The Community for Catholic Moms

A way other then birth control pills?

I fully believe in and understand the Church's teaching on contraception and I am a huge fan of NFP. Awhile back I started having hard periods where I was basically rendered immobile for at least a day each cycle. I went to our family physician and they told me the way to help me was to use birth control pills for a bit. I talked to a priest and to a Catholic biblical school student and they both told me that when used for other health reasons and not for contraception this was okay.

Well, I have been feeling very bad the whole time I have been on it because it in turn has had to be birth control too because I can't chart while on it because it effects my temps and such so we have had to rely on it for birth control too which was never our intention or desire. We thought there was no other way though.

Yesterday though, I heard that if you have an NFP doctor they often times have other ways to help this sort of thing that do not require contraception that I never even knew existed. I was excited to hear this but so sad that I did not know this before.

The only problem is that there is no NFP doctor anywhere close to me that I can go to and find out more and get off this birth control pill ASAP. Do any of you have any experience or suggestions on this or do I need to try to make an appointment at the NFP doctor that is about 2 1/2 hours away? Thank you in advance for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Christina Sutyak (radecky) on February 20, 2010 at 11:02am

Have you contacted the Pope Paul VI Institute (www.popepaulvi.com)? They may be able to give you some guidance or find an NFP doctor who can work with your local doctor.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia on February 21, 2010 at 7:29am

I second contacting the Pope Paul VI Institute & wonder if you might be able to find a NaPro Technology practitioner whom you might be able to do some phone consultation with:

http://www.naprotechnology.com/

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa on February 21, 2010 at 9:39am

I myself am a Creighton Model practitioner. If you visit the website http://www.creightonmodel.com/ you can find a teacher near you. If there is not one near you, contact the Pope Paul VI institute and they will find someone to work with you long distance. After you get charting your cycles, a doctor who is a Creighton Model medical constultant can then treat your medical issues with treatments that will address the issue, not cover it up like the birth control pill does. They do amazing things. If there isn't a doctor near you who does this, Dr. Hilgers will see you in Omaha, NE. Yes, it would entail a trip to Omaha, but I can tell you it is well worth your time. The treatments they use are not only effective, but morally acceptable. Good luck :)

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Permalink Reply by Kathy C. on February 21, 2010 at 11:11am

I didn't know there were different kinds of NFP. We have always used the one taught by the Couple to Couple League. I think they said it was called symptothermal. Is this the same as the Creighton Model? If not is one better then the other for some reason?

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Permalink Reply by Kristin Detloff on February 21, 2010 at 10:39am

I agree with the suggestions below! There is always a better way then birth control. In my opinion birth control doesn't "treat" anything, but rather is simply making your body think you're pregnant and allowing you to bleed once a month. Unfortunately once you come off the symptoms will likely return. I would definitely contact the people listed below and don't assume they will need to see you in person before giving you some ideas for treatment. Their may be some very low intervention things they could suggest to you without even seeing your chart. As an example in our "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition Book" it tells us that "menstrual cramps and significant pain may be simply reflecting common Western dietary imbalances or they may be a sign of endometriosis, uterine tumors, infection or other abnormalities. Diagnosis is essential if pain is worse then the moderate discomfort that is so common." My point is that if there is something more serious going on then you would want to find out and seek treatment. Also if it's something simple like being able to change your diet and supplement with Magnesium, calcium etc it would be a shame not to do so. If you are looking for suggestions while you wait to get into an appointment or find medical counsel you could certainly try the suggestions in the "fertility cycles and nutrition" book. It can be found on amazon, the CCL webpage ccli.org or a number of other places I'm sure. The dietary and supplemental changes in this book have been shown to help women with very EXTREME pain issues regarding menstruation. It obviously depends on what is causing yours, but it would be something proactive you could do in the meantime while you try to organize the rest.

Good luck to you! It's certainly not an easy thing what you are going through! I hope you are able to find the help and solutions you need! God Bless!

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Permalink Reply by Kathy C. on February 21, 2010 at 11:12am

I actually have a copy of that book that I have never read! I got it when we learned our NFP before we were married from the Couple to Couple League. I will have to get it out and read it. If I could help this all on my own that would be awesome.

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa on February 21, 2010 at 1:46pm

There are minor differences in the different methods of NFP. The symptothermal method goes by temperature, changes in the cervix and mucus. The Creighton Model goes strictly on the cervical mucus. The Billings Method also uses just the cervical mucus. Then there's the Marquette model which uses cervical mucus and an ovulation test kit. My best advice to you is to use the Creighton Model because it has the medical application. The Creighton Model is the only model that is standardized and has doctors trained to treat certain conditions based on the charting. One method is not "better" than another, they are all effective and depend on personal preferences. But I do believe with your painful periods, charting with the Creighton Model you could more quickly identify what is wrong. It may be something as simple as hormonal imbalance, which would be evident in your charting. I really hope you can get this all figured out. It is not normal to be rendered immobile when you get your period. I will say some prayers for you.

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Permalink Reply by Deanna Bartalini on February 22, 2010 at 9:56am

If you cannot find an NFP doctor in your area, why not try a natural health practioner. My husband and I use drugs only when there is no other option, instead we use vitamins and herbs to help us when we are sick but also to keep us healthy. There are many herbs which help the problems you are describing. Hope you can find relief.