I’m new to the group as I have never been on hormonal birth control. I (21F) am semi-sexually active because I have debilitating pregnancy paranoia. I live in a state where abortion is now illegal, which panics me to the core. I am about to make an appointment to start birth control because I cannot fathom not being able to get an abortion if I need one and I’m looking for suggestions I can throw out to my doctor when I have my appointment.
Some info:
I would like to avoid Nexaplon or the depo shot, if possible.
I have past struggles with ED, so I am somewhat concerned about weight gain, even though I know this might happen regardless.
My partner and I use condoms consistently and I never let him get even close to finishing due to my anxiety.
Obviously I will make the decision with my doctor’s advice, but I am completely naive to all of the options, which is why I’m looking for advice. Thank you in advance
@wonkydonkey You could look into hormonal or non hormonal IUD, mini pill, combination pill, vaginal ring, the patch, or combine barrier methods like a diaphragm/spermicide. I think good things to think about are whether yo I want to use hormones or not, how much maintenance you can tolerate (e.g. can you reliably take a pill every day).
Really if you combine any second with condoms you’re going to be very well protected!
@cappylr Thank you SO MUCH for adding the last link. The part about sexual readiness really resonated with me, especially as an anxious twenty-something. I appreciate this!
@wonkydonkey if I were you I'd go for a birth control method that will keep you covered for years at a time because with the way things are going it looks like they're going to restrict/make it harder to access to many (if not all) forms of birth control. therefore I'd recommend a bc method like the arm implant thing (Nexaplon I think) or an IUD.
good luck and stay safe
@wonkydonkey I would say IUD is a probably the safest bet. The hormonal ones have lower dosage of hormones. The non-hormonal one can increase your period symptoms I heard for like the first year you’re on it. I have the Kyleena IUD and it helped lighten my period a lot and so far no bad side effects. Talk to your doctor. It should be free if you have insurance
@wonkydonkey Honestly for me it was really not bad. My gynecologist was super nice and calmed me a lot. She told me to try to cough and then it was one quick sharp cramp to measure the uterus and one more to insert. It was very quick that I immediately forgot about it. I did take 800mg ibuprofen in advance so I think it helped.
