To ask about contraception in over 50s

[Savoretti]

I am 51 and looking for contraception advice. New relationship, we have been using condoms but would like something else.
GP advised mirena coil but it sounds like it can be painful and uncomfortable and other side effects I’m wondering as it’s only going to be for a short period of time (til age 55?), would something else just be easier and less hassle, like mini pill or implant/injection? Any advice from anyone in the know would be great
Thanks

Yes you could have those too

www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/factsheets/contraception-older-woman/

Oh they are obsessed with coils

Other options are fine. Combined pill might be fine for you.

Looks like implant and injection is only up to age 50

Combined pill only until age 50 too as long as there are no risk factors

Thanks @dementedpixie
Looks like it’s cool or mini pill from that article....
Feel really nervous about coil so maybe mini pill is the way to go to start....

I'm 48 with no health problems and using the combined pill which I'm told will be stopped when I'm 50. Also wondering what to do after then!

My GP is pushing me towards having a coil but I don’t like the idea of it TBH. However, you MUST take some form of contraception. I am recovering from a rather nasty miscarriage earlier in the week. I’m 54 I had no idea I was pregnant and certainly have no plans for further children.

Mirena should not be painful or uncomfortable apart from possibly the fitting. I could not feel it when in place and it reduces bleeding.

Hell would freeze over before I would have the coil, and I don't know why the doctors keep pushing it on women. I have heard too many horror stories about it.

Contraceptive implant. Nope. Also heard some negative stuff about that.

@Savoretti

Why can't you carry on using condoms?

www.guidelinesinpractice.co.uk/womens-health/contraception-for-women-aged-over-40-what-when-and-for-how-long/453901.article

Although this says implant would be ok

I did try the mini pill for a month after one of the nurses declared I was too old (about 45) I bled every single day! Not much, but enough to make it a very good contraceptive!!

Isn’t there a male contraceptive yet? Annoys me how we have to shove stuff in our bodies, quite literally speaking!
What about a cup OP?

• cap - stupid autocorrect

See some PPs have offered really good advice.

But I wanted to add rhat if you've not considered it, please do both get tested before doing away with condoms altogether.

HIV is on the rise in the over 50s. Google it for the news reports and figures.

If I'm teaching you to suck eggs, I apologise. But wanted you to be mindful of you'd not considered it. Good luck.

@Iwashackedhonestmrs You've really shocked me! I'm really sorry about your miscarriage and I can completely appreciate how unexpected it must have been.
I'm 52 and on HRT, stable relationship and haven't given contraception a second thought in quite some time. Approaching menopause and periods are no longer regular, sometimes every 2 weeks, sometimes every 6-8 weeks. I'm currently feeling very PMS-y and haven't had a period for at least weeks so now I'm wondering...

At least 6 weeks*

mostinept Get thee to Boots! Their own brand strips are £4.99 for 5. I bumped into a school mum when I was buying mine

OP - yes, do get your new partner checked out. STIs are quite prevalent amongst the over 50s.

We’re a dirty lot, aren’t we?

STIs all done. Condoms can continue but I’d definitely prefer something else. Think I’m going to give the mini pill a whirl first. Same hormone it seems. Just worried about side effects of coil, at least with pill i can just stop it if I get acne or the like

I'm nearly 48, been on the mini pill for 12 years.
Doc says I'm fine till fifty as a non smoker and overweight and he'll review it at 50, but if nothing changes I'm still good to take it.
I've always had regular but light periods with the mini pill.

I haven’t used contraceptives snce mid 1990’s when I gained lots of weight in just 3 months after a Depo Provera injection. They all have side effects. My husband stated that he would never take medical contraception so he didn’t expect me to either. He doesn’t want me to potentially harm my body. We’ve been using conforms for 25 years, never had a problem.

**condoms

I teach sexual health in schools for a charity, and the chair is a GP. We are in an area with a lot of OAPs, and she said she is diagnosing loads of HPV, syphilis and chlamydia in over 60s. Obviously you are not there yet, but PLEASE continue to use condoms until both you and partner have a clear STI test.

I have a Mirena; I had the first in early 1994 and have replaced them as recommended since. I’m on my last now at 61 which is part of my HRT. Clearly it has been brilliant for me and the reason it’s pushed so much is because its such a good option for so many people. Don’t discount it on the basis of hearsay, do some research so you can make an informed judgement.

I have a Mirena; I had the first in early 1994 and have replaced them as recommended since. I’m on my last now at 61 which is part of my HRT. Clearly it has been brilliant for me and the reason it’s pushed so much is because its such a good option for so many people. Don’t discount it on the basis of hearsay, do some research so you can make an informed judgement

This. No method of contraception suits everyone. Mirena coils get a bad rap on MN, but they have transformed the lives of perimenopausal women by avoiding the need for hysterectomies to control heavy, irregular periods. Some of the MNetters who complain about GPs 'pushing' coils should talk to their mothers' generation about what they went through - coping with years of flooding and anaemia in their 40s, followed by major surgery.

Mirenas are also brilliant for providing a low dose of progesterone for HRT and, used alongside a topical oestrogen, are the safest form of combined HRT.