If you have questions about or want to discuss methods of birth control, this is the place for you! Please see our sidebar for some great resources.

Got off of Junel a few months ago and had to switch to Slynd because I have migraine with aura. I think the Junel is finally out of my system because I randomly started breaking out on only my chin and jaw with super painful cystic acne. Does anyone have experience with this? Dr amped up my spironolactone from 50 to 100mg.

Hey there! Fresh account. I 22m and my fiance 21f have been together about 5 years now. She had recently switched from the pill to an IUD, kyleena to be exact. We waited 10 days after insertion before any intercourse. However ever since then, she has been getting ejaculated in about once a day. Sometimes more. (This is wanted by both sides) this has been going on for about 2 weeks now. We both trust the IUD, but at some point is it too much? The sex has been amazing and neither of us want to stop. We Both have done a ton of research but some knowledge of strangers on the internet might bring some additional peace of mind. Thanks yall!

hi, can i skip placebo week for a month then return to the usual schedule and still be protected? i've never done this before, but i want to attend a music festival in the summer and my withdrawal bleeding would end up right in that weekend so im thinking about skipping the placebo week and starting a new pack. can i do this for just one month and then go back to 21 days active pills with 7 placebo and be protected during placebo week? thank you for the answers

Hi all, Hope to get some advice

I have been on Natural Cycles for some years, but for various reasons, I decided with my OBGYN to try Slinda. I was told I could start whenever I wanted to, and to skip the placebo pills.

But now, to my question- I am probably 7-10 days away from the first day of bleeding, when is the best time to start to avoid bleeding for weeks and weeks? Reading online, I find everything from the first day of bleeding to the last day of bleeding. I am aware you can start whenever; this is also what my OBGYN told me, but I am afraid that due to starting after ovulation, the bleeding needs to happen, and that will just make the bleeding longer.

Does anyone have some insight?

I need to rant on here for a bit, my bf and I have been together for three years now going onto four. I got on birth control as soon as we started being intimate so it’s been awhile since I’ve been on the pill. About 3 years now of birth control. It’s our only form of protection and he never pulls out every time we do it. Lately I’ve been scared if I’m actually infertile or if the birth control is just doing its job and I’ve just gotten extremely lucky. I still get my period, it’s very irregular. We talk about having kids in the future and the thought of being infertile is very scary to me. Has anyone on here been on the pill for years and still been able to get pregnant?

Hello, I am a 21 yr old female who just quit the pill. I was taking Hayley fe/mylan (I believe they’re the same, one is generic) and I’ve been on the pill for about 6 years. (I was 15, started menstruating at age 10)

Even on the pill I never had any consistency with my period and felt really awful (especially when they switched me to the mylan brand) I’ve been wanting to quit for a long time now and get scared because I’ve been on it for such a long time.

Due to a mishap with my pharmacy switching systems over I couldn’t get my prescription for a month and I noticed in that time off the pill I mentally felt much better. It really pushed me to want to try getting off. I also wanted to give my body a chance and see if it maybe improved given throughout all my teen years I was on the pill. I did go back on the pill for a couple of months as I did get my prescription but I finished out the packs I had been prescribed. I’ve now been off for 3 weeks as of this coming Wednesday.

Even before I started the pill I’ve always had extremely long periods with a heavy flow, and they were pretty irregular. So, this whole thing could honestly be a mistake but I personally feel better being off it mentally and feel it was the right choice. At this time, I’m not interested in other forms of birth control that contain hormones and I want to avoid any sort of implant. I plan to solely rely on barrier methods and cycle tracking.

Where I’m getting at with all of this is I genuinely need advice and any guidance anyone is willing to share. Especially if anyone in particular had issues with mylan. Sorry this is a long post, I’m just nervous and could really use advice or would love to hear about others experiences/what to expect/what you wish you knew before quitting

So i just had s3x with this guy… Im not on birth control and my period is expected tomorrow, everything went well in the moment but after i got off him we noticed the base of the condom had sperm around it almost like it leaked out… im not fully sure if any got inside me and we checked the condom and there were no rips or holes.. so it didn’t break, when i did research i was told that if my period starts tomorrow and if i did somehow get pregnant tonight from this encounter the period would flush it out.. im gonna be honest i never really had sex ed so im confused. As i said before im unsure if any got in me but im really worried. Can i just get some advice?

