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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookWhat does a raw woman do to prevent pregnancy? I have never been keen on taking the pill, but these days, I am really really really feeling tempted about it because pills seem so dependable. But I just don’t want that stuff in my body. What are some methods that will help me stay true to my beliefs, but not get any surprises in the oven? I have heard that raw veganism is great for fertility, which is great, just not right now.
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Hi Sabriya.
Here’s a forum about natural birth control… or Natural Family Planning (NFP). Toward the end of the form are more details about this method.
http://goneraw.com/forums/6/topics/455
It’s a method that certainly takes time to getting used to.
hi sabriya, i’m totally with you on this. i hate taking anything but i don’t trust myself with the natural methods. i just started using the nuva ring which is a ring inserted for 21 days and then removed. it still delivers hormones like birth control pills do (this is not a barrier method) but the levels of hormone are much lower. you can read more about it here . hope that helps you!
Thanks ladies, I will check out both of these methods, thanks so much for including links!!
Natural birth control isn’t for everyone; it takes a lot of tracking and commitment so it can be tricky at times. If you don’t mind having synthetic hormones in your body I also agree that the Nuva Ring is a good option. I have used it in the past and liked it very much, much more so than the pill.
If you are concerned with having synthetic hormones in your body there is a highly effective, non-hormonal birth control option wich is the copper IUD (intrauterine device). It is inserted by a doctor into the uterus, it contains no hormones and can be left in place for up to 10 years. But one of the main side effects is increased cramping and heavier periods. Here’s the company’s website that produces the copper IUD in the U.S. http://www.paragard.com/paragard/index.php
I don’t mind sharing, so I hope no one else does either – I personally use latex condoms and track my monthly cycle. This is what works the best for me in my life right now. But 5-10 years ago this probably wouldn’t be the case and I’m very thankful the birth control pill was available to me back then. You might have to try a few different things to find what works best for you in your life right now. The best birth control for you is going to be whatever you can use consitently and correcly every time but that also has a low level of side effects for you. I always thought it was sad but funny how some BC pills can cause a low libdo – well no wonder they work so well! hehe :)
Here’s a link to a great organization that lists all the forms of birth control currently available; it might help you compare methods to find something that works for you. http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/index.htm Good luck! :)
I do not recommend the copper iud. It made me bleed for 3 months until i had it removed. Definitely not good. Also, it can cause miscarriages if you do get prego. Sad.
I do not recommend nuvaring. It had severe side effects and I was on it for almost a year, a year of my life I regret and will never get back. As soon as I came off it I was back to normal. I use vegan condoms and chart my cycle. I also use persona (you pee on a stick a few mornings a month and a little machine checks to see if youre fertile).
I just got off the pill. Like greenpolkadot, I am using latex condoms and tracking my monthly cycle. I had been on the pill for about eight years. A few months ago, I was off of the pill for two months and I noticed weird stuff, like breaking out in weird places… I went back on it for a month and then I decided to quit. I don’t want unknown things in my body. I think it really does cause lower libido too. So glad to be off of it!
wanna_B_raw, congratulations. It’s a brave move. :o) You are right about the lower libido. BCPs affect people in different ways. I used the nuva ring… which was less hormones. However, I read that less hormones have the increased side effects (but, like with all statistics/studies, who’s right?) My libido was affected the month I started Nuva Ring (Aug/Sept 2005). I tried it for less than a year… and stopped. It has taken months for my body to recover from the side effect (I wasn’t raw.). Not until I had a cleanse at Wilderness Mission in MA (about month 8 after BCP) did things start moving back to normal. yeay I would think the longer one is on BCP, the more time it would take to cleanse. Just a guess… so, it may be slow… and I’m sure being raw accelerates it.
I had the 10 year IUD inserted and it worked beautifully for 4 1/2 years. Then all of a sudden my body started rejecting it and I started bleeding heavily and had to have it removed. At that point my husband agreed to have a vasectomy. We have 3 kids and are done. But if I was not done I would have given my body the 6 months break my Gyno recommended and had a newer iud inserted. It really gave me peace of mind while I had it and no extra hormones which I could not tolerate.
Queera – if you don’t mind me asking, what were the horrible side effects you had when you were on the nuvaring?
Well, where do I start? depression, agoraphobia, panic attacks, out of charachter behaviour, crying fits, loss of libido, neediness, nausea, headaches (chronic migrane like), weight gain, period irregularities. It was pure awful! Previously I had tried many other pills and went on this because its low dose. I think the pill is awful for you no matter whether you experience symptoms of its effects or not. With the nuvaring I felt ok for the first couple of months, but it sneaks up on you, until all of a sudden youre really not coping well. I came off it soon after and could stop anti anxiety meds and could socialise again. My best advice? Get to know your body. Learn to read your cycle. And use barrier methods!
