Anonymous asked: If I (a cis female) start using birth control is it safe for my boyfriend (a cis male) to cum inside me without a condom? Safe meaning I won't get pregnant.

There’s always a chance of pregnancy even if its the slightest chance, its still a chance!

When it comes to sex, there is no such thing as safe sex. There really is only “safer” sex because there will always be a risk for passing on an STI or a chance of pregnancy. It’s always best to be SAFER by using a couple of different methods.

In addition, although the chances of pregnancy are low by only using the pill, the pill will not protect against STI’s.

It’s really you and your partner’s decision to make if you do not want to use condoms, but again its always better to be more safe than just safe.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: Who am I supposed to approach about beginning birth control, and how do I approach them?

For hormonal contraceptives you usually need a prescription to gain access to them so you’d have to see a doctor.  I first went to my family doctor and asked if I could go on BC for my irregular periods but after my insurance ran out and I couldnt afford to pay so much for them I went to Planned Parenthood.

I made an appointment (they also have drop in hours as well) and told them that I wanted to continue on my BC (or in your case you can let them know you want to start but dont know which one will be best).

You really just need to find a doctor, get an appointment and let them know you want to start BC!

Lyna

Anonymous asked: I take my birth control every day but at different times. Is that okay? or should I try taking it at the same time every day.

You should really take it at almost the same time every day in order for it to be fully effective. Here are the chances of pregnancy if you take it perfectly vs. if you make some mistakes:

• I’m using the pill, I take it at the same time every day and I make sure none of my medications, vitamins or herbals interfere: 1% chance of pregnancy
• I’m using the pill, but I sometimes forget to take it and I don’t check my medicines: 9% chance of pregnancy

Anonymous asked: How long after I take my last pill for the month, will I get my period?

It really depends on the individual. My body would take sometimes 2-4 days after the last pill before my period would come. 

In the first couple of months of getting on the pill it can take your body some time to adjust to it. My body has finally settled for 3 days, until i would get my period. It may be inconsistent the first couple of months but it will eventually regulate itself.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: i will have my first time sex next weekend but i´m afraid that i can get pregnant and i´m not on the pill but i want it and my bf too but i´m afraid please help me

Educating yourself on how to protect yourself from STI’s and pregnancy will ease you, the link I’ve provided for STI’s will have information on how to have safer sex. 

We do have a couple of posts in our FAQ about becoming sexually active that you may want to read before jumping right in.

Should I become sexually active

So you want to become sexually active

We also have lots of posts about pregnancy and preventing pregnancy in our FAQ. It will provide lots of information on the different methods and how effective each one is in addition to lots of other information about pregnancy.

Its great that you want to take the initiative and responsibility of preventing pregnancy by wanting to be on the pill! You do need to speak to a doctor in order to be prescribed hormonal birth control and most of the time with the pill it may take more than a week to become effective. So you may have to wait a while before it even starts working! 

Planned Parenthood has a chart that talks about the different types of birth control methods out there that can help you decide what works for you. Your doctor will also help decide what may work best for you, of course you can visit a free clinic or a planned parenthood if money is an issue with purchasing birth control.

In the mean time, if you cannot access and start the pill, be sure take it slow, use a condom, in addition to using a second method like pulling out (withdrawal method) before ejaculating, avoid getting any ejaculate near or in the vagina, and have fun!

Lyna

Anonymous asked: I'm seventeen, and I just recently became sexually active. I'm nervous to be put on birth control. What should I expect when visiting the doctor? What are the pros and cons of birth control? Which do you think is better, the shot or pill? Is the weight gain a misconception?

Your doctor will just ask you some basic questions about your lifestyle and general health and will try to find a brand/method that may work for you. 

There are LOTS of pros and cons to birth control however there are LOTS of different methods as well and each one has their own pros and cons list.  Also, there really is no one birth control that works for everyone. Different people react differently to each method, so weight gain can definitely be a side effect that can occur. It’s really up to you to try to figure out which one would work better for you.

Planned parenthood has a great chart that shows the different contraceptive methods available, in addition to the pros and cons of each one. In addition, you may want to take into consideration the cost of each method, it can get pricey.

Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor if you have any questions about the different methods, they should be answering any questions you have!

Lastly, don’t get discouraged if the very first method doesn’t work for you, it sometimes takes a couple of different brands or methods before finding one that works perfectly for you!

Lyna

Anonymous asked: are there any contraception/pregnancy statistics that use actual numbers of people, rather than per cent? i mean, i understand that per cent means per one-hundred, so 15% is 15 out of 100, but that is rounded down and i'd like to read a real study, for instance, out of 7,422 people surveyed, 107 got pregnant from using x/y/z method. i have tried googling this before but wasn't able to find any reliable source..

I can’t find any reliable sources for actual studies either. Followers, can you come up with anything?

-FYSE

Anonymous asked: Is it normal to start having a lot of bloating/gas while on the Pill? I've been having trouble with bloating on and off since I started taking it, but I kept blaming it on eating stuff I know doesn't agree well with me. Today I heard from someone at the pharmacy that a lot of people get bloating and gas from it though. (I've been trying kefir and probiotics to get it to go away - they do work on the gas, but not so much on the bloating. I can't think of anything else for it.)

