Features
Sex and the Campus: Birth Control
By Kate Cieplicki ’16
April 21, 2016
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Over spring break I made a big life change. I didn’t buy a car or get a haircut… I changed my birth control! It may seem a little odd to talk about birth control in a sex column but in my opinion if we’re all going to have fun we need to do some not-so-fun preparation work too. The decision to change my birth control wasn’t an easy one so I wanted to detail my process for other people with uteruses who are considering changing their birth controls. Maybe non-uterus-having partners will learn something as well.
I have been on birth control for several years. Pretty much the second I realized the implications of being sexually attracted to men (babies!!), I asked my mom about birth control to avoid awkward conversations later. My thought process was: if I was on the Pill before I started seeing men, my mom would have no idea when I decided to start having sex. At that time, the Pill was the only form of birth control I’d heard about besides condoms. Some of my friends were already on it to control acne or their periods. I liked the idea of the Pill because it was easy to access, painless and prevented pregnancy with far greater efficiency than condoms, which can easily be used incorrectly. I understood that the Pill didn’t protect against STDs and thought that I would use both the pill and condoms if and when I found myself in a hook-up situation. I got the Pill after a brief conversation with my doctor.
My experience with the Pill was OK but I also had some difficulties. First, I had issues picking up the pill. I have lived in Syracuse, Philadelphia, and Amsterdam in the past three years and making sure I always had enough pills with me was a challenge that involved many stressed-out phone calls to my doctor and to pharmacies. Even when I had the pills, I sometimes forgot to take them. I would get distracted or not have my pills with me when the reminder on my phone went off. That sort of human error can cause people to get pregnant while on the Pill and I was always anxious having sex in the weeks after a slip-up.
These difficulties brought me to a gynecologist office in Syracuse, N.Y., waiting for a consultation on an IUD. Since I am in a long-term relationship and I know that I want to be having baby-free sex for the next several years, I asked about options for long-term birth control. My doctor talked me through the differences between a hormonal IUD, a copper IUD and Nexplanon. I was happy to know that all three were covered under my family’s health insurance, just like my pills had been.
There were subtle differences between the three methods. The hormonal IUD is placed in the cervix and excretes hormones over six years in a targeted area. It prevents the ovaries from releasing eggs and stops sperm from reaching the uterus. The copper IUD is also placed in the cervix, lasts for 10 years, stops sperm from fertilizing an egg and also makes the uterus less suitable for pregnancy. I was told that both of these methods hurt a lot when they are put in because the cervix doesn’t like it when things are shoved up it. This can cause painful contractions that feel like menstrual cramps and can interfere with physical activity. Nexplanon is a two-inch long plastic t-shaped structure that is injected into a woman’s non-dominant arm. It lasts for three years and prevents pregnancy in a manner similar to the ways in which the hormonal IUD prevents pregnancy. The difference is that, with this method, hormones go through the entire body.
I asked my doctor for consultation on which method I should choose. At first, I was drawn to the copper IUD because I knew I didn’t want babies for the next 10 years. I was worried, however, about the pain of insertion, the IUD coming out (which mimics a miscarriage) and also by stories of women whose partners felt the IUD while penetrating them really deeply during sexual intercourse… yikes! The Nexplanon (in the words of my doctor, the “weenie” option), seemed like the easiest and safest bet so I decided on that. True to its “weenie” distinction, the insertion procedure itself was relatively pain-free. The doctor disinfected the area, numbed my arm (that was the painful part) and then shot the t-shaped structure into my arm. I had some bad bruising around my arm for several days and some tenderness, but then I felt totally fine. Now I can only feel the t when I press on the skin of my upper left arm on the side closest to my body.
My path towards more permanent birth control was relatively painless. Throughout the process, I learned to importance of asking questions and doing research. If you want to change your birth control, don’t be embarrassed to ask all sorts of absurd questions! Also make sure you trust your doctor enough to ask questions. Your comfort is the key whether you’re seeing a doctor for reproductive health or some other area of health. If you can’t ask your doctor questions, it’s time to get a new doctor.
So far I’m super happy with my Nexplanon and relieved that I don’t have to worry about picking up or taking birth control pills for the next three years. A lot will change for me over the next three years: I will have lived in a new city and worked my first job. One thing, however, will remain the same. With Nexplanon’s 99 percent effectiveness rate and zero chance of human error, I will almost certainly be baby free!