#Survival Guide:Contraception, Contraception, Contraception

It can be an absolute nightmare to find the right contraception for you.

It's not just about the fact that you might be sexually active but the reasons for going on any form of contraception are varied and even understanding what method you want can be utterly confusing and you just want to give up and eat chocolate and ice cream under a duvet instead. 

Like millions of women around the world, periods can be the worst experience in their lives and every month they rear their ugly head and turn us into complete and utter horrible humans for at least 7 days (sorry!) but fear not as there is a way to manage, make them lighter and even stop them all together.. thank you contraception!!! 

Choosing the right one however takes a lot of research and a lot of time thinking can I handle a needle in my arm or something going into my lady area? 

Yes there are many choices all available with different hormones floating around your system plus side effects that'll make you shiver when you read them. This is my experience as a 25 year old trying to figure out what I wanted to do and which contraception choice I wanted in the first place?

There is loads of information out there available online and unfortunately Doctor Google isn't always helpful, if you've recently spoken to the GP about various contraceptive options they will direct you to their preferred websites for more information.

Unfortunately contraception like any other medication does have risks and side effects associated with them, always talk to your doctor about ones that might be better to balance mood and PMT as there are options for women with mental health problems and mood disorders that work (I use this term loosely) for Aspergers as well. 

It seems scary with the amount of information that you can be given in a short 10 minute consultation with your doctor, plus the various online forums where Aspergers Women write their negative experiences of when they were either on the pill or the injection. 

There are various different hormone treatments available that have different effects on the body and mental health but they all do the same thing, regulate periods and protect you from pregnancy (the pill is about 97.3% whereas the implant is nearly 99.9% proof to protect you from pregnancy) and stop PMT or severe PMS. 

It is embarrassing but as a woman you have to accept that you might need to think about how your periods affect your life and whether it is a negative effect or a positive one. 

In my case they have always been a negative aspect of being a woman! 

It's true, from the tender age of ten (you can start you periods at the age of 9 through to 14 years old) I had periods and they were not nice! 

I was a mess twice a month because mother nature thought it was okay to give me the worst, heaviest and painful periods ever twice a month rather than once a month like all the other teenage girls I knew who had theirs once a month, light and completely pain free-ish. 

I coped in my last year of primary school and my first year of high school but by the second year i'd had enough. 

So off to the GP I went with my mum in toe (which is slightly awkward but I do have an amazing relationship with my mum) at the age of twelve to talk to the doctor about painkillers to ease the pain. When I explained that I was having periods twice a month and that they were very heavy periods that were painful and turning me into a hormonal mess that were also triggering meltdowns (unbeknown to me as an undiagnosed Aspergers girl at the time) the subject of going on the pill came up as it would put my periods back into some sort of order and regulate me more. At first I was like I'd rather just see how I go on the painkillers but the appeal of having one sweet period a month was in the back of mind and I did walk out with a script for the Oestrogen only pill as well as some mild to medium strength painkillers. 

*Note to Parents/Guardians*

Always research contraception with your teenage daughters, as the information can be overwhelming to take in and process as well as going to the doctors with your child and consulting the doctor on which is the best method of treatment for your child baring in mind their autism. Contraception might not be the best route to go down in some circumstances and I don't want to give a mixed or wrong message.

Now me and the Oestrogen only pill  didn't really get on, my moods were just as bad, I had undiagnosed ME so I was constantly tired and so was my PMT at the time as well as the flow of my period, it was literally like the flood gates had opened. 

 I was constantly and forever changing pads at school, which again was a pain because male teachers won't let you go to the toilet without making you announce to the whole class that you needed to change your pad because you are on your period. One day I had enough and just exclaimed: 

"If you don't let me go to the toilet sir, I'll just bleed all over the chair!" 

Lets just say said teacher learnt his lesson and never argued with a PMT, hormonal teenage girl ever again because of me! I was thirteen or fourteen at the time and I don't recommend you answer teachers back but when I'm on that time of the month all the Aspergers worry goes and is replaced with an tendency to say what I think out loud without the stress or anxiety that I might end up in getting myself into trouble. 

