So… alright, let’s get right to it. I’ve been on birth control, off and on, for the past 14 years. Off = 6 kids. On = year long breaks in between. I’ve toggled between the IUD and different birth control pills. Never loved either. If I wasn’t gaining weight, getting my period at random times, feeling light headed, or having my skin break out, it was a good day. Ugh, I never was a fan. But, ya know… that’s really the options that I knew the most about, the ones that were the most recommended. Now, I’m fairly certain my family is as big as it’s going to get, but we’re not ready to do anything permanent, if ya know what I mean. And, really whether I am or not isn’t the point of this post, so… moving on.
Oh, wait. A little side-note: The topic of birth control can certainly bring some strong opinions out of the woodworks. So, here’s the deal… I don’t publish mean comments, ever. Or, comments that promote ideas contrary to my beliefs… you can use your own blog for that. I also don’t publish comments yelling at me for not publishing your comment. That’s all. Continuing on…
After baby #6, my sweet little surprise and angel-baby, I thought I would give the IUD one more chance. It lasted probably 5 months and I had enough. My skin was breaking out like crazy! I couldn’t bring myself to do the pill again, so I did what I usually do when I need a little medical advice… ask the Facebook fans! Ha. They always come through for me! So, several ladies mentioned the same disdain for b.c. and mentioned Natural Family Planning as an option, something they LOVED. I had heard of people ‘charting’ and stuff like that, but for some silly reason, had never looked into it. I probably listened to my doctor a little too much over the years, when I should have been doing more research…. BECAUSE I’m totally doing the Natural Family Planning thing now and it’s been AWESOME. It’s so nice to know I am now officially 100% me, no added hormones. The best part is, I found this handy device to help me with the whole process. It has made it all SO, so easy!
Have you heard of the fertility mini computer, Lady Comp? I stumbled upon it while researching NFP. Before I decided to splurge and buy it, I purchased a wonderful book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I haven’t made it through the whole thing yet, but it is the coolest, most informative book, all about understanding the female body and well, taking charge of your fertility. You could often find me at the kitchen table, eating my turkey sandwich and reading about the different thickness of vaginal discharge and what it means. Totally enlightening, really. I think every woman should read it!
I read through the section about how to chart and eventually my mind came back to that neat little product I had read about earlier, Lady Comp.
From their website:
“The fertility computer takes your basal body temperature (BBT) every morning when you wake up with the most advanced temperature sensor (1/100 degrees accurate). It then automatically compares it with its bio-mathematical forecasting software and stored information of all available family planning research in addition to hundreds of thousands of cycles of other women, to accurately determine, analyze and display your individual cycle. This is why the intelligent fertility computer is one of the most effective fertility monitors in the world. It is 99.3% effective right from the start. A Pearl Index of 0.7 means that this 100-percent natural method is 99.3 percent safe and effective.”
So, it’s pretty pricey, at about $500 dollars (payment plans available.) But, here’s what I figured… my IUD cost me $800, $200 to remove. My birth control pills cost roughly $300 a year. My cell phone cost almost $500, with no service included. We’ll keep my hair salon costs private, in case the hubs reads this. Just teasin. But, you get the point! $500 to be off added hormones, have Natural Family Planning made SUPER easy (almost brainless), and never have to pay for birth control again, sounded pretty worth it to me. So, I bought it and am so happy I did! Every morning, the little device sounds an alarm to wake me up. I stick the attached thermometer in my mouth, wait till it beeps, and I’m done. Based on my body temperature pattern and other factors, it then gives me a green light (infertile day), red light (fertile), or yellow light (caution/undetermined.) Depending on whether you are looking to get pregnant, or not, is what the lights will mean to you. For me, a red light means to use some sort of protection. Green light means I’m good to go. Obviously, if you were looking to get pregnant, the red lights would mean those are your fertile days, so get busy. The light color is valid for 24 hours. The device also keeps tracks of your previous months, so you can look at the pattern, know when your period is about to start, etc.
So, why Lady Comp over charting yourself with a much cheaper thermometer? Well, I asked Lady Comp, myself. Here’s what they said, “Lady-Comp has an extremely accurate thermal sensor as well as removing the potential for human error. Because a woman’s temperature naturally varies every day, it is easy to look at a chart and incorrectly infer that a slight temperature rise was due to ovulation and not because of some other reason (i.e. change in ambient temperature, lack of sleep, stress or even illness). Lady-Comp uses a complex algorithm to constantly evaluate the daily temperatures and compare them not only to the user’s own past temperatures and cycles, but also to its database of more than 200 thousand cycles.
