Straight From the Bottle

Ooh! Am I the first to comment? I just want to tell you that I love reading your blog and congratulations on all the sex, I'm hoping to get my sex drive back to normal once my husband gets the. Big snip and I don't have to stay on the pill anymore. But we really don't want anymore so until then, I guess less sex is better than morning sickness.

Congratulations on the triumphant return of your groove! I am already struggling with this birth control issue and I am only 22. Something tells me it's going to be a long road...

Congrats to your vagina! yaaaaaaaaay!

I'm =just= starting to notice my hair growing back after Baby #2... and I tell you, you're just going to LOVE IT when you start to see those little whispies of new hairs when you spot them at your hairline.  Like, the keep-running-back-into-the-bathroom-to-stroke-them-while-pouting-in-the-mirror-3,967-times-a-day kind of LOVE IT.

Hurrah!

I haven't read through all the comments, but I'm curious why you ruled out the copper IUD (my man also calls it an IED)? My Dr also asked if I wanted the strings trimmed shorter to avoid the poking problem.

I'm with you, NO HORMONES!

We're living parallel lives.  I loved my IUD except for no libido.   My husband also says that it doesn't prevent conception, it prevents intercourse.  I had it pulled last Thursday and got the same lecture about birth control, but I can't do the hormonal thing anymore.

You should check out the diva cup - it totally prevents you from having to shell out the dough for tampax and it is healthier for your vagina than sticking cotton wads up it.  I love it and haven't had to buy any "feminine products" in over two years!!  

It's official:  I hate you.

...or maybe I should just get mine taken out too.

Okay, first on the "gettin' the groove back"  YAY!!!!!!!!!

Then, "trust me on be careful yada yada because it really really really kinda sucks to be miserably pregnant about a year prior to you hoping to get pregnant again".  (The timing kind of sucks, but what I'm miserable over is that I'm just that sick this time around...which isn't helping me get over the timing thing at all!)  And I just about flipped out of my chair over the IED and the hurt locker :-)

having just had my copper one put it- i'm very curious about the yanking it out part. more detail please!

LOL that's great. But I really can imagine you pregnant again soon! I think it's very easy to slip with condoms (not use it just this once, not stop if you think it has broken or come off, etc). How bad can it be though? :-D

I tried the Diva Cup and it leaks to various extents no matter how I insert or position it, which seems to be the problem with many people. Most of the time I end up using pantyliners with it anyway, removal is uncomfortable if not painful, and it is just bloody and messy. Sometimes when my vagina is getting used to the cup at the beginning of the period it makes me feel like I'm constipated or that I have cramps. In all honesty I like tampons much better.

Congrats!!! I went off the pill two years ago because of similar crazy hormone issues. We used condoms and I also read the Fertility Awareness Method book (the title escapes me). I didn't chart or take my temperature or anything, just used it to know what my body was telling me, so we'd only used condoms during the danger zone (week around ovulation) and it worked. FOR YEARS. Then we decided to have a baby and because I knew my body so well it happened the first month. I am SO all about a hormone free life. All about it.

You have probably already considered this, but my husband and I have used natural family planning (based on Taking Charge of Your Fertility) for years and have found it to be the best option for us. I also disliked hormones, and my husband hates wearing condoms all of the time. Natural family planning makes you aware of when you could conceive so you can use other protection (like a condom). For us: eight years of natural family, two planned pregnancies. It isn't perfect, but it is the best option for us.

It didn't hurt at all. Not like the insertion. Twas more of a pap-smear discomfort and then over.

you are too funny. love your blog!

I second the Diva Cup. And while you are at it, why not a diaphram?

You're my hero, you make me laugh so hard with your TMI posts. When I was on The Pill, I felt like I was 16 again - angry at the world with mood swings that made me certifiably crazy. I tried 3 different formulations before I decided to chuck them. The difference? Night and day, my husband says he never wants me to be on hormones ever again.

Now we use condoms and Natural Family Planning (a combination of the Marquette Method and Standard Days Method). I still feel paranoid about getting pregnant, but the more I educate myself on the science of the female body, the more confident and in tune I feel.

If you can ignore the religious basis of Natural Family Planning, it's worth trying (for me, to increase my "condom free" sex days).

Cheers to a humpalicious Valentine's Day weekend!

Thirds on the Diva cup - wish I had found it years ago!  And seconds on the diaphram but I already said that in comments on a previous post.

