/r/birthcontrol
A place to discuss birth control methods.
Typical Use Effective Rates:
• Male Sterilization: 99%
• Female Sterilization: 99%
• Arm Implant (if properly in place): 99%*
• IUD (if properly in place): 99%*
• Shot (also known as Depo): 94%
• The Ring: 91%
• The Patch: 91%
• The Pill: 91%
• Diaphragm: 88%
• Sponge (Never Given Birth): 88%
• Cervical Cap (Never Given Birth): 86%
• Male Condom / External Condom : 85%
• Female Condom / Internal Condom: 79%
• Withdrawal: 78%
• Fertility Awareness: 76% - 88%
• Sponge (Given Birth): 76%
• Spermicide: 72%
• Cervical cap (Given Birth): 71%
*Recommended you check placement monthly.
Effective Rates when using Two Methods
Use the filters to see or exclude posts from one category and "All Posts" to return to the original feed. Or search using flair (e.g. flair:which)
Which Method? | Experience |
---|---|
How to? | Side Effects!? |
Mistake and Risk? | Rant! |
Educational | Other |
How to? | Side Effects!? |
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Mistake and Risk? | Rant! |
/r/sterilization
/r/FAMnNFP
/r/Vasectomy/
/r/malecontraception/
/r/birthcontrol
Pretty much the title. My periods have been lasting 10-14 days since insertion and now my period has just come again 13 days after the end of my last one. The cramps can be so bad and the bleeding is so much that I've been using diapers. Is this what you all have experienced as well? My doctor mentioned irregular periods and a 3 to 6 month adjustment period but this feels crazy?
Asking here because my doctors office is closed today and not sure what to do!
Everything I’m seeing online says this is okay but looking for further insight…I took a Plan B almost 4 weeks ago. It messed with me a bit emotionally and my period was about a week late.
I just started my period last night. My doctor prescribed me combo pills a while ago and told me to take them the first Sunday after the start of my period, which would be today. I’m just a little worried since I took the plan b a month ago. Would this mess with my cycle even worse? If anyone has been in a similar situation, advice is much appreciated lol. I wanted to start the pills tonight so I’m really debating with myself if I should or wait until my next period…
Thanks!
Hi all, with everything that's come out about the depo shot and the brain tumors, is it worth getting an IUD instead? I've tried the pills and now I am on the shot but I've only gotten two shots so about 4-5ish months of being on DEPO. Im thinking about switching to a non hormonal IUD. What's the experience with iuds? What should the move be? Thanks!
I had an IUD and one month I didn't get a period. I just assumes it was the birth control finally stopping it. But nope. Apperantly my IUD just fell out without me noticing. I have no idea how I didn't see it. But I am now 11 weeks pregnant and still very confused how I didn't see it fall out.
quick question. since the time went back an hour, how do i know what time to apply my patch? i usually do it at 8:30 so do i still do it at that time or what?
Hi! I searched through other answers on here about this question but I’m still confused about best course of action. I somehow missed my last active pill of Tri-Sprintec (28 days combo pill) and am now in the placebo week. I missed my last active pill on Thursday (so the last pill I took was Wednesday) and now it’s Sunday (day three of placebo). I have started my period already. I don’t have another refill right now and wouldn’t have a new pack until Monday. I’m confused whether it’s best to just leave the pill behind and continue on placebo until I start a new pack (Friday), start a new pack a day early (Thursday), or start a new pack ASAP (which would be Monday). I haven’t had unprotected sex since I missed the pill. Thanks!!
I’ve been pretty good symptom wise but I’ve been getting crazy acid reflux and nausea and I’ve noticed it gets bad bad around the 6 hour mark after my pill (I take at noon). I try to chew gum and take tums but it doesn’t seem to work for long.
So you think if I switch to taking it around bedtime that it will help?
Back in September, I took my first birth control pill. It was high hormonal and the gyno told me to take it before bed, so I did that. But I woke up 7 hours later and then vomited for 2 hours non stop, is that normal or something bad?
im 19 and ive been on the zafemy patch for a couple months and everything's been good. lastnight I had a random hot flash. it sounds like a normal side effect from the birth control but has anyone else had hot flashes? how long did they last for? I've also been on Celexa (anti depressant) for a few months, but I dont think that would cause hot flashes.
hey everyone, quick question. so I didn’t realized the time changed today , I usually take my pill at 1:15PM but with the time going an hour back , my alarm didn’t go off. I took my pill at 12:30PM which I guess is like taking it at 1:30? anyways my question is do I need to take it at 12:15 going forward? Also me and my partner had unprotected sex yesterday, but I took my pill on time everyday before today. Also this is my third week of my pack, Am I okay?
