this is important part I: IUDs

(photo: managingcontraception.com)

 I had decided to give this blog a rest when I felt that I simply didn't have the time do give it the attention that it deserved. Well, I still feel that way, but have decided to be ok with writing less posts and to not spend so much time editing the hell out of them that the information becomes untimely.

What brought me back using this blog is the uncontrollable desire to help you, my fellow lady friends, be more informed and empowered about the decisions you make about your body. (Guys, read on if you want, but if I see one comment from you with the word "gross" in it, know that I will verbally rip you to shreds).

There are two things I want to tell you about today. This post will take on the IUD.

The IUD, or Inner Uterine Device. It's that tiny little form of birth control that gets inserted way up in your uterus and prevents against pregnancy for 5 or 10 years, depending on the brand. For some reason, my gynecologist, who I absolutely love love love, never mentioned it when we would discuss possible forms of birth control. But once I had my interested sparked by my best friend and her concern over hormonal forms of birth control, I decided to do some investigating. Here's what I found out:

     1. IUDs are the cheapest form of reversible birth control available. The upfront cost is large - around $1,000 without insurance through a doctor or $800 through Planned Parenthood. With insurance, obviously, the cost is much much less - as low as $300. Once I did the math, I was sold. My normal $30/month pills would cost me $3,600 to take for the next ten years. Even paying the full $1,000 without insurance makes more sense economically, if you can afford to pay that much all at once. If you only pay $10/month for birth control pills, you'll shell out $1,200 over the next ten years, so you stand to save less, but there are other reasons to get an IUD other than cost - read on.

     2. Paragard IUDs are the only form of hormone-free birth control. (Mirena, the other IUD, works by releasing a pregnancy-stopping hormone). Hormonal birth control pills have become so commonplace that we rarely step back and look at the bigger picture, but there are lots of reasons for wanting a hormone-free birth control. Some women experience side effects of hormonal birth control, such as headaches, nausea, breakthrough bleeding, decreased libido, and mood swings or depression-like symptoms. The last one is the reason why I personally wanted off the hormones - I suspected the pill to be toying with my emotions. It's too soon to tell if not having those extra hormones on my body will make a difference, but at least now I'll be able to move forward with fixing the problem knowing I've eliminated any possibly physical causes.

     3. IUDs are the easiest reversible form of birth control to maintain.