effective long term birth control advice needed please

[WhatAcow]

neither of us want any more, but am only 29 so dont really want to make the final and permanent decision just yet...

no3 (out of my own bod, no4 in total) is due this month and although this is a lovely problem to have, i am way too fertile!!

and disorganised. the pill, condoms, stuff like that will just not do it. this is my 3rd baby in 3 yrs FGS!

so am thinking about a coil. had one b4, in v early 20's (mine, not 'the' 20's! ) and found it made periods heavy long and painful, but now my uterus has been somewhat 'stretched' that shouldnt happen now right?? anyone know??

have heard that theres a new one with hormones in it which isnt as painful...

NotAcow, did you have your coil fitted prior to having your kids? Apparently, you a much less likely to suffer any pain from it after having had children. I have had absolutley no discomfort. But, I haven't had a period yet as I'm bfeeding. I love the no hormone aspect, and the fact that i can forget about contraception for 8 years.

dramaqueen: when you talk about bad side effects when you were on the pill, was that combined pill or minipill? I am ok on minipill but had problems with combined pill.
Important thing about getting coil fit is make sure it's on your period; else it's pretty traumatic; don't think I could face it again.

Belo - yes, it was before i had kids and ive heard the same thing, that now that my womb is a little more, lets say mature (and saggy!!) it shouldnt be the same...
... but jetlagdzebra has said that she had hers after 2 kids and still had problems.

Not that that means i will, of course.

i also have in mind my mother (the MW) saying that she has delivered a few babies who come out with coil in hand [gasp!] imagine i would spend whole pregnancy worrying about it embedding in baby if i did get pg with it in. as i say, iam very very fertile... hence the added 'protection' of the hormone element would be welcome.

but i, like you, would really, in an ideal world (huh?) rather not mess with natural hormone levels day in day out. just doesnt seem like a good idea really, in the grand scheme of things.

guess i'll just have to try one out and find out what works for me...

Like bozza I've just had the Implanon implant fited and I think it's great. I was squeamish about coil insertion (particularly as I've never had a vaginal birth) and worried after stories on here of women who became pregnant with coils inserted.
My periods have gone from being faint inducing heavy to being not much more than spotting, though they do tend to last for longer (but I'll take 7 days of spotting over 3 days of haemorraging sp). And you get to freak people out by wiggling a bit of plastic in your arm . Also, the hormone level is significantly lower than that in oral contracptives because of the more direct transmission.

Have been reading more about contraception and still don't know what to do, eg Depo-Provera you have to have the injection during the first few days of your period. What happens if you haven't had a period yet? It took me 18 months to get my periods back after the birth of dd. ds2 is only 5 months but I don't want to risk using breastfeeding alone as a contraception. Does that mean I have to wait? Also if the coil is fitted can it be done at any time? couldnt find any info about this but jetlagdZebra you said its best to get it done during your period otherwise its traumatic - why? Also that leaves me same problem if I've not resumed periods yet.

Anyone tried femidoms?

I use the T-safe coil which has no hormone in it. Lasts for 8 years. Very, very heavy periods for the first 5 months, totally unmanageable, but now settled into regular, light periods.

me too QE2..

Eulalia - a friend described using a Femidom, bluntly, as like shagging with a crisp packet in. You can here it crinkle. No ta! I went for Depo and had no issues and no perids as a bonus. Am know thinking of trying it again. The slight hestitation for us is that number 3 might be a goer in a year or two and I took 18 months to conceive DD2 and I would be hurtling towards 40 if there was the same delay again.

I don't really care about crisp packet noises. thanks for alerting me though! Am willing to put up with it if it makes life easier. For the moment I'd like to make the most of the natural contraceptive effects of breastfeeding and no periods and just back it up with something, either condoms or femidoms....then maybe look at the implant as I like the idea of less hormones and seems less invasive than the others.

Has any body had severe pain after the insertion of Mirena? I had fainting, vomiting, and scarily low blood pressure for 2 hours while still in the clinic, before having it removed again!

Went to my GP who said it could have been stuck in my cervix, and caused endocervical shock, whatever that is....

I'm wondering if it was just me, if I'm a funny shape or something, or if it was just bad luck!but it was way too painful to try again!

Recently had the implant fitted (Implanon) and am really struggling to maintain my weight despite swimming twice a week and watching what i eat and am having trouble with mood swings too plus headaches. Has anyone else experienced the same thing?