To wonder why the pill is still the most popular contraceptive?

[westernnurse]

With all the other methods out there now like the injection/implant/coils which are all far more reliable than the pill and don't require the user to remember to take a pill every day.

I'm a CASH nurse and it always amazes me how so many women flat out refuse to even try any of the alternative methods. One woman who had been on the pill for a few years but had to stop taking it due to health issues outright refused to try out any of the alternatives because they sounded "horrible" and decided to just stick to condoms.

I think there's a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding these methods and people believe them and this puts people off.

I'm so happy to read that so many of u are on the pill and completely happy with it. I sometimes feel as though I am the only one the way docs/nurses go on about it! I have been using the pill since I was about 16 just for periods at first til I started having sex. I haven't been on it for longer than 3 years at any one time but it has always been great for me in between having our children.
My second child, dd, has just gone 14 months and I stopped breastfeeding about a month ago so am ready to go back onto contraception soon. We are currently using condoms but my intention is to go back on to my usual pill once I decide the time is right. Its such a personal thing for each woman, I don't mind being given information on alternatives but at the end of the day the decision is mine and mine only. Who knows my body better than me?!
I hate going to your baby's 6 week check and being bombarded with questions about contraception, mind your own bloody business, if I wanted another baby immediately, that is my bloody choice, sod off. I want to be in control of my fertility

Half I got the pill aged 19 in '96 with nothing more than a blood pressure check. 19 year olds can't get smears even if they ask for them and internal exams were something I didn't experience until during childbirth many years later.

You say your GP retired with an MBE. So did Rolf Harris. Unless there were other circumstances that you've not mentioned, it sounds like he assaulted you.

....and tomorrow you can find what you said quoted in a DM article on contraception

I have seen that happen before...

This morning I had my first depo injection as I have run out of pills to try that I get on with.
The nurse who did it said depo is not advised long term because it causes bone density problems.
I can't use tampons so there's no way I'd even attempt a coil.

The pill is great. i take it every day, and can take it back to back if I like. I know that I won't have my period. I have a holiday in may, and also my birthday & valentines coming up. I won't have a period on any of these dates. all good1
Implant looks vile, mirena coild freaks me out, injection is strange (i hate needles although I can get pierced and tattooed)

oh and condoms make me feel sick!

It's not an issue for me (hysterectomy at 28), but I had a mirena coil after I had my second child and it was the most painful, awful experience of my life.

I am not a fan of any kind of hormonal contraception at all (use NFP) but the idea of something in my body that I need to get a doctor's agreement to remove makes me shudder. Especially a coil, with all the associated awkward poking and prodding. Some people may love them, but equally well some people seem to have horrendous experiences, and there's no way I'd ever take the risk.

I stuck with the pill because I know how I react to being on it and how it reacts to the masses of other meds I need to take. Everything else is an unknown quantity and as the other meds end up having to be farted about with all the time why confuse the mix. If that changed I would consider something else. It's all a bit of a moot point at the moment as we are trying and failing to have another baby so it's feeling a bit of a why did I ever bother moment! I never understood why it's so difficult to remember to take one every day but that might be because I take so many different meds some daily some weekly and some fortnightly and have done for 15 yrs that the daily ones seem like a piece of cake.

Because after I came off the depo after a year still no proper periods, got pregnant and mc and got admitted to hospital with really bad blood loss..

A friend had the implant and ended up ripping it out her arm as it gave her continues bleeding and the doctor wouldn't remove it.

Coil don't want things up my fanjo that's metal/copper/plastic

I like to be in control on my own body so the pill is best I can stop any day.

For me, it's all to do with how quickly your fertility comes back. I am on the pill (even though I hate being on it and will purposely miss pills if I can get away with it) But at least with the pill your fertility can come back quite quickly, my sister fell pregnant just a month after coming off it. The implant just scares me and makes me queasy, the coil might get jammed and damage your vagina, and the injection is just plain horrible. Who wants to wait for up to a year for trying for a baby, imagine REALLY wanting a baby and knowing you have to wait up to a year to concieve, that's my idea of hell.

@Elysia1993 what on earth compelled you to answer a 4 and a half year old thread?!

Because I use it to remain Childfree while also opting out of periods. An implant could make me bleed a lot or make me gain weight and it’s not pleasant to remove. An IUD would involve ‘wrenching open the cervix’ said my doctor, and is too easily displaced and could make me bleed a lot. Nope. It’s not difficult to remember to take a pill every day.

If someone reacts badly to the pill, they can simply stop taking it. Others require time or even a potentially hard to get appointment. I’m not willing to use any hormonal birth control I don’t have full control over.

I think it's because the pill seems to be always offered. I guess it's often the first bc that you are given and if it works, you don't ask for a new one. I've used a few differnt birth control methods and if I recall correctly I had to request other than pills when I wanted to try something new

Implant/injection - too many bad stories. Everyone I know on implant has gained weight or had loads of on/off bleeding. Do not like the inability to rapidly reverse effects.

In general now in my thirties, I intensely dislike all hormonal contraception (pill included) as I feel you lose track of what is naturally happening in your own body/cycle, which for many people can lead to missing signs of fertility problems.
The pill at least can be considered the "least bad" imho in the sense that it can be used on a relatively temporary basis.

I really want a hormone free copper coil, and have been infuriated by GPs reluctance to do this despite the fact that they are cheap, reversible and I have very very light periods so could cope with them being heavier. GPs get money for promoting hormonal versions of the coil.

Oh, didn't notice the date before responding.

I am on the mini pill for awful periods. It’s fantastic! My periods have stopped and I don’t get pmt.

The surgery have asked a number of times if I have thought anymore about the coil. Why would I want that when the pill works so well for me? Friends with coils have all had mixed reactions to them. I only know one person who had an implant and she bled continuously until it was removed. I have no objection to the implant or injection and would have tried the coil if nothing else worked but the pill is fantastic for me. I take it because of my periods not because I want a contraceptive but find it easy to remember to take.

As a young adult I was on the combined pill which i also found great. Regular lighter periods and you could take back to back if going on holiday - win win,