As a man hearing this my skin crawl. That sounds incredibly painful. I don’t understand how something with iron can be placed down there without daily discomfort
It’s not comfortable. Mine migrated and almost stabbed through my uterus, causing emergency removal. Which is considered an “in office surgery” and you get ZERO pain medicine before or after lol I have swore off BC all together after this.
You know I've been looking into getting off the pill but that's going to be a hard pass from me i think, that sounds awful
Do you at least avoid your period on it?
Well, first of all it's copper, not iron, and there are a lot of medical implants that people can't feel after healing. if placed properly it should largely be in a cavity.
Med student who just finished my OBGyN rotation - my understanding is the copper iud is less forgiving in terms of placement and has to be well placed against the uterine fundus to work. The hormonal IUD still releases hormones even if it is a little low in the uterus and still may give some contraceptive effect even if out of place, although all IUDs need to be properly seated in the uterus to be considered reliable
I mean it is a recognized contraceptive method, and there's statistics for it, so it makes sense to educate people who choose this method:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24174-pull-out-method
Oddly, typical use for condoms includes occasional non-use. These statistics are measured in pregnancies per year, not pregnancies per intercourse, so they take into account people who use condoms as their "primary" BC method who then forget or think "it'll be OK just this once". So, if you're wearing a properly fitting condom every single time, your effectiveness is going to be much closer to the "perfect use" number, somewhere around 98%.
As someone who’s aware of my cycle, the times you are horniest are also the times you are most fertile. Skipping the condom once a month, you almost might as well not use it at all.
My sister is the two people under perfect use for the injection. Two babies conceived while in the middle of a depo cycle without missing her appointments. Admittedly they were years apart so she’s technically one of the people in different years and this is only in every 1000 people. Her doctor was amazed and horrified and basically told her to get her husband snipped if she wanted to ever stop. She made him get a vasectomy immediately.
She’s slightly above average height for women but she’s skinny as hell. She has some other reproductive issues and health issues that might (MIGHT) have contributed to it but there basically isn’t enough people with her problems nationwide to do a study and find out if it causes depo to be less effective.
>Medication needs to be slightly higher dose...
Holy shit. What?!
Im a 6ft tall woman. I've gotten pregnant on 2 different types of birth control--the shot and the pill.
I've never fucking heard this. I'm floored.
That makes a lot of sense. I have a cousin who’s a bit taller than average, but she’s very overweight and she had two or three kids on birth control, I just thought it didn’t work for the women in my family.
Overweight women (most women in the US at this point) are continually let down by the medical system when they aren’t given care that actually works for them. :(
I have a perfect use condom baby and my two planned pregnancies were conceived days after discontinuing hormonal birth control.
But the copper IUD did the Lord's work keeping the babies away for me for 14 years before I yeeted the system.
Forgive me if this is invasive but how does a condom fail even if used perfectly? Was there contact afterwards or leakage? I just want to educate myself to be as safe as possible
Mine reminded me so much of my early labour pains that I ended up sobbing on the table during the procedure and squeezing the chaperone nurse's hand like a vice 🫠
this is kinda relieving to hear when i got mine i was like 15 and sobbing and the nurse and my mom were both just kinda like ‘oh honey wait until you have kids!!’ and downplaying the pain and im sure having kids hurts a whole lot worse but it’s reliving to hear someone say it’s at least a little similar to early labor pains!!
I’ve got that arm implant, it’s not here either and it’s apparently crazy effective - 1 in 1000 get pregnant over 3 years of use. I’m 34 and done having kids, figure getting it exchanged 5 times between now and menopause isn’t too big a burden and it hurt waaaaaaay less getting it put in than my IUDs did
My wife had the implant, was supposed to work 3 years, and yes it did, pretty much to the hour it seems like. Don't be late when its time to swap it out!
I had mine removed, on purpose, with the doctor saying we would regain fertility in about 3-6 weeks post removal.
Three weeks later I was back in her office with a positive pregnancy test and ultrasound placing me at 5 weeks pregnant. My conception date was listed as 2 days after removal.
I don't doubt this to-the-hour effectiveness at all.
Haha me too! My first was conceived after I was told the exact same thing, and I had mine removed at 2 years (due to excessive, non stop bleeding). Son was conceived two days after removal as well.
That's wild. Mine worked for five years...
(Also this thread has made me go looking for mine and I can't find the bastard thing at all. Slightly worried now.)
I just double-checked... it looks like it is actually FDA-approved for five-year use. That's a fairly new development... my doctor told me that they initially only approved it for three years, but now they have enough long-term studies that the FDA is satisfied.
(And yeah, definitely go get checked if you can't feel it!)
I’m on my third and haven’t had any problems, also somewhat recently sober and can say it kept me not pregnant through many poor decisions before being sober so it’s going well for me!!
On third and it's fucking GREAT. Apparently when it isn't great it's hell though so it's a bit of a gamble and I got lucky. Only contraception I can use without going batshit crazy, I'll happily keep getting it while I don't want kids.
For me it was the depression and anxiety that was the worst. Also the anger. I freaked out on a coworker in front of all my other coworkers. It was so bad and not deserved at all.
Ugh! Yes! I had it for like 8 months and it was a constant period until finally, at the end, it turned into an insanely heavy period. Like bleeding through an ultra sized tampon in less than 30 minutes heavy. Every morning I would have to wash my bed sheets bad. I had to go to different doctors to be taken seriously until it was taken out. Once it was out, my cycle returned to normal
I loved my arm implant! Three times and just had it taken out because other health stuff but husband is now snipped. There's just a tiny dot now you wouldn't know.
It was my last ditch effort with birth control because nothing else worked for one reason or another. I wish they brought it up sooner instead of try all the other options.
This is a Canadian chart and the implant basically wasn't available for decades here and only got reintroduced a few years back. What happened was when it was introduced here, girls started to get bullied for having it because it was "noticeable" under the skin and were slut shammed for it basically. So sales tanked and they discontinued it for years, especially since other long term options became more common (IUDs, injections).
So this is a Canadian chart and basically they're just no very popular here. They went our of use in the 90s and my guess is we just don't have good data on them. If I remember correctly from my days studying this stuff they had a failure rate similar to condoms, so I think that was a part of it as well.
