A personal question to ladies

[Llora]

Hi again.


I am only at a very begining of the wls journey. So have lots of worries and questions of course!

I know it is quiet personal matter but i keep thinking about it and have not found any answers yet.

I have not had a period since feb last year. The doctor sent me to do some bloodwork, all came fine, was not pregnant, so just got dismissed as he said it was all due to my weight.

I was not too worried about getting pregnant until now, so stayed off the pill as saw no need to put chemicals inside when it was not really needed.

Of course now as i am focusing on wls journey, i do not want to get pregnant.(Even if it is possible at all for me). i thought it would be the best time to sort all these contraception questions now, that the body would have enough time to get adjusted just in case i do get approved for the surgery. thought about going back on the pill, but as the pill has the side effect of increasing blod clots ect. I thought it might be not the best idea as having bmi more than 50 i am already at greater risk of dvt and clots. Then i thought the implant/injection is hormones too so would have the same effect too. Condoms could be an answer, but i am a bit worried it might be not able to offer the level of assurance and ease of mind about beeing protected well enough. Obviously i dont think that either me or my husband would be happy not having sex at all for monts/years (who knows how long it is going to take me to get to the day of surgery).

So what did you do? What were you suggested? Did you even had any thoughts like that?

My usual gp is on holiday so cant see him until the end of feb. just the other concern is will he know what is the best if i am going to have surgery? Who is the best person to ask about that in the bariatrics team? just to get their oppinion too if they agree to go forward with the operation

Am i just thinking about everything too much??

 

[borogirl]

Hi I was on the pill throughout surgery and up until 2 months ago as hubby had the snip. Think you should speak to your doc as the pill maybe the best option in the short term.

 

[sarahrob]

I have a contraceptive implant, as when I went to my doctor I weighed around 26 stone and my BMI was too high for me to take the pill.
I have PCOS and the hope was that the implant would help lighten my periods, maybe even stop them completely. It hasn't worked. I came on during my pre-op and 6 months later I've yet to have a day off!

I don't know whether my fertility has been impacted, but my implant is due to be removed in a couple of months and I'm planning on having it replaced, just in case!

Your doctor will be able to go through the options with you - good on you for thinking it through in advance!

 

[borogirl]

Hi I have had the implant 8 years ago. Wouldn't recommend it at all. I piled weight on and then when I wanted a baby I didn't have periods for years.
I too have pcos. Despite loosing weight my facial hair has returned. After coming off the pill designed for pcos along with a special vaniqa cream, hair has come back. It's better than before though.
Good luck!

 

[princess4d4]

cant help with your query as i had a hysterectomy many years ago but wanted to wish you good luck with your journey

 

[fjsinc]

I had the coil for years, and it was the method that was recommended by my team. They feel that the pill is not reliable with our plumbing.
I had the coil out a year before my op, and was ntnp upto the month before my op. We have used condoms since the op. Well until the end of next month....

 

[Llora]

I had the coil for years, and it was the method that was recommended by my team. They feel that the pill is not reliable with our plumbing.
I had the coil out a year before my op, and was ntnp upto the month before my op. We have used condoms since the op. Well until the end of next month....

So basicly you were using condoms around the time of operation and after? The more i think about it the more i start to feel that it might be one of the better options.

Did your team recommend iud then? (The coil with copper?). Or ius (hormonal one)? I really need more info about them. For example if ius have the same side effect of increasing your risk of blod clots and dvt like the pill. Ect.

I am so confused have like 101 question all ready in my notebook waiting to be asked when i see gp never thought i would have so many questions about contraception at my age

 

[Llora]

cant help with your query as i had a hysterectomy many years ago but wanted to wish you good luck with your journey

Thank you

 

[Llora]

Hi I have had the implant 8 years ago. Wouldn't recommend it at all. I piled weight on and then when I wanted a baby I didn't have periods for years.
I too have pcos. Despite loosing weight my facial hair has returned. After coming off the pill designed for pcos along with a special vaniqa cream, hair has come back. It's better than before though.
Good luck!

Well facial hair and other excess hair growth was the reason why i was on the pill for years. Even before getting married and having actual sex life! so later on protection against pregnancy was a nice side effect of that pill Then i stopped taking it a few years ago as i was recommended by my doctor. And as i was married already so i was not too cautious about getting pregnant. Sometimes we used natural family planing, sometimes condoms, sometimes nothing whatever felt ok at the time.

