babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
The Pill: Not Everyone’s Magic Bullet
The pill is 50 years old, and everyone’s throwing a party. Since it’s introduction, millions of women have had control over their fertility and their lives in ways that were totally unknown to the world before.
But it isn’t great for everybody. Today in Salon, Geraldine Sealey shares her own misadventures with the Pill. Her story sounds a lot like many, many whispered conversations I’ve been part of about how hormonal birth control isn’t all it’s promised to be.
For Geraldine, the dealbreaker was the way it killed her sex drive. This happens to a small number of women who take birth control pills, and there’s not much to be done to fix it other than going off the pill.
For me, it was the mood swings. On birth control pills I swung around the mood map like a manic-depressive. Off them, I’m fine. For a few weeks after my second child was born, I tried the Mirena (a hormone-laced IUD). Within days I was immobilized by depression, which cleared within a few days of having it removed and never returned.
I have another friend who went off the Pill because of how it affected her energy. She needed to sleep too many hours each day and couldn’t focus at work. Still another friend stopped trying to use hormonal birth control after she got pregnant on it twice.
For those of us the Pill isn’t a saving grace for, there are pretty seriously limited options. There’s a copper IUD which works well for many women. This is where I ended up, though it’s also an imperfect solution. Anecdotal data suggest that a lot of men, like Gretchen’s boyfriend, can feel it painfully poking them during sex.
Then there are barriers. Diaghragms, cervical caps and sponges have high failure rates and are a messy disruption to lovemaking. Condoms are, well, condoms. We’ve probably all used them and experienced the joy of stopping what you’re doing to put on a condom and then have sex through a layer of latex.
The Pill has been great for generations of women all over the world. But it’s time for a better option for the rest of us. Let’s see more research and innovation on this one, please.
Photo:Jenny Lee Silver
More by Sierra Black:
Cry It Out Sleep Training Hurts Babies Brains
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
[...] the heels of Geraldine Seeley’s moving piece about losing her sex drive while on The Pill, Time reports on some data to back up her anecdote. A major study has finally asked whether or not [...]
Does the Pill Kill Your Sex Drive? | Strollerderby commented on May 11 10 at 7:31 pmLarissa commented on May 03 10 at 11:26 pmVasectomy. Absolutely the best birth control we’ve used. And I think I’ve used almost all the ones you listed (had a diaghram but not a cervical cap) plus the Nuva ring and the progestin only mini-pill. Ugh, I bore and birthed two babies, he can take care of the birth control from now on!
PlumbLucky commented on May 04 10 at 9:09 amNot only this, but even wading through “which pills worked and which made me crazy”. Ortho-tri was the best thing that ever happened to me…then I switched insurance companies and had the choice of paying way too much out of pocket or switching to a generic single-phasic. Whooboy, bad idea in hindsight. The mini-pill? Even worse than those single-phasic things.
After no. 2 is born, we’re looking at “permanent”.
Newby commented on May 04 10 at 10:40 amNot to sound like a crazy person, but there is also just paying attention to your cycle. You are really only fertile a few days out of the month. Not for everyone, but it you already have two kids, the amount of spontaneous sex in your life is probably pretty limited.
Marj commented on May 04 10 at 11:56 amYes, more research is a great idea. New options are a great idea. But don’t knock the pill. It really changed the world, especially for women. Personally, I don’t take it because at this stage of the game it’s too risky for me. Riskier than a baby, and certainly riskier than a condom. Still, I was damn grateful for it when I was 19.
ChiLaura commented on May 04 10 at 11:08 pmNewby, don’t even get me started on fertility awareness! I love my kids, but I never planned to have 3 within 3.5 years, starting less that a year after marriage. I’ve heard that short cycles = high fertility, which seems to be true for me. If it works, great, but I don’t suggest anyone “fool around” with NFP/fertility awareness unless they are READY for a baby.
jenny tries too hard commented on May 05 10 at 10:18 amNo one should “fool around” with NFP/fertility awareness…they should take a legitimate course in it, abstain for a few months to get to know their cycle and take their temperature/check their symptoms as regularly as they would take a pill. I’ve found it to be wonderful and already knew exactly when I was fertile to get pregnant with my fourth. It’s also, I feel, improved my general health because I was aware of the change in cycle and temperature that signaled a thyroid problem well before worse symptoms set in. Listening to one’s body in an educated way should be encouraged, but depending on a general “awareness” of when you are fertile as birth control, without a full understanding, is just an example of when a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0