My period is late and we've never not used condoms or the pull-out method together. However I have been on a lot of medication which could have caused my period to become late. What is the success rate of condoms + pull-out? Could I still be pregnant?
i’ve had my first kyleena inserted almost a month ago, the first day was terrible, after that i’ve been experiencing average cramps and light bleeding every day, always closer to the evening somehow? especially after going to the bathroom, having intercourse, being physically active in any way. though usually these cramps are doable and the bleeding is light, today it was much heavier and i’m having cramps so bad i can’t get out of bed, it hurts as much as it did on the day 1.
i’m calling a nurse tomorrow to check if i’m good, but could it be some sign of misplaced iud or infection or something? i’ve been bleeding nonstop and cramping for a month like my period never ended and it really affects on my quality of life. anyone who had similar experience?
Hi, I’m a 17f and I grew up in a very religious household where intercourse and contraception were never discussed. I just want to know about BC and the options, but I don’t know how to approach my mother about going on it. Any help would be appreciated
hey so i’ve had the implant since july 2023 and i was celibate from march to october this year and didn’t really have any super weird issues in that period of time but i’ve started having sex again and it’s just nonstop bleeding and it’s affecting my sex life. i don’t know what to do. i’ve taken nsaids but they aren’t helping. i don’t know if this is normal, also im considering taking my implant out because i feel like its also making me get less aroused. but the bleeding is my #1 concern. is this normal and what are my options??
Hi all,
I've been freaking out a bit since today I had light spotting after having sex with my partner. This has never happened before.
I have had a hormonal IUD for 2 years now and almost never have a proper period anymore, only very slight spotting every 2-3 few months. So now I was startled a bit by the sudden bright red spotting after sex.
Does anyone else experience this? If so, do you worry about it? Would love to hear about your experiences.
Thanks so much!
Anyone else experience prolonged bleeding whilst on this birth control? Any solutions?
I'm 23 and have recently started taking birth control again after a year and a half of no birth control. When I was 17 I started taking the progesterone only pill and I experienced bleeding the whole time I took it which was about 4/5 months. When I was 18 I briefly went back on the progesterone only pill before getting the nexplanon implant. I also experienced irregular bleeding/long periods with the implant but I stuck it out for the 3 years and then once I got it removed I didn't want to go on any birth control. My periods went back to normal pretty quickly after that and have been regular since April 2023. I recently started dating again so thought I'd give the pill another go. Started taking it on day 1 of my period (which usually last 7 days). On day 8 now and I'm still bleeding. I know it's still early days but I just don't want to be bleeding all the time again.
Okay some background: I've been on some form of hormonal bc since I was 16. I got my first Mirena replaced after ~5 years because my bad periods returned. At that point, I hadn't had any issues or side effects with my first Mirena. After my second, I started gaining weight, ultimately gaining about 50lbs in three years, which completely dropped off of me about two years ago. To be fair this could have also had something to do with age and lifestyle changes, but I'm getting myself paranoid. I also experienced pretty severe depression from the age of 17 until around 26, which I'm also paranoid was brought on by hormonal bc.
My current Mirena is about to be ready for removal, and I'm getting myself freaked out that the hormones tapered off over time and that contributed to my losing weight and feeling better over the last couple of years. Will having more hormones in my system make me gain the weight back and start feeling sad again? Was that all circumstantial and I'm freaking myself out over nothing?
I'm considering the copper IUD as a non hormonal replacement, but am nervous about what no hormones would look like for me after more than a decade with them, not to mention the bad periods (which is one of the reasons I started hormonal bc in the first place).
Anyway, apologies if this is kind of incoherent. I'd love to hear if anyone else has similar experiences or if I'm just being paranoid over nothing. TIA!
Hello, I'm from India, currently not on any birth control but have just been prescribed Primepill 21, which is a combination pill (co-cyprindiol) consisting of 2mg cyproterone acetate and 25mcg ethinylestradiol. It is exactly the same as Dianette 21, for example, which is prescribed in the UK.
My partner will be visiting in around 5 days time and will only be visiting for 3 weeks, so I'd like to quick-start on this pill to be protected as soon as possible. Having read around online, I can see that combination pills can generally be started at any time in the cycle, and take around 7 days to protect from pregnancy if started mid-cycle. For reference, my last period was 2 weeks ago.
However I've spoken to a few different gynaecologists in my city and they've all told me that it's pointless to take the pill after my period is over, as it would provide no additional protection, and to instead wait for my next period. They told me that if I have unprotected sex in the meantime, to take an i-pill (plan b) instead. Does this make sense? It goes against what I've been reading from sites like the NHS, but a number of different medical professionals have said this to me now, so I'm a bit confused.
Thank you for reading!