I stopped the pill at the age of sixteen as I couldn't cope anymore with all the other problems that I had at time and coped fine until now in my early to mid twenties. 

My periods weren't as heavy and lasted three whole days rather than seven,  but they were still as painful as ever and completely irregular!

 I'd wake up one morning to blood everywhere and immediately wanted to crawl in a ball and die as it looked like someone had been murdered in my bed and the pain is awful to the point where I can't walk properly.

It lead me to think about whether giving contraception another go would be the best idea and two of my friends have the implant and so in true sex and city fashion I asked them what it was like and whether it would be something I should invest getting if it'll ease or even stop my periods all together which at the time was the ultimate goal! 

They both reassured me that I'd be fine! And if I didn't like it I could have it removed and it lasts three whole years before the next one needs to be put in. 

I read up online via NHS websites and talked at length with my doctor about all my different choices that were available to me and which hormone would suit me best as someone with Autism and very violent PMT and mood swings. 

The doctor suggested the implant as I wanted the periods to stop, she did say that I may have some spotting or bleeding and that if that happened I could go on the pill on top to stop it if it was an issue that might arise in the future and then that was it, I was making an appointment for the week after and that was that. 

I must admit, anxiety girl reared her ugly head throughout that week of waiting for the appointment and I was literally a shaking mess who was texting her friends and them telling me not to be so silly and that I've had worse and this should be a walk in the park. I was also going to be at the doctors on my own with no moral support which scared me even more than before so my best friend texted and said she was off that particular day and she would come with me and we'd do something nice afterward  as a reward. 

Now if you are of a nervous disposition or don't like stories containing needles then this is going to be a little bit upsetting.. I suggest chocolate and a soothing cup of tea before reading!  

The whole process of putting in an implant is not so fun, it hurts like hell and you will get a nasty looking bruise for around a week which will be blue and purple in the beginning and then go to a lovely brown and yellow colour before subsiding completely. 

*Remember to take any coping strategies you have with you, like your MP3 player to distract you from the stressful situation and make the doctor aware that you are anxious and if you need to talk about something random whilst it's happening and always tell them if you want to stop or if you feel like you will be sick or faint! *

The implant is a 4cm plastic tube that is inserted under the skin via a very big needle which sits between the muscle and bone in your upper arm, you can choose the arm you want it in. 

You are given a local aesthetic in your arm, which does sting so if you need numbing cream I'd mention that to your Doctor first so they can get you some, once thats done you wait a couple of minutes for it to take effect and then the implant is inserted into your arm. 

It just feels like a lot of pushing on the skin, it's uncomfortable but it doesn't hurt and then you are given a plaster that you keep on for a few days and a bandage over the top to stop any excessive bruising which you can take off once you've had enough of it as it's really annoying after a while. 

I'd warn you if you hate the sight of blood when you take that plaster off there is a ton of it, mine was frightening and your arm will hurt after the aesthetic has worn off, your fingers in which ever arm will also go pin and needly but then you'll have it for three years and given a reminder card for your implant to be removed and refitted with a new one. 

If you've had an operation or had stitches it's not as bad as that but you will notice it for the first week (mine is a week old on friday 7th april) and then after that you go back to normal. 

So far mine hasn't been too much of a pain, I've noticed that I feel calmer in myself, so I'm waiting for a period to arrive if one ever arrives which I'm completely excited about. 

This is my little experiment to see whether this is the right option for Aspergers Women as a whole as I've noticed little to no literature or advice from Autistic Charities about contraception like they expect us to spinsters and not have relationships or a sex life or in fact have periods at all! 

But then I do realise that we all beautifully and wonderfully unique and different from each other so what might work for me might not work for you at home. I just wanted to blog and give reassurance to you guys at home so that it doesn't seem so scary or intimidating.