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Myth-Busting

Jill

emma
Emma Goldman speaks to a crowd about birth control in New York City’s Union Square. via.

via Feministing, CNN has a good article which clears up 10 myths about the pill. The only one I have a quibble with is the idea that the pill won’t make you gain weight. It probably won’t, but some women — like me — are pretty sensitive to hormonal fluctuations, and certain types of birth control pills will make us gain weight, or make our breasts bigger, or make us emotionally unstable, or make us constantly nauseated (among other side effects). If it’s an issue, try a different type of pill, or do what I did and switch to the low-hormone NuvaRing (which I love). If hormonal methods are out of the question, there’s always the good old IUD, one of the most popular forms of birth control in the world. And, of course, use barrier methods like internal and external condoms (but not at the same time) for protection against pregnancy STIs.

And don’t forget to back up your birth control by having emergency contraception on-hand.

32 thoughts on Myth-Busting

  1. And don’t forget to back up your birth control by having emergency contraception on-hand.

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is only if you’re using barrier methods (condoms, diaphragm, etc.) or spermicide, and you either forget to use it or it malfunctions, right? Because if you’re using hormonal birth control already, you don’t need emergency contraception.

  2. im excited about ‘mirena’ the 5 year version of the iud (new one is called iuc). saving up for it though since its 500$

  3. Also, I wish that article had mentioned under the “you can take any medication with the pill” myth heading, that antibiotics decrease the effectiveness of the pill, and you should use barrier methods as well as the pill while on any antibiotics. But otherwise, a very good article, though it’s cheerleading tone made me suspicious about who was funding it. 🙂

  4. All things considered, using barrier methods and hormonal methods simultaneously is probably the best way to go. It lowers the expected failure rate behind once per century.

  5. Because if you’re using hormonal birth control already, you don’t need emergency contraception.

    Unless you forgot to take your pill or left them behind when you went on vacation. Missed and late pills are the main cause of unintend pregnancy in OC takers. You should probably discuss use of EC with your doctor before using it if you are taking OC.

  6. I was a little suspicious of the cheerleading tone myself.

    Question about the Nuva-ring: Does the guy feel it during sex? I ask because I’ve just started using it and am wondering if, the next time I get laid, I should give a heads up that he might feel something in my vagina.

  7. Delurking to wax poetic about the joy that is Nuvaring (even despite those asinine rhyming commercials). Nuvaring seriously changed my life. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

    Isabella, my boyfriend can’t feel it at all, and same with another couple I know. When I first got it, my doctor said most men can’t feel it, but some men (like my dr’s husband) could feel it and found it extra pleasurable.

    I don’t think a guy could feel it w/ a condom on.

  8. Isabella: The gentleman that I’m currently sleeping with hasn’t said anything about feeling it, so it’s obviously not uncomfortable even if he can feel it. You might want to give him a heads up in case he does feel it, or in case it starts slipping out during cunnilingus; that would be awkward.

  9. If you tend to have mood swings on the Pill, ask about getting a monophasic Pill. They made me try three different tri-phasic Pills (Ortho-Novum 7/7/7, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, and one other one) before I finally found that information on the Net and insisted that PP give me Alesse. And my sex drive came right back once I wasn’t constantly depressed from getting jerked around by the hormones.

    And then my stupid HMO switched me to a generic version of Alesse that a few more side effects than the real stuff. Grr.

    (Tri-phasic: different levels of hormones for each week. Monophasic: same levels of hormones the entire month.)

  10. Fingers will feel it, so if you’re doing the mutual masturbation thing, you might want to tell him that you use internal birth control. It hasn’t been a problem during sex, except that it can make you feel “tighter” to your partner, especially if he’s on the larger side. And it can be noisy. That’s the only major downside.

    However, you can take it out during sex (for up to, I think, four hours) and still be protected. So it doesn’t have to be an issue.

  11. I do question the weight gain “myth” bit. I gained 15lbs and a cup size within 3 months after I started the patch, when I’d never gained more than 10 few pounds a year all through puberty. Every other woman I know gained at least a bit of weight, and most gained at least half a cup size. Then again, men have this odd tendency to not notice if you gain weight if your boobs grow. They just stop looking down that far.

  12. I am also a big fan of NuvaRing–easy and effective. My boyfriend tells me he can feel it during sex sometimes, but that it’s either neutral or good, depending on the exact location.

  13. For those of you wanting a non-surgical permanent solution, I had the Essure procedure and it worked great. Tiny spiral things are placed in your fallopian tubes, and tissue forms around them creating a blockage. It is far less invasive than tubal ligation (the insertion is done vaginally, no incisions at all).