In regards to the charting apps, as far as I know, there are none currently on the US market that have been cleared by the FDA, whereas, the LC has, including its clinically proven 99.3% accuracy.”
I’ll admit, the first couple months that I used Lady Comp, I was super nervous. Not using a prescribed birth control was such a foreign concept to me and I was not ready to be pregnant again. But, it totally works! Oh, and it’s funny how your bedroom conversations change with this thing… you’ll frequently hear things like, ‘What color light do you have?’ ‘So… it’s yellow. How serious do you think that is?’ … yep.
Anyway, I’m sold. Natural Family Planning… so great, totally doable. Lady Comp makes it even easier. You can find lots of answers to Lady Comp questions on their Q&A page. (Just noticed they’re back-ordered until the end of the month.) 🙁 Thank you, Facebook friends for helping me out!
Tina says
I loved the book “Taking charge of your fertility” But a plane basal thermometer that is only $6.00 at the drug store works great along with the app fertility friend…which is free on your phone that once you put your temp in it logs it and puts it on a graph so you can see when you are about to ovulate and when you did ovulate. It also stores these graphs so you can go back and look at your history. I also used some cheap ovulation strip test to help give me a better idea when I was about to ovulate and used the graph to make sure I ovulated. $500.00 just seems ridicules when you can spend $6.00.
Mariel says
Glad you loved the book too. And yep, doing it yourself is definitely an option and cheaper! But, the benefits of the Lady Comp made it worth the money for me.
From Lady Comp, “Lady-Comp has an extremely accurate thermal sensor as well as removing the potential for human error. Because a woman’s temperature naturally varies every day, it is easy to look at a chart and incorrectly infer that a slight temperature rise was due to ovulation and not because of some other reason (i.e. change in ambient temperature, lack of sleep, stress or even illness). Lady-Comp uses a complex algorithm to constantly evaluate the daily temperatures and compare them not only to the user’s own past temperatures and cycles, but also to its database of more than 200 thousand cycles.
In regards to the apps, as far as I know, there are none currently on the US market that have been cleared by the FDA, whereas, the LC has, including its clinically proven 99.3% accuracy.”
Lori says
I used NFP when I was trying to get preg with both my kids. And it worked. It really is amazing to understand and experience how your body naturally works!!! I’m totally scared though to use it when I’m NOT trying to get preg. I’m just too worried about an “accident” (I hate calling it that since it’s a person!), but our family is done. So I’m back on the ole BCP. I take mine seasonally though (3 mos at a time) so only 4 periods a year is awesome!! The weight gain is not so awesome though. Oh well, it’s a trade off.
Mariel says
Yes, I do miss being able to skip my periods. That was NICE. But, the Lady Comp is 99.3% safe. I would have to look up birth control pills to see how that compares, but it’s pretty darn good! I know that the Lady Comp is really conservative, typically giving you more red (protect yourself) days than a woman would if she was charting on her own. I’ve been chatting with Lady Comp, and this is what they claim to be safer than charting on your own. I just added their quote to the post. But, I hear ya! For some reason, it feels easier to trust a pill or doctor-given method. But, for me… so far, so good! Thanks for the comment, Lori!
Crystal says
Good for you!! Natural is the best way to go!!
Mariel says
I wish I would have done it soooo long ago!
Rachael says
I totally get where you are coming from. I am not a fan of BC pills for many of the same reasons you mention. I just don’t do well on them. At the same time, I am over 40 and deathly afraid of that “oopsy” baby. There are very few good options for women. I think my husband should just get the snip and be done with it. We have suffered for years.
Mariel says
Check out the quote from Lady Comp I just added to the post. I’ve have loved using it and it really has worked for me. But, hearing about the comparisons done on their device, the conservativeness of it, etc., it made me feel even better. I promised my husband I would try this first and if it was too much of a hassle, he might just need to bite the bullet and get fixed. But, so far I haven’t minded it at all. It literally takes like 30 seconds every morning to shut off the alarm, take my temp, then back to sleep (hopefully!) And, the man is definitely relieved. He would get fixed, but he can’t help to be worried to do it, which I understand.
Krissy says
Love this! I’ve found myself asking what else is birth control doing to your body? Yes, it won’t get you pregnant but what else? I had the mirena IUD for 2 1/2 years after my daughter was born. The month after it was removed I became pregnant then miscarried and didn’t conceive again for 9 months. I know several other women this has happened to also. After my second daughter was born I was told the best b.c. option for me while breastfeeding was the arm implant. Umm..nah!
