A contraceptive that won't make me want to throw myself off a cliff?

Hi all,
I'd just like to hear, especially from people that have suffered depression or anxiety, your opinions, thoughts and whatnot on contracteptives and their effect on your moods.

The pill and mini pill send me totally insane, to the point where I'm suicidal. I've heard of Implanon and DeproVera doing the same. My psych recommended a Mirena, but I've just heard that can have the same effect.

Obviously there is condoms, but I detest the sight, smell and feel of them ;) Oh, and I'm breastfeeding too.

Any thoughts appreciated. TIA :)

Make DH get the snip ;)

lol

Sorry have no advice - cos I'm making mine do it...lol

does the good out fashioned diaphram still exist???

There is a new pill out that isn't supposed to have such an effect.. but from memory it was expensive.

I'll try and search around and see if i can find the name. I remember my Ob mentioning it.

I used a system called Persona, but unfortunately, it's not common over here in Australia. It's basically a little machine that tests your urine and tells you when you are ovulating, when is safe and when is unsafe. I have used it sucessfully for a number of years and order the test sticks over the internet.
May be worth a look?

That sounds quite interesting mia, would also be good for those ttc too, I've never heard of such a thing!

Yes, it would be - a friend of mine who was LTTTC used it and sucessfully concieved.

It's really good as it puts you more in tune with your cycles. When you first start, it gives you long "red" times, when you need to use another type of contraception, but after about 4 months, you come down to a time of about 6 days which is your "unsafe" time.

It's as simple as weeing on a stick on the days it tells you to and then stick it into the machine for a few mins to wait to see if a red or a green day!

I am in the same boat, LoriRae. My psychiatrist said that there is a pill available that is similar to the low level hormone one called Yasmin (which I have been on and it did me no favours in the mood department) but is even lower in hormonal content. It is called Yas or Yaz (not sure of the spelling). If I had to go back on the pill then that would be the one I would try.

Mia, that system sounds really interesting and is definitely something I plan to look into. After all, taking my chances (as I am at present) is not what I want to be doing - just not ready for another baby anytime soon!

I hope you find something that works for you LoriRae. If you do, please PM me details! x

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Make DH get the snip

lol

Sorry have no advice - cos I'm making mine do it...lol

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:rofl:

I'm a fan of the diaphragm, can be hard to come by but contact the Family Planning Association, if there is one near you they do fittings and are awesome to talk to about contraception in general.

Yes, it was Yas that i was talking about - that has a lower hormone and is linked with less symtoms of depression etc.

When i looked into it though it was around $70-$80 for 3 months, which is a lot more than around $30 for the standard. That was around a year ago, so not sure if it is cheaper now?

Thanks very much everyone. I'm going for my very late post birth check up next week, so I'll ask the doc about Yas and a diaphram. Might do some Googling too :)

I was gonna suggest abstinence, but it may have the same effect after a while ;)

Personally, because of my mental history, I never found any contraceptive that didn't have the same effect, except condoms. :( Sorry darl, no help at all!

Just a warning LR - the dr will most likely try to discourage you from using a diaphragm saying it's not as reliable as hormonal types of contraception, and if you dig deeper may not know how to fit them, as it's apparently a dying art. I don't know why but IME drs seem entirely fixated with hormonal contraception and refuse to believe that anyone finds it difficult/ impossible to tolerate. GL with the doc (sorry for the rant) x

Thanks for letting me know pixie. If I can't get a good answer from the doctor, there is a a fanatstic womens health centre in my area, maybe they might do them there? Or at least be a bit more sympathetic to the problem, and discuss the options with me. I don't *think* there is a Family Planning near me, but I might check that out too....

Women's health centre will almost certainly do them, and FPA if you have one nearby. It's just so refreshing to go somewhere to talk about contraception and not be talked down to or treated like a moron. I have to say almost every doctor I have spoken to about contraception (male or female) has treated me like an idiot, and FPA treated me like an expert about my body, and a woman who had made an informed choice about contraception. they get a huge :thumbsup: from me.

Hi. I had the same trouble with the mini pill. The doctor couldn't understand what the problem was. :wall:
I have got the implanon now, my moods are better but my AF is driving me nuts!

I have been really bad on the pill lately, but DH thinks I was just as bad with the Mirena (which my gynae thinks is unlikely but you never know!).

My DH is going the snip now - he thinks I'll be easier to live with that way LOL!

We are really struggling with this at the moment too. This thread has been so useful and informative for me. I don't have any mental health issues but I just point blank refuse to put hormones in my body anymore. I've BTDT and I'm just not going to do it ever again. But sheesh, condoms are just the pits, ergh :wall: So I think I'll go and investigate the diaphragm option. Pixie, thanks for your very specific info about the technicalities of getting one.