Diaphram's freak me out. Know too many people who got pregnant with them. NFP is also something I'm looking into thanks to YOU lovely ladies!!!

Hallelujia for no more IUD!!! Sounds like things are going quite swimmingly.  We are condom fans, I can't handle taking a pill on a schedule and I don't want an IUD (too permanent for now...) They have worked great for us and we have used them for almost all 3 years of our marriage.  Plus they are less messy and that is a major plus for me! ;)

Boom!

RUN and get yourself a copy of "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Wechsler. BEST. BOOK. EVAR! I am planning to petition my daughter's school to let me come in and give a talk on it to the girls when my daughter is about 11 or 12. She'll love that, don't you think? ;)

SRSLY though, it's great. I used it not to get pregnant after my first and then used it to get pregnant with my second. If I didn't have to have hormones to control endometriosis, I'd just use Wechsler's Fertility Awareness Method.

Why aren't you using the Diva Cup? It's the best invention ever! Tampons are so so so awful.

Another vote for "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." You can only get pregnant during part of your cycle, so once you learn your body's signs, you can ditch the condoms most of the time...

Congrats on getting it pulled!  I tried hormonal birth control briefly about 5 years ago, even though I initially was concerned about pumping my body full of artificial hormones.  I was cranky, crampy, spotting all the time, and gained weight.  I quit after three months.  My doctor gave me the speech about how I might need to try another kind, give it some time, etc.  I said no thanks, got a diaphragm, and went home.  I discovered I'm allergic to spermicide.  Burning lady parts kill sex drive, you know?  Now we use a combo of NFP and condoms.  Certainly not as convenient as popping a pill every day, but worth it.  Good luck!

*diaphragm.

Yeah, the Diva cup? Isn't my cup of tea I'm quite sure. I'll stick with the tampons. They're my friends.

Since others have commented about The Diva Cup, I must add my input. I used The Keeper for 7 years before becoming pregnant. LOVED IT. After having my kid and getting my period back, I tried Diva and had nothing but problems. HATED IT. I feared that pushing a baby out my vagina ruined my chances of menstrual cup usage forever! But then I got a silicone Keeper and all was well again. Not one problem.

BOOM?  Ha ha ha ha...that made me laugh.

SO exciting for you!  i'm not on board with hormonal birth control... i went off the pill last year and we were trying to use nfp, which worked, but now we realize that i don't ovulate soo... things are interesting.  but you know what, a positive sexual relationship with your husband is worth a lot in my opinion.  and you  have two spectacular children... another one is a great addition.. someday.

OMG the IED in your hurt locker is the funniest thing ever.

Only thing I wanna add is that I had similar issues to you, and it still pisses me off that I went to 3 different docs before finally CONVINCING one to take the IUD outta me.  They kept being dismissive and saying I should just wait another 6 months, yadda yadda yadda.  Look, fuckos, (I wanted to say) I don't like this birth control - what is it to you?  Is there some crazy IUD lobby with deep pockets or something?  Any. way.

I LOVE how many people are writing about Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I've learned so much about my body since I started charting my temperature last year. My husband helps me keep track, so it's really a joint effort (which seems appropriate).

Also, I have to say that I love my Keeper. It takes a few months to get used to it, but after that, you won't turn back.

I think it's great that you're feeling so much better! So much more like "you". I went through a similar experience when switching pills several years ago, to the point that my husband was holding my sobbing head and asking "where did you go?"

However, I feel like it's worth mentioning that the Mirena isn't all bad for everyone. I've had mine for almost three years and haven't had any of the hair-loss or sex drive problems (if anything, my sex drive has increased). I guess it just proves that it really is a different experience for everyone!

Best. :)

I would highly recommend the vasectomy because after being pregnant for basically 2-3 years (maybe more?), going through hours of labor (days??), all that pushing and recovery....a little snip snip in the dangly bits is just a walk on the beach!

Nice! I'm glad it's working out!!

I miss horny. I'm newly pregnant with #3 and it seems like just as soon as I get a hint of my groove back, I get pregnant, then swell up like a beluga and feel awful for the next 9 months, then spend a sexless post-partum half-year before regaining any sexual desire. This is our last child, so I am looking forward to reclaiming my sexual self in, oh, 2013.

I totally know your feelings! I made an appointment to get mine yanked, but then canceled because I wimped out.

Twice.

So maybe I can think of all your crazy sex and it will inspire me. Maybe,

And then I won't need to buy a wig either!

Yipppeeeeeeeee for you!!!!!!!!

