[raven242]

Hello all,

My gyno switched me to Lo Loestrin Fe about a year ago. Since then, I've been battling with having very, very little sex drive (which is abnormal for me). It's gotten to the point that sex is uncomfortable no matter what we do. It's horrible

It just occurred to me recently that it probably has a lot to do with the pill, and I want to switch to another form of birth control as soon as possible. Every birth control I've been on has had it's share of side effects, from break through bleeding, to 'dryness', low sex drive, moodiness, etc.

I'm assuming that these are common symptoms of birth control pills, and I'm really getting tired of it. It's supposed to prevent pregnancy, not prevent sex lol.

My question is, since i've only ever used the pill, what other methods have others found to be effective with less side effects?

As a note, I'm 34 (not sure if that's important), married, and my husband is not a fan of condoms. I also don't want to do anything that's too long term, since we're hoping to get pregnant sometime in the next year or two at most.

Thank you!

[kira]

If you've reacted to several birth control pills the odds aren't good any short term hormonal birth control is going to work out. A different route of absorption might work but IUD and implanon aren't really convenient or cost effective for just a year. You can try nuvaring which is inserted in the vagina and the hormones absorbed by there. They make the things rather big though and it can irritate the opening if it won't shove all the way in. Still effective but annoying and you may have to take it out for sex. That's not too difficult though. There is also the depo provera shot but if it goes wrong you are stuck with the effects for 3 months.

Maybe female condoms would improve the feeling over male condoms. They do have a higher failure rate and can take a little practice to use but it's still among the most effective forms. There are other things you can try, like charting your cycle and avoiding fertile days, if you aren't too worried about pregnancy but I have no experience with them. There was absolutely no way in hell I was giving birth so I never risked it and now my husband has a vasectomy.

[raven242]

Thanks for your reply!

I did some research and I think I'm going to try the Today Sponge. I want to try something non-hormonal and see if the issues I'm having go away. If they do, then I know its side effects from the pill. If they don't, then I'll have to delve deeper and figure out what the underlying issue could be.

I'm a little intimidated by the sponge, but if it helps to get rid of the side effects I'm having it will definitely be worth it.

Thanks again

[raven242]

I just wanted to let people know the results of stopping the Lo Loestrin.

The side effects I was having are slowly going away Sex drive is coming back, and having sex doesn't hurt anymore. I'm so relieved!