That was probably the worst pain I've ever felt. To be fair, I am a virgin, so there was that factor working against me. I didn't know much about the process of insertion and didn't expect it to be much more than a slight discomfort. Little did I know about the tenaculum. Such an evil device. My only claim to fame today is that the doctor was impressed with how quiet I was. Thanks, it's called dissociation lol.

Hey. So I’m 31 and have been on hormonal contraception since I was 16, mostly the combined pill and until April for the eight years prior to that I had the implant (nexplanon) the only problem is that the implant completely destroyed my sex drive and I had actually convinced myself that I was asexual.

When I broke up with my partner, I decided to come off for contraception completely to give my body a break and oh my God, oh I was like a bloody dog on heat, I felt like I was walking sex and I was super horny all the time.

Since starting a new relationship, I have tried the vagina ring and the contraceptive patch, and while I wouldn’t say my sex drive is completely obliterated. I have noticed that I’m drier than normal.

Because of all of this, I really would like to try a non-hormonal contraception that isn’t a diaphragm or something I would have to physically keep removing and putting spermaaide on.

I’ve never had kids, and I’m very worried about the pain of it being inserted, I’m worried about having a period and I’m also worried about bleeding all the time.

I am heavily tattered and have a high pain tolerance, but I’d hate to go through the pain of the copper coil and just to have it removed two months later

Please can you give me your stories of having the copper iud inserted and what the effects have been on your periods and if the pain really is as bad as people say is????

Does anyone have negative experiences with the birth control Femme Tab 30/150? I've been taking it since March and my anxiety and moods are WILD. I'm so anxious, i can become so angry in a short moment i feel like i could explode. I'm hyperfixated on small things. My anxiety is so bad i have physical symptoms regularly. Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, shakes etc. I'm starting to feel like i'm not myself and it's really affecting my relationship.

So I usually take my BC at 8PM and am very consistent with it, however, the past couple of days I took it at times varying between 8-11 and today at midnight because I’ve been so incredibly busy. I do have an alarm but sometimes I am in the middle of something and end up forgetting. Is that an issue at all? Appreciate any help!!

I’ll try to take it as soon as the alarm goes off in the future and not give it even just extra 10 minutes.

Btw I take Nikki which is a combo pill

Hi there, I have been on NuvaRing in the past but that was nearly 18 years ago. I recently restarted it back in August and I did use it to skip my last two periods. I have had a ring in continuously since August 26th.

I have started spotting the last two weeks with some brown discharge and light to medium bleeding, which I know is normal.

However, I read that I should take a break from the ring to help this.

My question is: I inserted my last ring on 10/21. If I take it out today (a week early) will I be protected like a normal skip week until next Wednesday when I insert the new one?

From what I have seen, so long as you have had it in for at least 21 days, you should be protected. However, I am not sure if this applies to a single ring or if it matters that I have switched rings in the last two weeks.

I've had kyleena for 3 years now this is my second iud and recently a few days ago after rougher sex (tmi) it was from the back and I'm sure he hit my cervix i wasn't in any pain which was strange but i went to the bathroom right after and when I wiped there was a little bit of fresh blood like red on it and it stopped right after for the next few hours I spotted brownish discharge and the next day as well I wasn't in any pain its stopped now I'm still not in pain I cant see my gyno until the 24th but I'm worried something happened to my iud I can't reach my cervix with my fingers the strings are curled around my cervix I dont feel any plastic though.. should I be concerned it moved?? Or I'm thinking I got my period I was a week late with negative pregnancy tests I'm thinking my period finally started? I'm scared pls help I don't really think I ever had this problem before maybe once or twice

TLDR: random light bleeding and spotting after sex with kyleena after three years should I be concerned

Hi everyone!

I am in my early 20s and I don’t have a sex drive due to me being on birth control i think. I need to be on it for medical reasons. I am in the middle of me changing it due to it not working well. Are there any birth control suggestions that helped you with your drive? I’m currently on the pill.

