Let’s start at the beginning…
“Have you ever thought of the pill?” I stared at my boyfriend’s text wondering how to reply.
I won’t lie to you, I’m a massive hypochondriac! I’m always googling any and all of my symptoms and wondering if I’m near death’s door. A few months back I was having chest pains and couldn’t decide if I had Corona Virus or a serious heart condition. Turns out it was just bronchitis…
Sadly, I also seem to have something my boyfriend likes to call “White Coat Syndrome”. Basically, I feel like I have terrible, serious illnesses but I will do everything to avoid seeing someone about it. I know it doesn’t make sense but I can’t seem to rid these anxieties.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that I’m the exact same when it comes to getting pregnant. I am terrified about becoming pregnant before I’m ready! I was one of those girls that would think they were pregnant before they lost their virginity so you can only imagine how anxious I was when I actually became sexually active.
I don’t know about you, but I seem to be always coming across articles online about a girl using the pill and getting pregnant. I remember one article that has stuck with me of a woman who, after sleeping with a guy on the first date, became pregnant with triplets. TRIPLETS! Seriously, what luck! The most recent story that has been etched onto my brain is the woman who gave birth to her child who was HOLDING her contraceptive coil! I mean obviously the chances of these scenarios happening to me are extremely low. And yet…
Not only do we women hear horror stories such as these on the internet but our friends are our biggest informants for sure. Too many times have I heard about my friends bleeding for the majority of the month. Too many times have I heard my friends complain about their contraception making them gain weight. Too many times have my friends panicked that they haven’t taken their pill at the exact same time as they’re supposed to. Too many times have my friends became depressed as a result of their contraception. That last one is the one that truly terrifies me.
These constant stories and side effects are what circle round my mind whenever I think of contraception. That’s why I have always used condoms. Think about it, they come with no side effects, they protect you from STIs and you can see straight away if they haven’t worked. By the way, if you don’t understand that last bit you shouldn’t be having sex.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that I’ve never really thought about any other contraceptives other than condoms because the advantages seem to be way greater than the disadvantages of the alllll the other ones. That’s why when I received the text from my boyfriend I really didn’t know what to say. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been asked to go on the pill by guys before and they’ve tried to refuse to wear condoms with me too (Ladies make sure that those who refuse to wear a condom get kicked to the curb, those boys are not worth your time). But something told me to consider other forms of contraception so I thought I’d do some research.
Now, let me first start off with the types of contraception I immediately disregarded. Female condoms and diaphragms were eliminated straight away, the fear of losing them inside me were far too great. I was put off the implant years ago by my sister showing me it by pushing it around in her arm making it poke at her skin. Honestly, it makes my legs go a bit weak just thinking of that one even after all this time. The contraception injection was a potential candidate, a friend of mine told me she has an injection in her butt every few months and doesn’t get a period. It sounded like a winner but sadly we are in the middle of a pandemic. I didn’t want to make to a doctor stop saving lives to stab me in the arse with a needle to stop my baby making ways, after all I am very considerate even if I do have white coat syndrome.
That’s when I came across the contraceptive patch. My research showed me that it works pretty much the same as the combined pill. All you do is stick it to a part of your skin that doesn’t get rubbed much by clothes, change it every week and every fourth week have a break from the patch. It seemed so simple compared to taking a pill at the same time each day. It actually works more than the pill since it’s not in your stomach. That means if you vomit or have diarrhoea it still works, which is a massive bonus for someone who thinks they have a mild case of undiagnosed lactose intolerance - talking about a friend obviously.
Anyhow, what brings me here is that after finding out all the information I could from the NHS website I tried to find a blog out there that catalogues their contraceptive patch story. I found a few vlogs of women describing the pros and cons of the patch and how to put one on. Although they are helpful I really wanted a day to day feel of what to expect from requesting the patch to a full cycle of using it. So this is why I’m here, I want to write about this experience to help other women who are considering this method of contraception. I promise I will be as open and honest as I can. If anyone out there wants to ask me something I am always here to listen.
Jess :)
So I’ve started a new blog to chat about using the contraceptive patch. It’s so unheard of and has very little personal experiences to read up on so I thought I’d share my own. If you’re curious give it a read to see my journey using the patch
