The Birth Control Thread - Because Aunty Flow Motherfucking Blows

[Flaming_Barghast]

Birth control is generally bad for societies, period. The moments you tell people they can fuck with no consequences, they do. Whilst 99.9% of the time it goes perfectly well, if you have a society of just 2000 people fucking once a week, you have at least one unplanned pregnancy a week. (I know, technically this decreases after the first pregnancy but the point still stands.)

After this, then dad runs away because he just wanted to bust and mum is left with the kid with society writ large paying for it. Society has to pay for it economically, via taxes. They have to pay for it politically, as unmarried mothers create voting blocks. And they have to pay for it socially as fatherless men are overwhelmingly involved in crime, especially crime against women.

One of my most controversial opinions is that birth control should be illegal, and I didn't come to that conclusion lightly. I used to think it was a 'privacy of their own room' kind of deal, but technology and its consequences is something that all of society gets a say in. Especially when it comes to children, that society ultimately exists to protect and nurture.

Tbf birth control can actually help with hormonal issues. My periods were so bad as a kid I had to take it. When I wasn't on it I legit got anemic.

 

[gampboonerisms]

I love my bc. I used to have a period every 1.5-2 months, but I started having one every month. I hate my body. I hate everything to do with periods. I hate hate the sexual health aisle (pads, tampons, and condoms) it just fucking freaks me out. I honestly can't describe how much I hate having a female body, but bc helps that. The mood swings stopped, the depression stopped for a while (extenuating circumstances), I didn't gorge myself into a sugar coma to stop me from crying cause I fucking hated going to the bathroom 6 times a day. BC was a saving grace for me. I think any woman over 18 without birth control is fucking stupid, why take the chance when you're sexually active, but I know not everyone can take it.
Yeah it took a few tries to get the right pill, but hopefully I'll be in menopause soon so I don't have to worry about it.
My mother (rather the woman who lived in the same house as I grew up) made me feel so shitty as a teen with a period. I couldn't even leave a pad in the trashcan without some fucking comment from someone in the house. So yeah I feel like shit every time I have a period, can only wonder why when I was made fun of by my own family when I had it.
Related: I'm asexual
related: fuck you mom and it brings me glee that I will never "have a grandchild" for that bitch

 

[lurk_moar]

I am going to spoil the plot. Obesity made my PCOS and PMS very bad. Birth control is just a bandaid.

I feel better so much better now that I am overweight instead of borderline morbidly obese. I have nine more pounds to lose until I am at a healthy BMI. Obesity caused issues with my energy especially at that time of the month.

 

[Fucky Chucky]

I am going to spoil the plot. Obesity made my PCOS and PMS very bad. Birth control is just a bandaid.

I feel better so much better now that I am overweight instead of borderline morbidly obese. I have nine more pounds to lose until I am at a healthy BMI. Obesity caused issues with my energy especially at that time of the month.

Good job, you did something very difficult and it sounds like you're on the mend. Much admiration.

 

[Akashic Retard]

This thread is an immense help to my cataloguing all the female users of the site.

 

[DontDoxThanks]

Patch squad representing.

Spoiler

I fucking love the patch. I had implant 2x before and I would find myself becoming mega fucking panicked because I knew I had an upcoming "surgery" to remove it and it would stress me out hardcore. Also I was so irregular on implants and I wanted to be able to know when I was going to be on.
Never had a patch come off, even at a waterpark all day.
I do:
left leg - right leg - left leg - week off
It makes it crazy easy to remember what week I'm up to because I just look down lol.
Also in UK you can just order them from Lloyds pharmacy it's about £50 for 6 months and you just need your weight/height/blood pressure checked and they will fucking *mail* it out to you. Golden. Easiest least invasive method ever.

If I could just easily go to a doctor and get everything internally removed that would be my first choice however.

 

[Azovka]

It's supposed to bring your hormone levels back to normal, and thus reduce acné, unwanted hair growth etc. It won't give you a cycle though - the bleeding you experience from the 21-day pill is just a "fake" period, induced by the hormone withdrawal, not an actual one. So basically, it won't cure PCOS, but it will lessen the symptoms that come with it.

