Don’t beat around the bush. Studies suggest that many patients wait until their third question to bring up what they really want to talk about with their provider. Break the cycle and tackle your priority questions first. Your provider will appreciate your directness and it’ll mean more time for answers!
Voice your opinion about birth control to help make the process of choosing a method easier!
A team of researchers, clinicians, and patient representatives from or working with Dartmouth College are asking women to take a 10-minute anonymous online survey on how they make decisions about birth control. (It’s linked above. And here, again.) The team wants to use what they learn from the survey to develop a tool that will help women and their healthcare providers communicate and collaborate better on the birth control decision-making process. (A very worthy cause in our humble opinions.) In the team’s own words:
We know it can be difficult for women and healthcare providers to have a conversation about which method best suits a woman’s particular lifestyle, finances, and preferences. And, it can be tough to find trustworthy and easy-to-understand information that explains the benefits and drawbacks of different methods.
If you’re a woman between 15 and 45 years old who: uses or is interested in learning about contraception, lives in the United States, and is comfortable reading and writing English, please take a few minutes to share your views and priorities relating to birth control.
PS—The research team is also looking for healthcare providers who offer contraception counseling or prescriptions, live in the United States, and are comfortable reading and writing English to complete a 10-minute anonymous online survey about helping patients make decisions about contraception.
Should the pill be available over the counter?
With all the news coverage about the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ recommendation that the pill be sold without a prescription, we thought it’d be a good time to revive our article on the topic.
Just in case you want our two cents;)
Sometimes old ideas die hard. One good example is the old idea that you have to start taking the pill on a Sunday, or start it five days after your period begins. Research has shown that this is just plain wrong.
If the women who are, presumably, the most knowledgeable about reproductive health are choosing IUDs more often than the rest of us, then what is it our gynecologists know that most women don’t?
From Maren Shapiro’s “The IUD: What Do Gynecologists Know that Other Women Don’t?”, for My Health News Daily.
Intrigued? So were we. The full article has lots of great info about the IUD—and we have plenty to say about it too.
Do you think the lady docs are on to something?
Dispatches from a College Sexpert: Be a Birth Control Original
We’ve all said it—“I’ll have what she’s having,” “I’ll get the same as her,” “What she got,” or something along those lines. We may say it at the store, at the movie theater, or at a restaurant, but many of us also take that attitude when we’re getting on birth control.
Of course friends generally give great advice and, if they recommend their birth control method, it’s with our best interest at heart. But is the perfect method for your friend going to be perfect for you? Maybe. But since our bodies and lifestyles are all different, choosing a birth control method solely because someone you know is using it is a mistake. So before you succumb to pill pressure and simply say “I’ll have what she’s having,” here are 10 dos and don’ts to consider when choosing a method.
Your Body and Your Life:
1) DO explore all your options if you’re getting on birth control for the first time or switching methods. There are lots and you can find them all on Bedsider.
2) DON’T think it’s all about biology; also consider how birth control can best fit into your lifestyle. If you can’t remember to do things on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, the pill, the patch, or even the ring could be hard to remember (although Bedsider does have awesome birth control reminders you can get via text or e-mail to make it easier).
3) DO think about whether or not you can handle something inside you. The most effective methods are the IUD and the implant because they’re put in by a doctor and have basically no risk of user error (you can’t lose them, place them incorrectly, or forgot to take or replace them). But they’re inside you and some women are uncomfortable with that.
Your Friends:
4) DO have honest conversations with your friends about what they like and don’t like about the methods they’ve tried.
5) DON’T assume that your side effects will be the same as your friends’—everyone’s body is different.
6) DO look up real stories on Bedsider about women’s experiences with different methods to get more first-hand perspectives on all the options.
7) DON’T think a method isn’t effective just because that one friend of a friend got pregnant while she was using it. Unfortunately, not everyone uses their method correctly and consistently.
Your Doctor:
8) DO read this article on how to talk to your doctor.
9) DON’T put all your eggs into one basket. Have a list of 3 methods you’re interested in before you go to the doctor’s office or health clinic—Bedsider offers a build-your-own method comparison tool that lets you print information on up to 3 methods to bring to your appointment.
10) DO the math. Call your insurance provider (or look it up on their website) and figure out how much they cover of your top 3 methods and how much it will cost you in a year, 3 years, 5 years, or however long you plan to not have kids. You can also see if you qualify for free birth control here.
“Let it be” gif courtesy of Marina.
*****
Catherine Rivera is an intern for Bedsider. When she’s not counseling, teaching, researching or writing about sex and relationships, this Stanford University student can be found passing out condoms to her fellow students, mentoring middle school girls, indulging her sweet tooth, reading the news, or attempting to get inside the heads of her four younger brothers. Catherine doesn’t have a personal tumblr (yet), but you can follow her on twitter @cmrivera2013.
Patients almost always have the same look on their face when we talk about ovarian cysts. It’s that look of, ‘OMG, I have a ticking time-bomb in my pelvis!’ I worry that they imagine a giant green blob growing larger and larger inside them, like a Chia pet, that might one day suddenly explode.
The good news is that this imaginative view of an ovarian cyst is far worse than the reality. Many women will have an ovarian cyst at some point in their lives, and most won’t even know it.
How Not to Talk Doctor
A few handy examples of how not to approach your next visit to a health care provider.
We know you’re not actually that awkward. We also know that even if you’re super smooth, it can still feel weird to bring up sex with your health care provider. That’s why we put together a list of dos and don’ts to make it easier.
Risky business: Is birth control safe?
Our latest “provider perspective” article, from Dr. Joe Speidel of UCSF.
The important lesson here isn’t so much that you can engage in ‘intense’ play while on an IUD, but that you can ask your doctor all about it; and if it ends up that you aren’t the only one blushing and stuttering, it might be time to look for another provider.
Tracy Clark-Flory in response to an “Am I Normal?” question about whether IUDs limit kinky play.
Well said.
