Without the Pill, what do you use for birth control?

[julesmoz]

I just went off the Pill about 2 1/2 months ago. At the time, my husband and I were planning to use the Natural Family Planning method of birth control, but that relies on the woman having her period every month! I haven't had a period since going off the Pill (and simultaneously going raw), and now that I've read about so many people losing their periods on raw, I'm wondering if I'm gonna get it back any time soon (I was already very sparse and irregular before going on the Pill six years ago).

Is anyone else familiar with Natural Family Planning? Is there a way to use it when you don't get a period?

What you use for birth control? We've tried condoms, but my hubby hates them . . .

[heabrook]

Hi Jules.

I haven’t heard of anyone “losing” their period after becoming raw. It is a natural cleansing cycle for women. How long have you been on the pill? because that may be the reason you haven’t had periods, not because you began eating a raw diet. After taking the pill for long periods of time, it adjusts your hormone levels. After going off of it, your hormones may become unbalanced.. you may just need something to balance your hormones again.

Have you heard of wild yam? I haven't used it myself... luckily, I have normal and on-time periods. I have read a book about it and thought about using it. But you have to be VERY responsible and take it everyday and never miss a day. Here is a link if you want some more info on it....
http://www.sisterzeus.com/wildyam.htm

Also.. you could try a diaphragm. A lot of women avoid them because they are a bit time-consuming and not that easy to use.

Good luck... maybe others will have more suggestions.

You might want to consider taking something to balance your hormones so that you can have a normal monthly cycle (after all, it is natural and isn’t good if you aren’t having them monthly). There is a product called “Female Balance” that works wonderfully. I used to work a natural health store, and women would tell me that it would regulate their periods (as well as help to prevent cramps) beautifully. I’ve used it myself, when I had an ovarian cyst.

http://www.herbsoflight.com/products.php?PRODID=12

[Revvell]

Menopause ;)

[sport]

I am currently using the same method as Revvell.
I do believe that you can loose your periods when you have been raw for a long time. Periods are not natural and other animals do not have them if fed on their proper diet. I have an article that I can send you on this if you wish. I do not think that the absense of a period in those circumstances would mean that you could do without birth control.

[sport]

Jules
I have emailed that info to you. Heabrook can't get an email address for you but maybe I can put a link up tomorrow if you would like to read it (or I will find the link that is up on another tread because I am pretty sure that I got it here). It is 2AM and past my bedtime now.

[Goddess_girl]

sport
will you send me that article too :o

[sport]

I found that link for anyone interested.
It was posted here by Dhammala.
http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/menstruation.htm

[rawispeace]

In sport's article it says "Cooking food at 129°F (53°C) destroys all enzymes in it." I thought the temp for destroying enzymes was lower. Like around 112 or 115?

[berrienoire]

thanks, sport :)

[sport]

In sport's article it says "Cooking food at 129°F (53°C) destroys all enzymes in it." I thought the temp for destroying enzymes was lower. Like around 112 or 115?
my understanding is that 118 for half an hour destroyes 100% so less time and less temp would leed to some loss but not all.

[julesmoz]

Thanks so much for the menstruation info! That'll save my husband and I a lot of needless worry : )

[karenisraw]

I missed my period after becoming raw. Here is why...

read this article: http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/menstruation.htm

You might be pleasantly surprised with the information given!
__________________ :p :p :p

[Amberly]

How can the wild yam be good to prevent against pregnacy AND be good for infertility?

[joy]

My cycle is very irregular, and I've found Natural Family Planning to be ideal.

With irregular periods, the days of abstinance (or protection) are slightly greater, but I don't find it significant. I highly recommend Toni Weschler's "Taking Control of Your Fertility." This outlines the method in detail, and provides the science behind it.

Bless,

Joy

[Secret Heart]

I too have lost my period since going raw...well, within a month or two. I'll read that article, thanks!

heather

[eachpeachpearplum]

I am currently using the same method as Revvell.
I do believe that you can loose your periods when you have been raw for a long time. Periods are not natural and other animals do not have them if fed on their proper diet. I have an article that I can send you on this if you wish. I do not think that the absense of a period in those circumstances would mean that you could do without birth control.

