Making Choices About Switching Beginning Management Strategies

Over time, your contraception won’t match into your life-style anymore, or for any variety of causes, you make be trying to change it. It’s regular and fully secure to change contraception strategies, so long as you discuss to your physician first. Studying about completely different sorts of contraception and safely swap will help you discover the most effective technique for you.

Why You Might Wish to Swap Beginning Management Strategies

It may be a great time to think about a brand new type of contraception if:

You neglect to take your capsule. Should you neglect to take their capsule on the similar time day-after-day, it will possibly put you at the next danger for being pregnant. If setting alarms or creating reminders nonetheless hasn’t helped you keep according to the capsule, it’s possible you’ll wish to look into completely different strategies.

Another strategies to think about embody barrier strategies like condoms, inside condoms, cervical caps, the sponge, or the diaphragm. Whilst you’ll nonetheless want to recollect to make use of these earlier than having intercourse, you received’t want to recollect to take a capsule day-after-day.

Continued

You possibly can swap to the implant (which could be efficient for as much as 4 years), the IUD (which may final from 5-10 years), the patch (you’ll solely need to swap it out as soon as every week), or the ring (which could be efficient for 3 weeks at a time).

You dislike the negative effects. You could have some negative effects whenever you begin a brand new type of contraception. Give your physique just a few months to regulate to the brand new technique after which see if the negative effects go away. Discuss to your physician when you’re not sure of what’s regular or not.

Should you determine the negative effects of your present contraception don’t give you the results you want, it’s time to look into different strategies. Cybill Esguerra, MD, an assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics on the Johns Hopkins College Faculty of Medication, finds that having adversarial negative effects is the commonest motive for switching contraception.

“It’s both unscheduled bleeding or ache. For instance, within the case of an IUD,” she says. “Different issues that folks focus on embody weight acquire, pores and skin adjustments, or temper adjustments.”

Continued

There are numerous sorts of disagreeable negative effects that may occur attributable to contraception. However simply because one type of hormonal contraception didn’t give you the results you want doesn’t imply one other sort received’t. However when you desire to make use of a non-hormonal type of contraception as a substitute, you may discover the several types of barrier strategies as nicely.

You dislike having an irregular interval. One particular aspect impact from contraception is having adjustments in your interval. You may need recognizing, discover adjustments in your cycles, or cease your interval altogether when utilizing contraception. A copper IUD (Paragard) might make your interval heavier, whereas hormonal IUDs (Kyleena, Liletta, Mirena, and Skyla) might cease your interval or make it lighter.

Missed intervals attributable to contraception might trigger you to worry that you simply’re pregnant. Or it’s possible you’ll merely be sick of getting irregular cycles. It doesn’t matter what the reason being, it may be a good suggestion to look into how different types of contraception might have an effect on your interval. That method, you may search new choices which will give you the results you want.

Continued

You’re nervous about safety. You might really feel that your present sort of contraception isn’t defending you from being pregnant in addition to you need it to be. Should you really feel nervous every time you have got intercourse or have a whole lot of anxiousness in case your interval is irregular, it is best to perform some research about contraception effectiveness. Look into how efficient your sort of contraception is and see if there are methods you may increase its success (like utilizing a condom in addition to taking the contraception capsule, for instance).

However when you nonetheless discover that your present technique isn’t what you need, discuss to your physician concerning the effectiveness of different strategies.

Should you’re involved about staying protected against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), use condoms or inside condoms as a substitute of, or along with, your present contraception technique. These two sorts of condoms are the one types of contraception that may forestall STIs.

Methods to Safely Swap Beginning Management Strategies

Should you determine that you simply wish to swap contraception strategies, it’s necessary to do it the correct method to make sure you’re protected in opposition to being pregnant.

You need to go straight from one contraception technique to the following, with out taking any breaks. Should you’re on contraception tablets, you don’t want to complete your present pack earlier than you begin a brand new contraception technique with the intention to be protected. However Esguerra recommends that folks end their unique contraception pack earlier than swapping to “make the transition as seamless as potential” when it comes to negative effects.

After you turn strategies, you may discover some adjustments in your interval. However that is regular and isn’t one thing to be involved about.

Relying on which contraception technique you might be on and which sort you turn to, it’s possible you’ll must overlap them. Because of this you’ll have to begin your new contraception earlier than you cease the previous contraception technique. Every sort requires a distinct overlap time, and a few don’t require one in any respect. Ask your physician when you’ll must overlap primarily based in your present and new contraceptive.

Continued

Should you don’t wish to overlap your start controls, you should utilize a backup technique. This implies both utilizing a condom or spermicide in the course of the time that you simply’d in any other case be overlapping your contraception strategies.

Backup strategies can present you further security when switching contraception strategies. “Typically, anytime you begin a brand new technique, you wish to use a backup technique for one week,” Esguerra says.

Aspect Results of Switching Beginning Management Strategies

If you swap to a brand new sort of contraception, it’s frequent to have irregular bleeding for a few months. Should you get an IUD, you may additionally have some discomfort or cramping after insertion. However each negative effects ought to get higher with time.

Relying on which technique you turn to, hormonal contraception strategies may additionally trigger undesirable negative effects. However these ought to go away inside 3-5 months of continued use of your new technique. You may discover:

• Pimples (extra frequent in progestin-only strategies, much less frequent in mixed tablets and Nuvaring)
• Amenorrhea, or lack of your interval (extra frequent in Depo-Provera, Implanon, Mirena, continuous-cycle mixed tablets, Nuvaring, much less frequent in mixed tablets or progestin-only tablets)
• Breast tenderness (extra frequent in Ortho Evra, much less frequent in mixed tablets or Nuvaring)
• Low intercourse drive
• Depressed temper (extra frequent in Depo-Provera, much less frequent in Nuvaring)
• Headache (frequent in all hormonal strategies)
• Undesirable hair progress (extra frequent in progestin-only strategies, much less frequent in mixed tablets)
• Extra vaginal discharge (extra frequent in Nuvaring, much less frequent in all different strategies)
• Nausea (extra frequent in Ortho Evra, much less frequent in Nuvaring)
• Oily pores and skin (extra frequent in progestin-only strategies, much less frequent in mixed tablets)
• Weight acquire (extra frequent in Depo-Provera, much less frequent in mixed hormonal strategies, Mirena, or progestin-only tablets)

Continued

To ease any ache throughout your transition interval, Esguerra suggests taking over-the-counter ache drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen or utilizing heat compresses. But when the ache appears to worsen, particularly after an IUD insertion, it’s finest to achieve out to your physician as quickly as potential. This fashion they’ll ensure that nothing else is improper.

Esguerra encourages folks to be advocates for his or her physique and ask questions in relation to switching contraception strategies.

“I believe ladies ought to really feel very empowered to make an appointment only for a contraceptive session,” she says. “They should not really feel like they should know what they need earlier than making an appointment with their gynecologist.”

As at all times, it’s finest to speak to your physician about your contraception desires and desires. They’ll have the ability to information you to discovering the most effective contraception in your physique.