I decided to not take my birth control for this month because I've been having really intense and frequent mood swings for some time now. The littlest thing would set me off and in my head I knew I was overreacting but I honestly felt like I couldn't control it. Well it's been 2 weeks now and both my boyfriend and I have noticed a HUGE difference. I'm not so up-down, up-down, you know? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? I really don't want to take the pill anymore (or any other hormonal substance) for this reason but I also don't want to get pregnant. I did some research online and found the LadyComp dot com. What are your experiences with this kind of natural family planning (or...um, non-family planning?) devices?

Of course it makes sense that you feel better without unnatural hormones in your system! You're lucky that you still even like your boyfriend, considering you choose him while on such substance and your natural pheromones were suppressed; so that's GOOD!

I would stay off of it and monitor your cycle, find out when you're more fertile, and choose where to go from there.....sex carries risks wehther you use condoms, are on the pill, or neither. The risks are more in certain cases, but if you reduce the risk of pregnancy by a pill, you raise your risk of cancer and other issues.....if you don't want children, maybe your boyfriend can get a vasectomy.

[utopiankitchen.wordpress.com]

I just turned 25 and I started with the pill my first semester in college 7 years ago. When I wasn't dating anyone I went off for a few months but for the most part it was 7 years. When I truly realized how long of a time that is...I was kind of appalled. My boyfriend has no problem wearing a condom but I still want some other method. I don't know if it is normal or not but my sex drive has been in the gutter for a while too so I'm really excited to be off the pill and into the raw lifestyle and reconnect with my body. And I wasn't on the pill when I met him 4 years ago so I still had my natural pheremones and I am definitely still attracted to him!

i can't tell from the website but is this like the ovutrac? do you use saliva to monitor biosalts with it? if so it is highly effective at indicating even pre-fertility days. i have an ovutrac and it's incredible.

This is an exerpt from it:
Ladycomp / Babycomp heralds the development of a method which narrows down the fertile period, recognises and indicates it in advance with virtually no effort on your part. All that Ladycomp / Babycomp requires is regular temperature readings and M data (M = menstruation) The device can be used without previous experience and application errors can be practically ruled out.

Scratch that. I converted the Euros to US dollar and it's near $50,000. That's a big NO. I'm not familar with the ovutrac. How much is it and what has been your experience using it? Pros? Cons? THANKS!

There was another thread about this some time ago. I had to take the pill for non-contraceptive reasons--the doctor gave me a three month prescription--and I wanted to die. I renamed myself "The Hormonal Walrus." I felt like lying in bed, like a walrus, and howling. I nearly lost my mind. It felt like someone inflated my breasts with a bicycle pump, I was nauseous 24/7, I couldn't eat anything. I cried all the time. Ugh.

Anyway, I dumped the pill as soon as I was off the first 21 days, and ordered an
Ovutrac. I do this in conjunction with temperature every morning and other body symptoms--it's AMAZING.

The company is very, very, very helpful, too. Totally awesome customer support, I can't say enough (I accidentally charged myself five times on my credit card the day of ordering and the lady had the extra charges removed within hours, and reprocessed my order herself to make sure it went out ASAP).

The ovutrac is also very cool... The very day it arrived in the mail I was ovulating (which I had SUSPECTED!), so it was awesome to get a right-away visual confirmation of what was going on in my body.

I hate condoms, but now I know exactly which six days of the month I have to use them (your salts change about 6 days pre-ovulation, which you can see!), and EXACTLY when we can throw them to the wind!

I would still caution to be otherwise familiar with your cycle, but this is what I have found to be the best natural way to keep an eye on what's happening with myself. There are other pee-sticks and tests you can take, but ones that test for LH only change 36-24 hours before ovulation (not useful for contraception), and others work on a similarly short timeframe.

The ovutrac also only costs $100 and is infinitely reusable. :O

anything that gauges using temperature is subject to too many variables to be reliable. if you are sick, excited, wearing a cosy sweater, etc it can throw your readings off. the ovutrac uses saliva and indicates biosalts without fail. it will show you not only when you are ovulating but the four days prior to ovulation which is very very handy as sperm can live in the body for at least that long. there is nothing that i have ever heard of that works as well, is as reliable and comes with such terrific "tech" support. $100 well invested i say... costs way less than a baby or *shudder* an abortion.

This sounds really interesting.

I've been on the pill for nearly five years, but am really thinking about getting off it...just scared about getting pregnant!!!

Where did you get the ovutrac? Is it available on-line? Is there a website, couldn't find much when I googled it.

Thank you

[www.ovulation-predictor.net]

How about natural family planning options

Mucus cycle, temperature and checking ovulation with conventional tests.

Can be done for sure.

