It is in addition to condoms.
The OP’s daughter wants birth control, possibly an IUD, to use in conjunction with condoms?
My doctor had told me that IUD is recommended for a woman that has already given vaginal birth. Some women has excessive cramping and bleeding. It didn’t suit my body. There is a small risk of perforation of the uterus when it is inserted.
My daughter had a life-threatening DVT in December. After surgery, she ended up on Xarelto and cannot take hormonal BC. Of course, the Xarelto, a blood thinner, gives her horrible periods. Hormonal IUDs are safe for women on blood thinners and have the added benefit of making periods lighter.
Condoms protect against STDs and are good at preventing pregnancy if used correctly, but IUD s are VERY VERY good at preventing pregnancy. Couples in a monogamous relationship would skip the condoms, I hope young people NOT in one use them as well.
@romanigypsyeyes do you know how the Nuvaring hormones compare with the IUD vs BC pills? I see people saying they don’t like the side effect of pills hormones, but then they are ok with an IUD. Is the Nuvaring closer to an IUD hormone-wise or BC pills? (I know you’re not an MD but I am just looking for general info)
Condoms are 98% effective when used correctly (which really isn’t that difficult especially in a monogamous relationship). The added benefits of helping prevent STDs and zero side effects are big plusses.
Of course condoms have that double benefit of BC + STD.
In a monogamous relationship, couples can choose what to use without much thought about STDs (standard disclaimer about cheating etc). IUDs last 3-12 years and are pretty much one-and-done and require little to no further thoughtso make an excellent backup.
My D is interested in an IUD partially for the lighter/more infrequent period effect, in addition to a reliable form of birth control that is there when she needs it, even in bad case scenarios I really would rather not think too much about.
In any case, she feels now is the time to get it, while it is still fully covered by insurance (due to the ACA requiring that all types of BC be covered). They can cost up to $1,000 otherwise.
@racult THIS is exactly what I was talking about. It’s complete BS. Women who haven’t given birth are just as recommended as those who have.
@surfcity the OP was looking at the copper IUD which doesn’t have any hormones.
Continuous methods like the implant, ring, etc release fewer hormones than the traditional pill. What makes the big difference though (in terms of side effects) is the fact that it’s constant. There isn’t spikes and gaps like with the pill. For me, that was the kicker that made me not like the pill. Here is a pretty good more indepth article if you’re interested: https://www.bedsider.org/features/317-all-about-hormones (I love bedsider)
@Iglooo As far as I know, the issue with rejection is usually due to the uterus not liking having a foreign object and thus expelling it. This could happen regardless of whether the IUD was hormonal or copper. I think there’s a lower risk of this happening if the IUD is inserted by an experienced practitioner.
@surfcity Usually hormone levels are lower with the ring than the pill (also you wouldn’t have the spikes that @romanigypsyeyes mentioned). They are still much higher than they would be with an IUD though. Also, an IUD only has progesterone while Nuvaring has both estrogen and progesterone.
Both Ds (doctor/ 4th year med student) have a Mirena. Both Ds recommend Mirena to all their friends and their patients.
Both Ds are on their second Mirena. Both experienced some minor cramping (like bad menstrual cramps) and spotting immediately after insertion, but by the 3 month mark their period had become noticeably lighter and shorter. Both experienced the beneficial side effect of no more menstrual cramps.
Insertion is not difficult and the risk of perforation is extremely low–nearly non-existent-- if the healthcare provider is experienced with IUDs. (Both Ds leaned how to place IUDs when they worked in the women’s health clinic during med school. The clinic director/physician who taught them has placed literally tens of thousands of IUDs in women of all ages, including thousands under trying primitive conditions in rural sub-Saharan Africa. The clinic director/physician has never had a patient perforate.)
@raclut Women do not need to have ever been pregnant to to have given birth to be an excellent candidate for Mirena.
BTW, if you live in Colorado, Mirena is free at any Title X family planning clinic.
@wayoutwestmom It’s been awhile and maybe things have changed. I was only mentioning what was said to me by my doctor. My doctor is 64 years old and very experienced. Just now reading WebMD, “IUD insertion is easiest in women who have had a vaginal childbirth in the past.”
I had a really bad experience with it and was really miserable to the point it had to be removed. Everyone has their own experience and I was just sharing mine. Doesn’t mean OP’s daughter would have any issues with it.
OP, your D might consider this post to be “over-sharing”
Anyway, my second-hand experience with the copper IUD is that there were increased cramps, back pain and heavier periods for a few months. After that time, the only real side effect is that periods might be a day or two longer. Pros outweigh the cons since this person experienced considerable nausea with BC pills and was reluctant to try any method involving hormones.
I’ll follow up that my D said getting the IUD put in was painful an 8 on a scale of one to ten. She has been happy though with it once the cramping subsided. Supposedly the timeframe of the post insertion cramping can really vary. Mine had cramping for several months. Another parent reported her D had no cramping at all.
@eh1234 We as parents learn from each others experiences to help our own kids. I don’t think this has been discussed before and it is always helpful to know the pros and cons of something and other peoples experiences.
Sometimes we as parents don’t know how to advise our kids so it is ok to seek out guidance from others. At the end of the day the OP is only trying to help her daughter find a solution that best suits her. At times some sensitive topics are discussed in Parent Café.
My D2 has been through it all because of various reactions to pills and arm implants ,and now has had an IUD implanted.
Her sister has had one for years,
Thus is such a burden on woman. It is all bad
Why is there not a male birth control drug? There are a few to help with erections, but not any for birtth control.
A cheap, easily reversible, long lasting (up to 10 years) male contraceptive is in Phase III clinical trials in India. RISUG–Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_inhibition_of_sperm_under_guidance
It’s called [url=<a href=“https://www.parsemus.org/projects/vasalgel/%5DVasalgel%5B/url”>https://www.parsemus.org/projects/vasalgel/]Vasalgel[/url] in the US and US clinical trials will begin next year.
It doesn’t have to be a “burden.” Make the man use a condom every time.
Many of us women like the set it and forget it method.
That said, I’m so excited the male BC is finally coming to the US. Long overdue in my opinion.
There is Nexplanon a small implant (inner part of upper arm) that lasts 3 years and is 99% effective. It’s non estrogen based. It can be removed at any time without any effect on ability to conceive.
Most importantly is to discuss HPV awareness with your D. If she hasn’t received the vaccine it’s worth researching the pros and cons. There is an alarming rise in head and neck cancers striking kids as young as their twenties. However it’s only best if given before one becomes sexually active hence the reason why it’s pushed to be given to kids as young as 11.
I know women who have used copper IUD. Some have done fine with it and with others it embedded into their uterus and have had to have surgery to remove it. One ended up getting a hysterectomy along with the IUD removal because of her heavy bleeding (it caused severe anemia). She was finished having kids anyway.
I have had both a copper IUD and the Mirena. My periods were very heavy with the copper and very light with Mirena. If I were to pick again it would be Mirena.
Yes the strings could be felt by husband on the first one. They somehow got coiled up with only a short bit out of the cervix. For the second one, they did not coil so it wasn’t an issue. It is like nylon fishing line, so yes the ends are poke-y.