  14. Betsy: Antibiotics are no longer thought to interfere with hormonal bc. The studies that suggested it don’t seem to be holding up of time.

  15. man, Nuvaring was the best. My oversensitive nerve-damaged ex couldn’t feel it, which is really saying something. If estrogen didn’t make me want to die, I’d go back on that in a second.

  16. oh, and I learned somewhere that antibiotics only affect oral contraceptives because the interference happens in the digestive tract. (I seem to think I called the makers of either Depo-Provera or Nuvaring, but this was a while ago, so don’t take my word on it.)

  17. D – Oh really? I didn’t know that. Very interesting. I guess those studies didn’t find as wide a media outlet….

  18. I’m all for killing scare tactics around birth control, but the CNN article was sloppy and overly optimistic. It hand-waves or ignores many of the potential risks and side effects of hormonal birth control. I’m also really bothered by the line about how scare stories might “send you running and screaming toward the nearest condom display”. Oh, horrors! Condoms! Why, your man might OBJECT! Pop those pills, ladies, so he needn’t be bothered with the inconvenience of contraception, and too fucking bad if you have no protection against STDs!

  20. I love my Mirena. I would love even more if it had been covered by universal health care, rather than $450.

  21. I lost 5 pounds after I started the pill–that had to do with a sudden shift in my thyroid condition while starring in a play, applying to college, and making the sort of grades one tries to make while applying to college, but just a quick counterexample to the all women gain weight thing.

    My boobs did grow though. Not a lot (they’re still baaarely B cups) but it happened.

  22. Monophasic pills suck. I’ve been on two of the lowest dosage pills, Alesse and Desogen, and both made me moody depressed and nauseous.
    Then I was on the Patch, and that worked ok, though I couldn’t take baths anymore.

    Then my doctor’s stopped prescribing the Patch, because of the increased occurrence of blood clots among patients, so now I’m on the NuvaRing.

    I like it, though it is 10 times more expensive than any other type of hormonal b.c. (with my provider, you can get 3 months of any pill for $15, but NuvaRing is $25 per month no negotiations). I like it, but it has really affected my ability to have sex. I think it’s having the hormones going straight through my skin in my vagina, because I’ve been on it for almost a year now and when I’m aroused I don’t get any natural lubrication AND I’ve had a hugely increased instance of extreme abrasion after intercourse- and that’s while using a non-glycerin non-sugar-having lube.

    *Shrug* Personally, I’d go for the IUD. But they don’t like to give it to women like me: Under 30, never had kids. And judging by the way my HMO covers NuvaRing (i.e. making you pay for half of it!), I don’t know if they would cover it at all, and I don’t have however ridiculous amounts of money it would be to have the procedure as well as the IUD itself.

    What’s a sensitive skinned, sensitive-to-progesterones grrrl to do?

  24. I so wish I could use hormonal birth control. Unfortunately, it makes me wacky. No one wants to be around someone who’s irritable, weepy, and constantly slightly sick to her stomach, and I can’t say I blame them.

    Since the primary use of hormones, for me, is to accurately predict the timing of my period, it’s not a huge deal. Still, it was nice to have that predictability.

  25. “What’s a sensitive skinned, sensitive-to-progesterones grrrl to do? ”

    Not to blogwhore or anything, but anyone who’s supersensitive to hormones or struggling with mood swings related to her menstrual cycle is welcome to hang out at my blog. I have a tag on my sidebar titled “My Hormones are Kicking My Ass.”

    My (googlebased) research on this topic has been extensive. Some little factoids:

    1) You can get reeeeeeely drunk off the tiniest bit of alcohol if you’re on the Pill. It’s in the small print if you look hard enough. Please be careful! I used to get SICK.

    2) If you struggle with hormonally related mood swings a typical medicalized response has been to treat with hormones (the Pill, progesterone creams, etc.). Unless you’re treating premenstral dysphoria with Yasmin or Yaz (the only b/c that’s FDA approved for this) DON’T GO THERE! If you’re already sensitive to hormones, more of them can drive you crazy. Literally.

    3) If you’re sensitive to hormones the estrogen in the Pill can make you pack about 3 to 5 pounds. It’s just water retention, and yes it really did go to your tits; you’re not imagining things.

    4) My contraception of choice? Condoms. I’m hearing and reading wonderful things about that “ring” and would probably consider it if I were happily partnered and 100% positive the relationship were monogamous. Unfortunately I’ve learned the hard way that most of my “exclusive” relationships never were. Caveat emptor.

