what are other safe options of birth control other than the pill or Depo?
920587
well, i've tried many different forms of birth control and the one that i found most effective and easiest is an IUD called mirena.  It is 99.9% effective (more so than sterilization) and you don't have to remember to do anything.  It is inserted at the opening of the cervix and stays there up to 5 years.  If at any point you'd like to have children, you can have it removed and start trying immediately.  The only drawback to this IUD is that if you have had an ectopic pregnancy it increases your chances.  Talk to your gyn, most insurances cover it.  No mess, no thought, no problems :)
480357
I am having the same exact problem, and am looking into Ortho Tricyclen-Lo, and other low hormone alternatives.  Because I was prescribed birth control specifically to regulate my periods, I don't really have the option of getting off it.\n\nIf you decide to get off of it altogether, VCF (Vaginal Contraceptive Film), is not messy and is effective in preventing pregnancy.  I highly recommend it.
790409
WELL...do I have a lot to say about this!\nWhen I got to college, I decided to get on birth control because I was sexually active.  I originally started on Depo Provera.  I went through three shots, then stopped them because I was concerned about the severe cramping and spotting I was having.  When I stopped taking them, I had a period for a straight month and then very irregular menstruation for a year thereafter.  :(  \n\nThen, a year later, when I was on serious boyfriend #2, I decided to go on the pill.  I kept forgetting them at inconvenient times - rushed trips across the state because of a relative in the hospital, etc.  This was not effective at all.  Plus, I had the worst loss of libido ever.  I was pretty moody.  My boyfriend said that it was how the BC worked...he couldn't get any!!   And I was rather disappointed about how the Pill *didn't* clear up my monthly acne breakouts.\n\nThen, I decided to go on the Ortho Evra patch.  I loved it...until I had a blood clot.  I had throbbing pain in my right arm one night for hours, then my whole right side went numb for a couple of days.  It passed, but I was advised not to go on hormonal BC for another year. \n\nI was recently cleared to take the progesterone-only pills (like Depo, but no shot), but my now-husband and I decided it wasn't worth the risk to my health.  Now, we always use condoms and we're very careful close to my fertile time...\n\nI think that only your doctor and you can really go through the pros and cons of hormonal BC.  Sometimes a woman's body chemistry handles the hormones differently.  Monitor your symptoms after going on the BC and then keep in touch with your MD.
834464
if you are looking for birth control, i enjoyed the patch. you change it every week and you wear a patch for 3 weeks of the month. condoms are great to use. trojan is the most trusted brand for me. they never have broke and they make a variety of satisfying condoms. if you don't want to notice the condom as much, i suggest trojan ultra thin.
599597
You do need to use another form of birth control if you want to prevent pregnancy.\n\n"Norplant should be removed after seven years — five years for overweight women — because it stops working, and it can cause menstrual irregularities. It can also be removed anytime earlier. The clinician will numb the area with a painkiller and will usually make one small cut to remove all six of the implants. Removal takes up to 30 minutes. Norplant may be more difficult to locate in some women. Removal for them may require more than one visit and/or several incisions. Pregnancy can happen anytime after the implants are removed."\n\nhttp://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/pub-birth-control-06.xml\n\nYou can get more information on Norplant at the sites provided.\n\nhttp://www.ivf.com//npt.html\n\n"The Contraceptive Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that has established a Norplant Removal Program aimed at helping uninsured and underinsured women gain access to removal of the Norplant system. Women considering the Contraception Foundation Norplant Removal program should call 1-800-760-9030 to determine if they meet the Contraception Foundation's eligibility criteria."\n\nhttp://www.webmd.com/content/article/9/2953_525
710094
there are many options but still have some side effects. you can also use iud, or natural family planning methods. you can ask your gyne for birth control that may suits you and your hubby.\n\nsee this site for more info: http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/index.htm\n\ncongrats!
820051
I have heard many bad things about depo....I've also heard of many women getting pregnant while on it.....I know that mircette is a good birth control. Ortho tricyclen lo isn't too bad either, but it depends on your body chemistry. Some pills will give you horrible side effects and some won't give you any. You just have to try a few bc pills until you find the right one. Again, I recommend mircette.
933823
As a nurse, I am going to tell you up front - nothing is 100% effective against pregnancy except abstinence.  That obviously not being the case, you should also be using a spermacide along with your birth control pills.  STILL this will not be 100% effective.  You could also use condoms...  Even with condoms, you're still at risk for pregnancy.  Of course knowing your partner is clean is essential.  Have you both been tested for STD's?  Please, take it from me, you DON'T want or need a disease.  BE SAFE.
207587
There is a birth control injection that you can get where you only have a periond a few times a year. Some people can tolerate it, some cant. But it does work. Ask your gyn about it.
460200
Exercise! Eating right. What you would normally use to lose weight. Don't use the lose weight pills. Those can be dangerous and could interact with the depo still in your system.
