Progestogen-only / Mini pill vs Fertility awareness methods (FAM)

Day 1 - (14/10/24)- cramping in uterus but not like period cramps, felt more like movement down there. Day 2 - similar cramping to day 1. Day 3 - Similar cramping still (but less frequent/not as bad), increased discharge, slight pressure headache. Day 4 - Similar headache to previous day, increased discharge - no cramping at all. Day 5 - Headache on right side of head near the back (dull ache, like I was trying to fight off a migraine from starting) felt a bit spacey all day. Nausea and some different cramping to what I felt previously (like the warning sign period cramps I get before the big ones kick in) Day 6 - Same headache, nausea and spacey-ness. Found that I felt better after eating more frequently (which might make sense as to why people say they gain weight on the pill because if eating makes me feel better then I’m sure as hell going to do it) In the morning had similar cramps to day 5 but gone by evening. - Did spend the daytime out though so the headache could have been made worse by the fact I wasn’t drinking water as regularly as I usually would. Day 7 - Started the day without a headache but by lunchtime I had one again. This could be because I’d had a busy morning though and ate lunch later than usual. # Day 8 - Ok for most of the day but by the evening I felt so nauseous and headachey Day 9 - Felt down and low all day - boobs seem to hurt and feel bigger almost? Slight cramping. Day 10 - Really really low today - sore boobs Day 11 - Really sore boobs are cramping Day 17 - (30/10/24) - Been fine for most this week except I’ve had sore boobs. Yesterday I had a suspicious cramp and today I’ve had more and some spotting/pre-period blood. This would mean my period is starting on day 27/28 of my cycle not day 31-35 as usual. Day 18 - Period started, has a different consistency than usual. More mucusy? I’m really not sure how to describe it, slippery? I mean it makes sense since desogestrel thickens the mucus lining. Period cramps HURT and some clotting which I haven’t had for a couple of years. Nothing major though. Day 19 - Same as yesterday. Not an extremely heavy period where I’m constantly having to change pads but I can tell this is heavy. Still that new consistency but occasionally the usual consistency. Not as bloody as usual. Day 20 - (2/11/24) - Medium-light flow. Usual consistency like I would be coming towards the endings of my usual period. (which usually lasts about 5 days) 4/12/24 - Not sure what to say the day is. I’ve had a lot of spotting this past month and basically haven’t been a day without wearing a period pad just in case.I had a mini proper period (not spotting) last week and I’m having another proper period now. It’s a lot and I just want to be able to not wear a pad anymore. I’m going to go back to the doctor this week to tell them about what's happening and get another prescription. 21/01/24 - I have no idea what day this would be now. (I’m into my 2nd week of my 4th month) I’ve been pretty much consistently bleeding all of December. Very light with a heavier week but not like my usual period and not the same cramping/minimal cramping. I think I’ve possibly gone 2 days without wearing a pad since I last wrote. However, I did completely stop bleeding for about 3 days last week which was lovely but then I had a proper period with cramps that hurt (well more like my periods pre-pill) It seems to be slowly stopping now though. I’ve gained a bit of weight (but not gone up a dress size) but this could be because I have been less active recently and my eating habits have changed. My skin has cleared up recently but I can’t entirely put that down to the pill as I’ve changed the skincare products I’m using as well. Other than the bleeding I've felt completely fine, the bleeding (not the one just described) is just annoying more than anything.

Since starting this pill after changing from Yasmin my hair has been thinner, I have more hair loss, increased oily skin and acne and I've been noticing palpitations I don't know if this has happened to anyone else but I've been experiencing chest pain all over, and I notice when I stopped taking it for a few weeks that chest went away but I'm back on it again and the chest pain came back. It may not be related but it's something new for me being on this pill. Other than that it's not been horrible I haven't had as much cramping on this pill as I did with Yasmin and I don't get debilitating headaches either.

I have only been using the minipill for a month but I am already feeling pretty strong side effects especially on my mood: crying for no reason, being very angry at times and very sad at others, overall depressed mood. I am probably going to finish the blister and switch to something else.

I've had an entirely positive experience using Natural Cycles. While using the impant I was struggling with acne, mood swings, irregular periods. And since swapping to use Natural Cycles I've felt much better in myself, my periods are very regular, I feel I understand my body and cycle so much more, and my skin has cleared up. In 5 years of using it it's been 100% effective at preventing pregnancy, I'm very careful to measure consistently, and I use the Oura Ring to help get accurate readings. But this small effort seems like a small price to pay in exchange for getting rid of all the nasty side effects of my previous contraception

