Who chose your birth control method?

[Mo]

For those of you who are using a doctor-prescribed birth control method, what was your role in settling on that method in particular? Did your doctor inform you about different options and work with you to pick the best one for you, or did they present one option without discussing others? Did you go in hoping or asking for one method and leave with another?

My experience was that I went to my first gyn appointment, said I was interested in birth control, and she wrote me a prescription for combination pills without any further discussion - or even a mention - of other methods. They worked out fine for me, but I do wish she or any other doctor I saw in the years after that had talked to me about alternatives.

[Siân]

I've been on two different methods and both times they've been something I explicitly asked my doctor for.

When I first started needing contraception, somewhere I got a booklet on the different methods and I tried to have a conversation with my then-partner about the different options since I felt that it was something I was doing not only for me but also for us. In fact I felt kinda pushed into it by them but totally unsupported in every other way (red flag!) which made me stick to what I "knew"; the combined pill, pretty much the only method I had any cultural awareness of aside from condoms. I ended up speaking to my mum, who was supportive and helped me make a doctor's appointment. At the appointment I basically said "I want the pill" and was told "ok, here's a prescription".

Long story short, I was miserable on the combined pill but felt like it was a burden I was obliged to carry and stuck it out for nearly 5 years after feeling dismissed by the only doctor I tried to raise my concerns with a year or so in. I think at some interim prescription-getting appointment another doctor asked me if I'd looked at long-acting methods but I didn't feel like it was a moment to make a change.

Second time round, I did a whole bunch of research, gathered my courage and went back to my mum (a medical professional) asking about the Mirena IUD. Again, my mum recommended me a doctor and gave me a phone number. I said "I want the Mirena IUD" and the doctor talked to me in a lot of detail about this method, asked why I had settled on that option and arranged to fit it a week later. Getting my IUD the doctor did a great job of understanding my needs, having a conversation with me and making me feel comfortable and I felt I had a lot more ownership over the process and by extension my body. Birth control is no longer a burden, it's something I do for me.

My experiences showed me that research is important but luck is also a factor in finding what works with your body, and accessing a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable and compassionate.

[amity]

When I started taking hormonal birth control pills at age 18 or 19, it was to try to manage my heavy, painful periods. (I wasn’t having P-in-V sex and didn’t need a contraceptive at the time.) Our family doctor recommended to me the same combination pill he had prescribed to my younger sibling for similar symptoms. He also referred me to a gynecologist, but I had to wait a couple months for an appointment. I had really difficult side effects with that pill, so when I saw the gyno, she gave me samples of a lower dose combination pill and explained how taking hormonal birth control could lessen the uterine lining and help endometriosis. I didn’t get an official endometriosis diagnosis— that would require several more months and more testing— but she suspected that because several others in my family have it, it was a likely cause of my symptoms. I had a much easier experience and fewer side effects with that lower dose pill and continued taking it.

When I went back to the family doctor, he spent several minutes teaching me about the combination pills would interact with my body’s own hormones during different weeks of the menstrual cycle. (He even took out a pen and notebook to draw a graph for me!) He also emphasized that if I wasn’t comfortable with that current prescription, we could always try different options. We talked some about IUDs and other hormonal methods, but because I was going a trial-and-error process to try to help those symptoms, pills were the best option.

Even though I told both the family doctor and the gynecologist that I was not sexually active and only needed the pill for those period problems, they both mentioned something about how going ahead and getting on the pill was a good idea in case I would decide to start having sex at some point. While I appreciated their candidness, the way they talked about sex seemed pretty heteronormative and based on generalizations. Being sexually active does not only include P-in-V sex that could lead to pregnancy. Since they were considering the possibility that I would become sexually active, it would have been good if they also had talked to me about methods of protection against STIs and not just pregnancy. Overall though, I’m grateful to have doctors who take time to explain what’s going on and include me in decisions about my health.

[Chloé]

When I first went on birth control, I was living, briefly, in a country where I didn't speak the language and where health care is much different from here in Canada. I went on the combined pill because it was all that I could get my hands on (and figure out how to say in another language). It was over the counter, and I took the first one they gave me. I don't recommend that anybody follow my example with regards to how little research I did.

Once I returned to Canada, I did loads of research and determined that I wanted an IUD. I was actually leaning towards the Copper IUD, but the very helpful doctor who does all of the IUD insertions on campus where I used to study suggested the Jaydess IUD (called Skyla in the United States). I'm very happy with the decision, although next time I'm going with Mirena, which can be used for 5 years, rather than 3.