I stay far away from hormonal birth control.  Mine are bad enough on nothing, I would rather not tempt the hormone gods and really piss them off. I did try whichever one they give you when you are breastfeeding.  I was always forgetting to take it at the same exact time everyday and they are ineffective when not done at the same time so what was the point.  Basically, I was still fertile just taking a pill at random times a day.  I got the snip, snip after number 3, because 1. hey, I was already open and 2. I am out of the baby business for good.

Interesting fact:  I have had 2 girls and 1 boy.  Sex drive came back with the boy almost right after birth and not so much with the girls.  I don't know if there is any correlation, but interesting, NON?  And I breastfed all of them for at least 6 mos.  My drs seem to have a script they read when I complain about the sex drive thing.  

So you convinced me to get my IUD yanked as well. I was also experiencing hair loss, mild depression, no sex drive, not being able to loose weight (where I'll admit I didn't work too hard at, but I was 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight 6 weeks after giving birth and getting the mirena inserted and now I'm 30...) and I didn't even make the connections of yeast infections until I read that here. And I don't even want to know how much $ I've spent on pregnancy tests!

Made appt, went in.

doc asks : "what will you use instead"

Me : *blink blink* Thats what I was here to ask you (I tell her back story and how hormones aren't my friend)

Doc : Well you can use condoms

Me : I'm kind of thinking that right now that's where we're at.

Doc : yanks joker out and says "okay you're officially fertile, I'll see you in a month to confirm pregnancy."

Me : Please write me a prescription for nuvaring.

I have it, but haven't used it yet, I wanted to see how condoms go. (I got pregnant the last time "we tried out condoms")

I got my period a day later as well, and sex drive isn't all the way back, but we actually had sex the other day and while it sucked (I hate condoms) it was nice to actually kind of want to have it.

So yeah, thanks, and I hope I don't get pregnant again yet. I mean we'd be okay, I'm just not ready.

thank god, this gives me hope. i've been reading and checking my google reader for updates (not that i don't love your other posts, OF COURSE, don't get me wrong....) because my own crazy lightbulb had come on exactly four hours before i read your IUDisater post. and i miraculously already had an appointment with my doctor for THE NEXT DAY. it was like those commercials with the choir singing and the super bright lights.

so i got mine yanked that day. and i started on the patch again (what i used for three years before getting pregnant). which is sort of okay, but i'm pushing for FAM and condoms also. yeck. because i just realized why my last boyfriend thought i was such a bitch.

because i am. on this patch. so far, anyway.

yay for throwing "unnecessary" hormones in the garbage! i hope to also. soon.

I have been waiting to read this post!  I have Mirena, and have had frequent yeast infections (which my doctor claims cannot be related to my IUD) and a total lack of a sex drive.

Mine is coming out on Friday.  I cannot wait.  

BOOM! :)

Yay for more hair! Yay for more sex! Maybe just not hairy sex...

Let me add a voice to the "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" chorus.  I've been using this method and either abstinence during my most fertile times or condoms if we don't want to put it off.  I can say I've been pregnancy free for over 3 years!  After charting for 6 months, I stopped because I knew enough about my signals and timeline to do it effectively.  Trust me, no hormones are a good thing!  I also grew my hair back, lost 30 lbs, got my groove back, got my attitude back, and got my freaking life back!  I'll never go back on those pills of death!

SO, is it possible that Mirena is to blame for me experiencing all the same symptoms you're talking about...but that Yaz did not cause them?  I felt fine on Yaz. My skin was beautiful.  Lotsa sex.  No unplanned babies. Never a problem. But can one cause issues and the other one be fine?  I'm confused.

I adore my DivaCup. No more bleached wads of cotton in my vagina!  

This month I've been derelict in picking up more BC pills and I'm in full-on PMS mode which I don't get when I take the pill. I'm bloated and will eat anything in sight. Last night I cracked open a tub of icing and starting dipping mini ginger snaps into it.

DUDE. So my hair fell out after mine was born too, but the doc said it was breastfeeding that did it. (?)

Um, and also? Want me to TMI your ass right back? Hayley is 10 months old and we have had sex THREE TIMES since she was born. True story. I'm seriously wondering if it IS my IUD that makes me cringe at the thought of anything coming anywhere near my vagina, and not the fact that I'm like, having a mid-life crisis or something.

yikes. and congrats... i think.

Woohoo. That is awesome! I hope it's not placebo, but I am still very much enjoying the beyond hormones sex aswell. Good for you!

