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NFP advice - a little long
Hey ladies!
Recently got married and am now reconsidering my birth control options. I have been bouncing between different pills for the past four years (when I first started taking BC) and have never really attributed some of the "pains" I deal with daily (headaches, back pain, low sex drive, weight gain, etc.) to BC because I wasnt sexually active before my DH and just assumed it was something that came with getting older. Now that I am reading posts from other women I am seeing that maybe some of these things could be solved by getting off of BC. I have tried talking to my OB/GYN about these issues and she has switched me multiple times, but doesn't seem to care that much, so I am also searching for a new OB/GYN.
I am really interested in the NFP option and have talked to my DH and he seems to be for it. I have looked at a few websites and have found a class that is offered about 30 min away that we are looking into attending. However, that does not start until Nov. 30. We are very (perhaps overly) careful and use both oral BC and condoms every time. We are at a point were we are hoping to ideally not have children for another year or two. I am just a little concerned about not using oral BC since I never have not used it.
My question is how are people liking it? Is it worth the switch? Any advice? I guess I am just looking for a little reinforcement to help me and my husband feel like this is a good option to look further into 
) Thanks for any advice!
Re: NFP advice - a little long
I would suggest going to the fertility friend website. (fertilityfriend.com)
they have a 20-day tutorial where they send you an email a day and you can learn a little bit about it. It's pretty simple to understand, and many of the ladies on this board will tell you that once you commit to doing it it is great! It might take a few cycles to get comfortable enough with your body and to recognize the signs of ovulation, but if you are consistent and you take the time to take your temperature daily and pay attention to your body, you can have 100% success in avoiding pregnancy. (its up to you as a couple to decide whether to abstain on your fertile days, or to use condoms during those days)
many ladies will also suggest that you read TCOYF (taking charge of your fertility) I have not read it
*PCOS bio* *Cold Hands, Warm Heart*
Absolutely! I use www.femilia.com, it's free and although it sort of promotes getting pregnant, you can use it to make sure you don't get pregnant until you are ready. You learn how to know when you're fertile, track your periods, track ovulation, track when you've had intercourse. It even sends an email for your predicted ovulation date and predicted period date so you're ready for both!
Check it out. I had a very hard time on BC when I was younger and my acupuncturist told me about Femilia to help my body back to it's natural "flow" and I honestly haven't had any awkward symptoms like I had on BC.
Good Luck!
I started FAM two years ago. It is the same as NFP except we use condoms during our fertile time where as NFP you stay abstinent. I was on hormonal BC for 5 years before that and hated it. I LOVE fam! I started by reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility (tcoyf) and I bought the software off of tcoyf.com. I put in my temps and all of the other signs and it makes the chart for me.
It took me about two months to get used to it and in that time I learned so much about my body. I was excited about it but also a little bit upset that I didn't know this information before! The one nice thing about FAM is that you can be as strict as you want with it. Some people only use condoms during their fertile time while others use them ( or another form of BC) until they know their past ovulation.
Hope this helps! Good luck!!
Kindof long, but worth the read, sorry.
This website can help you find a doctor in your area who knows about NaPro Technology. (this will encompass modern forms of NFP as well as knowing your fertility in general) I found a doctor in my area and was in within the same week.
http://www.fertilitycare.org (Under: find a medical consultant)
Also, looking at the NaProTechnology websites will help out too. Do NOT just get advice from the sites who still use the rhythm method. You may end up pregnant pretty quickly.
Also, I have been practicing NFP and am not pregnant, (a friend has used it for 7 years + and is still childless)
however, I won't lie to you it is very frustrating for the first couple of months. You cannot guess on whether you are fertile or not, you have to figure it out, just like learning about anything else in your body, it takes time. (and if you are like me, you may have irregular cycles and worry that you are fertile 24/7) What I didn't realize is that you can only get pregnant if you are ovulating, and you only ovulate once a month (and if you DO ovulate from both sides, it is always within 24 hours of each other, never days or weeks apart). There tools sold in the store to check ovulation, and while I may begin buying one and using this soon, I haven't trusted them yet, although they may be accurate, I'm figuring out my own body first before using one of these since we want to be totally sure we won't get pregnant.
THat said: Once you know, and are familiar with yourself... IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! My husband was completely sceptical and figured we would have a kid within a month or two. But since I have such a sensitive system, the other forms of BC were out and he HATES condoms. So, against all his reasoning, he let me do this. Months later, I tell him (even when he doesn't want to hear it) when I am fertile and when I am not, and WHY I know this. Now, it's only been about 4 months since we've been married but he is totally on board. There was actually a day I was not 100% sure if we should (because of timing, not because of the chart) When I began to freak out, He pretty much told me that this is why the rhythm method didn't work and why this method does, and he wasn't worried. I was floored. He is just as confident in this as I am, now.
My biggest proponent of this, however, isn't the not having a baby thing... (although it is important right now) I have been able to bring this to the attention of my doctor. He has helped me with so many issues. Just because I have this info, He told me I need more vitamin C, but not take a multi-vitamin because I have enough of B6, and I shouldn't get too much of that, personally. He also told me to begin charting exactly when my headaches come in my cycle so that he can figure out which hormone I am losing at what time and can help me get rid of that.
I went from irregular, cramping, headaches, PMS, etc. To, still irregular, but almost no cramping, headaches, and (as my husband has said) a PMS that is much more inviting that it used to be (I get cuddly rather than angry now) all because of changing to NaPro Technology.
sorry it is so long.