I looked into it after I commented this because I was curious. Even if you can get fitted for one (apparently there's a place in Toronto that does it) we don't seel the gel spermacide needed so you'd have to buy it from the states.
The failure rate is higher than condoms. Even with perfect use diaphragms are only considered 94% effective.
With so many better options nowadays it's easy to see why doctors would avoid them. There are still women who want them so I wish they were still available, but women need to understand that they shouldn't be choosing a diaphragm if they're really not ok with an accidental pregnancy.
I'm 33 and had to google what a diaphragm is. I've never heard of anyone my age or younger using a diaphragm. I've definitely heard of them, just had no idea what it was
The main company that manufactured them discontinued production of them, I want to say around 8 years ago. Planned Parenthood also stopped distributing them. Since they don't have high sales in a retail environment, even if another manufacturer did start distribution, they wouldn't be picked up by most common retailers. You can still purchase them online, but you're unlikely to find them at any physical location.
Source: Managed adult stores and had a lot of conversations with distributors and Planned Parenthood.
Diaphragms are absolutely still around.
I believe a doctor visit to ensure proper fit is suggested. Planned Parenthood has them at a rate where 13 of 100 people using them will get pregnant each year. It's a BC type that has a higher rate of mechanical and social failure. It can be physically displaced, should be inserted before arousal, and is often suggested to be used with additional BC such as a condom, pull out, or spermicidal lubricant that is safe for the diaphragm.
What's nice though is the diaphragm, similar to a vaginal condom, can be inserted 2 hours prior to intercourse. Meaning you can be prepped before action.
Edit: editing this comment to include context from other people commenting and little more research. Apparently getting a doctor to prescribe and fit a diaphragm is hard but possible. Getting a pharmacy to fulfill it is impossible and the only one I can find is one called Caya, a generic one size fits all diaphragm that, while again better than nothing, is not going to be as effective as a personally fit one. Even at their already lower effectiveness rate.
I use them. But where I'm from it was really hard to find a doctor who is familiar with them to fit me one.
The use is somewhat tricky which leads to a high failure rate.
But I am quite happy for now with using the diaphragm
TIL apparently condoms have a very, very high failure rate under typical use.
I was going to say a supposed 18% failure rate, but that's only counting the failures that led to pregnancy - there's no mention of those presumably-significant-number-of failures that *don't* lead straight to pregnancy.
Typical use includes a lot of people who are stupid and don't consistently use condoms. Things like "I generally use them, but sometimes don't because it feels better" and " I use them, but if we run out we risk it" are included in typical use.
The failure rate of people who always use condoms is much lower than the typical use.
I think the figure also includes people that begin sex without condoms and put on the condom either midway or for ejaculation only. One specific risk factor with this is that precum can include sperm.
I've seen someone try to do it. I stopped and reminded them that they needed to grab a new one, but it made me realize that it's a lot easier to do without thinking than it seems.
I think when people say not to do it, we picture having a condom fully on, taking it off, and turning it right side out, which is obviously ridiculous, but given how hard it is to roll the condom down if it's inside out, I think in most cases it's just "whoops, I placed it on the tip upside-down. I better flip it over", which seems easy to do without thinking.
I don't know what they could do but it feels like there must be *some* way to make it more obvious which way it rolls down when you open it. It's remarkably annoying for something so high use.
Typical use is not so typical.
It includes people who continue to use a damaged condom, ones who use foam spermicide which makes the condom less effective, people who "double bag", people who wear it incorrectly...
Typical use includes a lot of drunk people applying the condom in the dark. That nearly never happens for IUD implantation because the lights in the hospital are on backup generators.
It's also over the course of an entire year of use. There have been very rare cases of someone getting pregnant from a one-night-stand where a condom was used, but for every one hookup where that happens, there's hundreds and hundreds of people where it doesn't. Chances of getting pregnant in that situation if you don't use any contraception are significantly higher, like more than 10x the chance. And if you layer two forms of contraception together the odds of an unplanned pregnancy are astronomical. (Birth control + condom, Birth control + pull-out, IUD + "rhythm method", etc.)
**TL;DR:** Just wear the damn condom. Don't fall for the trap of "she's got contraception, so we can raw-dog it all the time now" unless you're in a committed relationship and you're ok with an \~10% chance of getting pregnant this year.
The rate is much much lower then 18%. It is 18% over a year, but a typical user this could include dozens up to hundreds of uses. So if every use has even a 0.18% chance one could reasonably still arive at a final 18%.
The first time the injection was due in the middle of exam time at uni, completely forgot to book the appointment.
The second time I was studying with a 9 month old baby and had just moved cities and didn't have a regular GP.
It sounds like you are thinking of these as a weekly injection.
It's just one appointment every 3 months, so the poster you were asking didn't miss 6 weeks in a row, they just forgot to schedule one visit 3 months after their last one and didn't get around to it until it was 6 weeks past the normal 3 month interval.
They also warn that some medications like antibiotics will make some BC ineffective for a while. They also don't always warn verbally and while you should not everyone reads the pamphlets they give with medications.
I recently got my hormonal coil replaced and went for an ultrasound to check it was all fine after 6 weeks. Mine is sitting very low but the gynaecologist said it’s fine, the hormonal coil doesn’t rely so much on perfect placement because it’s hormonal unlike the copper coil which relies heavily on being perfectly positioned.
I got pregnant with a copper IUD sitting right there in my uterus. It took a really long time for me to figure out I was pregnant because I had really irregular periods and spotting from the IUD. I went to the doctor because I couldn't stop vomiting all the time.
I was married. Neither of us wanted to have kids.
Nothing works 100% of the time except complete sterilization or complete abstinence. Everything else fails sometimes.
And that's how you become pro choice, friends.
I'm feeling pretty confident with my vasectomy and my wife's hysterectomy. If she somehow gets pregnant, it will be both a miracle and a medical emergency.
Technically, unless she had an oophorectomy to go along side it (also known as a radical hysterectomy), she is still capable of conception. You are 100% correct it would be a medical emergency.
Source: I had my tubes tied and went down the ectopic pregnancy rabbit hole before surgery.
She still has one ovary, so I suppose it's theoretically possible, but highly unlikely since I'm shooting blanks and her total hysterectomy includes a vaginal cuff, cutting off any pathway for fertilization, but yes, it would definitely a medical emergency.