Valentines day is coming up and my boyfriend is visiting for the week, around Feb. 14-21 (we're long distance). The problem is, my period is scheduled for that very week. I've never taken birth control before, but if I were to start now would it delay my upcoming period?

2 days ago, I had unprotected sex with my boyfriend and he came inside of me. I bought plan b and was planning to take it today but coincidentally I started my period. Is there still a risk even if I am already bleeding? Should I still take plan b?

This is more a question than educational.

So the birth control I'm currently on is a 3rd generation type of progestin, the Mirena IUD is a 2nd generation, and the depo shot is a 1st generation.

I have used depo before and had longer than normal periods (about 2 weeks). On the pill, my periods are 5-6 days. Will my periods on the IUD maybe be somewhere in the middle?

I wish my periods would stop altogether on the IUD, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Do anti-depressants and anti-anxiety interfere with birth control pills? I had sex yesterday and i’m freaking out. Should I take yuzpe method? I am overthinking right now. My bf wore a condom and he pulled out. I am taking my bcp on time but I am afraid if it interferes with my bcp.

My girlfriend stopped taking birth control pills on January 4th after using them for about two years. We had protected sex with a condom on December 31st, and on January 7th, she experienced some bleeding with mild cramps. Since then, she has had some symptoms like nausea (though she has always been prone to nausea).

She took a home pregnancy test about 15 days after intercourse, and it came back negative. I know that stopping birth control can cause hormonal imbalances, but I’m concerned that she still hasn’t gotten her period.

Is it normal for her cycle to become irregular after stopping the pill? Could her symptoms be due to hormonal changes, or should we consider taking another pregnancy test?

Hey everybody, I’m getting a Kyleena IUD next week and I’ve never been on any form of birth control. All I’ve seen about IUD are horrible experiences and that’s freaking me out lol. Can anyone tell me their positive experiences with insertion or just how it’s affected their body? Thank you so much!

I was on Nexplanon for 6 years. Due to extreme cystic acne after the 2nd implant I had it removed and switched it a combo oral pill in October. One month later I started to experience abdominal pain, acid reflux, and Steatorrhea. I didn’t connect the correlation until 2 weeks ago when I noticed during my period week I wasn’t experiencing as bad of symptoms so I didn’t start my next pack to see if it continued and my symptoms have improved greatly but haven’t completely gone away yet.

I still have a gastro appointment coming up in march and I am seeing my gyno in a few weeks to discuss it but just wanted to share my experience for others who may not connect the dots like I did for a long time

*** to be fair I could have a pre existing condition that could have been simply worsened by the oral combo pill but still should be taken into consideration

hey yall, so i’ve been on the patch for a month, and last week was my 4th week (without the patch). i was supposed to put my patch on friday 1/31 to start my new cycle. i had unprotected sex with bf around 8 and forgot to put patch on beforehand, but remembered immediately and put it on after. question is- do you think i’m ok 🥲 everything going on in the us is scaring me and i feel like im fine but i wanna know others experiences and opinion. thanks !

As the title says. My periods have been irregular/nonexistent my entire 20’s. I had a baby at 28 and went back on birth control (.35mg) right after. It’s been almost 3 years since then. On this pill, no sugar pills, no breaks. I’ve maybe forgotten to take it one day months ago and immediately realized and just took it later in the day and went back to normal schedule the next day. All of a sudden 3 months in a row I’m having periods. Clotty, multi-day excursions. I am MISERABLE. I’m upset because I don’t want a period and don’t understand the sudden change but also, I’m like wickedly hormonal raging and feel like I’m about to go insane. I’m also gaining weight out of nowhere which is ramping up my depression levels and also my confusion.

So uhm. Anyone else experience this? Do I just need a different pill or is there possibly something wrong with me? I marked this as rant but also need advice. Apologies if this isn’t the right sub for this.