I (22F) had unprotected sex last night. I have missed 2 pills (took them and caught up) during the first week of my pill pack. I am considering getting plan b based on this. The only problem is I weight 167lbs meaning my bmi is overweight. I can’t get Ella because it is a Sunday. Do I bite the bullet and just take a plan b?
Help! So I take gemmily, a combination pill. I had two active pills left, lost my pack, found an old pack and thought I was on my sugar pills so I took a month old placebo until I could find my current pack. WELL I FOUND IT TODAY!! And I was supposed to take an active pill yesterday it turns out!
I took both now, and am scared I will be pregnant by the time I’m done posting this.
Am I in the clear??? Should I go take like 4 plan b’s??? I’m not ready to be a parent, obviously if I can’t even take my birth control properly, my god what have I done.
So my girlfriend and I are currently expecting but we most certainly aren’t wanting another baby after this for at least a few years. We are really wanting to use a form of birth control but we aren’t interested in hormonal birth control nor are we really interested in condoms. I’ve been doing copious amounts of research online but it seems like everything I find has some sort of side effect or doesn’t seem like it’d be the right thing for us. Neither one of us have any experience with birth control prior to this. We both were really interested in the Phexxi but our concern is that we are way too active to have the small supply given in a prescription and the copper IUD also interests us but the idea of it being expelled concerns us especially since she checks multiple boxes for possible reasons it would be expelled (under 25 and severe menstrual pain) not to mention she doesn’t like the idea of it possibly causing more intense cramping as she already had bad cramps prior. Any advice or insight on various methods would be greatly appreciated.
Ive been taking the minipill for ab a month and a half and my period didnt stop once it started. It went on for ab 2 weeks so I stopped taking the pill yesterday and i am still bleeding! Will it go away on its own if indiscontinue use?
I’m on Freya 28 and took maybe 3 pills late by no more than 12 hours this pack, every other day I took it at the right time. I took my last active pill Wednesday night and now it’s Sunday with no period yet. It usually comes by Saturday/Sunday but now I’m stressed a little. I did have unprotected sex multiple times this month too. Any advice would be incredible!!!
Hi all, I’ve done quite a bit of googling about this but haven’t really found any answers. I’ve just been prescribed Microgynon 30 ED and I’ll be receiving it on Tuesday, my period is due on Friday/Saturday, I was wondering if I start taking it immediately on Tuesday, will it delay my period that is coming up? Or should I go and get the actual period delaying pill to ensure this happens? I have an event coming up this weekend and am hoping to delay my period for just a few days. Thank you!! 🙏
I am wondering my risk of pregnancy. I started my pack of pills (combo) on Sunday. On Monday and Thursday I missed the pill and did not double dose the next day as I get sick. Friday I took my pill but Saturday I had unprotected sex but took the pill slightly late.
What is my risk? I realize that this is the first week of the pack and I have never missed pills before. I was sick and it must have slipped my mind.
Hi, I have missed around 3 days of my progesterone only pill and my nipples have gotten really tender and sore. No visible changes, my boobs itself aren’t sore, a little tender but mainly the nipples.
Is this normal so soon after stopping the pill? Thanks.
I took my Opill at 1:30 on 10/31, had sex without a condom that night twice. He finished me both times. (I was also on my period? Bleeding but not scheduled to start for another 2 weeks, I was using a menstrual disc). The next day, I took a nap and didn’t end up taking my pill until 4:30. I took it at 12 yesterday, and have been usually taking it at 12. Could I be pregnant? 😀
Hello, last week, Saturday morning, I threw up 4-5 hours after taking my pill. I took another pill after I threw up just in case.
Yesterday, I had a little bit of diarrhea in the morning but nothing severe, then I threw up 3 hours after taking my birth control. So I usually take my birth control around 10 PM and I threw up at 1 AM. Since I was drunk I just immediately fell asleep and didn’t take another pill until 6 AM.
Am I at risk? Do I use a backup method now? Should I take a plan B since I had sex yesterday?
I’m going to see my long-distance boyfriend in 5 days and I was planning on skipping my period. I’ve been continuously taking the combined pill for 21 days now, and I just started spotting. Would doubling up on the pill for the next 5 days stop this? I don’t think I have time to stop, get my period, and restart before seeing him.
Should I wait and see if the spotting will stop on its own? It’s only been 2 days and it’s very light.
I went to a concert Friday night and didn’t get back until well after 1 am. I missed my pill that night and went to sleep. I thought I was supposed to just take it the next day at my normal time but now I’m reading things saying that I should have taken the pill late Friday night and then the next one last night at my normal time. I’m bleeding a little now and I’ve read that’s normal but I’m still worried I’m not taking them correctly after missing that night. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to do anything else or just keep taking it like normal? I do not take BC for protection, I take it for PCOS.