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Thread: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

  1. #1
    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    so my neurologist is thinking of putting me on topamax, which can apparently interfere with the birth control pill, and she suggested i use a backup method of birth control. my bf and i don't like to use condoms all the time if we can help it, so i was thinking of trying one of these as an alternative to condoms. i have all of the clinical information, thanks to a boatload of textbooks and women's health books and a strange fascination with following up on new developments in these areas. i was just wondering if anyone would like to share their personal experiences with these products to help me decide? i'm also considering the female condom, but at $4 each, that's never gonna be more than an occasional thing.
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    do you think i'll get more responses if i post this in ladies only?
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    God/dess gypsy_girlchild's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    Have you thought of Depo? I honestly love it and it's less worry.... I have many friends on it and since it's a shot every three months, life is a lot less stressful. Other thanthat, I know nothing of the ones you were talking about.
    Please don't lick me, it tickles..



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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    ^She probably needs a non hormonal method of b/c as the backup.

    I've used the Today Sponge before. It works out pretty well. The neat thing about it is you can insert it hours before you do it so there's no interuption during the hot and heavy moments. I don't have any experience with the other methods. How long do you have to take topamax? If it's a long time, maybe consider an iud? I have the copper one and I love it. Just a suggestion.

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    i do need a non hormonal method as the back up. i considered the iud, but there are too many potential negative side effects for me- plus, because of my age, it would be extremely difficult to get. for some reason doctors think they know better than i do what i should do with my uterus. *(~shakes her head~)*
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    Senior Member lalitha's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    I personally had awful experiences with depo, weight gain, mood swings, etc. I've also used the Today sponge, which was great except for that it made me really dry and it always had to be used with lubricant. Of all of those options though, I think the sponge is the best bet, because while I haven't actually used a diaphragm I *am* the result of my mother's diaphragm malfunction

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    true, none of them are entirely effective. i'm still going to use the pill, as it will still work some- just not as much as i'd like which is why i need a backup. pregnancy is not an option for me right now, and abortions are expensive and uncomfortable, to say the least. i'm thinking i won't go with the diaphragm- apparently the spermicide leaks all over the place, and tastes nasty, which means no more me being eaten out, which is just not acceptable.

    lalitha, did you lubricate the sponge before insertion, or just use extra lube for intercourse?
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    Senior Member Rachel Hart's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    I'd go with the sponge and some spermicidal lubricant. Both work quite well. friends of mine use these and i'm about to start. I just got on an allergy pill that makes my btrol less effective lol

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    Featured Member Krazyjane's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    Female condoms FUCKING SUCK. They don't stay in even if you're really tight b/c it forms a vacuum between the penis and the inside of the condom, which pulls the whole fucking thing out. It also makes you queef, which is really embarassing. It also makes rustling noises and is really uncomfortable.

    Be careful with spermacides as well. Nonoxonol-9 works by rupturing cell membranes, which will kill more than just sperm. Each time I tried it, I'd yet bacterial and yeast infections from hell. It's been proven to cause lesions inside the vagina, even increasing risks of contracting HIV. Perhaps your health practitioner can recommend some different spermacide.

    I wouldn't use an IUD either. Although the risks are a lot rarer than health scares make it out to be, the idea of potential ectopic pregnancies, a thing going into my tiny cervix hole, and having a hunk of metal in my uterus scares me, especially if something had a risk of catching on the string. Plus, remember the Dalkon shield? Many women got horrible infections because bacteria would breed inside the braided string and creep up. Nowadays,they have simple plastic strings, but it's still a but unnerving.

  10. #10
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    ^ Planned Parenthood told me they hardly ever give IUDs to women who have not had kids (rigid cervix?) so I quit asking.

    This is kind of a whack-sounding birth control tactic, but from my past experience with birth control, I am going to start douching with soap water, use the Sponge, and utilize the Rhythm Method. All things considered, it might work as well as all the other things I've done....(Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap has a bizarre monologue on the label about how to make contraceptive douche.....lemon pulp!!!! LOL)

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: diaphragm, contraceptive sponge and cervical cap

    ugh! i just found out that the kind of cervical cap i was looking at, the prentif, is no longer marketed in the usa! it hasn't lost approval, it just wasn't selling well enough for them to bother. i can get it online, but i'd have to pay $80.

    i'm also worried about nonoxynol 9, but i've discovered that it's virtually impossible to find spermicides that do not contain it. does anyone know where to get some? i suppose that as long as my bf and are are monogamous, i can safely use spermicide without worry of std transmission (we're both clean) but once we start bringing in other people i'll have to worry about a different method. UGH!

    and careful with douching, madmax- it can make infections worse, and push sperm up into the uterus. you're probably better off with just using the sponge and rhythm method, maybe adding condoms or extra spermicide. have you read the rest of the bottle? i think that guy is a ltitle crazy! lol doesn't he say something about freeing the sheep on there? but the soap is great.

    ooo! i hate this. there are other spermicides besides nonoxynol 9, but they're nearly impossible to get in this country. i still haven't found a source. plus, we know next to nothing about the long term health effects of using the sponge repeatedly- it contains a much higher dosage of spermicide than is normally used to accompany the diaphragm, cup, or condoms, and lately nonoxynol 9 has been discovered to pose a host of problems. the one brand of cap that doesn't require putting gel outside the cap, which thus leaks all over the place, is no longer marketed here. plus, forget iuds- i'm 19, with no kids. no one is going to give me one, even if i wanted it. ARGHHHH! why is it so hard to have sex without producing babies?! it would probably be much easier for me to get sterilized on a government progam- i'd just have to lie and tell them i'm very poor!

    ok, end rant.

    there's a new thing out there called lea's shield- it's like a cervical cap, but modified, supposedly to allow more natural flow of cervical secretions and make it fit better. planned parenthood is offering it, so i could probably get it there if my school health center doesn't provide it. have any of you tried that?

    http://www.leasshield.com/
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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