Most effective birth control for me ?

[Athena22]

I'm currently taking many seizure medications that are on HIGH doses.
And I am looking for a different for of birth control then the pill which I am currently taking.
One of them is even processing the the pill to a lower does. :/
I'm a sexually active but I havent had sex in awhile, I'm not sure if thats what sexually active is, but I'm and adult (20 btw) and and not afraid to talk about sex.
What I am afraid of is at the moment is getting pregnant, having children when I dont have a job, and my age, my friends are mothers right now, married, and I cannot be one. There is a very high risk with my medication levels for something to highly go wrong.. aswell if I even do get pregnant on accident I cant just drastically get off my medication, which would trigger. And my having a seizure during pregnancy? huh?
Anyways= does anyone know which birth control contraceptive I should be using since the pill isnt very effective.

 

[valeriedl]

Before I had epilepsy I was on the pill. I had horrible cramps, irregular beading, pms like crazy and everything else that came along with your period. When Depo-Provera, the shot, came out I started taking it and didn't have a period anymore, or anything else came along with it.

When I was diagnosed with epilepsy I was afraid I was going to have to go off of it and start taking something else. I am also taking high dosages of many meds but both my neuro and gyno said I'd have no problems staying on Depo-Provera. And I never did no matter what epilepsy med I was on or the dose through the years of trying to figure out which med worked best for my seizures. Everyone is different when it comes to meds though so you want to talk it over with your gyno and neuro if you would decide to take it.

 

[AlohaBird]

I would go with a non hormonal method if I were you.

Back in the day when I was diagnosed, nobody knew about the interactions between BC pills and AEDs (or else my neuro was just incredibly incompetent, also a possibility). Anyway, I was on Tegretol which makes BC pills less effective and also gives you a higher risk of miscarriage.
That's what happened to me. No fun.

Nobody likes condoms but they do work. There is also the diaphragm, highly effective if somewhat of a pain to insert. Then there are the next-gen IUDs which are effective and more romantic in that you don't have to say, "hold that thought while we fiddle around with latex things".

The choice to me would come down to how often you are "active". If you have a steady partner, then I would think an IUD would be best. If it's only now and then, either get a diaphragm or make him get some condoms

STD public service announcement: )) You should be using condoms anyway until you are in a steady relationship where you both have been tested and you trust that he is not getting out anywhere he shouldn't be.

 

[Nakamova]

I can recommend the IUD...

 

[N Sperlo]

The bes t form of birth coontrol is abstinence. Thats no fun though.

When you are worried about the interactions of drugs, an IUD would be the best choice IMHO. Until then keep using a condom for sure.

Like Aloha said, be smart about knowing when to use a condom, birth control or not.

 

[Dutch mom]

I am very content with a Mirena. Less hormones, directly on the right spot instead of hormones going all over my veins and after a while no menstruation at all. http://www.mirena-us.com/about-mirena/how-mirena-works.php Doesn't protect against HIV and sexual diseases so combine with condoms unless you have a steady relationship and are both tested.

 

[Blonde Angel]

Well Dutch mom beat me to it ^^^^ the Mirena was suggested by my Daughter's Gynaecologist when hormonal control is no longer effective due to some epilepsy meds interfering with the Pill effectiveness.

We are aiming to get one inserted when my girl is about 15 yrs of age.. not before.

Athena, it might be an idea to check this Mirena out.
As Dutch mom and others have already stated be safe against the STD stuff.

 

[AlohaBird]

My father was a very practical man. He always told his daughters, "Be good, and if you can't be good, be careful." Sound advice.

I wish the Mirena had been available back when I still had to deal with such things (there is definitely an upside to menopause ). The original IUDs were these metal things that clanked around inside and often caused horrendous cramping and heavy periods. The new ones like the Mirena are lightweight plastic and contain just enough progestin to actually reduce your flow.

 

[Dutch mom]

FYI. Mirena was no pleasure at all in the first 3-4 months. I had a lot of cramps and irregular bits of blood loss. I really doubted to let it remove. When my body was adjusted to it, the side effects disappeared and for a year or so I lost just a little bit of blood spots each month for two or three days. Since the second year I don't have any blood loss at all anymore. I have my 3rd Mirena now. It has to be replaced every 5-6 years. the first placement was painless since I gave birth to my twins 5 weeks before, the second placement was painful (done by a male gynecologist), the third placement (done by a female) was just a little bit painful. Especially the removal of the old one was painful, the placement of the new one was less painful. I understand a placement in young women who didn't gave birth yet usually is done with local anesthesia. I got the third one last year and the gynecologist told me she expected me the have just one more after this one (I am age 46.) Before Mirena and having my second and third child (twins) I used the Microgynon 30 pill since I was age 16. Never used condoms. HIV was not known yet publicly when I had my first sexual contact, we just heard about gay people having aids in the late eighties, and I am with my husband since I was 18.