Mirena And Pms

The myths of contraception

We have more birth control options than ever but we've never been so confused.

The Pill is widely held to be one of the leading inventions of the 20th century, giving women power over their bodies. Yet half a century after its launch, birth control in the UK remains hit and miss – with 600 abortions every day and more than 40 per cent of pregnancies unplanned.

It's not that we take risks: three out of four women are using some form of contraception when they get pregnant. A new YouGov survey shows that we may not be sufficiently careful when we decide on which contraception to use. One in two spend less than half an hour choosing – less time than they take to pick a new washing machine. Inevitably, decisions are based on half-truths and gossip rather than getting informed. Here are the top myths experts say are to blame for our contraception mistakes – and how we could behave differently.

Myth: The Pill is the most effective contraceptive

Reality: On paper, the Pill has a failure rate of just 0.3 per cent, making it among the most effective types of contraceptive. In real life, however, the failure rate is 8 per cent – with one in 12 women forgetting to take up to four pills every month. "The riskiest time to forget to take a Pill is just after the week off medication that is built in to most oral contraceptive regimes," says Dr Diana Mansour, head of sexual health services at Newcastle General Hospital. "The same is true of contraceptive patches."

What to do: The Pill has major benefits but doesn't suit everyone. "It's not just personality that you need to take into account. Women who work shifts regularly or cross time-zones, such as air stewards for instance, will have problems taking the Pill on time," says the Family Planning Association's information manager, Lynn Hearton. An effective aide-mémoire is the "everyday Pill" (brand names with ED added), which contains seven dummy pills so you don't break the habit.

I just googled IUD mirena and all i hear are bad things about it ...

About every drug, doesnt mean that you will get all, or even any of them!It’s actually not suppose to cause weight gain like other birth controls. I have it because I gained so much weight from depo. I am losing weight now. The hair loss is a side effect, but I don’t mind because my hair is really THICK. SO maybe it’ll help me. Plus, you can make sure your taking mulivitamins so your hair stays healthy. Each women is different and of course your going to find more negative but if you make sure your taking care of your skin it shouldn’t affect you. I do however get major cramps and back pain while on my period. I also get some mood swings too only during my period. SO its just PMS. I used to get head aches a lot because of an injury, and I have yet to get any on Mirena. Anything you look up for birth control will warn you about the side effects and what women has been through. It’s the pros against cons. Pros of Mirena: Most effective form of birth control, that even beats male vasectomy. No hassle. Nothing to stop sex while your in the mood. Don’t have to remember to take or replace something every day/week or so on. It’s private.

I love Mirena, don’t sweat it. Give it a couple months before you shun it out. It’s a really great method. All birth controls have side effects… They can all cause mood swings, weight gain/loss, skin changes, sex drive changes, hair growth/loss, irregular bleeding, cramping, migraines, etc. Reaction to any bc method that is hormone based is a case to case thing. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily mean it will work the same way for the next person, and vice versa.

I have used the pill (different types), the depo shot, you name it, and everything made me feel HORRIBLE, worse than as if I wasn’t taking anything. My dr. suggested the Mirena as a last resort to help resolve my menstrual problems (I don’t need bc for bc purposes). It’s been great! I’ve had it since Nov. ’07, just a few months now and my period already stopped (practically immediately). I can’t complain. Zero issues.

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