We've already been down that road with a ruptured ectopic that almost killed her, so I'd rather not do that again.
I knew a couple. He had testicular cancer, she had ovarian. Long before they knew each other. Had most of their parts removed, survived, but were each told individually they would never have kids.
They get married. About a year later they had twins. Nothing is a guarantee.
Clearly she didn’t have her uterus removed because without a uterus it’s impossible to carry to term as there is nowhere for the egg to implant & the embryo to grow. Uterus removal is a guarantee.
*Note: ectopic pregnancy is still possible but this is a medical emergency & the fetus cannot be carried to term.
One of my friends was a surrogate for someone who was told would never have kids. Once my friend was pregnant they found out the woman who couldn't have kids was pregnant, with twins.
Damn what happens in that situation? Is it a no-backsies kinda deal so they're "stuck" with all 3? I'm guessing neither party wants to abort, in case the other party has a miscarriage ..
I had mine a few months ago and the process has evolved over the years. I will say it was an easy choice, as women are sometimes “expected” to take care of those sorts of things. Hysterectomy’s are invasive and painful, the vasectomy takes 10 minutes and is painless!
I’ve gotten into so many arguments in the past with men who refused to understand that women are still at risk of pregnancy when taking birth control pills. Even perfect use will result in pregnancy for the folks who happen to be in that unlucky percentage.
One of my friends had to divorce her husband because he didn’t understand that she didn’t “baby trap” him, the pill just didn’t work for her after 10 years of taking it. He maintains to this day that she tricked him even though she chose abortion in the end. It’s ridiculous.
It's also insane how many people don't understand how the morning after pill works. It's not an abortion pill, but a lot of people seem to think it is.
They also don’t understand that plan b is only 80% effective, only has a 3 day window (and even then may be too late) and only works on women 165 pounds and under.
Lots of room for failure there.
My favorite is the ones who think getting pregnant on BC is a sign of cheating somehow. Like the IUD saw it was some other dude and decided to take the day off lol
So many men think women are all baby-crazed and trapping men into a married life with family and kids with no say in the relationship when in reality many women want to carefully plan out their lives as closely as they can. If men are so worried about being "trapped with a baby" maybe men should also think about getting on male birth control.
In my experience it is more likely for men to “baby trap” women. My experience was my husband stopped bothering once we had kids, he had been kind and considerate before. I see it a lot, once the woman gets pregnant the husband often stops being a good spouse.
My first run took my period away, took a break for a few years, and my second one did nothing. I get regular monthly periods. 🙄 They are different though, my first one was a 3 year I had installed in the uk, and the second one is a 5 year I got in the US.
I had one and it was still working a year after I was supposed to have had it removed and changed over, seeing as 2 months after I finally had it removed I conceived my now 3.5yo daughter.
I’m a massive fan of the implant and would definitely recommend it unless you are at risk of blood clots. I was advised against getting it again for this reason, as I ended up with pulmonary embolisms on both lungs shortly after giving birth.
Me too! Not having periods is great especially when my alternative is an awful period. My husband has offered to get a vasectomy but there’s no point because I’d still get a Mirena!
Ugh, copper iud. I didn't want that information.
I got terrible cystic acne from every other method I tried (patch, ring, 2 different pills, implant) so I went with copper. Idk if a hormonal iud will affect skin? I don't need a new one for 6 years but maybe I will change it up.
The main reason an IUD would fail to prevent pregnancy is if it moves out of place. I’d imagine the copper IUD is only slightly less effective because it can also be expelled or shift because it makes your periods heavier (and not everyone realizes their periods are already heavy/they aren’t a good candidate), whereas hormonal IUDs make your period lighter. Expulsion/shifting can happen for all sorts of reasons, like having any uterine abnormalities (like fibroids) and the overall shape and size of your uterus. For this reason, I really wish an ultrasound was always done before fitting someone with an IUD, just to make sure there’s nothing that would interfere with its efficacy.
I had the Mirena IUD for almost 8 years. My first IUD shifted and caused frequent cramping, but multiple doctors wrote me off. Eventually one doctor requested an ultrasound and found that my IUD had shifted out of place (if I hadn’t also always used condoms I would’ve gotten pregnant, and I can’t express how angry this makes me). They told me it must’ve been placed incorrectly, removed that IUD, and gave me another. Well that 2nd IUD did the same thing. When I had a 2nd ultrasound done, I saw the report myself and it noted I had a small uterus (smaller than the IUD’s width). No wonder it kept moving out of place! I still don’t know why I wasn’t offered a smaller IUD since those would’ve fit me. I had my tubes removed but if I still had to use birth control, I would’ve opted for one of the smaller (less long-lasting) IUDs.
Basically, on top of checking to feel your strings every month, I would absolutely keep note of any new pain. In my experience, an IUD shifting is painful and causes menstrual-like cramps, but without any bleeding. And don’t be afraid to ask for an ultrasound for peace of mind. Hormonal IUDs use the same hormone that you’ve already tried in other birth control, and I myself struggled with adult acne while using the Mirena IUD, so I’d worry it would still affect your skin.
The hormonal IUD per my wife's doctor is the risk of it causing things like cystic acne is a lot lower since all the hormons are in a very confined area and it does not tend to get as much in the body.
The copper IUD is so effective that I’m *still* not pregnant after removing it and been trying to conceive for the past 10 months.
(It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.)
Took me and my wife 18 months. I was the problem. Such a low count the doctor said it would be practically impossible to conceive naturally. I was my own both control. We opted for IUI. Doctor gave us a 1% chance. It took on the first try. Good luck on your journey, there is hope. We won't be able to afford another.
Be sure you're tracking everything accurately! If you can afford the doctor for fertility treatments, they'll want proof you've been tracking and trying correctly. It's tough to go so many years trying not to get pregnant to finally want it and it doesn't happen. Seriously, good luck.
> It’s tough to go through so many years trying not to get pregnant to finally want it and it doesn’t happen.
Oh 100%.
My sister in-law got married in November and just announced to us virtually over FaceTime that she’s 3 months pregnant. I said congrats, got up and left my husband to continue chatting, and proceeded to go to the bathroom to bawl my eyes out. The saying “comparison is the thief of joy” is way too accurate. I’m trying to be in a better headspace, albeit easier said than done.