I just found out about Opill, I didn’t know they had an over the counter birth control. I bought a pack today and started it after doing some research.

I have not been on birth control in about a year and I have only tried combination pills. This is the first time trying progesterone pills. I never had any serious side effects with birth control, but I think it definitely made my mental health decline and it scared me the way I felt and the thoughts I was having. So I stopped taking it and just used condoms. I wanted to get back on birth control just to be more safe at this time.

I don’t want to get pregnant right now, but if it happens it’s not the end of the world for me. I would love to have kids with my husband in the future, just not now. I’m curious, does anyone here have any negative or positive experiences on it?

I guess I am definitely open to advice but wanted to share my experience because I feel pretty beaten down. I have pretty severe PMDD (horrible pre-menstrual mood swings that reach the point of suicidal thoughts/reckless behavior) and went on Yasmin/Syeda (I usually get Syeda from my pharmacy but they are the same drug combo) and it has helped me significantly. Anyway I was in a relationship for a while where I wasn't really satisfied for a while anyway so I didn't really notice how bad my libido was until I recently had a breakup, started dating again, and around this time ran out of birth control and just didn't pick it up and lapsed for a few weeks. I think it was probably the combination of being sex-starved in my relationship for a while and going off the pill, but WOW it made a difference.

The thing is I started seeing a guy pretty regularly and figured that even though we are using condoms it would probably be wise to go back on the pill and also to prevent another PMDD episode. Within a few days of being back on the pill and having sex with him I noticed that despite feeling incredibly attracted to him I was pretty dry and felt significantly less arousal. Maybe it's a coincidence or just the natural hormone cycle of my body, but part of me wants to explore other birth control options or abandon birth control altogether and try supplements or something to manage my PMDD (I know this might not be wise because I'd have to use condoms all the time and know another form of birth control is ideal).

Anyway, does anyone have any experiences with PMDD and were you able to find something that worked for you and didn't kill your sex life? Maybe having low libido is still better than being suicidal and accidentally pregnant though lol.

I (22f) was recently diagnosed with pcos, the kind with high dheas, and started yaz for it a couple months ago. It’s helped me so much with my acne and bloating and general body image

The only issue is my exhaustion every second of the day. I slept 8 hours last night and then napped for 5 hours mid day and I could definitely fall asleep again at a normal time tonight. Oh and I had caffeinated tea for breakfast too. My boyfriend’s been having to basically drag me out of bed in the morning and I really don’t like feeling this way

Has anyone else experienced this? Has it gotten better over time? Do you know other ways I can stay awake and productive during the day despite this? I’d love to hear any and all advice you may have as I feel really stuck. Gonna go take a nap now lol

edit- I just realized my username really doesn’t check out lmao. I used to have insomnia a few years ago, definitely not anymore

More so just curious how many people have gotten pregnant on liletta? And if you did was it a successful pregnancy? I’m on year 6 and just curious

So, I had another IUD inserted, finally, after my last one fell out after only a day. This time I had insane cramps for the first couple days, and it’s actually staying in. At least the insertion itself wasn’t too painful! I’m still having these weird, less intense cramps, though. They sometimes go all throughout my thighs, lower back, and butt. They feel less acute than normal period cramps, if that makes sense. It’s like they spread out slowly then tighten. I’ve had my heating pad by my side the last five days 😮‍💨 Did anyone else experience this? How long did it take for it to go away? I’m exhausted 😭

I (cis woman) recently had unprotected penetrative sex with my girlfriend on an unfortunate whim. For essential context, she’s a trans woman and has been on hormones for years, so it’s very unlikely that she has any viable sperm. She also didn’t finish inside. But now we’re really anxious about the slim possibility of pregnancy and I am considering taking plan B for peace of mind (I am still within the 72 hour window).

Am I majorly overthinking this? Or should I take plan B to be safe? I’m worried about side effects as I’ve never taken any form of birth control, as a lesbian. Would love some input.

Hi ladies, I’ve been thinking recently about going to the IUD from the nuva ring. I absolutely love the nuva ring, but I think I might feel more secure with the IUD if you know what I mean.

