Contraceptives

Today, on the advice of my daughter, I am taking a slight detour from a focus on low dose birth control - to vaginas.  As part of the ongoing research I carry out for the latest birth control information, I visit women’s forums where I see women sharing their experiences of the many common problems we goddesses have with our vaginas. Often suffering in silence before a chronic condition  forces a visit to the doctor, young women and women in varying stages of menopause, are embarassed, anxious and distressed by their vaginal problems.  Identifying vaginal discharges comes close to the top of the list (” is this discharge normal?”) but discomfort during sex, tearing and vaginal tissue in a fragile state are the ‘hushed’ topics obviously still wreaking havoc with couples sex lives and emotional states. 

Our faithful and long serving vaginas deserve as much TLC as our faces do.  If you don’t relish a dry, medical tome for your bedtime read and prefer to give yourself a bit of  an ‘at home’ self check before going to the doctor, my little instant reference book will be an indispensable addition to your bathroom cabinet.

Tossing medicalese language out the window and addressing ONE issue per page, I have put together a little 64 page, light hearted self help guide for $11.95 called “Happy Vaginas for the Over 40s…how to resuscitate your aging asset and protect her from menopausal meltdown!”   (my pen name is Claire Preston) While the vaginal issues are no fun, the easy to read symptom lists, tips and remedies will quickly help you to clear up a problem yourself or give you the confidence to talk to someone about it. There’s even a few sensuous music titles included for those of you who fancy a flirt in your nightie with a hot chocolate!

Feedback: After a thorough ‘pulling to bits’ reading session, my daughter’s friends said that I should not have put “Over 40s” in the title as they said the problems I covered were common to women of all ages and some young women could miss out! The B/W cartoons were done to keep the cost down. Overall, they loved it and would you believe that I have sold as many books to MEN as to women, I didn’t see that one coming? If you do buy a copy I would love to have some feedback- you never know Claire Preston may have another little book in her.

Pill taking routines can accidentally veer off course at this time of year so these guidelines might come in handy if you need to change the scheduling of your low dose birth control regime :

If you take progestin only pills (the mini pill) and fail to take your pill by 3 hours later than normal, it’s effectiveness will be decreased so use backup (barrier method) for at least 48 hours while your new pill taking timetable is being established.

If you take combination birth control pills (estrogen and progestin) you have a little more leeway within which to change your timing schedule:

• if you want to take your pill earlier than normal, you can safely start at any time during the pack
• if you want to take your pill later than normal, make sure it’s not more than 12 hours later - leaving it longer than 12 hours reduces the effectiveness so to be safe use back up for at least 7 days while you establish your new routine

If you’ve missed pills over Christmas or gone for more than 36 hours between 2 of your low dose birth control pills it’s a good idea to use backup for 7 days until you’re back on track again.

Let your loved ones know how much they mean to you this holiday season, spread some kindness, stretch some tolerance and share your abundance.

Thank you for reading my posts, I hope you have found a few useful little ‘nuggets’ in them.

I wish you a memorable and safe Christmas and a fulfilling 2011,

Kindest regards Carole

 You may be well prepared for the Christmas holiday season with your supply of low dose birth control pills but don’t get caught out dashing off to that party without re- stocking your purse/bag with a few ‘fresh’ condoms. By ‘fresh’ I mean check the expiry date on every single condom and toss any condoms that have expired. If you’re over 40 and enjoying new sexual partners, don’t be one of the growing numbers of mature women who are catching STi’s.   If you are too busy to go personal shopping then hop online, ordering is easy so long as you plan ahead and allow time for delivery at this busy season. If you are too busy to go personal shopping then ordering online is easy so long as you plan ahead and allow time for delivery at this busy season. 

December 1st is World AIDS Day - December is World AIDS Month. Undercover Condoms will be donating portions of their sales to AIDS organizations around the US which is why I am promoting them.  They have just introduced their own brand of specially lubed condoms, which are very inexpensive. The deals they offer are excellent , enabling you to save  a few dollars to put towards your other Christmas expenses. Undercover Condoms has a wide selection of lubricants and gift packs that are big for the holiday season including a great novelty gift that will make you smile; Santa Claus, Frosty the Snow Man and Elf condom pops. Good stocking stuffers as well.

