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Birth Control

americanwoman

dangerously addictive
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I currently have the Mirena but it's going to expire in a couple months. I love it but just found out my insurance won't cover it. My company is "grandfathered" from the contraceptive mandate and gets to choose which contraceptives to cover and iud's are one they don't. The good news I read is that after 2014 most companies should loose their grandfather status and provide all types, but until then I need something. I have narrowed it down to the shot or the pill but was wondering what types of birth control you all use and why you like it.
 
I currently have the Mirena but it's going to expire in a couple months. I love it but just found out my insurance won't cover it. My company is "grandfathered" from the contraceptive mandate and gets to choose which contraceptives to cover and iud's are one they don't. The good news I read is that after 2014 most companies should loose their grandfather status and provide all types, but until then I need something. I have narrowed it down to the shot or the pill but was wondering what types of birth control you all use and why you like it.

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I currently have the Mirena but it's going to expire in a couple months. I love it but just found out my insurance won't cover it. My company is "grandfathered" from the contraceptive mandate and gets to choose which contraceptives to cover and iud's are one they don't. The good news I read is that after 2014 most companies should loose their grandfather status and provide all types, but until then I need something. I have narrowed it down to the shot or the pill but was wondering what types of birth control you all use and why you like it.

After the second kid... snip snip for me...
 
I used a combination of the pill and condoms. I think the only way you're going to get a level of protection close to that of an IUD is to use a combination of hormonal and barrier methods. So depending on how worried you are, you might combine methods. Maybe the pill and a diaphragm with spermicide, since it can suck going back to condoms after not using them for a while. I wanted to be extra careful, especially since it's easy to miss a pill, so I used a combination. The benefit I can think of to pills over the shot is that if you experience side effects, you can always just stop the pill, whereas with the shot you just have to wait 1-3 months. I liked the pill and didn't have any bad symptoms. It just took a while to get in the habit of taking it.

If you want to stick with an IUD, Planned Parenthood may be able to work with you on a cost based on your income so you might not have to switch to the pill or the shot.
 
I currently have the Mirena but it's going to expire in a couple months. I love it but just found out my insurance won't cover it. My company is "grandfathered" from the contraceptive mandate and gets to choose which contraceptives to cover and iud's are one they don't. The good news I read is that after 2014 most companies should loose their grandfather status and provide all types, but until then I need something. I have narrowed it down to the shot or the pill but was wondering what types of birth control you all use and why you like it.

I'm snipped. Why I like it is pretty obvious: it doesn't have any of the nasty effects hormones had on me, it's do-it-once-and-you're-done, and I got cool pictures of my insides. Ok, maybe that last one isn't so obvious.

I highly recommend it, if you're open to it when you're more sure about whether your family is complete. There's even a non-surgical method now (I went with surgical because my body hates foreign stuff in it -- but obviously yours doesn't).

But anyway, if it were me, and I were in the market for contraception, I'd shy away from the shot. It's probably got a higher incident of side-effects than just about anything else, short of the implant. It's a serious mega-dose of hormones, and most people I know who tried it didn't like it. Even doctors recommend you get off it within 2 years. That's never a good sign.

Since you're used to having something "up there," what with the IUD's threads and all, I'd seriously consider the Nuva Ring. Way more gentle on your body, and you only have to deal with it I think once a month?

Also, I second Dustmop. See if you can get an IUD on a sliding scale at a PP or something like it.
 
I was looking into getting an IUD a while ago and found that it's completely free for all women in my county. Amazing! I didn't end up doing it, but I did donate some money to the cause.
 
I was looking into getting an IUD a while ago and found that it's completely free for all women in my county. Amazing! I didn't end up doing it, but I did donate some money to the cause.

You are in Colorado? It's certainly not free in America. It hopefully will be soon, but there are certain provisions currently that do not force all insurance companies to provide all types of birth control. I even checked into planned parenthood and it will cost about the same ($1,200) as using my insurance and they all want the money upfront, no payment plan. So if Colorado is giving it away for free let me know, I'm about a 7 hour drive away!
 
I obviously am not a woman that uses birth control, but I know a thing or two about them.

I know several women that like the depo shot. It's infrequent and you don't have to worry about missing doses. It burns when the medication goes in, but it's a one time discomfort and to my knowledge regarding patients reporting side effects they have been infrequent (although they exist, as with all BCs). Many consider it safer because there is no estrogen in the shot.

Pills are cheaper and you don't have to worry about needles. However, many women will experience adverse effects and may have to swap around which pill they are using until they find one that's right for them. It can be troublesome when you miss a dose but the pros are that they are cheap and easy to use.

Nuvarings are fairly popular now as well. You just have to remember to swap it out.

There are pros and cons to each form. I would recommend talking with your general practitioner and pharmacist about possible options. If I were a woman on birth control I would probably choose the depo shot.
 
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I currently have the Mirena but it's going to expire in a couple months. I love it but just found out my insurance won't cover it. My company is "grandfathered" from the contraceptive mandate and gets to choose which contraceptives to cover and iud's are one they don't. The good news I read is that after 2014 most companies should loose their grandfather status and provide all types, but until then I need something. I have narrowed it down to the shot or the pill but was wondering what types of birth control you all use and why you like it.


I've gotten the depo shot and it was the worse decision of my life. I had terrible side effects for 6 months and was put on the pill for the estrogen to counteract the progesterone. I take Loestrin 24 Fe and haven't had one negative side effect since I started. I also used to pay $50 each month which I didn't mind, but now it's covered and I pay nothing. The only downside for me is remembering to take it everyday at the same time but if that's not a problem I highly recommend the pill.
 
You are in Colorado? It's certainly not free in America. It hopefully will be soon, but there are certain provisions currently that do not force all insurance companies to provide all types of birth control. I even checked into planned parenthood and it will cost about the same ($1,200) as using my insurance and they all want the money upfront, no payment plan. So if Colorado is giving it away for free let me know, I'm about a 7 hour drive away!

Well....it's free for residents of this county. You may be out of luck.
 
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