contraceptive woes

[d-gun]

Hey, so my girl wants to go off birth control, she's been on it for a while now (tried various pills) and complains about no sex drive, moodiness, weight gain, acne, etc.

50% of the population of girls 15-50 are on the Pill in North America, no wonder all the women are bitchy and fat.

Anyway, the alternatives are...sucky. we tried a condom last night and it was terrible. couldnt get into it at all. they stink like a balloon, and the sex just doesnt feel the same. such a turnoff.

i suspect sponges, diaphrams, spermicide, and all the other shitty contraceptives will have similar resentment.

so....vasectomy? Ive been considering getting one as I know i do not want kids, and will not "change my mind" (all doctors seem to assume you cannot exercise forethought and are too stupid to make this decision, because they all seem reluctant to give a 21 year old the procedure). there just doesnt seem to be any other option other than pumping my significant other full of hormones

[KaiserJ]

how about the shot? pretty sure she can get a shot every 6 months instead, with minimal interference with her hormones (im assuming shes taking birth control pills)

diaphragm / sponge should be fine, because you wouldn't be able to tell they were there, but are those things even made anymore? maybe im just thinking of seinfeld. spermicide isn't a reliable contraceptive.

also there's an IUD but ive heard they are only appropriate for -some- women

[Pxtl]

The shot is russian roulette, if you'll pardon the pun. Some women think it's perfect.

Other women get a month-long period, loss of bone-mass, a complete mental breakdown, and a dead sex-drive.

[Otherside]

Very weird news about the pill.

The pill sorted out the little acne my gf had, she lost weight her sex drive increased and now she has laughable periods.

+ I get to have awesome unprotected sex without worries.

I would try a different pill tbh

Condoms are made of fail.

[d-gun]

she tried the copper IUD and it made her have horrible 10-day periods with heavy bleeding.

the more expensive IUD had same problems as the pill, since it was hormone-based.

the shot sounds promising, but isnt that hormones as well? I had a friend in highschool on the shot and all her hair fell out

we have agreed to never use a condom again as that was just a miserable experience.

the frustrating thing is that there are so many easy, safe male birth control alternatives but they wont ever be used because companies claim there is "no market" for them.

meanwhile all our girls get stuck with taking hormones that drive them crazy.

its still a sexist world

[d-gun]

Very weird news about the pill.

The pill sorted out the little acne my gf had, she lost weight her sex drive increased and now she has laughable periods.

+ I get to have awesome unprotected sex without worries.

I would try a different pill tbh

Condoms are made of fail.

what pill is she on? its obviously different for each girl but this sounds like it could be a better one.

right now my girl is taking progesterone+estrogen pills...

[Otherside]

she uses these AFAIK

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001653.html

my gf takes the pill every day at 8am for 3 weeks then she has a week break the week its due and she always gets it at the same time the Thursday she stops like clockwork :]

[KaiserJ]

yeah, i think the hormone thingers have a different effect on everyone. i'd try male contraceptive pills were they available.

on a lighter note, you can use this as leverage for stickin' it in her pooper

also dont forget you can always pull out, and if you make a mistake, she can take the morning after pills.

bro-gesterone

[Otherside]

Pulling out is not safe. My mate had unprotected sex no pill and pull outs for 2 years, apart from gimping the full sexual experience he also eventually got her pregnant (GG Pre cum) now hes 22 and is having a kid with a 31 year old divorced women who already has a 8 year old kid.

[SanadaUjiosan]

You're in a rough patch of road, and sadly there's not much I can offer in advice. I was in a somewhat similar situation some time ago. We took the dumb route. (Risking the consequences.) I don't advise it.

What I can say is that maybe giving the condom a few more shots wouldn't hurt. They are indeed awful, and after my first time with one I declared their very existence a contraception. They just require a little more finesse, I suppose...

Also, if you're firm on your position on vasectomy, why not do that? I'm not going to look it up, but aren't they rather easily reversible, in the event something down the road causes you to change your mind? (just saying)

Best of luck

EDIT:

also dont forget you can always pull out, and if you make a mistake, she can take the morning after pills.

Just going to say, this can add a ton of stress to your relationship. Like I said above, I don't advise it.

[d-gun]

she uses these AFAIK

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001653.html

my gf takes the pill every day at 8am for 3 weeks then she has a week break the week its due and she always gets it at the same time the Thursday she stops like clockwork :]

Side effects

* Nausea and vomiting.
* Headache/migraine.
* Breast tenderness, enlargement.
* Weight changes.
* Retention of water in the body tissues (fluid retention).
* Vaginal thrush (candidiasis).
* Change in menstrual bleeding.
* Menstrual spotting or breakthrough bleeding.
* Depression.
* Skin reactions.
* Decreased sex drive.
* Rise in blood pressure.
* Irregular brown patches on the skin, usually of the face
* Disturbance in liver function.
* Gallstones.
* Blood clots in the blood vessels

are you sure this is the one lol?