838032
As long as you know that you will be safe (from STD's) then you shouldn't go without other protection.  However if you do know that you are safe then you should wait a full month before you stop using other protection.  My doctor told me that there is always a chance in that first month of taking the pill that you can get pregnant.  Your body has to get used to it and it will take a full cycle for that to happen.  \n\nGood Luck To You :)
434608
types of birth control and your chances of getting pregnant\n\n-no birth control(85%)\n\n-spermicides alone(26%) spermicide usualy looks like a small pill, but its a substance that when put into your vagina will melt and become effective\n\n-periodic abstinance(25%) this is when you count the days between your periods and find out which ones youre not fertil on\n\n-withdrawl(19%) this is when the man pulls out right before he goes\n\n-cervical cap w/ spermicide(20-40%) this is a small rubber thing that looks like a cap that you fill with spermicide and place into your vagina\n\n-vaginal sponge(20-40%) this is a sponge you place into your vagina that is supposed to catch the sperm once it has entered\n\n-diphragm w/ spermicide(20%) much like the cap\n\n-condom alone (male)(14%) the rubber condom a man wears\n\n-condom alone (female)(21%) this condom goes into a girl rather than onto a guy\n\n-oral contaceptives(5%) this is the pill, you will usually take one a day, or with some new ones, one a week\n\n-IUD(less than 1-2%) this is something your gyno will have to place inside of you\n\n-injection(less than 1%) a shot you give yourself, usually once every 3 months\n\n-sterallization(less than 1%) a medical procedure that makes you infertil...this is permanent\n\n-nuvaring(1-2%) this is a small vaginal ring that you place into your vagina once a month and it releases hormones the way the pill would\n\nbut, no form of birth control can prevent STD...condoms do help so ALWAYS wear one unless youve both been tested, but know that they still can be obtained if a condom is being used.  also, if you are planning on getting on birth control talk to you gynocologist and ask him/her which one is best for you!
74818
as some people suggested, abstinence is the only way to avoid all risk of getting pregnant.  However, if that is not an option you want to take, there are alternatives that work very well if you use your head.\n\nCondoms are always highly recommended.  They have a good success rate of preventing pregnancy and STDs.  Even if you take a pill or some other form, you should still use condoms!  They are going to prevent STD which pills, etc can not do.\n\nHere's the deal - \nPills:  you have to take every day at approx the same time.  if you miss one or two it is not going to make you extremely fertile but the risk of getting pregnant does increase.  this can also cause weight gain and your body will take time to adjust to it (several months).  benefits can include very well timed periods, with flow & length of time decreasing the longer you are on the pill.  Also, studies show that risk of ovarian cancer decreases if you are on the pill for 5 yrs or more.  Ortho tricyclen also helps with breakouts.  if you do decide you want to get pregnant, you may have difficulty until you have been off the pill for several months.\n\nShots:\nCan make your period stop altogether after some time.  This (in my opinion) is good and bad.  good b/c no period, bad b/c that's what gives you the hint that you could be pregnant.  Also, weight gain is more of an issue on this.   You only get it every 3 months but have to go to the doctor.\n\nPatch-\nyou can wear it in one of about 4 places, change once a week for three weeks and then nothing the 4th week.  I haven't heard the best reviews about this and imagine that it would be like wearing a bandaid for a week.  can cause rash in the area of application.\n\nI haven't tried the ring or those other internal options.  best thing would be for you to talk over it with a doctor (you'll have to anyhow for a prescription).  think about what would work best for your life.  can you remember a pill everyday?  maybe you don't want a period at all?  is the risk of weight gain worth it?  also note that there is some interaction with antibiotics that will decrease the effectiveness of birthcontrol.
955048
You know, this is a really interesting question, to which I had no idea of the answer.  Well done!  So I hit up google and this is what I found.\n\nAs far as I can tell, the answer is that there isn't any nonsynthetic hormonal birth control out there.  Why?  I'm also unsure of the answer to this one but I  can make a guess.  \n\n1.  Availability: Progesterone and estradiol, the two hormones used in synthetic form, do not occur in nature outside of the human body.  The people who pursue natural alternatives would presumably have an ethical problem with the extraction of these from living people:)  \n2.  Cost: It is cheaper to make a synthetic product than rely on natural sources.  As an example, so-called natural progesterone is extracted from yams... but what if one year's bad weather destroys the yam harvest?  All your customers are hosed.  Or if some yams have much higher hormone levels than others?  It'd take a lot more work to get a consistent, high-purity product that would pass the strict FDA regulations, and big pharma companies don't want to spend the money or time.\n3. Demand: If an unregulated natural therapy fails to help your menopausal symptoms, what happens?  You have hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, etc.  Usually they will go away on their own in a few years, or you can live with them.  If a birth control method fails you're stuck with an unwanted pregnancy, leading to an abortion, adoption, or 18+ years of caring for a kid.  The consequences are more severe, making people more inclined to try a vasectomy or Copper-T IUD or condoms than purchase a possibly ineffective drug.
1178738
All I can say and for surety.. there is no REAL safe thing to do. That is.. you take a risk whether it is a pill for contraception.. using a condom, or the morning after pill, etc.The chances that the above methods WILL work are about 95% in your favor but there is always that 5%..
1135422
coming home from where? been gone a long time? well, I personally dont have great luck with birth control.. got my two kids off the pill and the patch.. try "Conceptro" spermicidal gel and condoms.. or just the gel.. it says on the package to be used with or without.. about $12 at Walmart.
648655
It really depends on your preference.  Although they are both extremely effective, they do have their own pros and cons.\n\nDepo shot is good for those people that can't remember to take a pill everyday.  You just go in and have a shot every three months.  Most people experience very light or no periods.  However, some people tend to gain weight, have headaches, mood swings, and irritability.  The problem is, you can't really do anything about it because the injection lasts all three months versus a pill that you can just discontinue.\n\n"The Pill" is another birth control alternative that can cause side effects like the Depo but once again, you can stop taking it.  You do have to remember to take it everyday and some people complain of stomach aches.  This can usually be remedied by eating a small snack with the pill of just before you go to bed so you sleep through it.  \n\nThere are also other alternatives out there such as the patch, the OrthoEvra ring which is a hormone ring that you insert once a week and it directs the hormones right to your female organs.  There is also the IUD (intrauterine device) which you can get hormonal or copper based.  This is inserted and can last up to seven years.  The only problem is most Doctors require that you have had a child first to insure adequate space.