Yes I have read the same thing from going raw, but sorry do not know where.

I used the rhythm for about 10 years successfully with unreliable periods. However, it really relies on you being totally in tune with your body. For instance I had very clear signs like becomming a crazed cleaning woman, desparate for sweets and enlaged boobs as well as subtle things.

When I was close to the "fertile" time we either obstined or used natural skin condoms (Durex) as I have a sever latex alergy!

After my second I sent my DH in for the snip as I had enough to think about and we are not having any more children.

Hope this helps - good luck

[lil fairy z girl]

hi i came off the pill about 10 years ago as it was making me ill. I got a fertility awareness kit, it consists of thermometer, and charts. Its a case of taking your temperature and checking the consistancy of the mucus in the cervix and then this is charted, and looking at the monthly patterns. There is a good link here
http://www.fpa.org.uk/guide/Contra%20PDFs/Natural%20family%20planning.pdf

kind regards
sal

[Boysenberry]

The natural Family planning method has left me pregnant. :eek:

So, there it is. However, eating raw I think did clear up the endometriosis I have had all of my life. My periods went from eight heavy days to four, one medium and three light. That was amazing. I also lost the heavy pms symptoms I once had.

Good luck!

[greeninlosangeles]

Even if you won't have bleeding during period you still can see changes in mucus and temperature. And if you want to be sure, buy the little microscope thing, that tests saliva(no sticks ever to buy like with expensive urine testers) and predicts ovulation very accurately. I would use it with other signs too though, because you know, that sperm can survive up to 5-7 days waiting for the egg to ripen!
I am going to buy one for myself, they are not expensive - 25$ or so.

[mommamia]

I always thought sperm lived only 24 hrs or so...wow...I wonder where I heard that...maybe one of those things like you can't get pg the first time :)
I'm considering goign w/Natural method so these links and insights have been helpful!

[greeninlosangeles]

Actually we are going to use that fact to try for a girl, because boy sperm are faster, but girl sperm are hardier, so we will try to have sex several days before ovulation for that reason. I do not know, how much that theory is right, but makes more sense to me than other(chinese calender, food choices, smoking, etc)

[veganfamily]

I can't go into all the details of it right now
but NEEM does it all.

Neem leaf tablets as a "pill" for men
Neem seed oil and a spermacide for women!

100% EFFECTIVE!!

Google search "neem contraceptive" and read about the study of Indian soldiers. It's great...


you can buy anything w/ neem at bytheplanet.com
-brandy

[margi]

i use a combo of FAM method (charting my cycle) and condoms always now. i was using the pill for 5 years and i didn't like what it was doing to my body.

[coolchalk]

I was using NFP as well, but wasn't very good at keeping up the temperature charting, so our system was to avoid sex after the 6th day of my cycle until a few days after ovulation (which came with signs of thin mucous, open cervix). This worked well for us, but then my husband and I felt called to do family planning God's way. We hope to stay on this track and accept any blessings He sends our way.

Regarding menstruation, I've read in lots of places about how menstruation, PMS and menopausal symptoms disappear after going raw, but you have to be really cleaned out to get to that point. Toxic bodies will continue to menstruate. There's a great book called Primal Mothering in a Modern World by Hygeia Halfmoon that discusses this topic. Very good book. It seems menstruation is just another way for us to eliminate toxins, nothing more than that. Ovulation, on the other hand, is always there (unless breastfeeding). Breastfeeding works very well as a natural "birth control" if you're healthy and eating lots of raw IMO. I won't give you a 100% guarantee on that though. It's just based on my gut instinct and on what I've read in the past from the Couple to Couple League.

