What is the right contraception for you?

If you have bad skin or heavy, painful periods, is there a particular type of contraception that’s right for you? Should you opt for the pill or the implant? Or the IUS or IUD coil?

In one of our previous blog posts, we looked at whether the contraceptive coil was the right type of contraception for you. But we provide a comprehensive range of contraception advice and care at our private health practices in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and there are a number of other options on offer.

Not all forms of contraception are right for everyone

Of course, not all forms of contraception are right for everyone, so our doctors and sexual health specialists will advise on a contraceptive solution that will best suit your needs.

There are 15 types of contraception to choose from, and your choices at YourGP include:

• Contraceptive pills

• Injections

• Contraception implants

• IUS and copper coils

Dr Katie Cathrow, an experienced GP from Oxfordshire with a particular interest in women’s and sexual health, will be one of the GPs responsible for fitting coils and implants at our Edinburgh clinic.

Katie trained with the family planning service in the Borders and Sandyford in Glasgow to gain her DFSRH (Diplomate Assessment of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare) and letters of competence in coils and implants.

We caught up with Katie to find out how she finds out what best suits people’s needs, and what type of contraception most women are looking for.

She explains: “When we provide contraception advice, it has to fit in with what our patients want and what the rest of their health is like. There isn’t just a one-size-fits-all guide to contraception.

“For example, if someone comes in with really bad skin and terrible periods, the first thing you’d do is offer a combined pill as that would help improve the skin, regulate the period and make them a lot lighter.

What type of contraception are most women looking for?

“A lot of women are looking for something they don’t have to worry about,” says Katie.

“They can’t remember to take their pill every day, so they’re looking for something reliable. And that’s where implants and coils are really good.

“For a lot of women and younger girls, their periods are really heavy, painful or unpredictable, so we get a lot of people asking for contraception that will help with that.

“These are the type of people we try and encourage to take the implant or coil as they can help with issues like that.”

Although the coil and implants are 99% effective and you have the added benefit of not having to remember to take it every day, whether we would offer them can depend on the age of the woman and if she’s had a family or not. In addition to this, there can also be some side effects that you should bear in mind.

Katie explains: “The implant can cause problems with things like prolonged bleeding, and one of the problems that can bring is that people don’t really get follow-up help quickly enough.

“However, there are things we can do to help problems after an implant has been fitted if they come back to us promptly.”

“If anyone’s bleeding pattern goes awry, we would always check for chlamydia because that can cause strange bleeding.”

Whatever type of contraception you think is right for you, our doctors and sexual health specialists are on hand to help.

We can remove and fit contraceptive coils at a time to suit you, and when necessary, we can also offer private emergency contraception.

To arrange an appointment, use our online booking form, email our reception team at reception@your.gp or call us on 0131 225 5656.

If you want to find out more about contraception and make sure you have the best method to suit you and your needs, or if you have any questions about sexual health in general, you can get in touch on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.