The Search For The Perfect Condom
Birth control pill fears prompt a woman to test drive condoms with her husband.
I'm married and monogamous, but not yet ready to have children. So—since neither my husband nor I like the feel of condoms during sex (it dulls his sensitivity, and I just love the warmth of skin rubbing against skin)—we rely on The Pill as our main method of birth control to keep us baby-free.
I've been taking Yaz for a couple years now, which also helps with my PMDD (also known as that crazy, dark, slightly psychotic half that emerges from the shadows every month or so). Then, the other day, I read this scary-as-hell story about how Yaz could be (way) riskier than other birth control pills. And while I had never experienced anything negative while on Yaz, and I know medications affect different people in different ways, I began to wonder, Should I go off the pill entirely and start using condoms? Lemondrop: A Warning About Your Birth Control
My husband was, understandably, less than thrilled about the idea. So was my vagina, but it was trying to keep an open mind. So we got our hands on a variety pack of condoms from Babeland and started our search for the Perfect Condom. Lemondrop: Would You Trust A Man To Take Birth Control?
Two Extremes
First, we tried Crown's Skin Less Skin condoms, made to be thinner -- but no less strong -- so that we could perhaps trick ourselves into believing that we weren't actually using a condom. That little bit of self-delusion failed to work.
Next was a Rough Rider condom, studded with tiny bumps so as to provide my vag with extra stimulation. All I could feel was the rubbing together of rubber and skin. My husband started threatening mutiny. I couldn't help feeling discouraged myself. Lemondrop: We Admit It — We're Using the Withdrawal Method
In With One, Out With More
At that point, we began just going through the motions. Babeland's Shear Latex condoms were pretty basic: smooth and lightly lubricated. They did the job, but still left us feeling dissatisfied. Kimono's MicroThin condoms were as thin as Crown's Skin Less Skins, but still couldn't trick us into believing we were condom-free. The same was the case with Vivid's Extra Thin condoms. All of them performed admirably, but just left us wanting more.
Find out how the condom testing turned out on Lemondrop:
Discussion
Though "safe" in most cases, there are emotional and physical (not to mention environmental) side effects from hormonal birth control that I think, wisely, many women are paying closer attention to.
Has anyone else explored moving away from hormonal birth control (using condoms instead of the pill, for example)?
I have a friend who no longer uses the pill because the hormonal effects of it were too hard on her. She tried a lot of pills and did a lot of talking to her doctor and finally decided to just use condoms. She's in a committed relationship, but fortunately he's supportive. I think that science needs to get cracking on this male birth control, it's not just the women's responsibility and especially when the side effects are often so severe.
I seem to know a lot of people who have struggles with the pill. It makes them ill, depressed, makes their cramps worse...you name it.