December 13th is largest day of shopping season for Undercover Condoms and so that you don’t miss their deadlines for delivery here are there cut-off dates:.
December 17th - Cut-off for ground shipping arrival by Christmas.
December 21st - Cut-off for Three Day Guarantee Delivery. 
December 22nd - Cut-off for 2nd day shipping arrival by Christmas.
December 23rd - Cut-off for Overnight shipping arrival by Christmas.

From now until Christmas I shall be giving you links to online stores where you can easily find good prices for a wide range of birth control ‘cosmetics’ as I prefer to call them and also find decent, fun ’safe sex’ gifts for your friends. 

I know you’ve heard it all before BUT condoms are a vital ‘tool’ in helping you to be the boss of your ‘contraception career’ AND in making sure you stay CLEAN and FREE from a sexual disease.  

Are you relying on your low dose birth control pill alone to get you safely through Christmas fun? Please pop a few condoms into every purse/handbag you might use during the school or office party season and also read this:

“How many acts of sexual intercourse would you guess occur every 24 hours?”

This is question that scientist Carl Djerassi (who developed the first birth control pill in the 1960s) asks his students. When his students answer 1 billion, Carl, now 88, replies, ‘No, no, no, you’re dreaming. There are six billion people. Well, you need two for sexual intercourse, so there are only three billion. And some of them are five years old, so they’re out.’ So then they say a million. Well, now you’re underestimating, because you’re sitting here and you’re not having sex. It’s actually 100 million, every 24 hours. And they produce about a million conceptions, about half of which are unexpected. Of the 500 000, half are unwanted. As a result, every 24 hours, 150 000 abortions occur; of these, more than 50 000 are illegal.”

Give yourself a pat on the back if you can honestly say that you and your partner are doing everything you can with your birth control management to prevent yourselves from facing the ‘abortion decision.’  THEN tell your sexually active friends about these numbers and encourage them to do their birth control check up too.

While there is still a long way to go if we are to make a dent in that daily abortion figure, make sure you make the most of the ongoing advances being made in current methods of birth control . With the Christmas party season fast approaching, take time out this week to give your birth control management and sexual practises a good check up so you can enjoy a stress free and fun time.

Looking for some safe sex gift ideas?　

This will be my last post before I have a break over Christmas and New year so I thought I would make it a quick ‘reference’ one that could be used in an ‘emergency’ during the holiday.

You could find  yourself in this situation

Great Christmas Eve party and Laura’s bash last night was the best ever BUT….in the cold light of day you suddenly realise that you’ve missed taking 2 low dose birth control pills in a row and you had champagne ‘Christmas’ sex both nights WITHOUT a condom. Sperm can survive up to 5 days inside you so if you have no Plan B to take, what action can you take NOW to reduce your chance of getting pregnant?

Tony Thornton, CEO of Planned Parenthood says about four low dose birth control pills will achieve the same effect as an emergency contraceptive but you should contact a pharmacist before taking more than the recommended dose of your current low dose birth control pill.

Using your low dose birth control pill for emergency contraception is the next best thing if you are really in a desperate situation so below is a dosage guide for some of the popular brands.  If your brand is not listed, check the leaflet in the pack for instructions for ‘emergency use’.   PHONE a 24 hour clinic for advice as well!

Use a barrier method for 7 days as backup protection too (ie. a male or female condom plus spermicide)   Sex without condoms is UNCOOL -  know that you are exposing yourself and your future partners to sexually transmitted diseases.  The percentage of teenagers with Chlamydia is staggeringly high so get tested, stay clean and brag about it!

If Plan B is not available to you the Food and Drug Administration has declared the following brands of low dose birth control pills to be safe and effective for emergency contraception if used in the higher doses as recommended. See RHS of this post for further information on pills mentioned:

Ovral (1 dose is 2 white pills)

Alesse (1 dose is 5 pink pills)

Levlen or Nordette (1 dose is 2 light-orange pills)

Lo/Ovral (1 dose is 4 white pills)

Tri-Levlen or Triphasil (1 dose is 4 yellow pills)

A copper IUD  will also be effective if inserted within 5 days following intercourse but this method of long term birth control should not be rushed into for emergency measures without thorough discussion with a health professional.

Check with a health professional at once if you need emergency contraception and you are breastfeeding - even though there are no actual studies to prove that hormonal contraceptives damage a baby, please be cautious with ALL medications you take. Whatever you swallow is absorbed by your body and eventually passes through your milk and reaches your baby- do you really want your baby to have to cope with huge doses of hormones, alcohol or drugs? Your baby has no ’say’ in the matter so even though you find yourself stressed in this emergency situation, put the baby first and please don’t  panic if you have to include bottle feeds for a while.

