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.

Did not enjoy this pill! Tried for around 5 months, mood was poor and crying very easily or completely numb! Skin got bad at first but then was okay! Gained weight around increase by a dress size or two, felt bloated constantly and breast size increased but sore! Vaginal dryness was extreme was even sore to walk and have thrush twice in this 5 month period! Was spotting pretty much constantly and obviously unable to track periods with it being a continuous pill and they were irregular.

there will always be side effects to any contraceptive pill, but if it wotks, it works

Was on this pill for about 4/5 months. Positives were that it got rid of any cramps/ period symptoms - great as I was previously prescribed meds for dysmenorrhea. However, it gave me constant spotting and light bleeding - I bled for about 75% of the time while on this pill and it didn’t get any better. Doctor recommended that I doubled dose (from 75 to 150mg) - this killed my sex drive and didn’t fix the bleeding issue, so I eventually came off.

I had an unpleasant experience using Cerelle. It was the first birth control I tried and wasn't given any other options or choice by the GP at the time. I had a 2month long heavy and painful period, worsened skin, hair loss, severe backne to name a few side effects. Really bad experience for me sadly. Having now tried over 10 other birth control pills- mini and combined, I learned that I am very sensitive to progesterone so the mini pill just isn't for me sadly. I'm now on the Patch and loving it.

I got put on this pill when i had a miscarriage, i get worried from time to time about my period. I have the flo app and i’m on my period about every 2 weeks, but it’s not exactly a period it’s just very very light and lasts for longer then a period should last this only started happening when i missed a pill for a day and the next day took 2 of them so it didn’t screw the pill up in my body and it has so it worries me. I’ve also put on so much weight using the pill.

I was 30 when I started this for anyone wanting reference and have had three children. I suffered from horrific period and ovulation pain coupled with ovarian cysts. I had tried many different forms of contraception but I cannot take estrogen as it gives me Hyperemesis Gravidarum, not uncommon in those who have also experienced it in pregnancy, which I did. The first three months weren’t great, mood was all over the place and libido plummeted but after that it levelled out and I’m glad I waited it out. My periods stopped almost immediately and so did my ovulation pain. As I usually got ovarian cysts that burst at the time of ovulation, that’s pretty much stopped too and I’ve gone from having cysts burst monthly, to maybe once or twice a year. It’s dramatically improved my quality of life and I’m so happy on it. What with it being desogestrel, it has a 12 hour time window, so if you forget to take it at your usual time, as long as you take it in the 12 hours following, you’ll still be protected. I’m usually fine as I take it first thing, but it’s always good to know.

Having never tried the mini-pill before, for the couple of months I finally thought I'd found the right contraception for me. Unfortunately, after about three months of taking it my periods became irregular, and I ended up having a really long period followed by two months of having no period. The issue was every time I had a period, the period itself would last longer and longer each time. After one period that lasted over two weeks and made me feel exhausted and anxious, I decided to stop taking it. They weren't light periods either, they were heavy with clots. Such a shame as I felt pretty good for the first couple of months, much better than I had done on any combined pill I had taken.

Switched to Zelleta (Desogestrel) from the combined pill because of side effects. Had one unusually long period (9 days) one month after starting Zelleta, after that my periods stopped completely and I only had minor spotting every now and then which almost completely disappeared over time. I gradually noticed a complete loss of sex drive which bothered me a lot and I ended up switching to non-hormonal contraception instead because of this.

I was on Rigevidon for about 8 years and got on really well with it. After starting with migraines with aura, I had to change to a mini pill. I can’t believe the difference in my mental health, weight, spots. Everything has just taken a down hill. I’ve been bleeding nearly constantly for the last month, so I’m going to have to find something new. On top of that, my sex drive is low, mood is low, always tired, spots all over my back and shoulders and weight gain.

I took this for endometriosis, but not worth it because of facial hair growth. I had breakthrough bleeding every 4-6 months for about 4-5 days, fairly light and not too painful. My sex drive and weight were unaffected, however I got thick dark hair on my stomach, inner thighs, chest and face. This destroyed my self esteem so my mood was obviously low. After stopping the hair did not revert back which is common so I had electrolysis which took care of it. Then 2 years later I went back on this pill stupidly to try and help the endometriosis, the hair came back within 2 months. I have since stopped this pill, spent even more money on electrolysis and have had no issues after regarding that. It took about 3-5 months for my cycle to regulate after coming off birth control. I’m thinking about trying slynd as it is supposed to be anti androgenise, we’ll see.