[bitheway]

I got my birth control through my current college, actually! I'm someone who tends to over-research things (especially medications) before I try them, so I already knew a fair bit about birth control, but my college also had a mandatory group information session we had to attend before getting on any type of contraceptive. (The woman who ran it was lovely; the girl who loudly proclaimed that she "only needed birth control because [she was] getting married," ...less so.) The health provider running the workshop highly recommended the combined pill, which is what I ended up using, but she did mention the shot and the patch; I know a couple people who've used both through the school. She also did briefly mention IUDs and implants, but it's not possible to get those through the college, so there wasn't much more than a "oh yeah, these exist". When I went in for my actual appointment, I pretty much just straight-up told the doctor I wanted to go on the pill for contraceptive reasons while also mentioning the fact that I have heavy periods, and after asking some basic questions she filled out a prescription. On the whole, I'd say the school health providers gave me a pretty good amount of information, but I'm glad I have internet access and was able to learn about birth control on my own since there's still a lot of things they didn't cover.

I don't mind the pill too much (I have an app that reminds me to take it every day), but given the current political climate, I have been wondering if something more long-lasting would be wiser. At the moment I figure I'll stay on the pill for now since it's covered by my family's insurance while I'm at college, but I definitely want to look into an IUD and/or the implant after (if not before) I graduate.

[Arasia]

I did my research on birth control methods a long time in advance. I am terrible about remembering to take pills--I've been on a medication for years, and I forget to take it about once or twice a week (luckily, since the medicine builds up in my system, a one or two day lapse is not enough for symptoms to resurface). I knew that with birth control pills, forgetting to take even one is a risk, so that method was out of the question from the start.
As someone who is in remission from an eating disorder, I decided I wanted to avoid any birth control method that was known to cause weight gain, and as I did more research I decided I didn't want to risk any form of hormonal birth control at all--both because of weight gain and mental health side effects.
The method I decided I wanted was the Copper T IUD. It appealed to me because it is non-hormonal and doesn't require remembering. I set up an appointment with the gynecologist at the student health center on my campus. At the appointment, I discussed my mental health history with her and told her I wanted the Copper T. She listened and discussed options with me--I was immediately comfortable with her. She had 30+ years of experience and it showed. She told me that Mirenia, a hormonal IUD, might also be a good option for me--that none of her patients had experienced weight gain from it, and that the hormonal release was very low & should not impact my mental health. We weighed the pros and cons of Mirenia verses Copper T, and she assured me she'd insert whichever one I chose. In the end, I trusted her judgement and chose the Mirenia.
I've had Mirenia in for about 5 months, and it's been great. The gynecologist was right--I haven't had any weight or mental health issues. I did experience cramps and bleeding for the first month, but this lessened each day and has long since stopped. Along with the Mirenia, my partner and I use condoms and the pull-out method. We're not in a position to deal with pregnancy, so we figure, the safer the better.

[Jacob]

Great thread quesiton Mo!!!

Slight segway, because I'm not on a doctor prescribed thing, but I think it might be helpful to contrast some of these experiences with mine, because sexism:

As a person with the type of body which expels dastardly impregnating sperm-stuff. The birth control methods available to have been condoms, condoms, or not condoms, i.e. rely on my partner's chosen methods.

I as a big fan of condoms, have been able to mostly make that decision on my own by going to the shops and buying some.

A couple of times I have been pressured by partners not to use a condom which wasn't cool.
Once I had a partner who in the heat of the moment wasn't super honest about the fact they weren't using any birth control, and in the absence of any condoms at hand, we did the thing. However when we cooled off we were able to make the decision together to go for Plan B and split the costs.

Even still, it has almost always been a decision I have been able to make alone or with a partner, and I didn't have any medical input or influence.

If anything I've found lots of medical people have avoided talking about sexuality wherever possible! I don't know if they're shy about talking about sex to a boy-looking person.

It just seems like good ole sexism that says 'female' reproduction is a matter for scrutiny and management by any authority figure with an opinion, whereas for boy-folk it's a private matter that goes unspoken.

[backpackergirl]

Hello there!

I'm on the mini pill because I have migraine, but my doctor went through all of the options, with a little fact sheet about it. That being said, my doctor definitely pushed me towards the pill, as well as the IUD, and later when I asked for a prescription of a different form of BC to delay my period before a trip, my doctor refused because of the risk associated with migraine, which wasn't an issue except that it seemed like an over reaction: I would have been on that form of the pill for less than a week and others I knew with migraine had been prescribed it.

But in the end, my doctor did mention multiple options even if I did feel like there was a definite slant to things.

Good luck!

[lostinfour]

I think I chose it.

I went to the appointment to be told about birth control options, and was told generally about several of them and I asked questions and was asked questions. Though I went biased for hormonal IUD because my sister had gotten one two years earlier and was feeling it was a great choice. Also I was accompanied with my mom.

The doctor seemed more interested in the pill but we still had a discussion about all the forms I knew of. And we arranged I'd come back to have an IUD installed, because we used a lot of time talking.

[Bessie F.]

Great question! I've never chosen a birth control method, but I started on the pill because of POS. Talking to friends I found out that several of them were also using the pill, but had also started because of POS, and their doctor never told them anything in regards to using the pill as a birth control method. They had to google everything they needed to know.