Wishing you a very safe and loving Christmas and a New Year that brings you happiness and fulfillment in all you do,

See you in January then,

Kindest regards Carole

Do you have a friend who sends you a text message so that you won’t forget to shop for your low dose birth control pill?  “As if!”  you laugh, well in the UK  the government plans to do just that.  It is estimated that this will cut 73,000 pregnancies each year and save the National health Service (NHS) £100 million. NHS bosses reckon every £1 spent on contraception saves £11 on unwanted pregnancies.

If you live in Britain and you go to your GP for a prescription for your low dose birth control pill, you will be asked if you want to join the system that sends you a text message when your course of pills is about to run out and books you in for the next appointment.  You will also be able to phone in for advice on which birth control is best for you.  And women who leave clinics with only temporary protection - or none at all - will be sent texts urging them to return for follow-up checks.

This is great if you live month to month and don’t have 3 months of low dose birth control pills in stock but it doesn’t help with the chore of having to remember to take that pill at the same time DAILY.

You’ll be a rare bird if you haven’t forgotten to take your low dose birth control pill at least once during the month.  Hopefully you have a routine for pill taking that serves you well most of the time, (if you have a foolproof tip, let me know and I’ll share) however, with Christmas parties already in swing you’re in danger of crashing in the wee hours, sleeping in late and completely forgetting that little round pill-your faithful ‘child protector.’

To avoid that “Damn it!” moment and a dash for the emergency pack, see if one of these tips will work for you:

First of all, please read the package leaflet at least once when you open your pack of Ortho Tri Cyclen or other brand of contraceptive pill. If you have, you will know how important it is to take the pill at the same time each day. There is a reason for this- it helps to keep a steady and measured dose of hormones supplied  to your body throughout 24 hours AND throughout your whole cycle and it also helps to minimise any side effects you may experience, such as spotting and breakthrough bleeding.

1. ‘Out of sight out of mind’ is an old saying that doesn’t just apply to people!   It is true when it comes to taking medication- if the pills are not right there in front of you why would you think about them?  Putting your pack of contraceptive pills out of sight will not help you to establish a good ‘pill taking’ habit so make sure your contraceptive pill pack is next to your toothbrush or by that glass of water on the bedside table or in the drawer alongside your jar of night cream.
2. OK, so your job has ridiculous shifts or you travel a lot and routines keep changing- you must find a new routine to ‘attach’ your pill taking act to!  Carry your contraceptive pill pack in your handbag and take it with lunch/ morning/afternoon coffee BUT do follow the same routine daily so that you are still supplying your body with its steady, measured dose of hormones throughout that 24 period. If you have a long drive home, get into the habit of taking a pill with a juice in the car so that you don’t get caught up in the ‘dinner’ stuff when you get home and fall exhausted into bed and forget.

3. If you’re off on a Christmas holiday , keep your contraceptive pills within reach- preferably in your hand luggage, not in your suitcase in case it gets lost. Don’t leave them in the hotel bathroom either, keep them in your purse so you can enjoy the events of your trip without worrying about being hours late in taking your pill.

4. Get some help if you just can’t seem to manage the pill taking routine yourself- explain the problem and your daily schedule to your doctor or health care provider and they may be able to suggest something that hadn’t occurred to you.

5. Remember to keep a spare pack of low dose birth control pills (and emergency contraception) on hand so you don’t run out and miss the first few days of your next pill cycle. Use your mobile phone, pc at work or a calendar to ‘alarm’ you one week in advance of your start date for a new pack.
Just a thought: You may wish to consider swapping over to long-lasting injections, an IUD or an implant (suitable for women aged between 18 and 45) if you habitually forget to take your low dose birth control pill.  I’d suggest waiting till after the festive season to do this to avoid any unwanted possible side effects with the new birth control method.

You could try leaving this video on constant play for subliminal brainwashing in your bedroom  if all else fails!  It would drive me mad but hey, whatever works for you.

And for extra ‘peace of mind and goodwill toward men ‘ this Christmas - never leave the house without your condoms - take these festive ‘condoms on a stick’ to a party  and you’ll be the centre of attention!