Breaking out of your routine or comfort
zone can feel scary, but sometimes it's a
necessary and helpful step, especially
when it comes to your birth control.
Research will help you narrow down
your options, but trying various birth
control methods for 8 to 12 weeks is the
most effective way to find the one the
best fits your body and lifestyle,
University of Illinois at Chicago
gynecologist Dr. Jessica Shepherd told
Insider.
"I think that there's a comfort level when
you think of birth control," based on
what an individual's parents or
education exposed them to, Shepherd
said, adding that someone's hesitancy to
switch up their routine could also
contribute to a lack of experimentation.
But there are plenty of reasons you may
want to consider trying a new one.


*You bleed through tampons
Shepherd said in her experience,
undesired period symptoms, like
excessive bleeding to the point of
consistently soaking through an entire
large tampon, are a common reason
birth-control users switch methods.
For some, the hormones in birth control
pills and hormone-containing
intrauterine devices (IUDs), like
progestin and estrogen, can minimize
menstrual bleeding .


*Your menstrual cramps are very bad
Painful period cramps could be another
symptom-related reason to swap
methods, according to Shepherd.
Hormone-containing birth control
methods including the pill, NuvaRing,
some IUDs, and the arm implant can
lighten some people's periods, which
leads to less menstrual cramping . Others
might experience more irregular periods
when switching to hormonal methods
though, which is why it's important to
try a method for 8 to 12 weeks before
considering side effects and deciding to
move onto something else, Shepherd
said.
Additionally, ome people with
endometriosis, or when uterine tissue
grows outside of the uterus and causes
extreme pelvic cramps, who switched to
hormonal IUDs from other birth-control
methods reported less debilitating pelvic
pain .


*You forget to take your daily pill
Your current birth-control method might
not mesh well with your habits or
current routine, and that's a great reason
to consider other methods, said
Shepherd.
If you forget to take your daily birth
control at least once a week, rendering it
ineffective, for example, or travel often
for work and find it difficult to get a
prescription refill when you run out of a
month's supply of pills, a more long-
acting option could better suit you,
according to Shepherd.


*You've been recently diagnosed with high
blood pressure or hypertension
Birth control methods that have both
estrogen and progestin, plus some with
only estrogen, aren't suited for people
with certain health conditions, Shepherd
said.
That's because the hormones in these
medications can increase a predisposed
person's risk of blood clots, heart attack,
liver tumors, and stroke .
If you've been diagnosed with high blood
pressure, diabetes, liver disease, breast
cancer, or blood clots, it's best to use
non-hormonal methods like the copper
Paragard IUD or progestin-only methods
like the arm implant, according to
Shepherd.


*You just got into a serious relationship
If you've recently gotten into a serious
long-term relationship and want a more
fool-proof method than condoms or the
pill, it could be worth switching to an
IUD, implant, or vaginal ring because
they all last multiple years, according to
Shepherd.
"If it's someone who is longterm and you
both have decided for family planning
that that's in the future, but not right
now, then that would be a good time to
consider something that's long-acting,"
she said.




https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/5-signs-you-should-switch-up-your-birth-control-method/articleshow/78753309.cms