 

[Llora]

Thank you sarahrob

 

[Llora]

Hi I was on the pill throughout surgery and up until 2 months ago as hubby had the snip. Think you should speak to your doc as the pill maybe the best option in the short term.

I will! Thanks for sharing

 

[top_kat]

have a mirena coil. First fitted 12 years ago and have them changed every 4 1/2 years, they didn't last as long when I was carrying so much weight. But I love it. No periods, no PMs no issues. Knowing that the pill failed me I feel safe with this one.

 

[Yvessa]

I have had the implant for 6 years pre op and continously post op. Sarahrob, a short course of the minipill on top may help sort your periods out - it did for me.

I had no issues with the implant and didn't find it affected my weight or pcos symptoms at all. Since the last couple of stone my pcos symptoms are almost gone and the facial hair is reponding really well to ipl treatment which id didn't do before.

 

[Smallerme]

I have the copper coil (IUD) too. The mirena coil (IUS) is progesterone only so it does not increase the chance of pregnancy. The only thing is they can be slightly more tricky to insert if you've not had any children yet. I'd always go to a family planning clinic rather than GP as they do them so regularly that they're better at it. I was scared of getting mine in but honestly it didn't hurt at all. She numbed my cervix with a topical anaesthetic and I didn't feel a thing.

Condoms are a very good choice too as long as you don't get carried away in the moment and forget to put one on. Ahem, like my third baby was a result of

 

[brooke_marie]

Hey Llora,

The combined oral contraceptive pill is associated with a slightly increased risk of blood clots and DVTs because it contains oestrogen. There are however many other types of contraception that do and don't contain oestrogen or hormones at all.

There's many types of pill you can have that are taken in a variety of ways - some contain 21 pills to be taken once daily, with a week gap after 3 weeks. There's also a pill that comes in a pack of 28 that you take everyday, but the last 7 pills contain only sugar. That one particularly helps if you're bad with remembering when to stop/start taking them again.

If you're bad at keeping track/taking meds at strict times, there's other options like the 12 weekly injection. I've currently got the Nexplanon 68mg progesterone implant in my arm. It's inserted in your upper arm with local anaesthetic and says there for 3 years, or until you want it out. The manufacturer says that periods will commence again immediately after removal so if you're trying for a baby, you shouldn't have to wait too long until you get periods. This will obviously be affected by polycystic ovary syndrome if you have it!

There's also several types of coil - the mirena coil contains progesterone and, as I'm sure you know, is inserted into the uterus via the cervix - some nurses/GPs will put some local anaesthetic around the cervix so that insertion doesn't hurt although I've seen women have it with no anaesthetic and say it wasn't painful, just depends on the person. The mirena coil can be in the uterus for upto 5 years, and can be removed at any point.

There's also the copper coil that can be in for upto 5-10 years depending on the type. It doesn't contain any hormones - the copper in it is spermicidal! The copper coil can also be used for emergency contraception for up to 72 (I think) hours after sex.

There's also your obvious condoms, and "barrier methods" like the cervical cap/or diaphragm, as well as contraceptive patches that you put on your arm, or a vaginal ring.

Either way, I'd suggest talking to your GP, or more ideally talking to someone at a contraception and sexual health (CASH) clinic as they deal with it 100 times everyday - they're also more likely to know the ins and outs of side effects etc! Some GPs are trained to do coils/implants/injections depending on the size of the surgery.

The NHS website is actually surprisingly good at giving the information across well. Contraception - Contraception guide - NHS Choices
If you go along to "methods of contraception" there's loads of info you can look at!
It's recommended that if you're having the sleeve or bypass, you should try not to fall pregnant until 2 years after the operation until everything has settled down hormonally/surgically wise so if this is what you're after, I'd suggest one of the long term options - it's super useful to have it done one day, and not have to think about it for years at a time!

Hope this helps a little! xx

 

[Roccosmummy]

I have a Mirena coil. It's my 4th. No periods, no pms and fertility returns very quickly. After my youngest baby I had another fitted but was surprised to find my GP pushing towards an implant even though I expressed I'd been very happy with the coil. In fact all my mummy friends had the same push towards an implant.
I can only guess it's due to NHS costs!

 

[Llora]

Thanks to all of you again! So much useful information for me to look at before my appointment with gp!