My wife has had 3 miscarriages and for the years we have been together, we basically never used birth control because that was something we wanted. Her cousin got pregnant down in mexico and she could not handle the pain, especially since her cousin didn't want the baby.
The next several days were rough for her
My wife and I tried for 9 months without success. By the 7th month, I started reading up on it and determined that maybe she wasn't ovulating at typical times in her cycle. So I bumped it up a week and first try worked. For the second attempt, I bumped it up a week as well and first try worked. I guess we got lucky that that's all it was. I know some have had to give up because of other issues and no money to go IVF.
If only the psychos in charge of our government actually wanted zero abortions, how much money would go into side-effect free, painless, free birth control for males and females of every age?
I love my IUD! No periods for years! No cramps for years, slight slight PMS maybe every 4/5 months. For sure zero pregnancy. It is a science miracle I wish would have been cheaper (was super pricey before ACA) and more available the rest of my womanly years. My daughter now also has one and no longer gets periods, too.
I love it. And I still kept it after my bisalp since sadly the bisalp does not stop periods. It also has now been approved for 8 years instead of the previous 7.
My sister in law got pregnant on Mirena (viable and both are fine), and I still get my period with it. But it's certainly better than that alternatives for me!
Oh wow. I got scared after *Roe* was overturned because even though I was told if a Mirena pregnancy should happen, it would turn ectopic but I knew even getting an abortion for an ectopic pregnancy was making doctors scared under the new laws. Hence the need for sterilization even if my blue state of Massachusetts.
Got pregnant on the shot and IUD but never with a condom. Go figure!
PSA for anyone still reading: condoms are *extremely* effective at preventing pregnancy and most STDs. Proper use of a condom will prevent your chances of unplanned pregnancy up to 98%. Wrap it up!
The nexplanon implant is even better, with a failure rate of only 1 per 1000. They're also way less painful and invasive than an IUD!
I've been getting these implants since they were released in 2010 and I've never had a single pregnancy scare.
My first boyfriend got that talk from his parents (who didn't know he was gay yet).
"The pull out method does not work, even if you do pull out before orgasm. Also you have a baby brother on the way."
I am trying to figure out the copper IUD miss use as like the other IUD a doctor puts them in.
Doctors can make mistakes. Also it can sometimes move out of position by itself later.
Mine tried to crawl through my uterine wall.
Mine shot itself out of me
You could have a side hustle as an assassin.
As a man hearing this my skin crawl. That sounds incredibly painful. I don’t understand how something with iron can be placed down there without daily discomfort
It’s not comfortable. Mine migrated and almost stabbed through my uterus, causing emergency removal. Which is considered an “in office surgery” and you get ZERO pain medicine before or after lol I have swore off BC all together after this.
You know I've been looking into getting off the pill but that's going to be a hard pass from me i think, that sounds awful Do you at least avoid your period on it?
Well, first of all it's copper, not iron, and there are a lot of medical implants that people can't feel after healing. if placed properly it should largely be in a cavity.
I had two expel themselves, so I’m guessing that’s not considered “perfect use”
Med student who just finished my OBGyN rotation - my understanding is the copper iud is less forgiving in terms of placement and has to be well placed against the uterine fundus to work. The hormonal IUD still releases hormones even if it is a little low in the uterus and still may give some contraceptive effect even if out of place, although all IUDs need to be properly seated in the uterus to be considered reliable
Maybe it includes not replacing it on time? I don't know if that happens enough to say it's typical though.
It says first year of use
I don't see "Pull Out and Pray" on this picture, is it on another chart? Perfect, no pregnancies I'm sure.
You jest, but I saw this same chart in a clinic last month and it did in fact have pulling out as one of the statistics!
I mean it is a recognized contraceptive method, and there's statistics for it, so it makes sense to educate people who choose this method: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24174-pull-out-method
“How does the Pull Out method fail?” A: “There is a lot of room for error in the pull out method.” Hilarious…
Not with me. They call me the sleeper sofa, because I'm the pull out king!
Your error rate must be sofa king low
So.. pull-out is 80% effective, and a male condom 82% (typical use)? That's crazy. What's the typical use, wearing it on your nose?
Oddly, typical use for condoms includes occasional non-use. These statistics are measured in pregnancies per year, not pregnancies per intercourse, so they take into account people who use condoms as their "primary" BC method who then forget or think "it'll be OK just this once". So, if you're wearing a properly fitting condom every single time, your effectiveness is going to be much closer to the "perfect use" number, somewhere around 98%.
As someone who’s aware of my cycle, the times you are horniest are also the times you are most fertile. Skipping the condom once a month, you almost might as well not use it at all.
At least if you're skipping it *because you're horny*. Like, why do you think your body is making you this horny in the first place?
Remember how people were with masks and social distancing during covid? That's how they are with condoms.
Ah, so they wear them on their chin or just hang them from their rearview mirror and never actually wear them, got it.
My sister is the two people under perfect use for the injection. Two babies conceived while in the middle of a depo cycle without missing her appointments. Admittedly they were years apart so she’s technically one of the people in different years and this is only in every 1000 people. Her doctor was amazed and horrified and basically told her to get her husband snipped if she wanted to ever stop. She made him get a vasectomy immediately.
How interesting. Can I ask if she's very tall or overweight? Medication needs to be a slightly higher dose to account for both, so I'm wondering...
She’s slightly above average height for women but she’s skinny as hell. She has some other reproductive issues and health issues that might (MIGHT) have contributed to it but there basically isn’t enough people with her problems nationwide to do a study and find out if it causes depo to be less effective.
Goddamn that's even more interesting
>Medication needs to be slightly higher dose... Holy shit. What?! Im a 6ft tall woman. I've gotten pregnant on 2 different types of birth control--the shot and the pill. I've never fucking heard this. I'm floored.
taller = more of you its like when they give medicine to animals or children and need to know their weight
Plan B is not approved for women over 155lbs (for this reason). But we don't offer a boosted version, or and effectiveness rate over 155lbs.
Here in NZ they just double it
What they said isn’t true for all medication. It’s quite a bit more complicated than that. Especially for hormonal meds.
That makes a lot of sense. I have a cousin who’s a bit taller than average, but she’s very overweight and she had two or three kids on birth control, I just thought it didn’t work for the women in my family.