Let's hear it for the early morning raging sex! oh yeah, the kids are still asleep, party on! That's about the only time I can get any action without fear of intrusion ;)

Poor Hal.  It sounds like you've got some lost time to make up for.  Mazel Tov!!

Thank you for being so real and honest. You obviously made the right choice for your body. It's so important for women to feel, well, like women. I find that when I'm in workaholic mode, and exhausted, my sex life goes out the window. It's so important to relationship to try and get it back - whether it be leaving work at a reasonable hour,  or pulling out an IUD.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!  For telling us all about your experiences.  Back in November I planned to get Mirena but due to stupid things I couldn't and had to put it off, then put it off again.  Last month after reading your posts and your reader's comments, Mirena is in no way getting near me.  I will still get an IUD (Paraguard) because I suck at taking pills and we both are terrible about putting condoms on.  We can't take any chances since hubby and I are super fertile and I don't want kids (though hubby is trying to change my idea on that, hence no surgery).  I think I can handle heavier periods if that means a sex drive.  

Thanks again!

Seconding the Diva Cup recommendation. Sounds messy and a pain, but it's soooo much better than tampons in terms of comfort and cleanliness. If you can deal with pulling out a stinky tampon, you can definitely deal with emptying a cup. Seriously. It's not just for the crunchy granola crowd.

Now you just need to ditch the Tampax and get a Diva Cup. Seriously. I didn't have auntie Flo for three and a half years thanks to "Irish twins" and breastfeeding, and when that bitch finally came back I was like 13 again with the whole process. I got my Diva and have been loving it for five years.

Hooray! A huge congratulations to you and your hoo-haw for gettin' the groove back! (I'm another success story for natural family planning; I use a thermometer and a saliva microscope and have stayed pregnancy-free IN SPITE of all the sex we've had since I threw away my bc pills. Definitely worth checking out.)

WHAT IS UP WITH ALL OF THESE OB/GYN's??? It makes me so MAD. Especially since a good chunk of them are MEN, acting like WE don't know what's going on in our body. Although, the women can be even more obnoxious. SURE, they had a few years of school learning about "the female body." But we're IN our bodies. Seriously. Until you learn how to do a freaky-Friday switcharoo and literally walk a mile in my Va-JJ. Shut up and get me off these hormones.

Ya'll definitely are confirming my decision to switch to a midwife for all my needs down south.

Thank you so much! I am a long time reader from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and I LOVE your website. I must say that while I have never considered the IUD, I have been on the pill since I was 18 (turning 30 next Monday WAH!) and I have been toying with the idea of just stopping taking them. The idea of all those hormones in my body has been bothering me for the past year, so I think after this package, I'm done. My husband is still in post secondary, but we'll be doing the condoms route as well. My friend went off the pill last year and she couldn't believe how different she felt...she couldn't even describe it, so I'm looking forward to it. It's nice reading someone who has the same opinion regarding taking unnecessary hormones and allowing our bodies to do their thing.

Love you!!

My husband just asked me what I was reading. I showed him and he quietly read until he go to the words, and I quote, "I woke up horny."

Hubby asked, "Who the hell is this person?"

I showed him your picture and he make a noise like the one the cat makes when he has a fur ball.

Sexy Babe!! Congrats to you on getting back ON the saddle! Happy trails!

I went to get my Mirena yanked last week for the reasons your mention and...they couldn't find it.  The doc did an ultrasound and saw something that he is "95% sure is your IUD" but I have to go back and be sedated to have it taken out.  I'm sick to death of it and now they can't even get it out!

I am with the diva cup girls. When it was first described to me I was all, "no fucking way in hell!!" but then I tried it and i am a convert. I check it once in the morning, one midday and at night - mine never leaks, it's not uncomfortable, and I feel better about not having wads of bleached cotton up my cooch!

It's a little bit messier (really only slightly) than tampons, but so unbelievable more convenient and worth it!!!

Also, thanks to you, I'm seriously considering ditching my pills. Taking hormones is striking me as more and more insane with every entry you write.

SO my friend is getting this put in

www.paragard.com/home.php

Non-Hormonal, no weight gain, and you can take it out whenever.  It is effective the second the doctor puts it in.

I am seriously considering it.

I've had Mirena for nearly three years and I've loved it. The no-period thing sealed the deal for me. But I also have no sex drive, so it makes me wonder.

But then again, I'd rather be frigid the rest of my life than ever get pregnant again.

