Hello Ladies,

I am hoping someone can help me. Yesterday I took my brochure about LC
to my gyno and he said that it is very unreliable BC method and a waste
of money. He based that on the fact that your tempature varies so
slightly when you ovulate that it can't be trusted. I really don't think he
read the material I gave him although I faxed it over to him last week
so we could have an intelligent conversation when I got there
yesterday. He said it is just a expensive calendar method and I would be better
off going with a condom and some sperm killing gel. Has anyone else
had this response from their dr? Any advice for me before I purchase LC?
I really want something reliable and just the condom frightens me.

HI Cat,

Sorry for your experience, but it's pretty common. I honestly haven't told my gyn about using LC. I go in for exams, but that's it. I had to make the decision to take control over this issue, and the first step was to read everything I could about studying my cycle (the TCOF book is great), and then..just do it. It is a good gut instinct to be nervous, but not to give our power over to doctors and the drug industry.

About using condoms, etc. Yes, you should be a bit nervous if you only use condoms when you know you are fertile. Then you can use a sponge, cap, extra spermicide, etc. BUT, you'll know by your temps, cervical fluid and place of cervix if you are fertile. That kind of approach just isn't encouraged by the mainstream.

I don't know your back story, but definitely study your own body for a month or two using LC. And as the boards suggest, DONT go unprotected before your first few ovulations, and take it from there. Everyone is different. Maybe you use a barrier method the first two months, and then you begin to trust the green lights.

I've used the pearly since December, and it's been great. It's a different level of responsibility and control. Good Luck.

Thanks for the encouragment. What is the full name of that book you recommend? I want to order it.

I think she means Taking charge of your fertility by toni weschler

I used LC for two years, very successfully and happily, and then had an OBGYN berate me for it and terrify me into going back on the pill. Two miserable years of pill use later, I realized I should have trusted my own intelligence and my two years of experience! I recently went off the pill and back on the LC, and could not be happier with that decision. So I can empathize over your recent experience with your doctor, and hope you decide to go with whatever method makes you feel safest and most comfortable, be that LC or no!

Rather than go to a gyn, I started getting my basic gyn care from a certified nurse midwife. I will never go back to a regular gyn unless some medical situation warrants it! She is awesome! Plus, she was supportive of my decision to use Centchroman - a choice that would also raise eyebrows with most doctors. She couldn't encourage it, officially (not reviewed by FDA), but she took time to read up on it and said it was an interesting option and she had no medical/safety concerns. If you really feel belittled by your doctor's attitude, consider a switch. Look for a midwife (CNM). I'm willing to bet a midwife would be much more supportive of a natural birth control option.

And here are some thoughts about why LC is different, and IS more than just an expensive calendar. It's a model... and by that, I mean something that takes information about what is known about a system, and uses that to predict future behavior of the system based on new data as it comes in. It's a computer program, which looks at the temperature numbers in a way that nobody could see by simply looking at a calendar, or even the rising and falling of lines on a chart. It is not a waste of money, it is very clever.

That said, it is important to understand how that "modeling" is being done... LC can only base predictions on known information, that is to say past temperatures and patterns. The only known failures, which are really really rare, have been when women ovulated earlier than expected (earlier than past cycles), and by enough that even the LC's "buffer" days weren't quite enough. So it probably is a good idea to give LC a few cycles to work with before you are willing to trust the pre-ovulation green days - Especially if you have a history of being irregular and/or you are coming off the pill. But those post-ovulation days are probably safer to trust. Remember, temperatures can tell you THAT you have ovulated with more certainty, and a green light after ovulation is based on information, rather than based on a prediction. Until that shift happens, predictions (the lights) about your fertility are based on past patterns and on THAT morning's temp (if it has suddenly shifted, even if LC wouldn't have predicted that based on the past, it will give you a yellow or red). Slightly more room for error, but not much, given that most women fall into a fairly regular pattern.

In short (as if my posts on this stuff are ever short)... your doctor needs to read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility"!!

Hey girls. I dont tell my Drs either. I cant be bothered to explain myself and have them judge me. Dont ignore the fact that the LC has been proven to have a pearl index as effective as the pill on green days.

No method of BC is fail proof. I know many pill babies (once you get to my age, the pill has been used for around 10 years so the failures do show up) and I know 1 LC baby. I know IUD babies and I know of centchroman pregnancies too. The only effective method of BC is not to have any sex. Since that is not really what we want, then using the most appropriate and most reliable method of BC for yourself. The pill is very very reliable and as LC compares to this it is a very safe option.

Hey all - I guess I am one of the few who had a positive report from my doc. it was a women who had been frustrated for years how women had reacted to the birth control she prescribed. She had already done research on NFP and thought the LC was an ingenious idea. I definately thought when i first began my research that all the reviews were right about the LC being a glorified calender... not all the reviews.. just one..
The LC is so much more than that cause it can make a decision about your temps based on over 100, 000 other women cycles. Other women have got stressed and had double spikes ect. Also the LC is constantly being reavuated and tested to be made better. It was updated in 2004 and they continue to do research to maintain it.
there was a persona that was a feritility computer released in england. that failed so miserabley to protect women that it was sued, and given huge negitive reviews that it was nearly forced off the market. LC for that reason took ages to start to be trusted in england(According to what I read anways)..now it is liked and they say they have thousands of users in enlganda nd in europe that are very happy.. no negitive reviews I can find ANYWHERE on the net. I have tired searching 'i hate lc' and 'never again lady comp' and stuff. nothing there. I did find this forum with lots of happy users on it. So ya. Thought i woudl pass of my research. HOpe it helps!
Dullies

Thanks for all the feed back. I really appreciate it