[sera300]

If you want hormonal birth control and do poorly with the pills due to forgetting to take them, many are using the Nuvaring with no difficulty. It's inserted once a month by you and you remove it for 5 days and put a new one back in. The benefits are; it's much lower in dosage then the Pills and tends to have less side effects then other hormonal methods. Some have said their partner has felt it once in a while, other's said they never felt it. I have not used it b/c I currently have no need for BC anymore. However, I would consider it.

As far as the Depo shot, I have used it and preferred it to the BCP's. But many, especially if you read some of the threads on this boards, complain of weight gain & mood swings. They also experience more episodes of light prolonged bleeding for the first injection which lasts 3 months. One concern with the injection is if you do poorly with it, you are stuck with it and the side effects for 3 months. If you plan to become pregnant, it can take up to 1 year to resume fertility--no guarantee. I was on it for a few years, the only side effect I had was on the day I had the injection, I would be weepy & jittery for 24 hours. I had no other difficulty, no weight gain, but this is not the case in others. I do see where many Gyn doctors are moving away from using it due to the Nuvaring hitting the market.

I have seen Norplant, it's placed under the tissue in your arm, looks like tiny match sticks, I would never use it. Perhaps others have had positive results but after it was put on the market many jumped on it. The abscesses, cellulitis, and localized reactions we would see in the ER from it were not pleasant. Never one for me.

With the patch many complain about redness, itching, and discomfort at the patch site. As far as I am concerned, I'd use the ring first. I don't care for trans-dermal products.

There are IUD's which are good, greatest complaint is the heavier cramping and bleeding during their periods.

There are barrier methods such as the diaphragm & cervical cap. I have used both, diaphragms can increase the risk of UTI's, caps can be difficult to place but a cap can be left in for 24 hours taken out washed and put back in. I have had the diaphragm dislodge, I had no problems with a cap. Both need a spermicidal jelly used with them. However, when using these they are not as effective as hormonal birth control methods; thus, resulting in more women per 100 becoming pregnant.

I used VCF's and sponges which are over the counter but both have higher failure rates then other methods.

If I had to use hormonal birth control now I would use the ring; second choice would be the depo shot. Non-hormonal? Cervical cap.

Also, none of these methods protect you from STD's. Only condoms will.