Interesting tidbit: I started getting my period 2 months after my fourth was born, even though I was SOLELY breastfeeding on demand, around the clock. I seriously started raw foods around the time he was born, though I was by no means 100% raw. I've had my back and forth periods of raw and cooked, more than I'd like to mention. Maybe I was cleaning out since I was getting serious about consuming raw, hence the early periods? Anyway, even though I started getting my periods early postpartum, I wasn't ovulating, because I would have been pregnant long ago if I had been ovulating. LOL I'm 2 months pregnant with my fifth, and my youngest is 23 months and still nursing.

Amy :)

[ArcticMist]

We use condoms and since I know when I will ovulate etc I also keep track of that. Soon my husband will get a vasectomy!

[mommamia]

Hey vegan family:

I would love more info on neem. How are you two using it? I can't find alot via google and would appreciate any info you have. Sick of condoms, but afraid of Natural Method as we really really don't want to be pregnant right now...how long have you used neem?

[veganfamily]

we have only been using it for a month now but i think you can go to the sisterzeus website for info on it. I would just google something like neem contraceptive, or neem indian army birth control.. that should give you that experiment that was done.


my husband takes the capsels twice a day and the oil can be used vaginally as a spermicide

yeah.. i am not surprised that you cant find much about it. fda has paid off search engines to not list it... it is so reliable, that if word gets out "the pill" companies are going to go broke...

its kind of like how they dont want people to know that raw foods can heal cancer - thats a lot of people out of jobs!

-brandy

[oceanluv]

[QUOTE]Ovulation, on the other hand, is always there (unless breastfeeding). Breastfeeding works very well as a natural "birth control"

You might want to consider breastfeeding as a method of birth spacing, rather than control, and it only works if you are nursing only, no supplemental bottles, and on demand. The nursing does suppress ovulation, but once the baby starts solids, or uses a pacifer, etc. it is no longer reliable. If you would like more info, contact La Leche League, or get "the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding "from your library. :)

[mommamia]

Vegan family: Thanks for the info.

Gee, FDA doesn't like alternative medicine that works? I can't imagine why? When I couldn't find a lot of info. I was immediately suspicious that it might actually work.

I found the INdian Army info and visited sisterzeus. Thanks for that site! May I ask where you get your capsules? There was mention on the sisterzeus site that perhaps the capsules found in India were a bit stronger. Of course, I could probably write the site and ask for more info.

I'm so glad you brought this up!

Thanks!

[coolchalk]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like breastfeeding was birth control, especially when I truly know it isn't in the sense everybody thinks birth control should be. Only abstinence could prevent pregnancy 100%.

In reality, breastfeeding works in harmony with God's way of birth spacing. I typed "birth control" in my post assuming most women wouldn't perceive this as true birth control. Hopefully I wasn't misunderstood. Breastfeeding is a good option for those who choose to nurse on demand without supplementation for at least the first 6 months postpartum, who don't believe in using one or more of the other more traditional types of birth control. For those who nurse on demand, who don't use pacifiers, nor use baby foods or formula supplementation, the suppression of ovulation can last longer. It however will not last forever and is dependent on the individual's body.

I've read though about primal societies in the today's world where women mother their children this way, and the women tend to have babies every 2-3 years on average without any other methods of controlling their births. I think it depends on how much the mother believes in and follows this method, as well as how much the society around her influences her methods, directly or indirectly (such as pushing her to use formula and baby foods versus providing breastfeeding support and modeling breastfeeding as a normal thing in everyday life). I guess I'm being idealistic, but it seems to me that breastfeeding could suppress ovulation for quite awhile based upon the child's natural needs of nursing and suckling at mother's breast.

Amy


[QUOTE]Ovulation, on the other hand, is always there (unless breastfeeding). Breastfeeding works very well as a natural "birth control"

You might want to consider breastfeeding as a method of birth spacing, rather than control, and it only works if you are nursing only, no supplemental bottles, and on demand. The nursing does suppress ovulation, but once the baby starts solids, or uses a pacifer, etc. it is no longer reliable. If you would like more info, contact La Leche League, or get "the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding "from your library. :)