With that being said, the pill does come with unwanted side effects that may or may not show themselves for you, so if it feels wrong, talk about it with your doctor and don't hesitate to change. There are two types of pills - "mini" ones that only have progesterone, or else combined (progesterone and oestrogen), and some might not work as well as others for your particular type of situation. And make sure to do blood work once a year at least to see if it impacts your cholesterol & triglyceride levels (it did for me).

Also, what I wish I had done before getting put on the pill was simply check my hormone levels. Like, it's pointless to do it when on the pill because your hormones are balanced artificially, but otherwise? It would've helped to see how bad things were or where I was at. So if you have the possibility to see an endocrinologist, you should probably go for it before starting treatment.

I was put on the pill as soon as I was diagnosed with PCOS, and the doctor kept saying "it's the only solution" etc. so I didn't really question it much. It didn't feel like I had any side effects, but it didn't really help either - I had to follow a 6-month Roaccutane (Isotretinoin) treatment to get rid of the acné. With that being said, I weighted about 100kg (220lbs), so my symptoms were no doubt worsened by the excess weight.

Now years later, I'm at 73kg (160lbs) for 1m75, which puts me in normal weight range. And yet, I did a routine blood test two weeks ago, and I have the cholesterol and triglyceride levels of a 50 year old obese diabetic - 2.97 g/l for the cholesterol when the norm is 1.60 to 2.20, and 2.56 g/l for triglycerides when the norm is 0.5 to 1.50. I tend to bruise excessively now, which never happened to me before. For instance, after playing volleyball for one hour, my forearms turn completely black and blue, when that shit never used to happen prior to taking the pill. And my knees get blue and bruised from sitting in seiza position.

And even with all this, the GP, gynaecologist, and dermatologist have all told me to "keep up the pill because PCOS", and dismissed my concerns about the blood tests and bruising as "just keep losing weight, duh". I already track my food compulsively, don't drink alcohol, don't eat fatty or sugary shit, no highly processed food, but it doesn't seem to matter to them. (I was at 67kg (147lbs) last year, but went to 73kg when I started exercising and building up muscle mass seriously).

Either way, I dropped the pill this week (I had been taking Yaz since August, and Cerazette prior to that), and I guess we'll see how it goes. As far as I've noticed though, the PCOS symptoms have been lessened way more by simply dropping weight and eating healthy than by the pill, so just keep that in mind.

Update on my April post regarding the pill : just did bloodwork, and my cholesterol and triglycerides are back to normal (1.97g/l cholesterol and 0.96g/l triglycerides), so it was indeed the pill that was responsible for my fucked up results three months ago.

I haven’t changed jack shit to my lifestyle in those three months despite the gynaecologist and GP telling me “nah fam, don’t stop the pill. Just change your diet”. Not that I have an unhealthy lifestyle in the first place, but I wasn’t going to drop red meat or cheese before trying going off the pill.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that my libido’s back, and overall, I just feel better. I get it that BC might work for a lot of people, but clearly it didn’t for me. And I would advise any of you on it to do bloodwork like once a year to see if it fucks you up (since you can’t really feel whether or not you have high cholesterol until your arteries clog up and you die).

Anyways, I had been on the pill for years, and this whole experience really put me off. Like, BC (pill, implant) is being marketed quite aggressively here in France, as in every doctor will tell you that it’s the best (nay, only) way, but nobody really talks about the risks. Hell, technically, you aren’t even supposed to be using BC if you smoke, but does anyone care ? Nope. (I don’t but all of my friends do and they’re on it).

 

[eternal dog mongler]

Anyways, I had been on the pill for years, and this whole experience really put me off. Like, BC (pill, implant) is being marketed quite aggressively here in France, as in every doctor will tell you that it’s the best (nay, only) way, but nobody really talks about the risks. Hell, technically, you aren’t even supposed to be using BC if you smoke, but does anyone care ? Nope. (I don’t but all of my friends do and they’re on it).

In the US at least the current guidance is that it's okay if you smoke and you're under 35, which I think is...a bit lenient. In your 20s it's probably not so bad but clotting risk starts to skyrocket comparatively once you hit 30. I actually knew an MtF back in ye olde days who was buying birth control pills from women who weren't using them in order to transition and he caught a pulmonary embolism and died from it, and he was only 20 years old.