Mariel says
Yep, that arm implant scares me too! Plus, after paying so much for the IUD and hating the side effects, I didn’t want to risk paying for something else that might have crappy side effects, as well.
Elizabeth Williams says
I read this book last year and I was shocked at how much I learned. I think it’s a great book regardless of your opinion of birth control. All women should know how their bodies work, whether they are trying to have kids or not.
Mariel says
Agreed!
Linda says
Me & my husband rely on the BC pill and I agree, it isn’t much fun. But we just aren’t ready for kids yet so I’d be scared to try something I wasn’t sure was 100% effective, but your post was really intriguing me. But then I saw the price tag… I saw your reasoning, but with the new Obamacare rules, there is no co-pay for the pill on any insurance anymore, so I don’t think I could justify this. Unless Obamacare decided to cover these too… Are they prescribed by a doctor? Or just over the counter?
Mariel says
They’re just over the counter, you order online. For me, the benefit of lack of side effects, ease, and one time cost was worth the price. But, I know those benefits don’t matter to everyone, as everyone has different experiences with their birth control. If I could use the pill and not have it bother me at all or mess up my cycle, I would still maybe choose that, as I would be able to avoid ‘red light’ days. Every day would be green. 🙂 But, after many years of doing prescribed birth control, I’ve yet to find one that sat well with me. So, I love the Lady Comp, despite having ‘red light’ days. Best of luck to you!
Cerise says
We used NFP for years and it seemed great – it also helped easily conceive the first time. But keep in mind everything may be perfect on the chart, physical signs might say things are fine, temperature might seem down and you can get surprised. I had very regular cycles, was very in-tune with how my body worked and knew all the signs of being fertile/non-fertile but we still had an unexpected pregnancy during the “safe time”. No matter what it’s still just forecasting – it doesn’t know with absolute certainty you can’t get pregnant at a specific time. That was the end of NFP for us. There are still other methods that don’t involve hormones and have better odds.
Mariel says
99.3% is pretty darn good for the Lady Comp. I’m not sure what the odds are with doing NFP on your own, I’m sure it just depends. I know birth control and IUD are up in those good odds too. But, I got pregnant on the pill. I have friends who got pregnant on the IUD. So, I guess there’s always the chance.
Erin says
Good for you for getting off the artificial hormones! !!!!!
Mariel says
I LOVE it. Love it!
Becca says
I can’t wait to hear about your pregnancy! 😉 kidding kidding (sort of)
Mariel says
Ha, hopefully not! But, I got preggo on the pill before, so…
Eva M says
Additionally women often aren’t informed that the birth control pill can cause a chemical #abortion as well as prevent pregnancy. Despite the hormones’ ability to prevent the release of eggs, sometimes a breakthrough ovulation takes place. A woman can still conceive a baby (embryo), who because of synthetic hormones can’t attach to the uterine lining and is aborted. The pill’s third mechanism is to change the lining of the endometrium – the similar mechanism works in case of IUD like Mirena
Michelle says
Thank you so much for this post! I went off birth control a couple months ago and was blown away by the amount of hot flashes I was having while my hormones were regulating. It went on for almost 2 weeks!! Several other odd problems went away as well (hard core pms-ing being one of them). I had forgotten what it was like to have a real period O.o . I found this book at DI today (well actually my hubby found it and held it up as a joke, then I got all excited and suddenly he was worried, lol) so I bought for a buck it and I’m looking forward to reading it. The Lady Comp sounds awesome!! I love the idea of not being on any meds at all!
Mariel says
Ha, great deal… one dollar!! Not too shabby for a book packed full of great info. I hear ya on the regulation thing, it can be a bear. Good luck with everything!
Luke says
Additionally, many fertility experts (including doctors) are concerned about the fact that women often are not informed that the birth control pill can cause an chemical abortion as well as prevent pregnancy. Despite the hormones’ ability to prevent the release of eggs, sometimes a “breakthrough ovulation” takes place.
A woman can still conceive a baby (embryo), who because of synthetic hormones cannot attach to the uterine lining and is aborted. The pill’s third mechanism is to change the lining of the endometrium, which creates a hostile environment for a newly created human life.
The similar and even worse mechanism works in case of IUDs (coils), like Mirena, where one of the mechanisms incorporates a physical intrusion to prevent implantation of already conceived baby (embryo).
Becky says
From how I’ve seen these things defined, (including in Toni W’s book) if you are using a barrier method (implied by the article) during periods of potential fertility then you are really following the “Fertility Awareness Method”. It’s only considered NFP when abstinence is used Instead.
Not that FAM is a bad thing, but call it what it is! 🙂