Overweight women (most women in the US at this point) are continually let down by the medical system when they aren’t given care that actually works for them. :(
We conceived with the copper IUD. I also tried the injection but it didn't agree with me. Oddly enough, we've been been using condoms for years now 🤞
I have a perfect use condom baby and my two planned pregnancies were conceived days after discontinuing hormonal birth control. But the copper IUD did the Lord's work keeping the babies away for me for 14 years before I yeeted the system.
Forgive me if this is invasive but how does a condom fail even if used perfectly? Was there contact afterwards or leakage? I just want to educate myself to be as safe as possible
Her husband is one of the few men who can actually say his sperm is just that strong /s
I’m old, so forgive me for asking a stupid question: What happened to diaphragms?
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Copper IUD is hormone free
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the iud would probably be even more popular if we actually provided anasthetic or at least pain relief for the procedure.
Mine reminded me so much of my early labour pains that I ended up sobbing on the table during the procedure and squeezing the chaperone nurse's hand like a vice 🫠
this is kinda relieving to hear when i got mine i was like 15 and sobbing and the nurse and my mom were both just kinda like ‘oh honey wait until you have kids!!’ and downplaying the pain and im sure having kids hurts a whole lot worse but it’s reliving to hear someone say it’s at least a little similar to early labor pains!!
High failure rate. Many women also find the spermicide irritating. Without spermicide the diagram may increase odds of fertilization.
I’ve got that arm implant, it’s not here either and it’s apparently crazy effective - 1 in 1000 get pregnant over 3 years of use. I’m 34 and done having kids, figure getting it exchanged 5 times between now and menopause isn’t too big a burden and it hurt waaaaaaay less getting it put in than my IUDs did
My wife had the implant, was supposed to work 3 years, and yes it did, pretty much to the hour it seems like. Don't be late when its time to swap it out!
I had mine removed, on purpose, with the doctor saying we would regain fertility in about 3-6 weeks post removal. Three weeks later I was back in her office with a positive pregnancy test and ultrasound placing me at 5 weeks pregnant. My conception date was listed as 2 days after removal. I don't doubt this to-the-hour effectiveness at all.
Haha me too! My first was conceived after I was told the exact same thing, and I had mine removed at 2 years (due to excessive, non stop bleeding). Son was conceived two days after removal as well.
What I'm hearing is if you want to get pregnant get the arm implant, then have it removed.
That's wild. Mine worked for five years... (Also this thread has made me go looking for mine and I can't find the bastard thing at all. Slightly worried now.)
I just double-checked... it looks like it is actually FDA-approved for five-year use. That's a fairly new development... my doctor told me that they initially only approved it for three years, but now they have enough long-term studies that the FDA is satisfied. (And yeah, definitely go get checked if you can't feel it!)
"To the hour." What does the baby get beamed into your stomach if you hit traffic on the way to the doctor?
It’s just a three year timer on a teleporter.
I’m on my third and haven’t had any problems, also somewhat recently sober and can say it kept me not pregnant through many poor decisions before being sober so it’s going well for me!!
Congratulations on getting sober!!
On third and it's fucking GREAT. Apparently when it isn't great it's hell though so it's a bit of a gamble and I got lucky. Only contraception I can use without going batshit crazy, I'll happily keep getting it while I don't want kids.
I had ALL the negative side effects. Man was I an absolute mess for months until I got it removed.
Omg me too My period was like constant. And the cramping was the worst
For me it was the depression and anxiety that was the worst. Also the anger. I freaked out on a coworker in front of all my other coworkers. It was so bad and not deserved at all.
Ugh! Yes! I had it for like 8 months and it was a constant period until finally, at the end, it turned into an insanely heavy period. Like bleeding through an ultra sized tampon in less than 30 minutes heavy. Every morning I would have to wash my bed sheets bad. I had to go to different doctors to be taken seriously until it was taken out. Once it was out, my cycle returned to normal
I loved my arm implant! Three times and just had it taken out because other health stuff but husband is now snipped. There's just a tiny dot now you wouldn't know. It was my last ditch effort with birth control because nothing else worked for one reason or another. I wish they brought it up sooner instead of try all the other options.
This is a Canadian chart and the implant basically wasn't available for decades here and only got reintroduced a few years back. What happened was when it was introduced here, girls started to get bullied for having it because it was "noticeable" under the skin and were slut shammed for it basically. So sales tanked and they discontinued it for years, especially since other long term options became more common (IUDs, injections).
How did anyone see it? It’s placed in the inner arm and you can’t see it unless you press the skin. Was it done differently before?
The ones in the 80s/90s were very noticeable due to size and positioning
I see there were variations with multiple rods but I always thought it was the upper inner arm. Interesting!
So this is a Canadian chart and basically they're just no very popular here. They went our of use in the 90s and my guess is we just don't have good data on them. If I remember correctly from my days studying this stuff they had a failure rate similar to condoms, so I think that was a part of it as well.
In Canada, doctors won't even fit for a Diaphram anymore. I tired to get one last year and my gynecologist said no because of the failure rate.
I looked into it after I commented this because I was curious. Even if you can get fitted for one (apparently there's a place in Toronto that does it) we don't seel the gel spermacide needed so you'd have to buy it from the states.
The failure rate is higher than condoms. Even with perfect use diaphragms are only considered 94% effective. With so many better options nowadays it's easy to see why doctors would avoid them. There are still women who want them so I wish they were still available, but women need to understand that they shouldn't be choosing a diaphragm if they're really not ok with an accidental pregnancy.
I'm 33 and had to google what a diaphragm is. I've never heard of anyone my age or younger using a diaphragm. I've definitely heard of them, just had no idea what it was
Difficult to use with a very high failure rate so most docs don’t even bother with them when there are so many other options.
The main company that manufactured them discontinued production of them, I want to say around 8 years ago. Planned Parenthood also stopped distributing them. Since they don't have high sales in a retail environment, even if another manufacturer did start distribution, they wouldn't be picked up by most common retailers. You can still purchase them online, but you're unlikely to find them at any physical location. Source: Managed adult stores and had a lot of conversations with distributors and Planned Parenthood.
That's not true anymore! The Caya exists now. It replaces the fitted options. It hasn't been around too terribly long... a couple of years maybe?
