Should I take hormonal birth control if I am anxiety prone?
November 12, 2014 1:39 PM Subscribe
Help me sort out my options.
I recently went through a round of CBT for anxiety and got a prescription for 5mg/day of Lexapro and am a very good place in my life mental health wise. I would say I have had a life long, low grade struggle with anxiety and sometimes depression, with bright spots interspersed. Anyway, I am very happy with how things are going and the way my current medications are affecting me.
I am in a relationship with a man I care about deeply. He has some erectile dysfunction issues and I'd like to be able to not use condoms, both for comfort's sake and because I think the ability to be more spontaneous would help him as well. I have talked to him about this (possibility of birth control or IUD) and he said that would be good for him.
I have been considering birth control options and there are a few complicating factors. I am nervous about adding hormones to the mix of medications I am taking because I'm afraid of upsetting the balance of my brain chemicals basically. I've considered an IUD, but I have some serious-ish medical anxiety that I manage with medication when I have doctor's appointments/procedures. I'm not sure whether or not I could handle the procedure to get it inserted. I went to the OBGYN and she gave me a prescription for Nuvaring but I've been getting slightly worked up reading people's accounts here and elsewhere on mood/mental functioning.
1. If you are anxiety or depression prone, how did Nuvaring affect you?
2. What other options should I be looking at? Requirements are high success rate, minimal effect on mental health and not condoms. (We're using condoms in the meantime.)
I recently went through a round of CBT for anxiety and got a prescription for 5mg/day of Lexapro and am a very good place in my life mental health wise. I would say I have had a life long, low grade struggle with anxiety and sometimes depression, with bright spots interspersed. Anyway, I am very happy with how things are going and the way my current medications are affecting me.
I am in a relationship with a man I care about deeply. He has some erectile dysfunction issues and I'd like to be able to not use condoms, both for comfort's sake and because I think the ability to be more spontaneous would help him as well. I have talked to him about this (possibility of birth control or IUD) and he said that would be good for him.
I have been considering birth control options and there are a few complicating factors. I am nervous about adding hormones to the mix of medications I am taking because I'm afraid of upsetting the balance of my brain chemicals basically. I've considered an IUD, but I have some serious-ish medical anxiety that I manage with medication when I have doctor's appointments/procedures. I'm not sure whether or not I could handle the procedure to get it inserted. I went to the OBGYN and she gave me a prescription for Nuvaring but I've been getting slightly worked up reading people's accounts here and elsewhere on mood/mental functioning.
1. If you are anxiety or depression prone, how did Nuvaring affect you?
2. What other options should I be looking at? Requirements are high success rate, minimal effect on mental health and not condoms. (We're using condoms in the meantime.)
This post was deleted for the following reason: ooops, double -- mathowie
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