Sex & Romance
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Implanon vs. Nuvaring
I have been on by CouponDropDown">YAZ
for 5 years, but my sex drive has been extinct for the past few months
so I am considering switching to Implanon or the Nuvaring. Anyone had
any good or bad experiences with either?
Re: Implanon vs. Nuvaring
I use Nuvaring. I set an alarm on my phone to change it once a month. It can be felt during sex sometimes but you can take out for a bit at a time (just remember to put it back in). I have been very happy with it and I have not noticed a decrease in sex drive.
I have been on the Nuvaring for almost a year now and I love it! I have an app on my phone (RingTimer) that tells me when to take it out and put back in. It's awesome not worrying about taking a pill every day. I was also interested in the Implanon but my insurance doesn't cover it. I only had one incident where it came out during intercourse, but it from the position. You can always take it out before then place it back in after. My OBGYN said you can leave it out for up to 6 hours after intercourse, but that makes me nervous!
Hope this helps with your decision
I was on NR and suddenly developed severe lactose intolerance that lasted up to 8 months even after I stopped the NR. That was the only change I had in my life at the time so it's the only thing I can link to it. It was awful especially while I was trying to figure out what was triggering the very frequent bowel movements.
I've never used Implanon.
I do have a paragard IUD (non-hormonal) and I LOVE it. Check into IUDs and see if they're something you're interested in. If they are, feel free to ask me questions about the paragard!
This sounds great, but I am not too sure I understand how to tell my bodies natural cycle, i have been on bc for 5 years now and im my periods were very irregular before i started it. I am never the same two months in a row LOL I was thinking about the IUD but my husband and I want kids in about 2 years. There are way too many bc options out there, im overwhelmed and my doctor wont give me advice, just gave me a pamphlet on all the different types.
You can always try natural family planning (NFP). The book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" tells you how to track your natural cycles and know when you are ovulating. There are a few things you have to watch, but the method tells you when you have certain signs that you need to use protection. It's a very interesting read even if you decide not to use it. Your body does tell you when its ovulating if you pay attention to the right cues.
I've been on dual pills for close to 13 years. I'm going off and switching to condoms + NFP in a few months because I'm done with the whole mess.
Your options for birth control with hormones are really: dual hormones (pill or nuvaring), progestin-only pill (only common for high blood pressure/migraine sufferers/breastfeeding women), implanon (progestin-only) and Mirena (progestin-only).
Your options without hormones are: condoms, NFP, diaphragm, or Paragard IUD
It's very hard to make a correct decision! I would try a different dual pill first. With all the different brands, there are different ratios of progestin and estrogen in a lot of them. A different ratio may help ease your symptons. You can always think about some other options if things continue to not work well.
I LOVED the NuvaRing. I used it for three years, and never had an issue with it coming out during sex at all. The only issue I had with it, was that I got pregnant on it. We weren't planning on having kids for a few more years. My OB/GYN says he's seen quite a few women get pregnant with NuvaRing. So as much as I loved it, when I go in for my 6week PP check up, I'm having the Mirena put in.
With BC supposed to be preventing pregnancies (among other things), this seems to be a big issue!
Nuvaring and I did not get along. In 6 months, it made me crazy and made my migraines much worse (I went from 1-2/month where I could usually still function to 7-14/month, usually with 1-2 immobilizing ones). It was a total nightmare and wrecked havoc on my mental health. I've been off it for almost a year now, and it took several months for my mood to level out.
I'm on Tri-cyclen now (a pill), but I'll be going off of that at the end of the summer (after my wedding). I'm tired of being on hormones (I was on Yasmin with no problems for 4 years before I started Nuvaring). It's lame. I will be trying NFP along with condoms for birth control once I quit the pill, and I'm super excited for that.
I have no experience with Implanon.
I have always had very irregular cycles as well. When my husband and I were deciding what type of birth control to use (we waited until we were married for sex), we did lots of research on the pill/ring/shots, etc. All of them had severe potential consequences that we weren't willing to risk. We decided to use NFP, but I wasn't sure how well it would work because of my weird cycles.
Honestly, I was always afraid that something was wrong with me. I went to the doctor at one point about my irregular periods, and she didn't explain at all how cycles work. She just wanted to put me on birth control. I didn't want to do that, so she put me on hormones instead. It helped for a while, but I eventually went back to my normal skip-a-month-or-two thing.
When we began to look into NFP, I realized that all women have cycles. Just because mine doesn't fit into a regular calendar month doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with me. A cycle entails: menstruation, pre-ovulatory phase, ovulation (that's when you're fertile and able to get pregnant), and the post-ovulatory phase. It can be determined by several factors, such as body temperature, cervix conditions, and your vaginal mucous. Now, this may be TMI, but I always have some type of vaginal mucous going on down there. NFP taught me to distinguish between what's fertile mucous and what isn't.
We use the Billings Method of Natural Family Planning. It uses the mucous to determine ovulation. You use a chart and mark down each day what type of mucous you have. That's easily determined by a quick wipe before you use the restroom. "The Billings Method" by Dr. Evelyn Billings has been an invaluable tool for us. The Catholic Church offers classes on the Billings method. The fees are pretty reasonable, and you don't have to be Catholic to attend (my husband and I are Christians, but not Catholic.) At first, I was a little nervous about taking the classes from a Catholic perspective, but I'm so glad that we did. I felt so informed and empowered. Finally, I knew what was going on with my own body, and I knew how to control it without dangerous contraceptives.
It's a pretty simple system. If you want, you can have sex on light days of your period. During the pre-ovulatory stage, you can have sex every other day in the evenings. This is so you can correctly read your mucous and not get it mixed up with seminal fluid. On ovulation day(s), you abstain from sex. You also abstain from sex three days after ovulation, just to be safe and sure. After that, you're free and clear for sex whenever you want for the rest of the cycle!
There are several methods of NFP, but we chose the Billings because, when used correctly, the success rate is over 98%--the same as the pill.
NFP requires a little more thought than just taking a pill everyday, but it involves both the husband and wife in the process, instead of putting it all on the woman's shoulders. Also, the divorce rate among couples who use NFP is a shocking 2%. It really bonds you together. It isn't always easy, but it's worth it. I know that my husband takes comfort in the fact that my body is safe. Plus, nothing is hindering my sex drive!
Good luck! I hope that you're able to find a solution that works for you!