Thanks!

natural family planning is for people who don't really mind if they get pregnant in my opinion. it's about 75% effective at the very best. not great odds if you really aren't into becoming a parent.

umm.. i'm wondering, what are people's opinion of the diaphragm?

what i don't like about it is the gel that comes with it

it has parabens in it... so that is not cool with me cuz methyl and propylparaben are known carcinogens... i know they are used for preservative measures but seriously... i think they could do better

do other companies sell diaphragm gels that don't have junk chemicals in them?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2008 09:09AM by la_veronique.

diaphragm, ew oogy. i hated mine. so much that i got pregnant one time not using it. oops. that gel is super duper stanky, tastes like the devil so you can forget about getting any oral sex, and your partner can feel it, ooh sexy. not. and it can shift so put away your fancy sex moves.
there is a cervical cap alternative which is much smaller and easier to use but there is still a chance of slippage, it uses the same gel, your partner may still feel it and i had a girlfriend who had trouble "finding" hers to get it out a couple of times. can you say panic? yikes.

i preferred the condom to a diaphragm and i greatly dislike condoms. but there are plenty of women who don't mind the dirty d so maybe try it out for yourself and see how it works for you.

I read diaphragms were a lot less effective than condoms?

HI, I have too aslo been thinking of using a natural method and been doing A LOt of research online. Here are some things I have found but am still researching. I am 25 and using Nuvaring (vaginal hormonal ring) currently which is working well and gives me minimal side effetcs- but I would rather not use it in the end. (edema, bloat, breast enlargement, anxiety, lighter period, regular cycle,) So, I have been looking into these alternatives:
LadyComp (really want one but need to save up $500 first - or $250 since mypartner will be paying for half-got to be equal there!)

Neem oil and leaf pills (used in Auruvedic medicine India for generations),using pills, vaginal suppositories and spermicide type creams with Neem which kills sperm and lowers fertility with no side effects and is reversible. It is also beneficial to the vagina and non irritating, regular spermicides are very toxic and irritating to the skin.There is a book called "Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems" available on Amazon and here:
[www.nap.edu]
and they have been studying it in India and making products to help with their overpopulation issues. Neem is said to also prevent sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS, and yeast infections while using as a lubricant or spermicide! but the USA hasn't gotten into it yet...and the products are not available out of India it seems) Looks like lots of testing on animals was done...but they were using just a natural oil to do this. (rats, rabbits, monkeys, and humans) here is a site and there is lots of info on a study they did with male soldiers taking it and preventing pregnancy -it is said it can truly be a male contraceptive pill but ist is recommended women use it vaginally too, with the added bonus that is tones and keeps the vagina healthy from infections and diseases.
NEEM SITE:
[www.neem-products.com]

This site references herbal methods (queen anne's lace seeds, neem oil and more):
[www.shwethabhaskar.com]

And I just read about another Indian product today that is a non-hormonal pill you take weekly I think that is a contraceptive pill with what appears to be no side effects! here it is listed with all the other types (hormonal and not)
it is called Centchroman (also called Centron and Saheli) but I just found it and don't know much else yet.
[www.themarriagebed.com]

My hope is to finish this cycle and switch to something non-hormonal.
I am thinking of using the Lady-comp with another method. or this other pill if it looks interesting. I think you can only get it in India too. I found a pharmacy site that Indian's who are living abroad recommended and they look cheap but shipping is high.
[www.alldaychemist.com]

Now I am trying to find out exactly how Auruvedic herbalists recommend you use Neem (dose size and such) I read it takes 6 weeks to become effective. and you use either the oil or leaf tablets.

However I have to admit this is all a lot of extra work form the ring I am using now, and if i really think about it my side effects are minimal (the ring is the lowest dose or hormones of hormonal birth control) and it does not pass through your digestive tract. but i think it messes the ph of your vagina considering i never got a yeast infection before i used it.)

when i was NOT using anything hormonal and was 100% raw my period was starting to get less regular every 5-6 weeks instead or 3-4, and i kept thinking i was pregnant even though i knew i couldn't be. It is nice to know what day your period is going to start and not be worried about it.

Hope this helps people see what else may be out there. and maybe someone has tried some of these and can comment?? Thanks-

Here is some good info about the non hormonal pill Centchroman (also called Centron and Saheli)

I want to find out more about people using it. although i am pretty convinced since it seems women in India have been using it since the 1990's

There is a good part here about why it is not available in the US and not FDA approved - about how the FDA is driven by how much profit they can make and it is good if there are side effects b/c then they can perscricbe more medications for those. and in India birth conrtol pills are available over the counter and cost much less. THese are only about $50 for 12 month supply - the site i found sells packs of 8 for $0.83 and the only side effect found is that your cycle is delayed a few weeks but regular. Oh and it also explains what is in it and how it works- anyone use this or heard of it?

[inheritedhornet.blogsome.com]

Just my 2cents. I've suffered from yeast infections for years due to being on the Pill for only about 9 months. Finally after 3.5 years of raw and various Yeast treatments, the infections is subsiding but it still isn't gone. The Pill was horrendous for my health as I am still suffering the aftereffects even though it's been more than 15 years.

I think there is a "natural birth control" thread somewhere. I remember seeing one a while back. It might help... not sure though.