My experience with some different methods of BC

I want to first start off by saying that my experiences aren’t universal.  The problems and benefits which I had with the birth control methods might not be the same for other readers.  These are just my experiences and thoughts, as well as advice as to what might make intercourse with these methods more pleasurable.

The week of Christmas, I went to visit my parents in Kentucky.  Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up my nuvaring prescription, meaning that I could ovulate even after I got back on track after coming home, due to the gap in hormone dosage.  My boyfriend was in town when I got back, and we didn’t want to abstain.  He has difficulty staying aroused while using male condoms, so we decided to try out a couple of other over-the-counter BC methods so that we’d know what back-up method we like in the future.  I went to walgreens and looked at the options.  I studied failure rates and ease of use of the different methods.  Due to the urge to be frugal, I went ahead and bought Female Condoms and Today Sponges, figuring that if we didn’t like either, I could go back and get something else.

We decided to try a female condom first.  They were rather expensive, $15 for a box of five.  I can imagine this is because the condom are only made by one company, and until the patent allows, there won’t be much competition.

I opened the box and read the instructions, then I opened a condom.  There are two flexible rings, one is meant to anchor the condom by the cervix, and the other is supposed to sit outside the vulva and prevent the condom from being pushed inside.  The smaller ring, I was glad to find, looked and felt exactly like a nuva ring; it wasn’t quite as easy to get in, however, due to the lube on the inside of the condom which is rather slippery. After a couple of tries, I got the condom in and pushed the ring against my cervix. 

I was happy to find that a couple of samples of lube came in the box, as I had forgotten to get some.  I spread the entire sample on our genitals and we started having intercourse.  The first thing my partner said was “is that lube supposed to have a numbing effect?”  As far as I was aware, it wasn’t.  I read the ingredients and it didn’t even have a spermicide in it, which can feel weird on the skin of some people.  We tried to proceed, but the condom came loose and started sticking to my partner he described it as feeling like “fucking a gladbag”.  More lube could have helped this, but one would probably have to keep applying it because it would dry out.  Oil based lube might work better, and it’s safe to use with female condoms which are made of polyurthane instead of latex.  Ultimately, you have to keep the inside of the condom more slippery than the vaginal walls in order to avoid the condom from sticking to the man’s genitals. 

We ultimately gave up and helped each other masturbate.  My partner admitted that he actually prefers a male condom, which is saying a lot considering how much he can’t stand the things. 

The next day, we decided to try a today sponge.  The sponge can actually be inserted for a full 24 hours, and it will protect against pregnancy no matter how many times a woman has sex.  It does not protect against STIs however, which means that it’s probably not a good idea for non-monogamous partners.  I read the instructions, which said to wet the sponge thoroughly to activate the spermicide, and then the sponge could be folded in half and inserted like a tampon.  They should probably amend the last bit to say “Really big tampon without an applicator.”  It was easy enough, however, and I didn’t feel it once it was pushed against my cervix.  Since it can be inserted hours in advance, it didn’t have to interrupt foreplay.  We proceeded as usual, and the sex was pretty good.  The only problem is that certain positions tended to hurt.  I’ve already got a shallow vagina, despite being 5’11”, and in some positions, my cervix gets bumped a bit and causes cramping which lasts for hours.  The sponge shortened the passage a little bit more, and restricted us even more.  Afterward, the sponge had to be left in for 6 hours, I guess to ensure all the sperm are killed.

Finally, I’d say I prefer the sponge, and will use it in the future if I’m off my birth control.  Unfortunately, it has a failure rate of 10%* with perfect use, so I probably wouldn’t want to rely on it for long periods of time.

*the percentage is the number of women who became pregnant in a year of use

Female Condom

Positives: failure rate with perfect use is only 5% (still bigger than the male condom, but better than the sponge); not difficult to insert; can be used with oil based lube

Negatives: not much sensitivity; comes loose without enough lube; lube which comes with the product is awful (the smell is worse); expensive

Today Sponge

Positives: Can be inserted well ahead of time, and used many times once inserted; doesn’t affect sensitivity

Negatives: higher failure rate; doesn’t protect against STIs; can take up enough room to cause more pain to the cervix; also a bit expensive ($7.50 for a box of 3)

There are a number of other products out there, such as a spermicide film which I saw in walgreens.  If the opportunity comes up again, I’ll probably try some of the others.  Even though I liked the sponge, I didn’t love it, and I’d like to see if there is something which I like even more.

I hope this was useful to someone.  The BC methods we talk about the most tend to be hormonal contraceptives and condoms, and so I figured some first hand experience to some other products might be helpful.