Birth control pills are the most popular form of contraception. Even though they are effective and easy to use, choosing the right one for you can be confusing because there are so many options.
Continue reading “How Do I Pick the Right Birth Control Pill?”
Every woman has used the excuse “I’m PMSing” in their lifetime. However, recent studies show that PMS and PMDD aren’t just excuses but medical conditions that can have an impact on a woman’s daily life.
PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, is a group of symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle. Though the length of time PMS occurs depends on the woman, the symptoms usually occur one to two weeks before menstruation begins. Some of the most common symptoms for PMS include:
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, about 85 percent of women show at least one of these symptoms before menstruation. However, one in 20 women can suffer with a severe form of PMS, also known as PMDD.
As previously stated, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of PMS. The symptoms are similar to PMS, but are severe enough to interfere with work, social activities and relationships. PMDD is diagnosed by a physician if erratic mood swings, anger, fatigue, insomnia, tension and lack of interest in usual activities occur a week before and after menstruation.
Though the exact cause of PMDD and PMS isn’t known, the effects can be minimized by certain lifestyle changes such as:
If you feel that your PMS or PMDD is impacting your daily life, consult your physician about treatment options.
The modern world is certainly different from what women had to deal with years ago. Thanks to advances in science and technology, women have a variety of birth control options. These days, you can find choices that guarantee against pregnancy with ratings up to 99.9% if you make use of them properly. You can choose from birth control options that will best suit your lifestyle, but be sure to discuss your top choices with your doctor in order to pick the right one. Here are common choices for birth control that you could consider:
Barrier Methods of Birth Control
Barrier methods include those that block the sperm from ever reaching the egg. They include the following:
These types of birth control methods are considered to have the higher chance of failure when compared to other methods. For example, the male condom is about 97% effective. That does not mean they are not viable means of birth control. They just do not get the complete assurance you could find in other choices.
Hormone Based Birth Control
These types of birth control are, by far, the most common. The most important thing about the hormone based methods is that they must be used as directed to be dependable. They include the following:
When used properly, these methods are about 99% effective. The common failure of the methods comes from human error.
Implant Methods of Birth Control
For those women who wish to have dependable birth control without having to remember to take a pill every day, there are implantable devices. They include:
These two options are long-term methods of birth control. They last up to 10 years. They, especially the rods, should not be used if you think you may wish to have children in the near future.
Permanent Solutions
If you know that you do not want children in the future, then you may want to consider surgical solutions. These methods completely take away the chance of fertilization, so they are the most dependable. However, since they are permanent, you should consider them carefully before making the decision to use them. They include:
Emergency Contraception
Called the “Plan B” pill, this emergency contraception can be used the morning after unprotected sex. It has to be taken within 72 hours in order to be effective. This method is not made to be used as a regular birth control but instead as an emergency method in the cases of forgotten birth control, birth control failure, or rape.
As you can see, you have plenty of different birth control options. That means, you can choose one that will best suit your lifestyle. Be sure to discuss the birth control option you would prefer with your doctor so that it can be determined if it is the best choice based on your health and wellbeing.
For some women, permanent birth control is the best option to guarantee that they will not have any more children. However as the name explains, permanent birth control is, well, permanent. In very few cases are these procedures reversible. Before you make the decision to go with a permanent option, you will want to ask your doctor all of the right questions. Be sure you know everything you need to about the procedure before you make a decision.
Below are a few questions that you should ask your doctor before you make your decision.
General Questions
Ask these questions in the beginning. They will give you a good starting place to determining if permanent birth control is the right choice for you.
Tubal Ligation and Implant Birth Control
Tubal ligation is a common procedure in which the fallopian tubes are tied so that the eggs cannot travel to the uterus. Permanent implant birth control includes placing specialty material in the fallopian tubes so that scar tissue will form and completely block the tubes.
Emotional Factors
The most important thing to remember is that permanent birth control methods should only be chosen if you absolutely know that you never want to have children. There are emotional factors to consider. How will you handle it if you change your mind at a later date and wish to have children? Consider all of the ramifications of the birth control that you are choosing before you go through with any procedure.
Permanent birth control could be the right option for you since it completely cuts out your chances of becoming pregnant at a later date. Make sure to ask all of the questions above when you talk to your doctor to help you make the right choice.
On behalf of all of us at Women’s Health Partners, in these difficult times, we want to thank you for your support and confidence in our practice.
We want you to personally know that our patients’ health and well-being has and always will be our number one priority. This reminder bears repeating in the face of any challenges and especially now, given concerns posed by the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
We are taking all necessary precautions to ensure your safety and well-being and that of our staff. To that end, we want to share some of the steps we are taking:
Furthermore, our staff will be asking several screening questions regarding your health. We ask that you do not enter our office if you, or someone in your family, or someone you recently were in contact with, has exhibited flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, severe muscle aches, shaking chills, or recent loss of taste or smell, or recently diagnosed with COVID19.
In order to help us participate with our social distancing effort, we are asking patients to enter the office without any visitors, including children.
You will also have the option of waiting in your car instead of the waiting room after you have checked in. The front desk staff will call your cell phone when we are ready for you to come in for your visit.