Yes it is normal to have bloating while on the pill and it could also be what you’re eating. Salty foods will make you bloat more so if you want to feel less bloated try eating less salt and things with high sodium. Also keep hydrated as well. 

If this doesn’t help, it really could just be the pill. The first birth control pill my doctor put me on to regulate my period made me bloat so much and made me..uncomfortable all the time. And no matter what i did, it didn’t go away. After switching brands a couple of times I finally found one that worked for me. If you continue having these problems just let your healthcare provider know and they may be able to find another brand for you that works better and won’t give you the side effect of being bloated.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: I'm thinking I'm going to start taking birth control behind my parents back because my boyfriend and I are now having sex. I'm just wondering if you know if it's bad If i lie about taking it as a everyday medication to my primary doctor when I go in there with my mother?

I was stuck in a similar situation but you really dont need to hide things like that from your primary doctor.

I know for a fact that doctors have a very strict confidentiality policy where they’re not supposed to be sharing information of their patients to other patients. I’m not completely sure about  the rules when it comes to parents and their children but when I got on birth control for pregnancy prevention, that was something my mom never found out about because it was a confidentiality issue.

You can let your doctor know what your concerns are and ask that if you do go in with your mom that he not bring up the fact that you are on B.C, if you are worried about your mom finding out.

Also remember that although you may be starting hormonal B.C doesnt mean you should stop using condoms! B.C can only prevent pregnancy where as also using a condom will decrease your chances of pregnancy even more and prevent STI’s and STD’s.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: My friend was tellig me about the depo shot today and she old me that it made her lose weight but her boobs grow. Can that be true? If it is can there still be a side effect for other people that make you gain weight when using the depo shot?

With any type of hormonal birth control it can cause side effects and the side effects can differ from each individual. This can include weight loss or weight gain. It can cause acne or it can clear it. It can increase or decrease libido. It can cause spotting in between periods to name a few.

Everyone’s body is different and may react differently. It’s always a good idea to talk to your health care provider about different methods to find one that may work for you. To check out other contraceptive methods click HERE.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: So, I started on BCP this year. I waited 3 months on my first brand, still had symptoms. Got switched to another pill, waited 3 months, and now i'm having symptoms again. I'm going to be starting a new BCP soon. If this pill doesn't work out either, should I just give up on pills and look for another option? Or should I try another brand?

Looking for a brand that works for you can be difficult because different people react differently to the wide variety of brands and there are so many different methods to choose from! Here’s a chart that you can refer to when looking at different methods. You may want to consider something other then the pill. The patch and the nuvaring are some other methods that have hormones but the side effects are not as dramatic.

Your health care provider will be the best person to talk to when trying to decide what might work best for you.

Good Luck

Lyna

Anonymous asked: What are the different types of birth control? (Cis-female)

Here’s a link to the different methods of birth control from planned parenthood. It also shows you the effectiveness of each method. When you are choosing a method think about what you will be using it for and if it would work for your lifestyle and body. In addition to whatever method you choose, it’s always best to use a barrier method (like a condom) in addition.

Lyna

Anonymous asked: Hello, I always take my bc (ortho tri-cyclen lo) at 10:30 every night. I have never missed a pill, but the other night i accidentally took it 15mins late. Am I still protected? How long should I wait until having sex again? What is the average "window" I can take my bc late? Thank you!

You’re still protected. Generally the window for every type of birth control is different. If you read the little pamphlet that comes with your pack of birth control it will generally tell you how long that window is. You shouldnt worry about missing the pill unless you’ve missed it by a couple of hours, and when this happens you just take it when you remember and to be protected you should be using a condom as well. 

Read the pamphlet from the box of pills and it will tell you what to do if you ever miss a pill, you can have sex whenever you want just remember that it’s important to always use a barrier method as well.

Lyna

t0love1self asked: So i talked to my doctor about getting an Mirena IUD, and I thought it was a good decision but now I’m reading all these horror stories. Hair loss, decreased libido, weight gain, acne, depression. Half the reason I wanted to stop taking the pill, were these side effects. Would it be awful to call and say I would be interested in the copper IUD instead? Because I have problems with all those side effects already. Do copper IUDs have less side effects? I can't find consistent info. Help!

No it would not be awful to change your mind about which IUD you’d like to get. Copper IUD’s don’t have hormones in them so you wouldnt experience all those side effects from the other methods with hormones in them. So if you do react to hormonal methods the Copper IUD would probably be best for you, however, I think you should talk to your health care provider about your concerns and they’ll help you find a method that works best for you. Here’s ParaGard’s website, ParaGard is the copper IUD.

Best of luck,

Lyna 

freaking-awkward asked: can you get pregnant by grinding??

Sperm cannot travel through fabrics, so as long as both parties are wearing clothing, then no.

Chances of pregnancy are higher if, there is no protection, there is penetration, there is ejaculate and the ejaculate is near the vulva or in the vagina. 

For future reference you can check out this post that is a guide to whether you are pregnant and this post are the chances of pregnancy with different contraceptive options.

Lyna