If you name it, I've tried it...I'm the birth control guinea pig for all my friends since I'm a nurse..
The pill was great when I was a normal person and got up in the mornings and went to bed at night..I took it when I took out my contacts every night...No side effects, three day periods, and no PMS. Piece of cake until I started working night shift, but only three days a week. Plus I was smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day then. (I have since quit) So..next we went to Depo Provera.
I loved Depo the first year. My OB/Gyn let me just have the prescription and give it to myself so I wouldn't have to come see her all the time. I didn't gain weight, I didn't have my period at all, and I loved not having to worry. Then, after my fourth shot, I started to fall apart. I gained almost 15 pounds in two months, I started getting really depressed, and then found out that one of the side effects of Depo was decreased bone density. I am a tall thin white female who doesn't like milk, so it was a no brainer for me. My boyfriend (now husband) wouldn't LET me get another shot, since I was so crazy and had such horrible mood swings. FYI.. not everyone takes so long to get pregnant...A co-worker got pregnant seven months after Depo. The down side was that when my period finally came after 15 months, it was very painful.
Then I went to Lunelle.. the once a month shot. Sucked. They took it off the market, in fact. My period came for the spring and never left...On two days, off three days, off six days, on seven, etc... It was the worst experience of my life...
On to Nuva Ring.. I quit using it simply because I thought it was disgusting... This ring stays inside you... and it's not like a diaphragm that you can take out and rinse... it stays in... I hated it and couldn't wait for it to be time to change it.
SO...here we are with the Ortho Evra Patch. If I were single, there is NO way I'd be on this thing. It is hideous, a patch on my bum with dirty bandaid edges. They slip a little and get filthy. I however, have NEVER had one come off. Not even after a whole day at Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. I always wear it on my behind, alternating cheeks, so that it won't show in the skimpiest of bikinis. But I can't help but think that if I were single, I wouldn't want some guy looking at my bum in the heat of the moment and getting grossed out. My husband says he doesn't mind, but I wonder. Other than that, I have no side effects, but my period is nowhere near as short and light as it was on the pill. The only reason I stick with it is because I don't forget it.. It's a constant, ugly reminder stuck to my bum. On the downside.. They don't work as well with larger women. Women over 160 pounds or so don't need to use it. And while I am by no means a plus size woman...I am 5'11' and 155 pounds...I am definitely watching my weight.
SO...my longwindedness leads me to one conclusion.. You just need to try them all and see what you like. What is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. Have fun seeing what kind you like!