I have depression issues and I found the implanon terible for that. Since Riley was born we have been using tiredness, lack of time or interest and amazing risk taking as a contraceptive LOL

:rofl: mrsmac. I think having kids might be the best contraception against having more!

i suffer from severe depression and when i had the mirena in it didnt affect my moods. iv tried lots of pills and the depo and they didnt help.
the mirena was a god send xxx

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Make DH get the snip ;)

lol

Sorry have no advice - cos I'm making mine do it...lol

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:ROFL: I was going to say the same thing. Except my DH is snipped;)

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I am in the same boat, LoriRae. My psychiatrist said that there is a pill available that is similar to the low level hormone one called Yasmin (which I have been on and it did me no favours in the mood department) but is even lower in hormonal content. It is called Yas or Yaz (not sure of the spelling). If I had to go back on the pill then that would be the one I would try.

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It is Yasmin, I tried it, and I loved it. Bit exxy though:o in comparison to other pills. You can buy a month for $30 I think, or 3 months for like $70 :o. I stopped taking it as I started bleeding through.

I was going to say LR have you tried Nuva Ring? Apparently it is awesome, as the hormones just affect your vag-jay-jay and not you. Maybe look into that? If DH had not got snipped I was going in to try this! They last a month, and you take em out to get your period. You insert them like a diaphragm.;)

This may or may not have been mentioned, apologies if it has ....

There is a book called The Billings method, it's a guide to natural fertility. I have found the techniques invaluable for both conception and contraception.

Things i have used:
Billings - as mentioned above, you monitor your cervical mucus (you don't have to go reaching about for it, you just pay attention on the loo/in the shower!) to detect when you're fertile - i did have DD using this method, bu after 16 successful cycles and when i conceived her i should've known better because my cycles had suddenly gone insane and i should've been more careful!
Persona - the monitor mentioned. It's very effective (i think 96% when used correctly) but it relies on abstinence during the fertile period (even sex with a condom vastly increases the risk of pregnancy) and i find it hard not to have sex whenmother nature is telling me to!
Mirena - with mirena you have the same hormone circulating as the minipill and implants use, but at a lower concentration. If you are on the mini-pill you have a certain amount of artificial hormones circulating in the blood, with th implant it's 50% the minipill amount, and with the Mirena it's 10% the minipill amount. I didn't have terrible moods with mirena but my breasts KILLED for 2 weeks out of every 4 unless i was religious about taking EPO, and even then they hurt for about a week.

Overall i liked the IUD in that it takes care of itself, but i won't be using the Mirena again, and plan to try the copper kind after this baby. I can't see either of us ever getting the snip - it's too final.

My BF is using the Nuva Ring and likes it- is it safe for bf'ing, does anyone know?

Just read this thread before, as I have had the same problem with contraceptives and mental well being. My advice for trying Yasmin would be to give it a go, but it didn't work for me. Made me crazy depressed, and I got break-through bleeding with it, AND I got pg on it :shakehead: I find pretty much all hormonal contraceptives mess with me more than they're worth. Yas was $60 for three months, so pretty exxy. I'm TTC atm, but I've heard really good things about the nuva ring too. Not sure about the BFing side of things, but that is something I will consider in the future and something you might want to check out with your doc too.

I am medicated for anxiety and depression adn have tried countless different pills over the years, all of which have had yucky side effects. As a last resort my Dr has put me on Yaz. So far so good, this is only my first month but it seems way better. And on Yaz you only get a couple of days bleeding, not a whole week.

I hope you find something that works for you

Click

Hope this helps, basically says talk to GP.;)

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Do not use NuvaRing® if you have any of the following conditions:

A history of heart attack or stroke
A history of blood clots in your legs (thrombophlebitis), lungs (pulmonary embolism), or eyes
A history of blood clots in the deep veins of your legs
Chest pain (angina pectoris)
Severe high blood pressure
Diabetes with complications of the kidneys, eyes, nerves, or blood vessels
Headaches with neurological symptoms
Known or suspected breast cancer or cancer of the lining of the uterus, cervix, or vagina (now or in the past)
Unexplained vaginal bleeding (until a diagnosis is reached by your health care provider)
Yellowing of the whites of the eyes or of the skin (jaundice) during pregnancy or during previous use of hormonal birth control of any kind (the Pill, patch, vaginal ring, injection, or implant)
Liver tumor (benign or cancerous)
Heart valve or heart rhythm disorders that may be associated with formation of blood clots
Need for a long period of bed rest following major surgery
Known or suspected pregnancy
Active liver disease with abnormal liver function tests
An allergy or hypersensitivity to any of the components of NuvaRing®
Tell your health care provider if you have ever had any of the conditions just listed. Your health care provider can suggest another method of birth control.

Talk with your health care provider about using NuvaRing® if you:

Smoke
Recently had a baby
Recently had a miscarriage or abortion
Are breastfeeding
Are taking other medications

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well I have just finished month one of Yaz and I am ready to throw myself off a cliff, so back to square one here, wish I could convince the dr to tie my tubes...