Multiple birth control options are available, but women may find choosing the right one confusing at times. Other than seeing a doctor, there are websites and apps that allow women to purchase birth control products after answering few heath questions via chat or filling online forms. Rings, pills, and patches can be ordered online and delivered right to you.
But such services raise a big question: Is this option the best one when compared to seeing a female physician for birth control management?
Many women find online birth control services to be convenient, but they cannot include all of the contraceptive options that are available. For example, IUDs are a popular and easy to use option, but require a doctor to put them in. IUDs cannot be placed by yourself.
Family history, medical history, and patients lifestyle also play a part in a women’s choice of contraceptive. For example, a patient who is unable to take pills regularly will not be able to manage birth control efficiently, even if she is prescribed a daily oral contraceptive. Lifestyle factors like smoking can increase risks of developing blood clots when on birth control.
As with all medications, birth control has some potential side effects and risks. For example, if you have a history of breast cancer, you will not be able to use a hormonal method of birth control. OTC birth control pills can also cause symptoms like headaches, bloating, and irregular bleeding. These problems cannot be properly discussed with an app or a website, which is why wise to get in touch with local gynecologist for birth control management. However, you can easily find a local doctor by doing simple internet searches. For instance, residents of Meridian, ID, could search online for “meridian woman’s clinic” to see what local doctors are available.
How to Select a Gynecologist for Birth Control Management
Find Someone You Can Talk To
Discussing your sex life and birth control with the doctor may seem to be an awkward conversation. For this reason, it’s important to choose a gynecologist with whom you are comfortable speaking. A potential doctor also needs to share your values because you will be going to the doctor seeking contraception. So prior to your first appointment, be sure to do your homework. You don’t want to find out that the gynecologist you’ve chosen does not support birth control.
Choose A Doctor You Trust
The gynecologist you opt for must come highly recommended from trusted sources with good experience. You can even check their reviews online. Ideally, the doctor you choose will be a good listener and not make you feel brushed off or ignored. They should take the time to get your full medical history and check to make sure you’ve provided all of the important details about your health. You can help with this process by making a list of information to provide to the doctor, as well as any questions or and concerns you’d like to address.
Provide Correct Information
As the patient, it’s important to provide your doctor with all the information they need to diagnose and treat you correctly. Never leave out crucial details like pain or cramps during your menstrual cycles. If each cycle brings you severe pain, then the doctor may want to consider an IUD, which makes handling periods easier with negligible cramping.
The doctor will also ask you about when your first period was. It is said that women who start their menstruation earlier or later have a higher risk of HBP, heart issues, or stroke. This matters while considering pregnancy prevention options because some of them can even increase the risk.
Family Medical History
Certain risk factors, like your family medical history, can increase your chances of serious side effects with some forms of birth control. If any women in your family have suffered from ovarian cancer, then it is important to consider a hormonal contraceptive option to reduce the danger.
If anyone suffered from obesity, heart issues, or blood clots, then the doctor may order some blood tests to assess your risk for the same conditions. Some birth control methods have potentially perilous side effects which the doctor may not wish to mention before examining your genetic condition. It is wise to disclose your complete family medical history and be checked thoroughly because you don’t want to end up suffering a potentially life-threatening side effect.
Discuss Lifestyle
Discussing your lifestyle and habits, like how you smoke sometimes or have a few cocktails, is another important piece of information your doctor needs. Being honest about these things may seem embarrassing, or even feel bizarre and irrelevant. But this kind of information helps the doctor get an idea of how to manage your birth control. They see what you may not.
With multiple birth control management alternatives available, it is best to look for the right one – and the right doctor – for you.