As of now ive been on birth control (Yaz) since the latter part of June. I want to come off birth control and track my period plus use condoms. Im debating on if i should wait until im done with the pack im on or just stop. Any advice?
miss thomas – I’d suggest you stay on until you your active pills are done. My best friend stopped in middle of her pack and her body went crazy, had her period 2x in a month, depression and mood swings. Basically, she PMSed for 2 months. I just stopped taking the pill and everything seems to be normal. The reason why you should wait is because the pill is pretty powerful, its making your body think you’re pregnant so you don’t release more eggs, so if stop suddenly, its like WHAO! What happened here?? It’ll be a much smoother transition if you stop after your period, although I don’t guarantee it to be symptomless. I’ve heard of many many women having irregular periods and moodiness for months after.
Good luck!
Good question. I was on NuvaRing, so I completed the cycle. It may take a month or months before things are “back to normal”.
My diet changes a lot… sometimes I’m 90% raw, sometimes I am not-so-raw… and I think this affects my cycle length becuase it’s never “regular”. Last month (for the first time I can ever remember) it was a 24-day cycle. If you know about NFP, you know that a 24 day cycle gives you fewer infertile days at the start of the cycle. I had to rework my “infertile-fertile days”, because a shorter cycle results to less infertile days and a “greater” chance of getting pregnant since you become fertile sooner in the cycle.
A few years ago i got off the pill after being on it for about 2 years. It took my body an incredibly long time to regather itself. I did not menstruate for over one year. On the pill i gained weight, and experienced many changes similar to queera’s experiences with the nuvaring. Right now i just use condoms. I still do not have a very regular period, but it’s almost up to once a month. I strongly discourage the use of any pill or hormone replacing birth control. It’s a scary thing, and I’ll never go back on any form of it.
Thanks for the info you guys. I pray i dont have too many bitch spells and horrible cycle when i do come off of it.
I just wanted to pop in a big “hurray” for my Mirena IUD – the hormone version of an IUD, which is more effective (statistically, as effective as a vasectomy) and actually decreases the severity and duration of your period. It’s also considered to be less likely to expel (compared to the copper-only IUD) in women who have not been pregnant. I did a significant amount of research before I got mine, and while I have to say that the actual insertion was not particularly pleasant, the five years (five! do the math on that one!) of worry-free birth control with a lighter/non-existent period makes me one VERY happy Mirena user.
Please don’t have an IUD. A year after having one inserted, I became pregnant, and it was ectopic. This is actually quite a common ‘side-effect’ of IUDs. Also consider the moral side -we are conceiving babies then terminating the pregnancy by preventing their implanting in the womb. Ectopic pregnancies are NOT nice, and I am now one Fallopian tube short. Please don’t have an IUD fitted. And, although I have used all forms of contraception in my life,and have myself limited my family to two children, at the end of the day my belief is that NO form of contraception, including the ‘rhythm method’ can be said to be ‘natural’.
Debbie… Totally agree with you. PLEASE do not use that thing!! A year after they inserted it, I was called to come in and be asked some questions. Well, I started probing the guy that was questioning me and he gave in. Told me that it’s been under question for some time about the side effects and now they’re following up with people to see if they need to have it removed. I wasn’t having any issues yet, but he told me that if he were me he would get it removed. Scary! I got it removed ASAP.
For 6 years I have been using LadyComp. It’s a computer that tracks your cycle for you. You take your temperature every morning on the device and you let it know when you get your period. It gives you green, red or an orange light everyday. So… green means you’re good to go! red, use protection and orange means it doesn’t have enough data (happens in the beginning). It’s expensive about 400-500 and we could barely afford it back then but it has so been worth it! I haven’t had any problems with it and no babies as of today!
It is something you have to purchase online because like all things that are actually good for us and not harmful, the FDA won’t approve it. GRRR!
Chelly… that’s exactly what my husband was saying should be invented! I want it… I need it… where do I get it?
My cycle during raw and not-so-raw has been so strange… my longest cycle was about 40… and my shortest cycle was 21 days… all in the last 6 months! And, I’m a pretty regular person… ranging from 26-30 days. So you can imagine how many times I thought I was pregnant or having implantation bleeding.
LadyComp… I’m googling that next!
Actually… it looks like it just tracks the basal temperature test. It’s not was I was looking for. I can already do that and use other methods at the same time. I guess I was expecting more from it.