  26. subgrrl8 – There’s increasing acceptance for giving IUDs to younger/childless women, as more and more studies come out showing that the risks are much less than was previously thought (which was helped along, of course, by the whole Dalkon Shield debacle). I’m 27, no kids, and I’ve had my Paragard for six years now – and I love it to pieces: no hormones, nothing to remember besides checking the string every month, no worries about pregnancy for another six years – what’s not to like?

    If you’re really interested in getting one, you should ask around – you can probably find a GYN that’ll do it for you (or try Planned Parenthood – that’s where I got mine, and they usually charge a *lot* less than a private practice will).

  27. I also love the nuvaring and my husband says he can’t feel it during sex, (I’ve asked). I absolutely love the fact I only have to worry about it twice a month and the side effects are almost nil. I do have some mood swings, but I have yet to find any hormonal contraception that doesn’t give me mood swings and they are mild enough that I’ll deal with them over condoms, which I hate with a passion. I had been planning on staying on it only until we could save up for the mirena, but I like it so much, I doubt I’ll switch.
    Subgrrl8- I think a lot depends on where you get it and what pill you take. When I was on the pill, I took Yasmin (which I loved, but having children seems to have depleted my ability to remember to take a pill everyday) and it was 30 a month, so when I switched to the nuvaring it was the same price. My pharmacy only charges 41.13 for the Nuvaring though, so the insurance doesn’t help much. We’ve recently switched insurance and yasmin and nuvaring are both in the same drug tier, with a 25 dollar co-pay. I could get a cheaper pill, but all of them mess with my moods horribly. I know my insurance was a PPO and they said they would cover half of the IUD, so maybe you could see how much planned parenthood charges? My doctor charges 495, so the 250 was not somehing we could do at that point, but PP may be less expensive or your insurance might be better than ours.

  28. Subgrrl8 – I read an LJ community dedicated to IUDs, and a lot of women have the same problems you do: 1) finding a doctor who is willing to give an IUD to a woman who doesn’t fit their stupid married-with-kids criteria and 2) paying for it. I don’t recall the details, but there are ways to get the cost lowered/covered by the manufacturer of the IUD. Anyway, here’s a link to the LJ group. I hope you can find some helpful info in there.

    (I got my IUD (non-hormonal) paid for by my insurance (I had -really good- insurance back then); the doctor didn’t like the fact that I was under 30, never been pregnant AND (worst of all) am unmarried and polyamorous, but I convinced her I was smart about safe sex practices and my partners are trustworthy and etc.)

  29. Thanks for the links.

    Hormonal pills just don’t work for me at all. I don’t remember to take them (shit, I have to have a gmail notification sent to my phone to remember to take my thyroid med!), I have a sensitive stomach (taking my thyroid hormones on an empty stomach gives me the same nausea), and I’m sensitive to high levels of estrogens- and the progesterones are the really crazy-making ones. The NuvaRing has the lowest dose of hormones on the market, and because it is a constant supply, I don’t get mood swings. Yasmin would be devastating to me- it has twice the level of progesterones that other monophasic pills have. It’s cool that it worked for you, and I’m glad that there are so many choices for those women who the pill works for.

    It still pisses me off that those of us who can’t really use the pill effectively get monetarily punished- I went from spending $60 a year to $300. And only because the method that I’m getting hormones differs, and that the NuvaRing is a bit newer on the market. It’s like being told that you can have cough drops for $1 but cough syrup will cost you $20.

    I am committed to finding out more about getting an IUD. Your stories of success give me hope. I am in a committed monogamous relationship (we just moved in together! crazy!), and I do trust my partner entirely that he wouldn’t cheat (we have An Agreement, and he’s a cool feminist guy). Plus: Oh condoms! How you like to abrade me too! 🙂

    I now have a new problem: My work will probably be changing health insurance in the next few weeks. Shits! Man, working corporate (I’ve only ever worked public) sure is different.

  30. Oh, I understand! I didn’t mean to imply you should take Yasmin, I was just using it as a cost example. My memory is shot these days as well, so a pill wouldn’t work for me either.I agree that it sucks that the nuvaring is much more expensive for you than the pill, considering it’s the same hormones, just a different method of delivery. I was just saying that it’s not necessarily more expensive everywhere, making it even more suspect that you have to pay so much for it now. Sorry if I wasn’t clear!

  31. Plus: Oh condoms! How you like to abrade me too! 🙂

    Not telling you that Everyone Must Use Condoms, but a) lube and b) they come in material other than latex.

  32. In high school, a girl I knew went on the pill to control her periods, and gained almost 30 pounds in one summer. Let’s just say that, especially in high school, that was a scary prospect.

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