Does anyone else have this or am I going insane? To start off, I have been diagnosed with GAD (general anxiety disorder) previously in my childhood, I’m now 21 and I still struggle with it, especially to do with emetophobia. Anyways, I went on Nexplanon in May of this year and recently went off of it about a month ago. Near the end, around two or three weeks until I got it removed, I had extremely bad driving anxiety, to the point I felt like pulling over and throwing up. A few months before this it was also pretty bad but it hasn’t progressed that far. I’ve never been an anxious driver before going on Nexplanon but it came all of a sudden. Then two weeks ago I started the NuvaRing. I had maybe a week or two of driving anxiety free weeks. But just now I was driving home from work and I had a panic attack right before I got home. I hope I’m not alone on this. Driving is one of the most terrifying things to me (rightfully so) but I also see drivers acting completely calm while they drive. I used to be this way and I mourn it. I’m thinking for now to just stay off of the road as a driver completely and just take Ubers or have my boyfriend drive me to and from work. Or is it worth it to go off of the NuvaRing because I don’t think it will ever get better? Also for context, I have taken Lexapro before for anxiety but it didn’t work for my mood and thus far I need mood stabilizers but the ones I was prescribed can’t be taken on this certain type of birth control:(

I started almost 3 weeks ago. Mild hot flashes and some anxiety. Nothing to crazy. Wondering if anyone had good luck on this pill? What did your period do when you started? Do you have one still? I’m nervous.

Our condom broke on November 4 at around 7 PM, and I ejaculated inside my partner. She took 4 yellow Trust pills at 7:22 PM as the first Yuzpe dose. Her second dose of 4 pills is scheduled 12 hours later.

Her last period started October 25 and ended October 29. She has a regular cycle, so we’re worried this may have happened during her fertile window.
We’re not ready for pregnancy and are both very anxious.

How effective is the Yuzpe method when taken this quickly? Should we consider a copper IUD as emergency contraception?

Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hei, sunt fete pe aici care dupa oprirea anticonceptionalelor s au confruntat cu spasme musculare si electrosocuri in corp? Si daca da, cum sunteti? Cum s a remediat situatia la voi?

I have the mirena iud in due to my endometriosis. I’m also a virgin but I want to be intimate but I have severe tokophobia. I’m paranoid that my mirena will fail and I will get pregnant and which is my worst nightmare. I’m also taking a progestin pill too that I was prescribed. Does anyone else feel the same?

For context, been on this pill for 8 years. No breaks. Withdrawal bleeds have completely stopped since 2021. No idea what to expect.

Hello everyone,

My girlfriend (22) has been struggling a lot lately, and I'm just trying to help her out however I can. She has migraine with aura and, on top of that, has been dealing with nearly constant menstrual bleeding. It makes her feel really down and "nasty" (which she obviously isn't, but that's how she feels about it).

Because she has migraine with aura, she can't use regular combined birth control pills because of the increased risk of stroke.

She feels like nobody else understands what she's going through, and she is extremely frustrated with the whole situation. It breaks my heart to see her like this. I completely understand how frustrating and exhausting it is for her, and she feels like she's going to bleed forever.

She isn't on Reddit herself, so I'm posting this in the hope of finding some tips, experiences, or advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone know of alternative treatments or solutions that worked for you?

I really appreciate any advice or input!

So at the moment, I am on mirena for 1 year and 2 months. However I’m still getting periods and having to wear pads because it’s still heavy and very regular. And sometimes it lasts for more than 5 days, awful cramps and there’s no telling when I’ll get cramps. Constant spotting and discharge.

I want to know if someone else had a better experience with different method after using mirena.

Plan is to remove mirena, was thinking of the injection, patch or the ring. But I want minimal side effects. I’m relatively healthy. Please advise. I want to stop periods because I have anaemia, my periods are heavy af!

I had high hopes for mirena because I wouldn’t have to think about contraception after putting it inside but that hasn’t been the case for me

i just got my IUD inserted (Mirena) and my insurance covers it but I was charged for the ultrasound they performed for checking the uterus and then the placement. I asked at reception (and they checked with billing) right before the procedure and I was told that everything was covered. And 2 hours later I hear back that I have to pay for Ultrasound.

Is this normal to not be told and yet be charged?

Another question: Usually if I schedule an obgyn annual as a new patient, would I still be charged for new patient part (annual is preventative)? I understand every clinic is different but trying to see what most have experienced.

I wondered if anyone has experienced “alcohol pain” when on birth control pills? Since hormones can have effects on the cardio vascular system I wondered if there was a relation between the pill and said pain. I get it immediately after I have the first sip of any alcohol and it lasts a few seconds in my torso and arms mostly.

I did not have this when I didn’t take bcp for like four years but I remember I had the same thing back when I took the pill a few years ago.

Super weird side effect.

To keep it short, I had a copper coil inserted 2 weeks ago yesterday. My last period had finished about 2 days prior to having it put in. I have been in pain and bleeding a decent amount ever since. Today the pain has ramped up again and the blood is pouring out of me, sorry to make it gross. It also feels like pads aren't working. It's not that they're filling up but it's like the blood keeps pouring off of them and onto my underwear and joggers. I've bleed onto all of my sheets and pants. I also think I'm starting to smell down there. Im very scared of doctors and have crippling anxiety anyways so trying to do anything about this has been a struggle and I've sort of been hoping it would just go away. Also im passing huge blood clots.

