Hormonal Birth Control Resources for Beginners
I ended up collecting a lot of resources for a friend, so I thought I might as well post them here too.
The pill is definitely not the only option (and there are a lot of different kinds of pills, too, of course—some of which can have dramatically different effects based on your body chemistry). The patch is an option, as is the NuvaRing, and there’s even a shot option (Depo), though that one isn’t necessarily a good one to start with. There’s also a hormonal IUD, the Mirena, which in many cases stops your period completely, lasts for five years, and has the lowest failure rate of any method. Some of these options are “higer” or “lower” hormones, but just because they have more doesn’t mean you’ll respond to them more strongly — HBC is one of the most dramatic examples of what-works-for-one-person-won’t-necessarily-work-for-you. For some people, hormonal birth control doesn’t work at all, but don’t assume that that’s you just because the first thing you tried had bad side-effects. A good doctor will help you find a method (hormonal or not) that works for you.
Of course a lot of the info out there is about using HBC for pregnancy prevention, but the same things will apply for medical use.
Obviously the first place to start is Planned Parenthood (they’re also a really good choice in person, if you find that your regular doctor isn’t giving you the help you need and really listening to your concerns). Their website is a great starter for information on various kinds of birth control.
Great info on options is about half-way down the Scarleteen page.
Ask Metafilter is a great resource for everything ever, and I’d highly suggest making an account there to ask them for specific advice — it’s a great community of really wise people, and it’s a great place for first-hand stories of experience with different birth control methods. Start with these: [1] [2] And don’t be terrified by people’s occasional horror stories — a huge number of women use hormonal birth control over the course of their lives, and most people don’t have dramatic reactions to them.
The Hairpin wrote an excellent post on IUD options.
And here are some charts comparing different kinds of birth control pills: [1] [2]
Please message me if you have any resources to add!