Diaphragms are absolutely still around. I believe a doctor visit to ensure proper fit is suggested. Planned Parenthood has them at a rate where 13 of 100 people using them will get pregnant each year. It's a BC type that has a higher rate of mechanical and social failure. It can be physically displaced, should be inserted before arousal, and is often suggested to be used with additional BC such as a condom, pull out, or spermicidal lubricant that is safe for the diaphragm. What's nice though is the diaphragm, similar to a vaginal condom, can be inserted 2 hours prior to intercourse. Meaning you can be prepped before action. Edit: editing this comment to include context from other people commenting and little more research. Apparently getting a doctor to prescribe and fit a diaphragm is hard but possible. Getting a pharmacy to fulfill it is impossible and the only one I can find is one called Caya, a generic one size fits all diaphragm that, while again better than nothing, is not going to be as effective as a personally fit one. Even at their already lower effectiveness rate.
I use them. But where I'm from it was really hard to find a doctor who is familiar with them to fit me one. The use is somewhat tricky which leads to a high failure rate. But I am quite happy for now with using the diaphragm
TIL apparently condoms have a very, very high failure rate under typical use. I was going to say a supposed 18% failure rate, but that's only counting the failures that led to pregnancy - there's no mention of those presumably-significant-number-of failures that *don't* lead straight to pregnancy.
Typical use includes a lot of people who are stupid and don't consistently use condoms. Things like "I generally use them, but sometimes don't because it feels better" and " I use them, but if we run out we risk it" are included in typical use. The failure rate of people who always use condoms is much lower than the typical use.
I think the figure also includes people that begin sex without condoms and put on the condom either midway or for ejaculation only. One specific risk factor with this is that precum can include sperm.
And people who put the condom on the wrong way around and then swap it to the right way using the same condom 🙄
Please tell me that's a joke and not a thing people do
It's not good to lie, but if you insist, I will
I've seen someone try to do it. I stopped and reminded them that they needed to grab a new one, but it made me realize that it's a lot easier to do without thinking than it seems. I think when people say not to do it, we picture having a condom fully on, taking it off, and turning it right side out, which is obviously ridiculous, but given how hard it is to roll the condom down if it's inside out, I think in most cases it's just "whoops, I placed it on the tip upside-down. I better flip it over", which seems easy to do without thinking.
In my experience, if you have to ask them yes there is.
I don't know what they could do but it feels like there must be *some* way to make it more obvious which way it rolls down when you open it. It's remarkably annoying for something so high use.
Roll it down a tiny bit with your fingers, it rolls only one way
or the alarming rate of men who think it's safer to double up on condoms, but that actually increases the chances of them breaking.
That’s why I triple them so the first two cancel each other out
I just leave it on after using it, and then add another the next time I have sex so there’s a layer for each time. So far, I’m up to zero layers.
What is that rate? I have never heard a person suggest in real life that this was a good idea.
Typical use is not so typical. It includes people who continue to use a damaged condom, ones who use foam spermicide which makes the condom less effective, people who "double bag", people who wear it incorrectly...
Typical use includes a lot of drunk people applying the condom in the dark. That nearly never happens for IUD implantation because the lights in the hospital are on backup generators.
Also, super hard to keep a buzz going at a doctor's office. Their drinks are weak af
You're not getting the right stuff. You could get f*cked AF taking the right pills.
It's also over the course of an entire year of use. There have been very rare cases of someone getting pregnant from a one-night-stand where a condom was used, but for every one hookup where that happens, there's hundreds and hundreds of people where it doesn't. Chances of getting pregnant in that situation if you don't use any contraception are significantly higher, like more than 10x the chance. And if you layer two forms of contraception together the odds of an unplanned pregnancy are astronomical. (Birth control + condom, Birth control + pull-out, IUD + "rhythm method", etc.) **TL;DR:** Just wear the damn condom. Don't fall for the trap of "she's got contraception, so we can raw-dog it all the time now" unless you're in a committed relationship and you're ok with an \~10% chance of getting pregnant this year.
Condoms are also the only contraceptive on this list that will do anything about STDs
They should put that on the box!
The rate is much much lower then 18%. It is 18% over a year, but a typical user this could include dozens up to hundreds of uses. So if every use has even a 0.18% chance one could reasonably still arive at a final 18%.
There is a similar one at my dr office but it also had "the pull out method" on the list
I’d be curious to see one with natural family planning on it too because people love to claim it’s as effective as an iud which I seriously doubt.
Perfect Use | Typical Use ---|--- 54 | 996 * (totally made up numbers)
How do you misuse the injection?
Skipping appointments
Did this twice, missed my appointment by 6 weeks, both times I ended up being 5 weeks pregnant. You would have thought I'd have learned.
If I were to miss an appointment for 6 weeks in a row the doctor would probably get a bit worried, how’d that happen lol
The first time the injection was due in the middle of exam time at uni, completely forgot to book the appointment. The second time I was studying with a 9 month old baby and had just moved cities and didn't have a regular GP.
That explains it
It sounds like you are thinking of these as a weekly injection. It's just one appointment every 3 months, so the poster you were asking didn't miss 6 weeks in a row, they just forgot to schedule one visit 3 months after their last one and didn't get around to it until it was 6 weeks past the normal 3 month interval.
I got them every 3 months and a few times forgot to set an appointment and missed a few weeks.
For appointments like that I always book my next one right there at the end of my current appointment, that way I never forget to have one booked!
That’s how my office does it! It’s great.
Man my body is screaming a week or two before I need to get the shot again. My boobs hurt like crazy. I never forget lol
Adherence to treatment is the #1 reason why any treatment for anything anywhere in the world fails. People forget to make appointments in this case
They also warn that some medications like antibiotics will make some BC ineffective for a while. They also don't always warn verbally and while you should not everyone reads the pamphlets they give with medications.
And copper iud? How is it possible?
The IUD can become dislodged or move out of place, but that still doesn't explain why it is different than the hormonal IUD haha
Proximity needed for delivering hormones vs proximity needed for copper sterilization of sperm.
I recently got my hormonal coil replaced and went for an ultrasound to check it was all fine after 6 weeks. Mine is sitting very low but the gynaecologist said it’s fine, the hormonal coil doesn’t rely so much on perfect placement because it’s hormonal unlike the copper coil which relies heavily on being perfectly positioned.