[Pxtl]

the frustrating thing is that there are so many easy, safe male birth control alternatives but they wont ever be used because companies claim there is "no market" for them.

meanwhile all our girls get stuck with taking hormones that drive them crazy.

its still a sexist world

Don't assume they don't exist because of guys thinking there's no market. They don't exist because it's a much harder problem.

The male body starts producing zillions of semen the day puberty starts, and stops when you're dead.

The female body drops a single egg once a month, and stops for menopause, for pregnancy, or if a woman is starving. And it doesn't make more. So the woman's body has built-in off-switches for it, and pills and whatnot are just the means of finding that switch and throwing them.

The male body has no off-switch for your dick beyond death.

Any one of those zillions of sperm could fertilize the egg, so it needs to stop _all_ of them... while the female control system just needs to stop one egg. And the egg is a bigger target, if you're doing mechanical filtering.

It's just a lot harder to do.

[Otherside]

all meds have a ridiculous list of side effects even your common pain relief pills, in most cases they are very rare.

My gf has been on the pill for 2 years with only one of the above side effects. She went from a 32 C to a 30 E :D :D :D

[d-gun]

I am not stupid enough to attempt the "pull out" or "rhythm" methods...these simply do not work.

If she is unwilling to try another pill I will have my seed frozen in a cryogenic bank and get my tubes tied, I guess. This seems like a rather drastic measure though, I'd much rather take a fucking pill!

*grumbles about the "no-market" bullshit*

[d-gun]

all meds have a ridiculous list of side effects even your common pain relief pills, in most cases they are very rare.

My gf has been on the pill for 2 years with only one of the above side effects. She went from a 32 C to a 30 E :D :D :D

damn..my girl is already large-breasted but this sounds too good to be true

[Otherside]

guess my gf (and me \o/) was lucky. I have some female friends who had to try 2-3 different pills before finding the one that worked for them.

[knorke]

i dont think/hope kaiser was serious with this bro-advice

the frustrating thing is that there are so many easy, safe male birth control alternatives but they wont ever be used because companies claim there is "no market" for them.

No, I think there would be a huge market. The female pill just exits since 50 years while the male pill is newer. And probally it is more complicated to stop a thousands of sperm vs one egg but I dont know about this.

[d-gun]

i just checked and it appears she is taking a similar pill, same ingredients but slightly different dosages...so yes it does appear to be luck.

she's been on them since she was 14....and has tried several different ones...it might be time for something else

[KaiserJ]

i was serious, but wasn't thinking in terms of a steady girlfriend. haven't had one of of those for a while.

[smoth]

the frustrating thing is that there are so many easy, safe male birth control alternatives but they wont ever be used because companies claim there is "no market" for them.

meanwhile all our girls get stuck with taking hormones that drive them crazy.

That is an outright lie. It is easier to make a female birth control pill than a male one. It is that simple.

[rant]
weight gain on the pill.. sorry man a lot of women say that but many of them are getting on the pill around the same time as the freshmen 15 which is just a natural part of weight gain. Women in the us are fat because they are lazy and held to lighter standards than men. Sure there is all that body image crap but none of that is about actual healthy build. Just like women with large breasts and back pain. really? bitch exercise your shoulders and back. NOT A ONE DOES it and if they do it is some bs dvd jazzercise shit. Not getting in the gym and really working out. So I reject that overly coddling view of women. Yes society a little different in it's treatment of women.

Yes they get paid less. They also get pregnant and take 9 month maternity leave. Yes they get a period and cramps, they also use that as a general excuse to act irresponsible. I know women who get bad periods and the last thing they have time for is to run around acting like a retarded bitch.

People are lazy and make excuses.

All this boo hoo, I am a woman and I have it hard because I can get pregnant. Yes she has to take a pill but also unlike us she gets to be the thing to bring a life into the world. She can feed it with her breasts and will have a literal blood bond with that child. That is beyond amazing, so what if she has to take pills. I could post a picture of my medicine cabinet, it is 2 fucking rows deep. Men bear the actual weight of the family, society demands more of us and frankly I think it is bullshit to sit there and coddle women. This coming from a feminist! I believe in womens rights and their beauty and natural role in the world is a great one. However, the equalist in me also feels that women will never be equal, simply because unless they are sterile and raised to actual standards instead of the coddling little girls get, they are unreliable and that is fact. You might get some hyper competitive bitch that can really throw the punches with men but really they simply are not equal because men are different, just like women.

[/rant]

Here is what I do know that may help you. try and see if she is on generics, if she is, get her on the brand name for a while, it might be more expensive, but fucking hell, it is her body and the only one she has.

Vasectomies can be reversed, tuboctomies once reversed can result is tubal preggers(forget the proper term) and that is potentially fatal. Vasectomies also have a chance to undo themselves, so don't expect a guaranty. The shot may or may not work, panda tried it, it had bad results. Fact of the matter is the pill can be unreliable if she ever misses it, you guys are in for a world of hurt.

So check into that. Have a meeting with her gynecologist. you are her partner, be supportive and visit with her. A gynecologist can give you better advice then a bunch of neckbeards on the spring forum.