The progestin-only pill is often a good alternative as long as someone's good at taking pills on time. You need to take it in the same three-hour window each day, but it doesn't have the combined oral contraceptive's clotting risks.

 

[Jimmy Hopkins]

Birth control is awful for women and directly related to causing them more mental health problems. Shit should be totally banned, it's predatory and barbaric.
Why can't you just used condoms or have a kid? You'd be far more happy and fulfilled in the long term.

“newer evidence suggests that the steroidal activity of lower-dosage modern contraceptives do not have a clinically relevant physiological impact on women’s mood or mood-related neuroendocrine functioning.”

 

[Colonel Gaddafi]

I don’t blame women who don’t use hormonal contraception. So then you have to rely on men to use condoms, and we all they would rather not. And they fail with improper use.

I hate to be ‘that guy’ here but there are non hormonal birth control methods women have easy access to so you don’t have to ‘rely on men’. Go to any pharmacy and there are inserts, films, sponges, gels, foams, female condoms...all over the counter and fairly cheap, even free in some clinics. Diaphragms and cervical caps are also a thing and more than likely what your grandma used to prevent pregnancy. Spermicidal methods are not the best, they’re statistically about the same as a condom, but they are an option if you can’t handle hormonal methods. Diaphragms aren’t as effective as the pill, but still hover around 88% effectiveness.

If you’re concerned about preventing pregnancy then there’s really never an excuse to have completely unprotected sex here in the west where we are spoiled for choice.

 

[RebatsivePulsard]

I hate to be ‘that guy’ here but there are non hormonal birth control methods women have easy access to so you don’t have to ‘rely on men’. Go to any pharmacy and there are inserts, films, sponges, gels, foams, female condoms...all over the counter and fairly cheap, even free in some clinics. Diaphragms and cervical caps are also a thing and more than likely what your grandma used to prevent pregnancy. Spermicidal methods are not the best, they’re statistically about the same as a condom, but they are an option if you can’t handle hormonal methods. Diaphragms aren’t as effective as the pill, but still hover around 88% effectiveness.

If you’re concerned about preventing pregnancy then there’s really never an excuse to have completely unprotected sex here in the west where we are spoiled for choice.

You actually are that guy here. Contraception is always the mutual responsibility of both partners. Any guy who thinks otherwise deserves to have a limp dick for life.

 

[Fialovy]

It's honestly a wonder shit like America's teen pregnancy rate isn't even higher than it is, at least in the south given how massively fucked the system is on every level.

Used to be higher, but internet access at teen's fingertips helps especially since it is easy to find information on birth control and stuff online. Plus, well, a lot of teens are having sex less now more than ever for lots of different reasons.

Though there are still the unfortunate kids who have stuff like Convenant Eyes installed on their computers by their parents or are too afraid to look up sex stuff out of fear of not being able to "unsee." Like, seriously, a lot of churches tend to say that (especially to boys because of course girls don't use porn or masturbate) if you look at porn once, you will get addicted and are unclean you will never have good sex when you get married. This really sucks especially since a lot of kids often find porn on accident. I know that was a lot of experiences with a lot kids in the 2000s looking up anything about Pokemon and finding a bunch of furry shit.

 

[Miss Misery]

I hate to be ‘that guy’ here but there are non hormonal birth control methods women have easy access to so you don’t have to ‘rely on men’. Go to any pharmacy and there are inserts, films, sponges, gels, foams, female condoms...all over the counter and fairly cheap, even free in some clinics. Diaphragms and cervical caps are also a thing and more than likely what your grandma used to prevent pregnancy. Spermicidal methods are not the best, they’re statistically about the same as a condom, but they are an option if you can’t handle hormonal methods. Diaphragms aren’t as effective as the pill, but still hover around 88% effectiveness.

If you’re concerned about preventing pregnancy then there’s really never an excuse to have completely unprotected sex here in the west where we are spoiled for choice.

Spermicides fuck with your vaginal flora and cause irritation and lesions and pretty much every barrier contraceptive (except condoms) requires the use of spermicide. So no thanks.

