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.

Im a trans needing to help my breast fuller

Im a trans for estrogen therapy to help with my breast

Good experience, not experienced many side effects.

I have suffered with PMDD for years and Slynd has been a game changer for me- my PMDD has vanished completely! I’ve had very few side effects, literally some minor spotting at the start and a very slightly oiler hair. I’d say my sex drive is a little bit lower than before but not a huge difference. My skin is completely normal (other mini pills have given me acne but on Slynd my skin is as nice as always). The biggest positive impact has been on my mental health. I no longer get mood swings (unless I miss a pill) and my periods have completely stopped. I take my pills back to back (I skip the sugar pills) to keep my moods stable across the cycle. It’s such an amazing pill, I hope they will eventually licence this for PMDD so it can help lots of other women (slynd has the same progesterone as the combined pill Yaz which is licenced in the US for PMDD).

I stayed off of contraception for 6 years following bad experiences with desogestrel and the combined pill. I was very very hesitant before taking Slynd and thought about it/researched for months before finally taking it. I have mild PCOS and endometriosis, my periods were completely unmanageable and would stop my life for a week and a half each month and I knew i needed to take action so that I could live a more normal life. My first 4 months on Slynd I had a lot of spotting, the first 2 months i had periods lasting 2 weeks (but farrrr less heavy than usual and no pain) after this time my periods stopped all together. I have previously suffered with acne but have taken roaccutane to get rid of it so I know i am susceptible to bad skin, I would say my skin is slightly worse than it was before taking slyd however, its not bad and it doesn't out weigh the pros of the pill for me. My sex drive is a bit less and I have a very dry throat now and need to constantly drink water (not a bad thing i guess) I have actually lost weight too. I believe this is due to being able to regularly exercise without my hormones/period taking over half of each month and I no longer have the crazy PMS food cravings. I dont think this is a permanent solution to endometriosis at all but it has definitely improved my quality of life drastically and i'm glad I stuck with it and didn't give up in the first 4 months due to the spotting.

I switched to Noriday to stop the irregular bleeding and spotting I developed on Desogestrel/Cerelle. After eight years without periods on Desogestrel, I began having irregular bleeding at 40 — two periods a month plus spotting in between. Once I changed to Noriday, the chaotic bleeding stopped immediately, and the brain fog and fatigue also lifted. I suspect these symptoms were linked to perimenopause, and they’ve settled since starting Noriday. Ideally, I’d prefer no period at all, but having a predictable three-day period on Noriday is far better than the chaotic bleeding I had on Desogestrel.

I switched to Noriday to stop the irregular bleeding and spotting I developed on Desogestrel/Cerelle. After eight years without periods on Desogestrel, I began having irregular bleeding at 40 — two periods a month plus spotting in between. Once I changed to Noriday, the chaotic bleeding stopped immediately, and the brain fog and fatigue also lifted. I suspect these symptoms were linked to perimenopause, and they’ve settled since starting Noriday. Ideally, I’d prefer no period at all, but having a predictable three-day period on Noriday is far better than the chaotic bleeding I had on Desogestrel lately.

I was moved from Yasmin to Cerazette by my gp due to my blood pressure being affected. It's my second month and I hate it. I had no side effects from my other pill and was on it for 4 years. My periods used to last 4 days and were regular. Now I'm on day 12 of a very heavy and painful period. Even when I wasnt bleeding I was spotting. My skin has gotten worse, constantly oily and my hair is so greasy all the time. I used to be able to wash my hair once a week (curly), now I have to wash it 2 or 3 times a week due to build up of oils. I have also started losing a significant amount of hair Everytime I brush and wash it. I also lost all appetite and have lost almost 4kg. Also I've never struggled with body odor until now, no antiperspirant helps to prevent it and it's very embarrassing. My entire lower back and pelvis aches and I feel really depressed and fatigued.

I thought I would try this pill because it had some fairly good reviews and I cannot tolerate estrogen. The first week of taking this I had racing thoughts, felt extremely panicky and did not sleep well.. this settled down so I carried on. I strarted spotting a few days before the placebo pills which turned into light bleeding that lasted all the way through to pack 3 !!! It’s a great contraceptive because you can never have sex! My mood has been terrible. I have been tearful, very cranky and irritable at things that would never usually bother me. I have felt quite dizzy at times and almost “unreal.” I have experienced panic like never before. This pill is making me feel like I am going crazy. I’m stopping taking it as I would rather have period pains than feel like this! Awful .

I went on for 2 weeks, my skin went so oily and congested week 2. Constantly felt tired falling a sleep in the afternoon and unbelievably hungry. Probably gained 7 pounds in 2 weeks. But my skin was the worst part, it became unbelievable oily. It did chill me out but provably too much, i dont like to feel tired every day.