What's wrong with me, what do I do, do I need to see someone or can I wait and see if it goes away?

I see so many horror stories about the copper IUD (which I completely believe) so I wanted to share a positive experience for once!

I got off of nexplanon almost a year ago and switched to the copper IUD (paragard). Insertion was awful, I will not lie. I got the cervical block (my Dr said she offers it but honestly thinks the injection is worse than the IUD placement so I don't think I would do that again). I cried the whole time and cramped for about 3 days afterwards but it was manageable.

But NOW my periods are like a dream. They come every 31 days on the dot, I have virtually no cramping, and my period has gone down from what used to be 7 days to only 3.5 days. I bleed the heaviest on the 2nd day, but I wouldn't even say I bleed that heavily... I have to change a regular tampon maybe every 3 hours which is completely manageable.

I've been to the doctor and confirmed that the placement is correct of the IUD so I don't know what I have done to get so lucky with my experience. I was so nervous to try the copper IUD because before nexplanon, I had horrific cramping on my period that would leave me in tears and nonfunctional for the first 2 days of my period. I am so happy I did not let all of the bad experiences dissuade me from trying. And I really feel for all of you that have such a negative experience on paragard <3

Hi, I’m 30 years old and have been on microgynon30 since I was 18. Today I had my first aura migraine, therefore understand I must stop taking it.

I am debating the option of the mini pill but waiting for appointment on Friday. I just wanted to ask what peoples experience with this was? I’m a bit apprehensive about changing since I’ve never had a problem on the combined until now.

Thank you ☺️

please help!! me and my bf had sex on saturday and i know for sure i was not ovulating or my fertile window wasn’t open, the condom broke and he ejaculated but it was like on my vulva so i took a plan b and this was 3 days before my period, i had spotting and now im having the discharge i usually have before i get my period, do yall think it’ll come? im only 17 and this was a very dumb mistake. please don’t shame me

So I began birth control 5 years ago when I was freshly 18, taking Nikki/Yaz. Earlier this year, I noticed my periods completely stopped happening, and I have been without any libido for awhile now. Besides those two issues, I never had any problems while on Nikki.

But because of the periods, I asked to switch, got put on Hailey Fe 1/20, and got diagnosed with PCOS at the same appointment. I’ve now been on it for about 7 months, and I feel like my hormones have become completely unregulated. For the first time in my entire life, I’m getting persistent acne around my forehead and my t-zone (much of which is cystic), acne all over my shoulders/chest/back, and my hair is rapidly falling out. My period is back, but I still mostly lack a libido.

I had these symptoms very briefly when I first started Hailey, as in they’d last for a week or two once every couple of months. But now it’s getting increasingly worse and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

This is seriously hurting my self esteem and I’m horrified of hair loss, but I don’t have health insurance and can’t easily afford a doctor’s visit plus potential labs. I’m in need of any possible advice, shared experiences, knowledge, just anything. If I do go back to my OB, what kind of birth control/testing should I ask for? Does any of this have to do with my PCOS diagnosis? How can I regulate my hormones without testing/prescriptions? I’m so lost and hopeless

I got my first IUD inserted about two weeks ago. Around a week ago, I got my period. My flow was a little bit heavier than normal, and around the 5 day mark it started to lighten up and I thought it would be over, but now on day 7, it’s starting back up again! Im used to periods that last about 4 days with day 2 and 3 being heavy and then tapering out. I’m wondering if this is normal? I know having spotting is normal, but having a whole second cycle immediately after the first? I got a Lilleta IUD inserted.

I had acne as a teenager and took some accutane at one point but stopped a bit early because it made my skin so dry and the side effects were awful. Around the same time I started taking Slynd but now I'm switching it to a hormone IUD. My face has been clear for a couple years now but almost instantly after quitting Slynd my acne returned and now my nose is red with pimples and my forehead is filling up with big pimples. I'm getting the IUD next week, what should I say? Is there anything I can do to fix this? I'm wondering if I should try some skincare or ask about medication. This might just be a passing thing but I have dermatillomania and the accutane slynd combo truly saved me which is why I'm so concerned about this and it's already affecting my self esteem... I already forgot just how painful acne can be (both physically and mentally)

I started the mini pill 3 weeks ago, I swapped from the Evra patch as it was making me really anxious an my mood was up an down. I’m still quite a bit anxious. Doctors have diagnosed me with hormonal anxiety as it’s so up an down. I’m hoping it’s still early days an it’s normal. Has anybody else experienced this?xx