve seen it’s usually only used for ppl who smoke/vape,have a family history of blood clots or risk of them or have migraines.Im terrified of them finding out but I’m also terrified of a blood clot I’m also really nervous about starting it because of gaining weight or being depressed (I’m very insecure of my weight and I’ve struggled with depression for many years but I’m not on any medications for it) pls if someone could help soothe my anxiety a bit or give me some advice because I want to tell my doctor I vape but I’m terrified

I have heavy periods and tried taking Opill in the hopes that they would get lighter. They got slightly lighter but they also last for 10 days now instead of 7 and occur twice a month. I was just prescribed Larin 1/20 and I can't find a lot of information online despite it being (I think) pretty common.

I'm really sick of having a period and I just want it to stop or to at least be more manageable so I don't have to plan my life around it. Is Larin 1/20 likely to help with this or will it be like Opill where it makes things worse?

I know no one can tell me for sure what will happen but I'm curious about other people's experiences.

should i be worried if my bf finished inside me atleast 2 times im on birth control (Aurovela 1/20) im just scared idk i waited atleast 7 days after i took it and i take it on time everyday not one missed and i started taking it the first day of my period and ive been taking it for two weeks now.

Oy. 37F, 1 toddler. Had my placebo week. took Sunday through Friday pills, Didn’t take Saturday. sex on Sunday (Week 2). Realized on Tuesday I hadn’t taken a pill since Friday. So on Tuesday, I took Monday’s and Tuesday’s. I’m gonna be pregnant aren’t I?

So I am quite new to birth control as I just started taking it about 2 days ago but over these last 2 days I have experienced quite a lot of bloating and I just wanted to know if other people have had bloating happen within the first day of starting birth control.

So me and my partner had sex, and pulled out both times and I am on the pill and I take it every night, could I be pregnant I’m just worried it’s only been about 4 days