Withdrawal or pull out method vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

I came off the combined pill around 4 years ago after trying many different pills and never quite feeling myself/having terrible clots in my periods on breaks. I'd been told by drs it was the only way to have safe sex from pregnancy and felt i had no choice. The good old fashioned pull out method has been my best friend ever since! Once i spoke to a very wise nurse who told me that i could try the natural cycle way or rely on pull out cleverly. Now i want to say that this isn't for everyone. I have been in a healthy long term relationship with someone i trust and with whom we communicate during all aspects of sex. Because of this we have been able to have all kinds of sex (including penetrative) without any pregnancy scares. My partner is a cis man and i a cis women, and the secret is FULL COMMUNICATION. If he is close to cuming he stops (NEVER ACTUALLY RELY ON PULLING OUT AS YOU CUM NO NO). It's about calming things down on his end when he thinks he'll climax. that means pulling out and moving to oral etc for a while before going again. Normlly this means i get a whole lotta love while he calms down so BONUS!! POSITIVES - I often cum first as it means i always get to cum as he can keep going and we are not relying on one way to have sex. I feel myself! We are more experimental and go on for longer. Its about trust so things feel more intimate, it has led to better communication and much better forplay. This means i cum more often. Knowing my own cycle and getting to know how my body and hormones work. Having sex slowly and sensually, with my pleasure and his both being taken into account due to the fact you can't just have full penetrative sex without thinking. NEGATIVES- he obvs can't cum in me. he doesnt personally feel sad about that. When finally he can't be in me anymore he has to cum using other ways to finish. It means it can be a bit stop and start (personally i think this is fun). You do have to be more careful. THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR SEXUAL PARTNER WELL. ITS ABOUT TRUST. You can't just bang it out like in the movies haha! I do pregnancy tetss every 3 months just in case pre cum has snuck in (it's very unlikely this gets you pregnant especially if your partner is aware of this. but worth thinking about) Overall, Chefs Kiss - but i do sometimes miss he cumming inside me ! BUT WON'T GO BACK

Only used it on occasion and normally alongside another form of contraception. I don't really recommend it as it feel risky

The withdrawal method is really not for everyone. But me and my partner prefer to not use male condoms and I use my Flo app to track my ovulation and period which helps me gauge when is the best time to use this method. As I’m not trying to fall pregnant again right now, and I don’t really want to use any hormonal contraceptives, this method has definitely worked for me but can only work if your willing to take control with family planning.

Short term symptoms were: very tender breasts and feeling weird for a week couple of weeks. Most importantly I suppose - I did not get pregnant while on the mini pill, so it did it's job. It also stopped my periods completely, which was convenient. I was struggling on and off with depression starting just BEFORE I started on the pill, so it didn't caused thay but but I do think it prolonged the problem.

Put on a lot of weight

I’ve been on this pill for 7 weeks after having the Modena coil and then copper coil. For them removed fallen on pregnant so had to try something else. I was struggling as I suffer with hormonal acne so wanted to go on a combined pill but I could t as I suffer with migraines. So I but the bullet and give this a try. I can honestly say it’s helped with my anxiety and mood swings so much. I feel a lot calmer in myself too. My periods have stayed same so far maybe a bit lighter. My acne hasn’t improved or got worse really just same well I think so anyway. The first few weeks I was constantly bloated and constipated but I just take two husk tablets a night now and I’m back to goi g regular. Overall I’m finding this pill ok and I’m happy with the way it’s helped my mood swings.

Started first day of period and bleed went on for 11 days (3 days heavy) and then stopped. Started spotting exactly when next period would have been due but skipped placebos and this stopped as soon as it started. I suffer with endometriosis and heavy periods so need the break as ferritin was constantly low. Also sciatica pain on left side has strangely stopped since starting these and only on 2nd packet. Moods are more consistent and I’m not getting as angry over the small things anymore. Overall I’m pretty happy with this pill and hoping I can carry on with it to menopause now.

I started the mini-pill as a quick method inbetween the time I was waiting to get the Copper Coil contraceptive. It has worked very well! No spotting or bleeding. Except, my periods were slightly heavier but had little to no cramps. I was very skeptical of the pill affecting my mental health but I am not sure as it could be other reasons!

Overall after trying many different pills, this was the best, I started to have very depressive weeks so I stopped as I was afraid of some suicidal thoughts.

I've been on Slynd (Slinda) for 5 months. I've had irregular bleeding the whole time. It is lighter than an actual period but enough to have to wear a protection of some sort. I also get mild cramps with it often. I have PCOS and I feel it has helped my acne a bit but not as much as some combined pills I have been on (Yasmin, Yaz). I had hoped it would improve my skin more. No effect on weight, appetite or sex drive. I sleep very good with this pill but I see loads of quite vivid dreams, which I never used to see (or remember) in the past. My mood is stable with this pill, however I feel like my mood has been overall more positive on the combined pills.

I couldn’t be happier with this pill. After having a break from contraception and using FAM and falling pregnant twice, I decided I needed to go back on birth control. I initially tried the copper coil but it expelled after 24 hours and I didn’t want to go through the insertion process again. I went to the doctor and she’s said to give the mini pill a go, and I was prescribed Zelleta. I was really nervous as I have previously been in the combined pill for 7 years and it really impacted my mood so I was hesitant to try a pill again, but the doctor told me my body could react differently to the mini pill and she was right. The first two weeks I had headaches almost everyday, and was feeling extremely tired but I think this was down to my body getting used to the pill. After the three week mark they both disappeared. I had no loss of sex drive, I would actually say it’s increased which took me by surprise. I’ve lost around 8lbs and I feel like I have more energy. The only downside for me is my skin (previously completely clear) has had some breakouts but I will take it. My low mood and anxiety has decreased significantly. I was so hesitant to go back on the pill but when your doctor says they’re not all the same and you just have to find the right one for you, listen to them because it’s so true.

Lovima has essentially stopped my periods, with rare spotting for 1-2 days (hardly requires a pantyliner), but mostly these only come if I have been late taking a pill (less than 12 hours late but more than 6ish hours late). My mood is definitely slightly better, I noticed it especially after > 6 months. Less side effects than a combined pill so honestly would recommend.

The only side effect I had on this pill was the irregular bleeding. It worked for the first 2 months and then I just bled for the next 4 months (until I stopped). I suffer from VERY painful periods and even when I wasn’t bleeding or it was really light I can recall having 3 huge pain episodes that would last a few days. The pill didn’t affect my mood, but the side effects did because I had to spend nearly all summer inside because of the anxiety and depression. Aswell because of the bleeding I lost interest in sex (again, not caused by the pill directly). Overall I’m disappointed this method didn’t work. If I didn’t have bleeding and unexpected cramps this would’ve been perfect.