 

[Colonel Gaddafi]

You actually are that guy here. Contraception is always the mutual responsibility of both partners. Any guy who thinks otherwise deserves to have a limp dick for life.

In a perfect world sure, but that’s not how life works. You can’t rely on another person to protect you against an unwanted pregnancy.

Spermicides fuck with your vaginal flora and cause irritation and lesions and pretty much every barrier contraceptive (except condoms) requires the use of spermicide. So no thanks.

Yeah? So can a penis by introducing new microbes though small tears caused by sex lol, though if I had a vagina I’d rather have a yeast infection than an increased risk of breast or cervical cancer, but that’s not the point. (Here’s a link if you are curious about the minimal effects of spermicide on the vaginal flora though: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380307/) The point is that there are other opinions, and women can buy both male and female condoms, regardless.

 

[Miss Misery]

Yeah? So can a penis by introducing new microbes though small tears caused by sex lol, though if I had a vagina I’d rather have a yeast infection than an increased risk of breast or cervical cancer, but that’s not the point. (Here’s a link if you are curious about the minimal effects of spermicide on the vaginal flora though: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380307/) The point is that there are other opinions, and women can buy both male and female condoms, regardless.

No one is saying that it's men's responsibility to buy condoms - I'm sure all of us vagina havers have bought condoms. It's a matter of getting the penis haver to use them. That's why we have to "rely on men".

Female condoms suck, btw.

 

[Colonel Gaddafi]

No one is saying that it's men's responsibility to buy condoms - I'm sure all of us vagina havers have bought condoms. It's a matter of getting the penis haver to use them. That's why we have to "rely on men".

Female condoms suck, btw.

Telling them that no condom equals no sex is usually the way that goes. If they refuse then they’re definitely not someone you’d want to sleep with anyway. Edit...or maybe they are based on the ratings this comment is getting lol.

Edit: Of course they do, male condoms suck too which is why you have men who are reluctant to wear them. Which is worse is arguable, though I too would lean towards the female ones.

 

[CaseyTatumm]

I will never understand why there are so many "unplanned pregnancies." This is speaking as a woman. If you actively choose to have unprotected sex, despite knowing that you'll likely conceive a child by letting some dude jizz in you, then that pregnancy is not unplanned. Obviously there will be contraceptions failing, but I find it incredibly suspicious that roughly half of all pregnancies are unplanned.

Say no if he doesn't want to wear a condom, and then go masturbate or something if you're still horny. Do something other than sex if you have no contraception but don't want to get pregnant. Try anal or a blowjob. Your ass and mouth don't have a uterus.

If you are a grown ass woman/man, especially in this day and age, you should know that sex = baby. Obviously I'm not talking about rape or incest cases, I'm talking about consensual relationships. Don't do unprotected vaginal sex if you don't want a child, it's more simple than you'd think.

Especially don't have unprotected sex if you know you're gonna be a shit mother/father or know that no one will take care of your crotch goblin. That's just borderline child abuse.

100% agree with you. I get shit happens but pregnancy is pretty easy to prevent.

 

[Colonel Gaddafi]

100% agree with you. I get shit happens but pregnancy is pretty easy to prevent.

Outside of intoxication or being plain retarded? It probably has to do the the gross ignorance to the variety of contraceptives, the availability of them, their correct usage, and potential side effects. Most people learn crap from gossip amongst their peers and are too lazy or embarrassed to do any actual research or ask their gynecologist/GP. That and relying on the person you’re hooking up with to be as serious as you are about preventing pregnancy (the old ‘she’s probably on the pill’/‘I trust him to use a condom/pull out’ song and dance). When, unfortunately, unless you’re in a committed relationship, you have to assume that the only one who’s going to be looking out for your best interests is you.

 

[Fialovy]

Hi, can we stop sperging about contraception and get back to the potato babies?

I have a feeling this abortion sperging and stuff is exactly what the moai statues are for

 

[JaneThough]

"Can we talk about abortion?"
"Only in reference to tard babies!"
Cue a ton of randos showing up to sperg about abortion and birth control.

This is why we can't have nice things.