Depo vs. Patch?

I am currently on Depo, got on it right after surgery and have been dealing with a 3 week period.. yuck. AND I have heard that after you stop the shot it can take up to 24mos to get pregnant? Ew.. don't really like that either. I am planning on being on birth control until my doc/obgyn/surgeon tell me that I am cleared for it (probably around 18 months after surgery). Anyone familiar with the effectiveness/comfort of the Patch?

My gyno told me both caused weight gain and I should stay away from them.  Just this past month I switched to the Nuva Ring. 

 Oh the fun on birth control! I take it you are aware the pill is not as effective for us after surgery? I elected to go with implanon which is an implant in my arm that is good for 3 years. Was difficult to get covered by ins but I did for an out of pocket of $25! IUD's are another great choice but was a bit freaked out to have something down there....I used the patch probably 10 years ago....it is not as effective if you are over 190 lbs...patch sometimes would come loose if I was swimming a lot...so that kind of sucks...if you are under 190lb and are not a fi**** is great! If those qualities do not apply, then look at other options! 

I Don't use either because if the side effects. I use the foam and a condom. No side effects that way.

 When I had to have an emergency hysterectomy at the age of 30 after only having one child I was a bit sad. Today at the age of 46 I am so thankful I don't have to deal with that anymore. 

I use to take the Depo shot many years ago and loved it. 

 I have been on Depo for a long time and love it.  When I was heavier I could not use the patch.  I asked my OB about the weight issue with the patch and she said there were issues with appropriate absorption in obese people.   The Nuva ring is a good option too.

Kat

I wore the patch years ago to stop my periods due to severe iron deficiency - it wasnt for birth control reasons.  It worked great for my purposes and was very confortable - I just wore one all time instead of not wearing one the week to get my period, my GYN wrote the script or 4 per month instead of 3, so I wore one all the time, you wear them for 1 week at a time.

I have heard that there can be a decrease in absorbtion if you are over 200 pounds but I am not positive about that but from what I have been told, we just need to use 2 forms of birth contol post op to be sure for all types.  Nothing is 100% effective for us.

I didnt' have any side effects from them - no weight gain like with birth control pills and they are very convenient - only change once per week

Hormonal birth control does NOT agree with me (so therefore, I don't agree with IT!) Anyway, the depo did the same thing to me as it is doing to you, so I explored other options at the end of the first three months. Implanon is the same medicine as the depo shot,  so you run the risk of having the same experience with it and it's a surgical procedure to remove it. Too much pain to go through if it doesn't work (in my opinion). I don't like the idea of IUD's because I do want more children and there is a risk (very small as it may be) that IUD's can cause sterility. I tried the patch, but it made me very sick (nausea, diarrhea, cramping) to the point I couldn't even stomach to take my vitamins. The pill turns me into a psycho and it's not as effective post-op anyway because of the malabsorbtion.

Long story short, hubby and I are currently combining the use of spermicide and the withdraw method. We'd use condoms, but they don't really work for us either. I also got a script for a diaphragm, but my rapid weight loss has affected the fit of it, so it doesn't work now, either.

All I can say is I can't wait til I'm given the green light to try and have a baby... it'll give me a break from the headache of finding a good birth control! LOL

 I have the Implanon too.  I am on my second one.  It lasts 3 years, but you can have it removed early if you want to get pregnant.  I love it.