A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:I have a copper IUD. It works great. My question is, why are hormonal contraceptives so popular when hormones are so volatile? I don't understand the reasoning why women use the pill and hormone based contraception which has adverse side effects when they can just use a copper IUD without interfering with their body's chemicals.When I used a variety of birth control pills, and research the hormonal IUD, and read up on the implants and found so many problems women have with bloating, mood swings, weight gain, and developmental problems with the younger girls on hormone based treatments, it would make sense to me girls would logically want a non-hormone based contraception. I hated all the hormone based products: nausea, weight gain, bloating, moodiness, on and on. I got a copper IUD, and smooth sailing.Copper IUD, btw, is exactly that: a small copper spring that sperm and eggs (zygotes really) do not like the environment copper creates, and just give up and die.Why do women use hormone based contraception?
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female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (20 May 2009):
 Well to me the copper IUD sounds horrible - why would you want a foreign object inside your body that is releasing "harmful" toxins (if sperm/eggs dont like the so called 'environment' then why would our bodies like it?!).
I love taking the pill purely because it is simple, non-invasive, controls my acne and periods (I used to have terrible PMS) and gives me the protection I need.
You describe all these side effects from hormonal contraception but it doesnt mean that every woman will experience these - they only apply to a small minority. Weight gain is a side effect of any form of contraception - and it hasnt even been proven that weight gain is a direct result of the pill. I went off the pill for 3 months thinking it was the cause of my weight gain, and guess what - I didnt lose a pound. Believe it or not it was the fact I was doing too little exercise and eating too much. So 4 months later I have lost 14lbs whilst being back on the pill just from eating better and exercising more. As for moodiness, the pill make me less moody (I was terribly irrational and had huge mood swings before the pill). Nausea and bloating have never happened to me either due to the pill, the only time I get bloated is when I eat too much white bread or pasta!
So I think you are generalising too much here - while you may have not liked the pill and found it to not agree with your body, there are many other women who like using it and find that they have no side effects (or minimal side effects) from using it. The great thing about contraception is that there are so many options open to women and we can all find the one that suits us best - everyone is different and that is a great thing!
A
female
reader, Dazed~Confused  +, writes (20 May 2009):
 I should also add, that for many women, the freedom of having a predictable period, or no period at all is one of the best things about hormone based contraceptives.
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A
female
reader, Dazed~Confused +, writes (20 May 2009):
I have looked into this myself.
For one thing, most doctors don't recommend an IUD for women who haven't gone through childbirth first. Copper IUD's will sometimes be used as emergency contraception where the use of hormones is not recommended for various reasons.
Second, and I was unfortunate to have experienced this myself, some women are allergic to the Copper IUD's.
Some ppl go on hormones to treat symptoms of certain conditions.
There are so many options for b/c and ppl will take what is best for them.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (20 May 2009): I used hormone based contraception because I have a disease that makes me produce too much of the male hormone. The pill makes me look and feel like a normal girl. Like what Im supposed to look like. I understand what ur saying though. I guess it just varies from person to person and reason to reason.
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