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Combined pills, mini pills, rings. Itโs easy to get lost with contraception. We can help you find treatment tailored for you.
Talk to us about your health, order contraception treatment online and get it delivered from our licensed pharmacy.
Pregnancy protection. Help with PMS. Find the birth control pill that works best for you.
The pill, but without oestrogen. Better option if you get migraines or side effects on combined birth control.
If youโre looking for birth control thatโs low maintenance, the contraceptive ring could be just the one.
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In a nutshell, contraception reduces your risk of getting pregnant. Certain types of hormonal birth control also have the added benefit of reducing some of the uncomfortable symptoms you may get around your period, and can make your period lighter and more regular.
You can take contraception for as long as you want to. Or you can switch methods or stop using it if you want to have a child. Some types of hormonal birth control are better for specific health issues or age ranges. So itโs good to check in with your clinician every now and then to make sure your birth control is still right for you.
Hormonal contraception is only available on prescription in Australia. Our clinical team will help you narrow down the best option because there are quite a few out there, and itโs not a one-size-fits-all type of deal.
There are three types of hormonal birth control that you take by yourself, and a few others where youโll need a bit of guidance from a clinician or nurse before you use them.
At Treated, we offer both the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), which contains progestin and oestrogen, and the progestogen-only pill (POP), also called the mini pill. Pills need to be taken every day at around the same time to be most effective.
And we also have the vaginal ring, which is inserted into the vagina once a month.
Other types of birth control include the depo shot, the IUD (hormonal and non-hormonal) and the implant. You canโt use those without a clinician or nurse though so we donโt offer them. There are also condoms (for both men and women) and the diaphragm, which you can get at a pharmacy or sexual health clinic. These methods also protect against STIs.
It depends on you, really. If you like the comfort of taking something every day and knowing youโre protected, we recommend the combined pill or mini pill. But if convenience is your thing, the monthly ring might be the way to go.
Formulations make a difference too. Some women prefer pills with a higher oestrogen dose, because it helps them with symptoms like vaginal dryness or low sex drive. Others prefer a lower oestrogen dose, because theyโll be less likely to get water retention or heavy periods.
The progestogen-only pill is good for women who canโt take oestrogen because of health factors, or who are breastfeeding.
So itโs very much a case of personal preference, and your health background. But we can talk you through all your options.
โMorning afterโ pill (emergency contraception pill). www.healthdirect.gov.au.
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All three of the main types of hormonal birth control (combined pill, mini pill and ring) are over 99% effective when theyโre used exactly right. Thatโs what clinicians call โperfect useโ. This 99% effectiveness means that if 100 women use one of these types of birth control for one year, fewer than one will get pregnant.
โTypicalโ use is a bit less perfect and a lot more realistic. If you use contraception but make occasional mistakes, like forgetting a pill or putting a ring in too late, the effectiveness drops to between 91% and 94%. That means that six to nine women out of a hundred would become pregnant over the course of a year.
The best way to make sure your birth control is as effective as possible is to take it exactly as directed, which is why itโs important to find the method that works best with your lifestyle.
Hormonal birth control reduces your chances of pregnancy by changing the normal hormonal cycle in your body. It prevents ovulation, when the ovary releases an egg into your fallopian tube. The hormones in birth control also keep the walls of your uterus from growing thicker with your cycle. When the uterine wall is thin, itโs more difficult for an egg to attach to it and grow.
The progestogen in hormonal birth control also changes the thickness of cervical fluid. This time, the hormones make it thicker. And sperm have a harder time making it through to an egg as a result.
Thereโs the combined pill, which usually comes in a pack of 21 โactiveโ pills and 7 inactive pills, though some brands contain 24 active pills with 4 inactive pills. With a 21 pill pack, youโll take a tablet a day for the duration of the pack (the first three weeks of your cycle) then have a โweek offโ where you donโt take in any hormones โ thatโs when youโll get your period. This is the most widely used type of hormonal birth control. Itโs called the combined pill because it contains two hormones: progestin and oestrogen.
The vaginal ring is also a combined method of birth control. Itโs a soft, flexible piece of plastic that is inserted into the vagina for three weeks. Then you remove it, take a weeklong ring-free break and insert your next ring.
Progestogen-only pills, also called mini pills, are taken once a day continuously (without a break). Theyโre different from combined options because they only carry one hormone, progestin. Progestin-only pills are recommended for women who may get side effects when taking oestrogen.
Several birth control options need to be injected, inserted or administered by a clinician. These include the birth control injection, which is progestin-only and given in the arm. Depo-Provera is a popular brand of the contraceptive injection. Thereโs also a contraceptive implant thatโs placed into the arm.
The IUD, which stands for intrauterine device, is inserted through the vagina into the uterus by a clinician or gynaecologist and left in place for up to five years. Thereโs a hormone-free copper version (usually just called the copper IUD) and hormonal versions which are made of plastic, like the Mirena.
And we all know the condom and the diaphragm. These are called โbarrier methodsโ because they physically stop sperm from reaching an egg to fertilise it.
Have something specific you want to know about Contraception? Search our info below, or ask our experts a question if you canโt find what youโre looking for.
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