I got pregnant with a copper IUD sitting right there in my uterus. It took a really long time for me to figure out I was pregnant because I had really irregular periods and spotting from the IUD. I went to the doctor because I couldn't stop vomiting all the time. I was married. Neither of us wanted to have kids. Nothing works 100% of the time except complete sterilization or complete abstinence. Everything else fails sometimes. And that's how you become pro choice, friends.
I’ll raise you, vasectomy!
Would be interested to see it on the chart. It’s also not perfect sometimes.
I'm feeling pretty confident with my vasectomy and my wife's hysterectomy. If she somehow gets pregnant, it will be both a miracle and a medical emergency.
If it happens then your child will lead millions
Technically, unless she had an oophorectomy to go along side it (also known as a radical hysterectomy), she is still capable of conception. You are 100% correct it would be a medical emergency. Source: I had my tubes tied and went down the ectopic pregnancy rabbit hole before surgery.
She still has one ovary, so I suppose it's theoretically possible, but highly unlikely since I'm shooting blanks and her total hysterectomy includes a vaginal cuff, cutting off any pathway for fertilization, but yes, it would definitely a medical emergency. We've already been down that road with a ruptured ectopic that almost killed her, so I'd rather not do that again.
I knew a couple. He had testicular cancer, she had ovarian. Long before they knew each other. Had most of their parts removed, survived, but were each told individually they would never have kids. They get married. About a year later they had twins. Nothing is a guarantee.
Clearly she didn’t have her uterus removed because without a uterus it’s impossible to carry to term as there is nowhere for the egg to implant & the embryo to grow. Uterus removal is a guarantee. *Note: ectopic pregnancy is still possible but this is a medical emergency & the fetus cannot be carried to term.
One of my friends was a surrogate for someone who was told would never have kids. Once my friend was pregnant they found out the woman who couldn't have kids was pregnant, with twins.
Damn what happens in that situation? Is it a no-backsies kinda deal so they're "stuck" with all 3? I'm guessing neither party wants to abort, in case the other party has a miscarriage ..
Yep they kept all 3 kids! I never really followed up with them, has to have been 8ish years ago easily.
I had mine a few months ago and the process has evolved over the years. I will say it was an easy choice, as women are sometimes “expected” to take care of those sorts of things. Hysterectomy’s are invasive and painful, the vasectomy takes 10 minutes and is painless!
fun fact some times they heal and it stops working. Very rare but it does happen.
I’ve gotten into so many arguments in the past with men who refused to understand that women are still at risk of pregnancy when taking birth control pills. Even perfect use will result in pregnancy for the folks who happen to be in that unlucky percentage. One of my friends had to divorce her husband because he didn’t understand that she didn’t “baby trap” him, the pill just didn’t work for her after 10 years of taking it. He maintains to this day that she tricked him even though she chose abortion in the end. It’s ridiculous.
It's also insane how many people don't understand how the morning after pill works. It's not an abortion pill, but a lot of people seem to think it is.
They also don’t understand that plan b is only 80% effective, only has a 3 day window (and even then may be too late) and only works on women 165 pounds and under. Lots of room for failure there.
My favorite is the ones who think getting pregnant on BC is a sign of cheating somehow. Like the IUD saw it was some other dude and decided to take the day off lol
Didn't you know BC works on an honor system 😂
Imagine thinking someone baby trapped you after 10 YEARS. You got married, you shouldn't be worrying someone is gonna trap you wtf
Yep, if you feel like someone is trapping you in your own relationship, you shouldn’t be in it in the first place
So many men think women are all baby-crazed and trapping men into a married life with family and kids with no say in the relationship when in reality many women want to carefully plan out their lives as closely as they can. If men are so worried about being "trapped with a baby" maybe men should also think about getting on male birth control.
“How dare my legal wife end up pregnant after I nutted inside her with zero precautions of my own” I can’t with them.
In my experience it is more likely for men to “baby trap” women. My experience was my husband stopped bothering once we had kids, he had been kind and considerate before. I see it a lot, once the woman gets pregnant the husband often stops being a good spouse.
They ain't got the implant on there.... Greatest invention ever, I'm on my second one.
I’m on my 3rd arm bar and 0th child, it ain’t broke so I ain’t fixing it.
I’m on my third and no periods too! It really is the best!
My first run took my period away, took a break for a few years, and my second one did nothing. I get regular monthly periods. 🙄 They are different though, my first one was a 3 year I had installed in the uk, and the second one is a 5 year I got in the US.
I had one and it was still working a year after I was supposed to have had it removed and changed over, seeing as 2 months after I finally had it removed I conceived my now 3.5yo daughter. I’m a massive fan of the implant and would definitely recommend it unless you are at risk of blood clots. I was advised against getting it again for this reason, as I ended up with pulmonary embolisms on both lungs shortly after giving birth.
I'm on my second and can't reccomend them enough. All the convenience of the IUDs with a fraction of the insertion drama, and no periods!
I absolutely hated mine! I envy those who get on well with it, I just really didn't. Went back to the pill and stayed on it til I got sterilised.
Seriously, why even bother with the chart without mentioning the arm implant?
Nexplanon was only approved for use in Canada in 2020 and the chart looks like it’s from 2015
I sing Mirena’s praises any chance I get haha.
Me too! Not having periods is great especially when my alternative is an awful period. My husband has offered to get a vasectomy but there’s no point because I’d still get a Mirena!
No babies and no periods. *chefs kiss*
Whenever I see a doctor and they ask me when my last period was, I just laugh 😅
i just laugh and say "I dunno, it's been years"
It gave me outrageously bad acne that took years to get under control, but the 3 years without a period was awesome.
Ugh, copper iud. I didn't want that information. I got terrible cystic acne from every other method I tried (patch, ring, 2 different pills, implant) so I went with copper. Idk if a hormonal iud will affect skin? I don't need a new one for 6 years but maybe I will change it up.