Still, all this talk makes me consider making a gyno appointment to discuss some options.

I also vote for "Taking charge of your fertility", we used it not to get pregnant for a few months, and then used it to get pregnant! It took us longer (11 cycles, TMI, I know) to get pregnant, but that was due to stress on my part.

Also check out fertilityfriend.com it charts your daily temp, pretty much tells you when you will ovulate, and its free.

Another vote for FAM and "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Wechsler.

I stopped taking the pill after 10 years (2 years on Depo Provera in between) in May. I was tired of the headaches, low energy, no sex drive, and mood swings. I figured coming off the pill couldn't hurt. The first few months off the pill I felt like a whole other person. Sad to report I don't feel that much better now. My cycles have never regulated and I am going back to see my midwife next week to see what is going on. I still firmly believe in the natural family planning and pregnancy achievement methods taught in the book and would highly recommend at least reading it and see what you think.

ha! I had my mirena in for six months and after reading everything here about your experience and realizing all the shitty things I was feeling were likely from that t shaped penis poking bitch, I had it removed. A week ago tuesday. I also had a period rigt away and when was over sexy sexness has been happening like crazy. So happy with my decision. Thanks for posting your experience here. It was so helpful to read a real lady's account of life with it (and without).

This post came at a perfect time as I'm going to get mine pulled tomorrow.  I've had it for almost two years and enough is enough.  

So glad to hear you have your sex drive back - I can only hope that I have the same thing happen to me!

Awesome. Congratulations and many happy returns!

I am 23 and I've been having trouble with birth control since I started (at 16).  

I've always been trying to find a birth control that won't make me [insert numerous terrible side effects here]. I have endometriosis and my doctor and I have recently been working to find a happy balance in reducing the STABBING PAIN and staying unpregnant.

They took a bit longer to switch my pills last month, so I had to wait to start this new pack.  Oh my god, THE DIFFERENCE!  It was almost immediate once I stopped taking pills.  I was instantly less crazy, I lost weight and I just generally felt better.

I am really starting to think, especially after reading all of the comments, that I should kick the pills.

And on the Diva Cup note:  I loved mine.  But I washed it religiously and still got infections. No idea why.

Honestly, I am soooo close to just kicking the hormonal birth control.  

I'm so glad I read up on this because I was thinking on getting one of those thiguies inserted. But now I'm so not getting one. I've tried birth control and it totally makes me wacko. I never feel "ok". Now we just use condoms, and it works just fine for us.

But its funny that all of the sudden you got your sex drive back! It happened to me a few weeks after I was done breastfeeding. It was like BAM! It really took me off guard, I actually felt like I use to when I was dating my husband. Its nice to get it back!

I got my IUD pulled too! Yay for us! (And was so happy it didn't hurt like insertion.) But I did it because I want to get pregnant this spring.

I was on the pill for years before I decided to get pregnant with my daughter. Going off the pill made my hair fall out. And, 3 years and a 2-year-old later, it's still not back to its old self. Let's hope I don't lose more without that little hormone wishbone in my uterus. And maybe I'll feel prettier, too??? Bonus.

you are hilarious! I don't think I could ever do the IUD thing. sounds like to many terrible side effects!

poking on the man parts doesn't sound too fun either.

That's awesome, it's all How Rebecca Got Her Groove Back.  I'm not on anything and my drive is in the toilet and I get my period all. the. damn. time.  We just can't win, can we?

Rebecca, Thank you thank you thank you for sharing a this whole freakin saga. Gah. Rock on with your sex-having self!

I have had the Paragard IUD for 2 years now and while it's worked great and hasn't bothered me or the dude at all.....I have had back to back, treatment resistant, horrifying infections of the lady bits. And there are no hormones with the Paragard. I think for some people it just doesn't work to have a foreign body hanging out of your cervix. I have an apt in 10 days to talk to a new gyno about the whole thing. Really hoping not to have to ditch the 99.7 % effective IUD but dude, I cannot go on like this.

You're a rockstar for sharing all this. It really helps!

Oh man, after reading your post and 9 YEARS on birth control, I have kicked the hormones too. No more absolutely dead sex drive, horrible cream resistant yeast infections, a pony tail the thickness of a pencil and weight that just WONT get lost. No siree. I'm done. Only problem now is that we mutually hate condoms, I'm allergic to latex and artificial lubricants, and we're too paranoid to go with the know your body method. I guess we'll have to pony up for the non-latex condoms and deal.

