Progestogen-only / Mini pill vs Vasectomy

It's my 4th month, and I hate it. I have anxiety and a depressive mood, and I am so irritated with everyone and everything constantly for no reason, and I don't want it to affect my loved ones because I know this is not who I am. My hair's thinning vigorously, and my period, which was 5 days long, has increased to 15 and counting! And it's not just 15 days of light spotting, it's a full-on heavy period which has left me so damm tired and dizzy all the time with all the iron loss. yes i missed one day of the pill which i know can create spotting but that was 2 months ago. i have been consistantly taking my pills since and its just getting worse and worse for me. i honestly dont want to continue but i have heard it gets better after a while of use. but from what i see its doing to my body and mental state i just dont think i can continue like this. I dont know what to do.

I would have given this contraceptive 5 starts if it hadn’t caused me significant hair loss. It’s a shame because I didn’t experience any other negative side effects. I am lucky to have had thick hair to begin with, but after a few months of use and noticeable shedding I have ended up with nearly half the hair I started with.

6 - 12 months 15/04/2025 - currently in my third week of me 7th month of the pill. I’ve just had a period after 3 weeks of not bleeding (having pretty much spotting all of the time/constantly bleeding) I feel like we’re finally getting back on track. The period was however thicker and more like ‘old’ blood than usual with a day of normal bleeding. I’ve been quite emotional recently and I’m pretty sure my breast have gotten slightly bigger while being on the pill but I haven’t gone up a bra size. I did put on some weight but I think I’m finally dropping it slowly but it feels slow going. 30/04/2025 - So I had that last period and have been and and off since. I think I’ve only had a couple of days on not bleeding at all or spotting. Today it seems that there is nothing. My boobs definitely feel larger but still not up a bra size. I had an awful breakout last week on my chest and back but my face seems ok/if not better than usual. 12/05/2025 - I’ve just had THE WORST under the skin spots on my chest. Like really really bad to the point I’m going to scar. However, I did just have a period but it lasted 3 days at most. I did feel super strange before it and in pain but not my usual period cramps. More like a full body sensation of pain which wasn’t excruciating but still not pleasant. Otherwise, I’ve been fine on it. I think I had nearly 2 weeks of no bleeding or spotting at all before this small period? 22/05/2025 - I’ve actually been feeling fine recently. I think I only had about 13 days between my last bleed and the small bleed/period that I’ve just had but there was no blood/spotting in between again which was nice. 01/07/2025 - I’ve still been bleeding really regularly. I’m noticing weight gain now that I can’t shift and I’m sweating so much more than usual. I’m at the point where I’m considering going to the GP and telling them I’m coming off of the pill I’m really not having a great time. 17/07/2025 - I’m about month 9 now of starting the pill. I’ve gone from bleeding about every 2 weeks to now having bled for nearly 3 now which is great. I did take a pregnancy test even though pregnancy would be a miracle (we use condoms as well because I definitely don’t want to be pregnant) It was negative. I’ve changed eating habits and have been exercising regularly and my weight is still creeping up. If it doesn’t start to come down soon I’ll be chatting to the GP about it. My mood is also really low. I’ve said this before but the spots on my face are definitely better than they were pre-pill but other body acne/spots are definitely worse. 15/08/2025 - So I still haven’t really had a period. I had a couple of days of cramps and old blood in mucus at the start of this week but nothing I’d really describe as a period. (definitely not pregnant). The issue I’m having is the increased sweating. It’s unbearable. My sister says that she has suffered the same since starting the pill. I’ve never in my life sweat this much. 4/11/25 - Yes it’s been over a year since being on the pill now. I’ve still not had a period since June so I guess it’s decided that it's not happening anymore (not pregnant) Breast tenderness is still here as well.

vasectomy is a good form of contraception. There is a lot of good information here: https://vasectomy.co.uk/vasectomy

As a woman the vasectomy is the best contraception I feel we have ever had. I have no pain, weight gain, mood swings, plastic packaging or costs. I highly recommend.

Sept 1998. Had a vasectomy. Easy and quick. Done in the hospital operating room on a Friday morning. Went home And took it easy. Took it easy at work Monday no problems. By Wednesday started feeling pain in testicles. Called doctors office. Doctors gone on holiday. Anyway from this point the pain only gets worse and all the doctors have to say is that they have never seen anyone in such pain. Within the first six months I had met with a variety of doctors and tried a wide variety of drugs, therapies and nerve blocks. Nothing worked for more than a few hours (nerve blocks did!). I had the vasectomy reversed June 1999 at my own cost of $2000. It was about three months before i felt better from that. Sadly only my left testicle had resolved. The right side still had the same pain. I had a semen test done. First ever in my life. I had sperm count of 125 million / ml. Surgeon thought that was great but still pain persisted in my right testicle. Followup turned into another vas reversal but just for the right side. This one I didn’t have to pay for because it was for chronic pain. Sadly it didn’t help. Now it’s 2020! I have endured this for 22 years. I wish I had never done it. That’s my absolute last word.

Vasectomy has been a very effective contraceptive for me. It is good because it has allowed my hormones to follow a natural rhythm. Unfortunately I have experienced depression(and severe PMS) as I would like to have more children(but my partner does not). This has decreased my libido significantly and made me consider using hormonal contraception to level out my hormone levels.

As noted before, testicular pain/discomfort and testicles sensitive to pressure to the extent that rucked underpants could lead to quite severe pain. Gradually diminished over years but not completely. Testicles still more sensitive than should be. Did lead to reduction in enjoyment of sex as experience could be painful on occasions. Apparently quite a high side effect risk. Effective contraception method but took a few weeks to get the all clear.

For women, this is the most natural contraceptive on the market. For me and all the other men, its mostly psychological, but had no side effects.

Vasectomies are relatively safe for surgical procedures, but it is STILL SURGERY and as such has risks and side effects. In particular be aware that many of the side effects aren't really talked about. In my case I thought I was well educated about the procedure (I am a nurse) but it wasn't until after the deed was done that I learned for about 10% of men (numbers vary from study to study) the pain from surgery never entirety goes away. Most of the time (including in my case) it's pretty mild and you can still function, but it's always there and I was not warned about that possibility. As far as sexual side effects, there's a lot of misinformation out there so let me cover the basics: -You still ejaculate, and the amount is pretty much unchanged. However, the consistency of your semen does change--often runnier post-op. -You can still get someone pregnant for a few months after the procedure. Plan accordingly. -Officially there shouldn't be any difference in orgasm or sex drive. I must disagree. Orgasm doesn't feel the same at all, but seems to be slowly recovering over time. At 1 month post-op sex was actually pretty unpleasant to the point I just wasn't interested at all. I am at 2 months now and it's . . . pleasant again but still not what it once was. -The appearance of your genitals may change a little, particularly the way the testicles hang. Nothing major, but it can make you feel pretty self conscious. The surgery itself isn't too bad-- kind of like a root canal but more embarrassing. I'm still pretty recent post-op so I am hoping things improve, the side effects aren't unbearable but I do wish they hadn't downplayed them as much as they did.

I had a vasectomy at the age of 31 after fathering two children. I didn't want my wife to be taking drugs for the rest of her child-bearing years - and I also didn't want the risk of another mouth to feed. My doctor tried to dissuade me on the basis that I may want children in the future. However, we went ahead and it was very straightforward, not all that painful and 100% effective. Ps: You don't lose your mojo!