I started using Natural Cycles a few years back. I was never on any birth control as a teenager as my mum didn't want my young body being put on hormones. However, once I settled down with my current long-term partner, I wanted to have the peace of mind that I wasn't going to fall pregnant. The first few years of using Natural Cycles were great and empowering, understanding the changes in my body and knowing when I had ovulated was great. What I had failed to understand was it predicted with its algorithm your date of next month's ovulation based on your previous month. Well. I managed to fall pregnant not once, but twice in the space of 8 months. The first time around, I thought it was my fault and I had not taken my temps properly (even though I never had an issue in the past). I had a surgical abortion as I was 3 months pregnant before I actually found out. I was willing to try again and really get to grips with it even though the clinic was very strongly advising me to go on some form of HBC. In the past 6 months, my body has recovered from the abortion and got back into its usual swing of periods and I saw I was ovulating again. This time around I invested in an Oura ring to pair with my NC app to be certain of my temps being taken. All was well, I stuck to my green and red days religiously. I use the pull-out method on red days (if we do have sex). And I trust our pull-out method completely because we definitely know he does not ejaculate inside of me or we tend to stick to oral sex rather than penetrative. I noticed my temperatures lately had been higher than usual and my ovulation was confirmed a bit earlier than usual. I didn't think much of it as I had stuck to our red days and green days as shown. When I went on calendar view, I saw that my fertile window just gone was a lot shorter than 6 days and I had unprotected sex (on a green day) that was 2 days before I ovulated. I did a test and indeed am pregnant yet again. I contacted NC straight away and got them to go through my data, which they did and have taken full responsibility for the muck up with their algorithm. I advise you to check your fertile windows and note any other observations (cervical mucus), because the algorithm cannot be trusted. And from what I now know, ovulation may change throughout different cycles (stress, sleep etc). I will no longer be using them ever again which is sad as I did so enjoy using it.

Amazing

First few months lots of ‘red’ days (no unprotected sex days). Coming off the pill was a personal choice and brought back lots of issues i.e needing prescription pain medication. However, my sex drive and mental health have significantly improved and impacted on my relationship. I’ve used natural cycles for 2 years religiously and no problems or pregnancy.

I’ve been using the Natural Cycles app with the Oura Ring for about 6 months now, and it has been the best thing I’ve ever done! No side effects and I’ve never felt so informed about my body. I love that the app also informs my partner of when green/red days begin, so the contraceptive burden is on him too (in that he doesn’t have to ask me what type of day it is - we both know, which is nice). For peace of mind, I used the Oura ring for an initial period of three months to let the Natural Cycles app gather data on my basal temperature, whilst using condoms as a contraceptive. Then, when I felt confident that the app had a few months of data (and I was familiar with my own patterns/regular cycles), my partner and I reduced condom use to red days only. We have had zero pregnancy scares in 6 months, and using this as contraception has vastly improved our sex life. I’d honestly recommend it to anyone who is looking to escape hormonal contraceptives. The Oura Ring is expensive, but there’s no way I could remember to take my temperature every morning otherwise (and no way am I setting my alarm every morning… Sundays are for sleeping in!), so I’d recommend buying one if you do plan to use this as a long-term contraceptive and don’t want to be chained to the digital thermometer/same wake-up time every day.

I have used Natural Cycles for years now (alongside condoms when ovulating) and love using a non-hormonal method. I used to get side effects from the combined pill and mini pill so I have seen an improvement since coming off those. The data aspect of recording your temperature and seeing the patterns of my cycle is something I find really interesting. Plus the reminders of ovulation/upcoming period/breast checks are always helpful. I know myself and my body better since tracking my cycles.

The Natural Cycles algorithm does not work to accurately track ovulation and therefore prevent pregnancy. Evidence based FAM/symptothermal methods use a '2 check method' including temperature and cervical fluid patterns. Natural Cycles only tracks your body temperature. After using for a few months I noticed my safe/green days changed after the date. So I had (what I thought was) safe unprotected sex in the non-fertile window, but then by the end of that cycle those days had changed to red/not safe. Surprise surprise, I got pregnant and had to arrange a termination. Since stopping this I have started using fertility awareness methods successfully for 4+yrs. Natural Cycles is just too risky without a 2 check method, and basing it on an algorithm.

I loved using Natural Cycles as it let my body just be itself. It was very effective for four and a half years…until I unexpectedly got pregnant! I will fully admit though we would occasionally take risks on early red days, and we know where we went wrong the month I became pregnant (travelling with time and environment changes led to confusing temperature readings coupled with not using enough caution). The only downsides of NC for me were needing to be on a predictable routine for morning thermometer readings (may be challenging for those travelling a lot or on shift work) and we had to use condoms or abstain during ovulation - which is of course the peak time for when you want some action! Overall though I would recommend it and will probably resume using it once our sleep schedule normalises with our beloved new baby. Having been on the pill and using a copper iud for years, it’s just hard to beat having zero side effects and letting your body do its own thing.

Absolutely brilliant - after being on hormonal contraception this has been like a breath of fresh air. Natural cycles works so brilliant for me and I’ve never felt so in touch with my body and emotions. Genuinely lifechanging - if the you meet the criteria for this (regular periods, fairly routine lifestyle) then I could not recommend it more.

I didn't really do this properly and only used it here and there! So I am definitely not an expert on this, but if you have regular periods and are organised I can see why this may be beneficial! Especially as no hormones