Birth Control and 12 Hour Shifts

[sillymu]

I'm currently on the pill and start my new grad residency in about a month. I've been on the pill for almost 6 years and I love it, but I want to switch to something that I don't have to take every day because I will be doing day/night rotations every 6 weeks and I'm not sure I can continue to stay on the pill and take it at the same time consistently. I am wondering what other birth control methods work for other nurses. I would like to stay on my current cycle of only having a period every 3 months. My doctor recommended nuvaring, IUD, or implanon. I asked her if I could try the patch, but she said I would need to lose about 60 pounds first. I'm working on the weight loss.

What birth control methods do you currently use or what would you recommended for a busy nurse.

[Davey Do]

8 hours ago, Davey Do said:

I had a vasectomy

5 hours ago, Luchador said:

My vasectomy

Chest bump, dude!

What say we go over to the Men in Nursing forum, have a few beers, and share our stories?

Fact is, (heh heh heh) do you know how a guy with a vasectomy is like a Sunkist orange?

[Luchador, CNA, EMT-B]

3 hours ago, Davey Do said:

Chest bump, dude!

What say we go over to the Men in Nursing forum, have a few beers, and share our stories?

Fact is, (heh heh heh) do you know how a guy with a vasectomy is like a Sunkist orange?

No, tell me!

I will say one thing. The recovery is a lot worse than they make it out to be. Ouch.

[Davey Do]

Just now, Luchador said:

No, tell me!

I will say one thing. The recovery is a lot worse than they make it out to be. Ouch.

A bag of frozen peas on my crotch was my friend that day, I'll tell ya for sure, amigo!

A guy with a vasectomy and a Sunkist orange have this in common:

All juice and no seeds!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[Oldmahubbard]

10 hours ago, hherrn said:

From the post title, I though you were referring to 12 hour shifts as a form of birth control.

I thought the same thing

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Nurse to patient after vasectomy "You can apply a bag of frozen peas to the area when you get home."

Patient "But I don't like peas."

[Luchador, CNA, EMT-B]

24 minutes ago, Nurse Beth said:

Nurse to patient after vasectomy "You can apply a bag of frozen peas to the area when you get home."

Patient "But I don't like peas."

I'm always mortified by the stupid crap I say once they dope me up. I don't remember (versed), but apparently I asked the nurse about alteration in discharge quantity etc. Ack!

[LostMyPen,RN, BSN]

I have had the Nexplanon for 3 years. After the initial adjustment phase, I only have maybe one period a year. Like all other meds it has its side effects but never forgetting a pill, no monthly trips to the pharmacy and few to no periods are totally worth it.

[sillymu, BSN, RN]

@LostMyPen,RN how long did you have irregular periods before you started only having one. Is the one around the same time every year? Is it predictable when you’ll bleed?

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

13 hours ago, sillymu said:

Also I don’t have kids yet. Does the insertion of the IUD hurt? I’ve heard horror stories.

The first time, I think I had a vagal reaction when it went into the cervix. A little crampy, a some cold sweats, almost fainted. Maybe hurt a little. The pain was temporary. Took a few minutes for the vagal response to calm down. Second time was fine. A little pain, but not long lasting.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

I would try the Nuvaring. It's a combination contraceptive and you'll get the bleeding predictability you are enjoying now. It's perfect for suppression. My patients are a huge fan.

[ORoxyO]

I love my nuvarings. Super convenient. I'd never go back to having to remember to pop pills at a certain time.

[sillymu, BSN, RN]

@Jory what is your opinion of the patch?