My theory: It's never good to mess with hormones.  If an "opps" happens, then praise God for another life!

Bring on the bangin'

I think if you're going to go IUD, go copper/paragard for sure. I *would* have maybe gone there and may experiment with the paragard in the future but Hal HATED my IUD because of the poky thing, so we wanted to lay off that whole inner situation for now.

And honestly? Condoms kind of remind me of my early sex-having wild days, so in a way? They're kind of hot.

Seriously you should give the Diva Cup a try.  (I'm writing my own post on it soon just because not enough people know about it.)  I used to think tampons were my friend too, but I will never go back.  Once you get the hang of it you can't believe how much easier it is.

What about a diaphragm?  You do have to be fitted by your OB/GYN...and it's a barrier method just like the condom...but slightly less messy (in my opinion).  You leave it in for a few hours after sex...so sometimes it's still in for round 2!  I know most docs don't suggest it b/c it's not as popular as hormone contraceptives.  I had a hard time finding someone who could actually dispense it once I got my prescription.  I called a family owned place that had been in town for sometihn glike 50 years, lol.

"Oh yeah, we have those!  What size do you need?"

The chain stores didn't carry it.  The family place said it's a bit "old fashioned" but they still get enough orders for them that they keep a few in stock.  Dump a little spermacide into the bowl of the diaphram, pinch it's rim, then insert sort of like a tampon.  

Hey there is an over the counter vitamin that you can take called Biotin. It will help your hair grow faster. When I had my son about 3 months after my hair started falling out in clumps...I thought I was going bald. It didn't stop at the time the doc said it should turns out my thyroid quit. Take biotin and your hair will grow great!

Someone else may have already posted this, but just in case: an AMAZING book to figure out your cycle so you know how to tell if you're ovulating is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. No creepy Christian-family-planning stuff, just straightforward descriptions and instructions. And when you're ready to get pregnant again, you'll know when to have lots and lots and lots and lots of sex. Assuming that you still aren't having lots and lots and lots and lots of sex, ya hound dog....

This is the best thing I have ever read and I now have a whole new relatable appreciation for The Hurt Locker. I'm 6 months post-partum and just started back on the pill and hate it. I think synthetic hormonal birth control just isn't for me.

So glad for you!  And for the fact that he was able to pull that sucker out right there in the office.

It will get so much better from here on!

Thanks so much for sharing this (I also just went and read all your posts on episiotomies, birth, tearing, etc. -- YIKES!  And, THANK YOU.  I haven't started researching yet, but from  your posts and all of the comments, I already feel more in-control and empowered!  What a RUSH haha!)  I just stopped the pill after what feels like decades, and I can totally relate to the feeling-the-cramps again thing -- I was like Holy Ovulation Pain, Batman!  But totally worth it because the sex drive came roaring back, too -- hooray!  

My husband was stabbed by my IUD too, and when I went to get it removed the doctor actually implied that he was lying! "I have patients who get them inserted secretly and their partners never know it." Um, good for them. If we can feel the wire with our fingers, how on earth is a penis supposed to avoid it? Glad you got yours out! The only hormonal birth control I've ever been happy with is the progesterone-only pill. At least it doesn't stab anyone.

P.S. Yes, I totally agree with the recommendation for Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I used it to achieve pregnancy rather than birth control, but learned so much and will definitely return to the book post-pregnancy.

I had my IUD removed two days ago because we are trying to have a baby and because of all the shitty problems that came with it. I couldn't stop laughing when you said Hal complained about it poking him. My husband said the same thing and I totally thought he was crazy. Now I feel alittle bad for telling him he didn't know what he was talking about. Oops

Both of my babies are birth control failures. Doc put me on the pill again after number 1 bc my cycle wasn't starting up. It made me lactate because I wasn't breastfeeding, gave me a small lump that they sent me to the cancer screener for (clogged gland... caused by BC), gave me anxiety attacks, spiked my blood pressure, and got me pregnant with number 2. Tried the mini-pill after number 2, but it dried my milk up because I was breastfeeding. Best BC ever? The United States Army. They took him away, and now I can't get preggo. BUT... Number 2 is 7 months old, I have my pre-wedding body back, a new hair cut/color, and no husband to take it all out on. Phone sex is only so good.

But since Hal isn't likely to join the Army, I vote FAM. I love the control, and the body is supposed to have a period, no matter how annoying (7days, 5 heavy, two regular). No more hormones for me! I got my mojo back, now all I need is the man to show up so I can use it against him.