For those who do have it: which do you have? Do you like/hate it? What side effects did/do you have?

I just want to know all information I CAN know from others experience to try to see which I should try.

Thanks ladies ❤️

I saw something on tiktok and a couple articles about it getting banned but nothing solid, does anyone know how accurate this is?

I don’t think in the 8 years I’ve had a period I’ve ever spotted, but I took a plan b about 10 days ago and since then have been experiencing nausea and bad stomach aches, and then today I found some light spotting. Now I’ve done my googling which I know I shouldn’t do since it’ll just freak me out but I found out about implantation bleeding and now I’m scared that that’s what it is and the plan b just didn’t work. My boyfriend and I had protected sex but took a plan b just in case because I thought a little something might’ve came out since we were kind of rough and messy while doing it. I was in the early stages of high fertility so I was sure I couldn’t have been ovulating, and I’ve never taken any sort of birth control so I’m really lost and don’t know what to think, should I just wait for my period which should come in about a week or just assume the worst that I’m pregnant and start looking into other options?

For the past several months, (with the support of my nurse), I have been skipping my sugar/ placebo pills, and therefore I have not had a period in a while. However I am wanting to change this, so how and when should I reintroduce my placebo pills? Does it matter where I am in my cycle? Or can I start taking them and have my period? Also will I continue to be protected? Thanks :)

Hey. I got my first IUD put on 5 days ago, and since the process was so difficult, I'm scared that it has been placed wrong.

The doctor was having major trouble getting it in. I got it because I have endometriosis and pills have been giving me bad side effects so I decided to try if IUD would be any different. However it was the worst pain I have experienced (Even though I have period cramps that I have almost called the ambulance for because I couldn't move) I think she tried putting it in like 5-6 times and it took about 20 minutes to finally get it in.

Cramps were the worst on first days and now I whenever I move (like go for a walk or try to do my workout) it starts hurting crazy. It's almost like I feel the iud hitting the sides of my insides. I also get these sharp waves in the night mostly. Its the worst when I go to lay down and is affecting my sleep. I've also kinda "felt" the IUD inside of me the whole time. Its this pinching feeling, the same kind of pain in the same point than when it was put in. But not as bad. But I feel it ALL THE TIME. And it hasn't gotten any better in these 5 days I just feel that little thing inside of me.

is this really it and I'm going to feel the IUD the whole time or will it go away? I'm also scared that it will puncture something or smth like that.

I'm annoyed that I can't have sex at all right now because it hurts too much so I don't really even feel like it right now.

i have been on hormonal birth control for 7 years, 6 years yasmin and 1 year on nuvaring. due to everything going on in the united states i am seriously considering getting the copper iud. i have an appointment with my gyno on tuesday and my biggest concern is it falling out, is it falling out a somewhat normal occurrence? i know that everyone if different but like im not trying to have it fall out 😂😂 and i have pcos and have had a decent time on my previous birth control methods but i do still experience severe cramping to the point where it makes me throw up. i also am on mounjaro and my pcp told me it is in my best interest to stay on bc since i am sexually active due to the possibility of my fertility increasing and i do not want to be risking it out here

So my boyfriend and I made some careless mistakes as we got back together and got lost in the moment. We aren't on any birth control.

I have a usual 27-29 day cycle. He finished inside of me on cycle day 10 and 15. I figured I was safe since ovulation is on day 14.

What are the odds? We are in our early 20s. Relying on the pull out method for 2 years. So I'm assuming we aren't that fertile.

Do you think we'll be good this month! Thanks.

I’ve been on Yaz for 2 months now, and I’ve noticed that my breasts always hurt and seem to have gotten bigger. My pelvic area also hurts, and I get a migraine between the 8th and 10th pill. I feel exhausted and always tired, even though I get enough sleep. I was diagnosed with PCOS in both ovaries—are these effects normal? I’m also sexually active, and we use the withdrawal method, but there are times when he finishes inside me, and I still get pregnancy scares. Are all of these symptoms normal side effects of the Yaz pill? On the positive side, my mood has improved, my skin looks better, I’ve lost weight, and I’ve noticed that I’m getting more curvy.