What contraception do you use?

Thank you so much for sharing this! :heart:

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No problem. If you have any questions, just ask :slightly_smiling_face:

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Only thing used now is the good old snip

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I have the copper (non-hormonal) cool fitted. I am useless with remembering pills so it works well and despite being moody it’s just natural moody lol :joy:

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Thank you to @BluePup for starting this thread, and for everyone else commenting about their experiences!

I’ve found it incredibly helpful. I’ll be honest in that having tubes tied hadn’t even crossed my mind as an option so it’s been really interesting hearing people’s experiences of it. I’m still unsure if I’ll want children in the future, but it’s good to know about the options available!

It also made me think about sex education in schools etc, the only forms of contraception that were spoken about were condoms and “the pill” - bizarre.

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Thank you so much for you all to come together and share your experiences! It’s so nice to have somewhere people, especially those of the female sex, can come together and discuss stuff like this. It’s such a shame it’s not talked about. It’s lovely to see it here.

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I have been unsure for a while about having kids which is why I went for the coil, the non hormone copper coil lasts for 10 years but if you decide in the meantime that you want kids it’s dead easy to have it removed and because no hormones you are good to go pretty much straight away :slightly_smiling_face:

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We use a mix of condoms & cycle tracking which means we can actually have quite a lot of unprotected sex.
Have tried quite a few options over the years but my wife was always really sensitive to the side effects so this natural-ish solution was the best fit we’ve found.

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We’ve had our 3rd child this year and decided that would be enough so I had the snip done exactly one week ago. Bit of pain for a few days and a dull ache for nearly a week but all seems back to normal now. Will need to wait a few months to make sure it worked but after that we will be able to go back to no condoms which we prefer

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I’ve just come off the mini pill, for me it worked well it stopped my periods which was great as I often have painful heavy ones.

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We have gone through a range of contraception. When we first got together Loz was on the pill, then she wanted a break from that so we went onto condoms - then she had the implant in and we were both really happy that we would be free to ditch the condoms, unfortunately the implant ruined loz’s drive for a year or two until she had it removed, we then started trying for a baby so none at all for a spell, we’ve now got two children so it’s my turn to take the lead - I am gonna get the snip because being honest I hate condoms (as does Loz) but I suppose the snip is out of the question until Covid fecks off!

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I was sterilised at 32 after deciding I wanted to stop at two children! Best thing I ever did! Now I’m not on the pill my sex drive has gone right up and I have one very happy husband :rofl:

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Hi @Mint-Monster and @SexyS87 , it’s really good to read your experiences. I am assuming (maybe wrongly?) that you are both in the UK, if so, can I ask did you manage to get the sterilisation done via the NHS or did you go private?

It would very much be my contraception option of choice but it has never even been considered by the doctors I have seen. I am mid 30s and don’t want children. The last time I went it did seem the doctor might actually have been thinking that since I’m no longer young, perhaps I did mean it but before then it had always been, “Well there’s still plenty of time, you might change your mind”. How do I convince them I will not?

Also, probably a completely stupid question or one I could Google the answer to but @Mint-Monster when you say,

How do you know if they fail?

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That’s right, I’m in the UK and got it done on the NHS. However, some districts of the NHS do not offer sterilisation so it might be worth checking.

I went to my GP who had no issue giving me a referral to see a gynecologist for a consultation. I actually had to see 2 of them. The first one (seemed) understanding and gave the OK for the op - even to have my tubes removed. Went to the pre-op check up and everything. Only then I got another call that same day to tell me that it won’t be going ahead and I had to see another gynecologist because the first one changed their mind. It was very dehumanising and I was devastated. After a few complaint letters, it certainly sped things up. The 2nd gynecologist was a real hard-ass. Oh boy. THIS was the guy I had to convince. Consultation (argumentation) was an hour long. He agreed in the end, but only for clips. Hell, I’ll take it after that battle.

The things that helped me were my research and basically an essay of why I wanted to be sterilised. He wasn’t interested in my statement, only the research. He said I’ve clearly put some thought and care into this to know what I want. My partner also came in with me for extra support. I think I gave him the impression that I won’t be letting this go without a fight, haha.

Convincing can be hard, but hit them with facts and honesty. Don’t give them a leg to stand on until they are left with nothing but to trust in your judgement. :+1:

As for the failing part, no contraceptive is 100% effective. I think the clips have a 1 in 300 fail rate or 2-3 in 1000? Something like that. What we agreed was a fail was either I got pregnant or the clips simply didn’t agree with me (pain, allergies, etc.). But so far so good.

Hope that answers your questions. Don’t be afraid to ask more, though :relaxed:

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I am in the UK and had the procedure through the NHS. It all depends on your doctor if you get referred. I was referred straight away, but that was because I have two children, my youngest 8 and have been with my husband 15 years. Saying that, they still fired lots of questions at me about the future, but I stood my ground and made it clear it was what I wanted! As for how do you know when they fail, you only know what you fall pregnant :see_no_evil:

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We just don’t have sex. Works a treat. Side effects include mood swings and feeling rejected but he ho.

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Thank you @Mint-Monster @Goth_Girl and @SexyS87 that’s really helpful.

IF they let me go back to depo next time I would be happy with that as it worked well for me so hopefully they’ll agree I’ve been off it long enough because the implant is driving me mad with mood swings, cramps, etc. and I’m fed up with it. Tried some other options before but depo was the only one I actually got on with. Good to know that sterilisation is possible via the NHS albeit with a battle.

Ah, okay, I thought that was probably the case but seems extreme failure! :rofl:

Thank you all very much again!

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