The Birth Control Post

I should have CH write this post for me.
FTN has recently posted about the possibility of getting a vasectomy. That led to comments about other forms of birth control. Here is our story.

This one of those areas which I dislike writing about I can write about sex in a letter but to actually write it like this, well it's a little out of my league. So just bear with me on why I cannot take birth control pills and I still carry the scars that remind me everyday we were lucky. From the time that I and CH met we were having sex very often don't ask how often. I will say that it was frequent though. We knew we needed protection. So I went on the pill, I've read the inserts that came with each set of pills, that wouldn't help what would lie ahead for the both of us. I began taking Ortho Novum in Sept. 1993. I was given a 3 months supply from Planned Parenthood. I ran out in Dec. We continued to have sex and I got pregnant with Jr. in Jan. 1994. We found out on Feb. 1,1994 that I was pregnant when we went to the Dr. to get more birth control pills. A month later we got married, and CH joined the Army and was sent to basic training 11 days after the wedding.
Jr. was born in Sept. and I was put back on the pill. Feb. 13,1996. I found a lump in right breast. I was still taking the pills, as it was all we could use at the time. Neither one of us can stand to use a condom.
So in 1997 CH graduated from school and he got a job that had medical insurance. We went to several Dr. appointments to find out what the lump was. Finally we had a Dr. tell us that the lump needed to be removed. They were unable to determine what it was by doing a mammogram. So in Aug. of 1997 I went in for my first operation. They determined that the lump was not cancerous but was due to hormones. I continued to use the birth control pills.
Then about a year later another lump appeared. This time on my left breast. I went in for more mammograms and they told me that I needed to go in for another operation. After the second operation they determined that the lumps were being caused by the extra hormones that the birth control pills were putting into my system. So they told me to stop using the pills and to decide on another form of birth control. And we already knew that condoms were out of the question. We did use them on occasion. On most of those occasions they broke. Finally we decided on using a cervical cap. Unfortunately we were unable to find a Dr. that was specialized in prescibing them. So we ended up using a diaghram.
Now if any of you have ever used a diaghram or are currently using one you know that they can not be used alone. You must also use a spermacide. (I can't believe I am typing this. Blushing like mad!) In order to use the spermacide you are required to use a little bit of it around the edge of the diaghram to help make a seal. Then you also need to take an applicator that comes in the box with spermacide and apply one applicator full into the diaghram. Then you can insert the diaghram and commence in sexual relations.
That is where the other problems started to arise if you will. The whole process did not allow for a spontaneous romp. It also caused a problem for CH because when he was to ......um........ "go down" there he would get a bad taste and not do that anymore. He also could feel the diaghram during intercourse. So we only used it about 50-75 percent of the time. Closer to 50. The rest of the time we opted to just do our thing and then after we were done squeeze an application of spermacide inside of me.
Then in March of 1999 we found out I was pregnant again. That stirred up another set of emotions but that is not for this post. While I was pregnant we started to research different forms of birth control. We finally decided to use an IUD. INTRAUTERINE DEVICE. This was a great choice for us. We didn't have to worry about remembering to put anything in or on. It could not be felt, and the best part it was effective for 10 years.
Our youngest son was born in Oct. of 2000. Again I was put on birth control pills. I had to take the birth control pills for 6 months after the birth of our son so that my cervix could return to it's normal state. 3 months after restarting the pills another lump appeared on my right breast. This time we had to wait until I was done breast feeding to have the operation done. Another 3 months went by and I had the IUD inserted. The operation had to be put off for 2 years. So I had that operation done in 2002.
Then in Aug. of 2003 we found another lump in my left breast. That was a month after my mom passed away. This time the Dr. said that I have way to much estrogen running through my system. The Dr. also suggested that I have a breast reduction done. I'm a natural DD and they suggested I get a reduction down to a C. Before I had our two son's I was actually a size B, until my estrogen level went out of control to this day I still have problems. I will not take another birth control pill, my body can not handle the side effects that comes with too much estrogen. I can't even take prenatal pills my body rejects them.
so I had to go in for a 4th surgery. After that I went to all the appointments necessary to have the reduction done. All I had to do was make the date to get the operation done. But then I started school and put it on the back burner. CH still brings it up every now and then asking if I still want to get it done. I just don't want to take the time off of work to have it done. Plus I will need to stop doing massage while in recovery.
So for now we have used the IUD for 5 years. We have another 5 years to go before it needs to be removed and replaced. By then CH will most likely have had his vasectomy done and we will be done with birth control issues.
So there are our experiences with birth control and why we like what we use. We don't have to worry about remembering anything because it is all taken care of. We don't have to stop in the middle of having sex to put something in. Once things get started they don't need to stop for anything. (Well almost anything. The kids have a way of waking up or fighting once we are all revved up.)