I need some birth control advice?

Question

Okay, so, I've been on birth control pills since january 2016, so almost a year. Its done wonders to clear my skin & obviously prevent pregancy. I would always skip the placebo pills each month skipping my period but then I expirenced spotting every day so i then took the placebo pills as intended to & got the "withdrawl bleed" that is like a period.
Excpet its not, if you have ever been on the pill you know you usually start to bleed 3 days into the week. These withdrawl periods are terrible. Theyre short, I barely bleed & give me cramps and make me moody. I dislike the way they make me feel bc they are very different from my pervious periods pre-pill. (Which were pretty mild) I'm thinking of getting off the pill & relying soley on the pull out method & condoms. I'm in a serious relationship and we have sex about 2 a day, he is experienced pulling out but I'm still weary bc pregnancy is NOT an option. I'm barely 20. Ladies, what would you do? My mind is telling me to grin and bare it, but I really miss my old periods.

Kasha · Answer

Look at all your birth control options.

You're talking about condoms and withdrawal - is there any reason why you're looking at these two methods over other birth control options like IUD's, FAM, other barrier methods, or other hormonal methods that don't cause you these issues? Do you know how to use these methods correctly (hint: it involves more than just pulling out before he ejaculates - you have to consider pre-ejaculate too)? What will you do if you get pregnant?

Condoms and withdrawal are effective:
Male Condoms + Withdrawal = 99.92% effective with perfect use - 96.2% effective with typical use.
Note: withdrawal is a real method of birth control, on its own it's up to 96% effective with perfect use.

I can't use hormonal methods, I wouldn't feel comfortable using condoms due to personal preference and because I personally wouldn't feel they were effective enough even if combined with withdrawal (I use a copper IUD or previously I used FAM), but I'm not you. It's up to you to determine what birth control methods you use, based on your needs and what risks you're willing to take both in pregnancy risk as well as any potential health risks.

The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method - http://www.scarleteen.com/article/sexual_health/the_buddy_system_effectiveness_rates_for_backing_up_your_birth_control_with_a_
Using Withdrawal - http://www.lovelyfertility.com/2014/08/03/using-withdraw

Roger K · Answer

DO NOT rely only on him pulling out. Seriously. If pregnancy is not an option, then you MUST use something real. Condoms AND spermicide is one possibility. Implanted birth control or an IUD are others.

You can - of course - go back to your doctor and talk about using a different pill. Another one might have fewer bad effects.

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I need some birth control advice?

2 Answers