(no subject)

[hathycol]

So let's talk about contraception.

I used to have a tag for this, but since those days I have cheerfully wandered off Microgynon 30 and onto Marvelon. That was about... five, six years ago? And generally it was working for me but over the last year, perhaps longer, not so much. I stuck with it though because mostly I am lazy, but the last five months have become intolerable.

It's not so much that I have lost my sex drive, because I haven't, but mostly I sort of just... don't care really? It's lovely once I get into it, but, well, previous to that...

Well.

Anyway, I had made up my mind to talk to the nurse once this prescription was out because there's another reason behind getting fed up and that is trying to get an appointment. You know what I don't enjoy? Having to explain to the receptionist why I want an appointment. Oh no, just 'contraception' won't work, I have to give DETAILS. I have complained about this before, but it's clearly not working. I planned to speak to the nurse and perhaps go on another pill and then move from there, but I had a really distressing time with the receptionist ("No, I don't want to talk about why I want an appointment I'm in an open plan office and surrounded by MY COLLEAGUES!") and now I have lost my fucking patience with the damned pill. PLUS my appointment isn't for about another two weeks.

So. When I do go and speak to her, I will be speaking to her about wanting to go onto long term contraception. This is a new thing for me. I don't really want an implant on the basis that I tend to try and rip my eyebrows out at an ingrowing eyebrow, let alone something in my arm. The coil is a bit... odd, conceptually but I think I would like to start with it and move from there. I just can't face having to go through the faff of making an appointment every six months, even though I was cheerfully on a twelve month prescription when still living up north. I will be making this quite clear to the nurse. I can't find a local family planning clinic for over-25s, unfortunately.

In the meanwhile, I am now off any kind of hormonal contraceptive for the first time since I was 18. How alarming and strange. Obviously I am using other contraceptives, but it's a slightly weird feeling. I will try to keep up to date with any changes because I do think it's important to talk about this kind of thing. But still.

Comments

[not-vacillating.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I have a least one childless friend who has a coil if not more, so there must be circumstances under which they offer it. I usually start these debates by arriving at the appointment already armed with a pros and cons chart for a couple of options.

I've also been on the same pill - actually a double dose of Cerazette, which is a POP - for over five years. The prescription does make pharmacists double-check, and I have to go back twice as often because they can't prescribe more than x months at a time, but the other options seem worse. Oestrogen pills gave me really bad emotional side effects, and a normal dose of Cerazette was like being pre-menstrual all the time, but the double dose suits me well and has the bonus that in five years I've had fewer than five periods. (This does make some gynaecologists frown a bit, but I have excellent reasons for wanting to avoid periods and when I make it clear that This Is On Purpose And I Wish It To Continue they back off; none have ever given me an actual health reason to change, only the 'are you sure you don't want to be normal, sweetie?' look.)

I also have considerable amounts of trouble booking GP appointments. The thing where they reduce waiting times by making you phone at 8am, and 8:02, and 8:05, and 8:06, and 8:07, and 8:10, by which time all the appointments have gone and you need to try again tomorrow? I hate that, and I don't have a) a full-time job, b) a sleep disorder, or c) massive telephone anxiety.

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

It is infuriating. I know that it can be hard for GP surgeries to find an option that works for the largest number of people - the one where I used to work as a receptionist had a system where a certain number of appointments were kept as same-day ones - they weren't bookable until 8 that morning, and so people would phone in a mad rush then and they'd often go very quickly - but surgeries where you can only book an appointment by phoning at that time sound awful. That's just not going to be possible for lots of people.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have my list so fingers crossed the nurse will be reasonable. In terms of making an appointment with our surgery you have to phone when the moon is in a certain phase and Mars is in the fifth sphere, or something like that. It's IMPOSSIBLE. "Oh, we do late night surgeries!" "When?" "er..."