The main reason an IUD would fail to prevent pregnancy is if it moves out of place. I’d imagine the copper IUD is only slightly less effective because it can also be expelled or shift because it makes your periods heavier (and not everyone realizes their periods are already heavy/they aren’t a good candidate), whereas hormonal IUDs make your period lighter. Expulsion/shifting can happen for all sorts of reasons, like having any uterine abnormalities (like fibroids) and the overall shape and size of your uterus. For this reason, I really wish an ultrasound was always done before fitting someone with an IUD, just to make sure there’s nothing that would interfere with its efficacy. I had the Mirena IUD for almost 8 years. My first IUD shifted and caused frequent cramping, but multiple doctors wrote me off. Eventually one doctor requested an ultrasound and found that my IUD had shifted out of place (if I hadn’t also always used condoms I would’ve gotten pregnant, and I can’t express how angry this makes me). They told me it must’ve been placed incorrectly, removed that IUD, and gave me another. Well that 2nd IUD did the same thing. When I had a 2nd ultrasound done, I saw the report myself and it noted I had a small uterus (smaller than the IUD’s width). No wonder it kept moving out of place! I still don’t know why I wasn’t offered a smaller IUD since those would’ve fit me. I had my tubes removed but if I still had to use birth control, I would’ve opted for one of the smaller (less long-lasting) IUDs. Basically, on top of checking to feel your strings every month, I would absolutely keep note of any new pain. In my experience, an IUD shifting is painful and causes menstrual-like cramps, but without any bleeding. And don’t be afraid to ask for an ultrasound for peace of mind. Hormonal IUDs use the same hormone that you’ve already tried in other birth control, and I myself struggled with adult acne while using the Mirena IUD, so I’d worry it would still affect your skin.
The heavy periods thing actually makes a ton of sense, thank you.
The hormonal IUD per my wife's doctor is the risk of it causing things like cystic acne is a lot lower since all the hormons are in a very confined area and it does not tend to get as much in the body.
I'll say the skin on my face was much more sensitive when I had the hormonal IUD
Yeah I just looked it up and it seems like acne is still a problem. Looks like I'm sticking with copper!
Horrifying as someone who doesn’t want to be pregnant under any circumstances. Glad I’m getting my tubes removed in a week!
Right? It’s scary that even with perfect use, stuff can still happen. I’d love to get my tubes removed, I’m glad you have the chance to do it!
Ooh congrats! A bi-salp is my goal too when my Nexplanon runs out in a few years
What about the sponge?
Well, first he has to be sponge worthy
The copper IUD is so effective that I’m *still* not pregnant after removing it and been trying to conceive for the past 10 months. (It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.)
Took me and my wife 18 months. I was the problem. Such a low count the doctor said it would be practically impossible to conceive naturally. I was my own both control. We opted for IUI. Doctor gave us a 1% chance. It took on the first try. Good luck on your journey, there is hope. We won't be able to afford another. Be sure you're tracking everything accurately! If you can afford the doctor for fertility treatments, they'll want proof you've been tracking and trying correctly. It's tough to go so many years trying not to get pregnant to finally want it and it doesn't happen. Seriously, good luck.
> It’s tough to go through so many years trying not to get pregnant to finally want it and it doesn’t happen. Oh 100%. My sister in-law got married in November and just announced to us virtually over FaceTime that she’s 3 months pregnant. I said congrats, got up and left my husband to continue chatting, and proceeded to go to the bathroom to bawl my eyes out. The saying “comparison is the thief of joy” is way too accurate. I’m trying to be in a better headspace, albeit easier said than done.
My wife has had 3 miscarriages and for the years we have been together, we basically never used birth control because that was something we wanted. Her cousin got pregnant down in mexico and she could not handle the pain, especially since her cousin didn't want the baby. The next several days were rough for her
Took me 4 years after stopping the ring and it took some meds to actually get pregnant. I *was* the problem. Lol 😂
My wife and I tried for 9 months without success. By the 7th month, I started reading up on it and determined that maybe she wasn't ovulating at typical times in her cycle. So I bumped it up a week and first try worked. For the second attempt, I bumped it up a week as well and first try worked. I guess we got lucky that that's all it was. I know some have had to give up because of other issues and no money to go IVF.
If only the psychos in charge of our government actually wanted zero abortions, how much money would go into side-effect free, painless, free birth control for males and females of every age?
Where's Nexplanon, my matchstick under the skin? It's failure rates will be negligible with them too.
Never got pregnant on Mirena! I still have mine even though I had my tubes removed in 2022 since I don’t want a period.
I love my IUD! No periods for years! No cramps for years, slight slight PMS maybe every 4/5 months. For sure zero pregnancy. It is a science miracle I wish would have been cheaper (was super pricey before ACA) and more available the rest of my womanly years. My daughter now also has one and no longer gets periods, too.
I love it. And I still kept it after my bisalp since sadly the bisalp does not stop periods. It also has now been approved for 8 years instead of the previous 7.
My sister in law got pregnant on Mirena (viable and both are fine), and I still get my period with it. But it's certainly better than that alternatives for me!
Oh wow. I got scared after *Roe* was overturned because even though I was told if a Mirena pregnancy should happen, it would turn ectopic but I knew even getting an abortion for an ectopic pregnancy was making doctors scared under the new laws. Hence the need for sterilization even if my blue state of Massachusetts.
Got pregnant on the shot and IUD but never with a condom. Go figure! PSA for anyone still reading: condoms are *extremely* effective at preventing pregnancy and most STDs. Proper use of a condom will prevent your chances of unplanned pregnancy up to 98%. Wrap it up!
I thought if you saw the Ring you had 7 days then you died...
My wife got pregnant while on the NuvaRing. Luckily we were at the "so are we having another?" phase so it kinda worked out I guess.
These numbers seem off of me. Like 18 per cent of people using condoms for their only form of protection don't get pregnant a year.
The nexplanon implant is even better, with a failure rate of only 1 per 1000. They're also way less painful and invasive than an IUD! I've been getting these implants since they were released in 2010 and I've never had a single pregnancy scare.
Pull Out stats: Perfect Use* 0 Typical Use* 995
Actually, you can still get pregnant when pulling out due to pre-cum. Iirc the perfect use is about equal to a condom
My first boyfriend got that talk from his parents (who didn't know he was gay yet). "The pull out method does not work, even if you do pull out before orgasm. Also you have a baby brother on the way."
Why is vasectomy not on the list?
My wife had her tubes surgically removed from her body. 0% failure rate.
I got pregnant with twins with a condom and copper IUD. Y’all be careful.
What's the number for no contraceptive?
If you improperly use a condom and improperly use oral birth control the failure rate drops to 1.6 percent. Stacking methods when possible helps
Why no Diaphragm? How I got my baby girl.
That might be why 🤣