Birth Control

You know, sex really is supposed to be fun, so while it is absolutely wise to do all you can to prevent a pregnancy, there are ways to do that which don’t have to be so involved or be a big buzzkill. Condoms, when used properly, are highly effective: around 98% effective with perfect use. Perfect…

My first question in this case is, did your health care provider look into your menstrual difficulties or did they just slap you on the pill and assume that would solve the problem? If nobody really looked into your problem, then I’d suggest that you consider heading back to your provider (or a…

When you start taking the pill, you’re adding lots of extra hormones into your system and they are essentially forcing your body into a new sort of cycle. It’s not like the cycle you have when you aren’t on the pill, because you no longer ovulate. Typically, you begin taking the pill around the time…

So long as you take your pills as directed and on time, with the exception of a few medications or herbs that can interact with the pill, you’re as covered as you get. We get questions like this a lot, so in the interest of making sure you and everyone else understand your pill as best you can, let…

If your period is only five days late, it’d be pretty unusual, even if you had become pregnant, for you to be having symptoms this soon. Plus, the symptoms you’re describing are also common PMS symptoms, as you said. Since the condom was spermicidal and there wasn’t a full ejaculation, your…

Starting with the birth control issue, not knowing which pill in particular you’re on and not being able to see the insert for myself, I can’t give you a 100% answer per promising you I’m being as accurate as I know how to be. However, there are indeed some BCPs which operate in the way you’re…

The NuvaRing is a HIGHLY effective method of birth control. As you’ll see here, the NuvaRing has only a 8% failure rate with typical use (and less than 2% with perfect use). This is lower than the birth control pill (9%) and the external condom (15%). The real question is how much of a risk you and…

It sounds like you’ve got your body pretty confused here! Let’s talk a little bit about how the pill works, because that may clear things up a little bit. Birth control pills are essentially doses of synthetic hormones. What this does is sort of re-order the way your body is functioning with regard…

Generally speaking, when you start missing pills in the middle of a cycle (especially if you miss lots of pills) some weirdness with your withdrawl bleed is to be expected. By not having those extra hormones in your body, it’s impossible to guess what was going on with your natural hormone levels…

Joe, I’m going to be pretty straight with you, here. The “circumstances” aren’t determining your behaviour. You are both, every time you don’t use condoms properly and consistently, making an ACTIVE CHOICE to take the risks that are causing you this stress. You have every possible ability to make…