Hi, been a while since I was here. I am looking at getting the implant or coil and I know obviously it wouldnt be absolutely 100% (but none of them are) but would we be able to ditch the condoms? I had a look online it’s apparently 99% I think it said. We arent wanting another baby just yet but would LOVE to ditch the condoms.
I know people can still get pregnant on it (same as everything else, even a condom if it breaks) but is it a very slim chance? tia x
I had the implant for 6 years, we did not use any other method of birth control after the first 7 days. I didn’t particularly get on with it and hated the irregular bleeding after being on the Depo injection and having no bleeding, when I was permitted to switch back, I did so at the first opportunity.
I would say, in my opinion (not a qualified medical doctor) most of the methods are far better than the stats suggest. Condoms are put at 84% effective at preventing pregnancy in the real world but this is because of people putting them on wrong or them splitting not because the sperm travels through them. Similarly, Depo Provera, in practise is apparently only 94% effective but this is because people forget to have their next injection and go over the timespan not because, used as directed, it doesn’t work. The pill, 91% effective in practise, as people forget to take it.
Long way of saying at over 99% effective, in my opinion, you’re good contraception wise with just the implant or the coil. Obviously, you need to make sure you’re both STI clean before ditching condoms though.
Different methods work for different people and it’s up to you and your body to decide what works best for you. If you try a method and can’t live with the side effects, change it.
thank you, and yeah i though the same, we have had a broken condom so we know it happens of course. We have only been with each other the whole relationship and we both had tests at the start for various reasons and both came back clean.
Plus I’ve had pills, many different ones and to be honest a few didnt get on with me at all. A dr said recently she thinks i should have the implant or something else.
Husband’s ex-wife had the coil. Worked for them with no accidents. An acquaintance of mine (GF’s friend) has it now. She’s newly married and wants to have a couple of years before getting pregnant. So far, no issues for her either. Seems to be reliable, at least based on anecdotal evidence.
I had the mirena, it was horrendous from the day I had it inserted until 6 months later when I was allowed to get it removed. I bled every single day.
If you’ve given birth you may find the insertion less horrendous than I did. Not everyone bleeds, some people love it and have no issues, I hope you’re one of those people!
Also hopefully they’ve changed the rules too on having to keep it for 6 months, that was barbaric.
ahh thank you, i have a 5 year old and we ideally want to wait a little before having another but well… condoms suck 
Oh thats horrible, especially being made to keep it in for 6 months when you’re struggling so.
You can get the coil at Planned Parenthood. Low income folks can sometimes even get it for free! And they don’t have any crazy 6 month rule either.
From what I’ve heard, there are two issues with the coil. First is that in the beginning, a bit of it pokes through and your partner might feel a bit of pain at the end of his penis if he thrusts too deep. It softens with time. The second is that the Mirena coil releases hormones. Just like hormonal birth control, a birth-control effect might remain for a while even after you’ve had it removed. So if you want to have a baby in say, 24 months, you’ll want to have it removed ahead of that time in case there’s a delay. That’s if timing is important to you. An old-fashioned copper IUD won’t have that effect.
Some people have issues with hormonal birth control…either it doesn’t work for them well enough, or it has side effects. So make sure to explore those possibilities with your doctor. In rare cases, hormonal birth control might have the side effect of severely reducing fertility. Not sure if the coil might have the same issue, and it isn’t really a widespread thing, but some women avoid the Mirena coil for the same reason the avoid hormonal birth control pills. One of my partners is pretty adamant about the idea both for health and faith reasons. Of course, she loves being a mother and has pretty much given birth to enough kids to form football team at this point. 
Wifey was on the pill a long time. She’s had an IUD for months now, and no issues. None at all.
love the last bit and yeah im a little worried about coil, id maybe opt for the implant but not entirely sure
ive been on a few different ones and had side effects with some but not sure how they fare against coil/implant as ive only ever had pills
The Mirena has been brilliant for me. I’m on my third one now, and it has stopped my bleeding all together. Wonderful thing.
I decided against the implant for some reason (can’t remember now), but you need to decide for your reasons which way you go.
And yes, the whole point of the Mirena is no condoms. I detest them.
I have the Mirena coil and I’m on my 3rd one. Apart from the removal and insertion of the new one every 5 years which for me was exceptionally painful - it’s been amazing. I suffered from endometriosis for years (very heavy, painful periods plus period pain for a week before and after plus pain during sex and even my orgasms induced period pain). No periods, solved my period pain and never fell pregnant. 100% recommend
Hey, I had the Mirena for years. Never had any issues with it, even the insertion and removal wasn’t painful, just a few mins of mild discomfort (I have had kids though)
Think I had 3 Mirena coils before I had to have a hysterectomy for an unrelated issue. I was extremely happy with the Mirena and it was 100% effective for me. Especially great if you don’t want a method of contraception you need to plan, just remember to go for a yearly check up!
What about your other half getting the vasectomy
I think this may cause a problem as @Kirsty92 has indicated she wants more children in the future but not instantly. @Craig1234
We have talked about both sides (he says itll be best for him to get snipped instead of me getting tubes tied but we have discussed both) one day but at the moment we may want more kids in the future.
thank you guys, Im definitely going to speak to a dr asap and see if I can get one done. Not sure on which although im leaning towards the implant, I think. I’ll be too worried about my fella hurting himself especially at the start.
@Kirsty92
I would consider him to get the snip - it’s fast easy and 100% sure of no seed escaping
I feel it’s wrong for the woman to have to be in charge of birth control and the coil can be very painful
we have both discussed pretty much all options i feel. I honestly dont mind and even said ill have my tubes tied in the future but he said he would have the snip but atm we may want more kids in the future so we arent going down either of those routes for the time being, at least until we can be sure we dont want any more.