To be struggling to work out my best contraceptive option?

[squeakpiggysqueak]

Am finding this quite hard. Name changed as obviously it's a bit personal.

I know the normal port of call is a family planning clinic but there are none local to me. My GP surgery is pretty shit, and are only interested in promoting depo and mirena.

I've had depo, it's had a terrible effect on me - constant bleeding, not just spotting, headaches, weight gain and mood swings. I'm 42, I'd never taken hormonal contraception before and wish I'd never bothered, it very clearly doesn't agree with me.

After nearly a year on depo I've given up. Latest injection was due last week, I didn't have it.

So where does that leave me and my partner? I'm not prepared to take the chance of any form of hormonal contraception again. It clearly doesn't suit me. I know if I try the pill, or mirena, it'll be the same and my GP will keep saying blithely oh it gets better after 3/6/9/12 months. But it doesn't!

It's a relatively new relationship of just over 12 months. My partner isn't keen to have a vasectomy as he is only mid 30s (we don't want any more children, but if we split up, or I died -hopefully not! - in the next 10-15 years he might have children with a new partner). A vasectomy seems pretty final to both of us and I understand his reluctance.

So to my mind that leaves us with condoms. Not an issue for either of us except in that they do stop the flow slightly. I've also had condoms break in the past (once with my current partner) so that's a bit of a worry.

Are there any other options I'm missing? My cycle has been all over place for last few years (no period for 3 months, then one that lasted for 3 months, then every 6 weeks, every 2 weeks and then totally random) and all this even before the current constant bleeding, so we couldn't just simply avoid when I'm ovulating or whatever.

[Mammanat222]

I have just had a baby and will soon be needing to consider my options. Got very excited when I read about essure but I need to do a load more research.

I will not do anything hormonal. I did consider the copper coil but have read too many negative things so that leaves condoms which we don't like all that much. I've also had an unplanned pregnancy with condoms before and 11 day old dd is the result of sex once that cycle OH gets me pregnant extremely easily. We have 2 kids but I've been pregnant 6 times. Sadly we suffered 4 recurrent miscarriages before having our children.

[JennieR60]

Copper coil is a fab. This is my second. Had the first removed to try for my last child. If your partner can feel the strings which is rare they can trim them slightly.

They can give u a 10 year one. I think I'm going for that next time. X

[microferret]

Copper coil. I had mine in for 4 years with no issues except worse-than-usual cramps during ovulation and menstruation. In the fourth year I developed permanent cramping and had to have it removed, but before that it worked like a charm!

However, regarding the Mirena, the hormones in it are only a tiny amount and stay localised in your uterus (ie don't circulate in your bloodstream) from what I understand. I've suffered crippling depression on the pill so I'm also wary of hormonal contraception but I think the Mirena works in a very different way to the pill and isn't likely to cause you depression or mood swings. My friend has it and it's made her periods extremely light to the point where they pretty much don't happen at all.

[Eastwickwitch]

New IUCD called Jaydess, like a Mirena but much lower dose. Lasts for 3 years. ?