STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

lynnie · Chanel

planned parenthood? bc questions.

firefly · BCBG

Hi Lynnie,

I hope I can be of some help. I use PP for all my birth control. I live in Boston, so it may be different in your area, but I'll tell you my experience.

You have to go in once a year for your annual exam (my ins usually covers, but I think it's about $130). They prescribe you whatever BC you need, and you can buy as many packs at a time as you want. In Boston they are $20 per pack.

I've never used the sliding scale-- I think the $20 is set for everyone, regardless.

The nurses/doctors there have all been really nice to me, and I'd recommend their service! I do have health insurance, but it's just easier and cheaper for me to go through PP.

Feel free to PM me if you have other specific questions.

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

$22-$30 a pack at planned parenthood? In college, I got it there for free (through medicaid). Right now I take yasmin and pay monthly for it. It's $44 a month.

lynnie · Chanel

yea, i wish that lady would have talked to me instead of hanging up on me! i guess I'll call tomorrow.

However, I've been doing some quick research on diane-35 and it seems as if its not available in the us- but has been aproved in lots of other countries- europe, canada, etc. Some canadian girls on a different board had good results. Is there anyway to get it or get a prescription here for it and have it shipped from canada? I've heard of people ordering things from canada before. Its about $20/mo which is fine, and its mainly for horomones- which is what i mainly want it for. Are there any US drugs that are similar? I've been on ortho tri cyclen before for my skin, and it barely did anything.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Um, yeah, Planned Parenthood doesn't really fit with the current administration's abstinence focus, so aren't funded or supported the way they used to be, and they are closing a number of locations (I think there are only two or three in my entire STATE - yet another reason I hate this fly-by nightmare) and cutting back on staff and services and hours and so on... I use them, at least in part to help support the mission. It costs me $25 a month as a student with no source of income. I use the ring, and really like it because there are fewer side effects, I can skip my period (even though it's not authorized for this purpose yet, but you can do it if you want to) and it gave me bigger boobs

Love that. Anyway, I recommend it. It's easier, cheaper and more convenient than going to the gyno. And they are always very nice to me, even though they look pretty overworked. Plus, just about everyone I grew up with got knocked up in high school or right after, despite strict religious upbringings (I think being conservative just makes you less likely to buy condoms, but that's imho only...), and I think low-income women need access to family planning services VERY badly, so I really believe in Planned Parenthood. But again, that's just my beliefs.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

needsfashionadvice wrote:

Right now I take yasmin and pay monthly for it. It's $44 a month.

Same here. My insurance doesn't cover bc, but it will pay for you to have that baby, just not prevent it.

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I used P.P. about 7 years ago, and you paid a certain abount depending on your income. As a student, I "donated" $5 a pack. My understanding was that if you had some sort of income that they would assign a certain amount for you to pay. I don't know if it was a flat fee or a percentage depending on how much your particular brand of B.C. cost. I take Estrostep, and I think it's about $40-ish per pack without insurance.

daiz519 · Dooney & Bourke

I went through Planned parenthood about 3 years ago when I was out of college with no insurance. I remember filling out some paperwork, I had to tell them how much money I made at my job, etc. but it wasn't that difficult. I made an appointment, they told me to come ahead of time to fill out the paperwork to see if i was eligible for the sliding scale, and then I met with a nurse and she gave me a whole year supply of BC. At the end they asked for a donation and I gave them like $25 for the entire year supply. They didn't have me do the yearly exam because I wasn't due for one yet (it had been a little under a year since my last one at my student health) but they encouraged me to come back for one when the year was up.

Shello · Kenneth Cole

When I went in HS, they charged me $9 a pack and $15 for an exam, so I do think they have some kind of sliding scale for it. I guess it could also depend on where you live though.

jacL · Coach

I want to say PP varies from state to state. When I was using PP (six years ago, in Wisconsin) in high school, I got it for free. I transferred my gyno exams from my regular gyno appointments, but I know some of my friends got free exams at PP. They didn't want to give the Pill out without an annual exam. Once in college, I still had some friends who went there for the Pill and they paid about $5-6 a pack. It has been a few years though, since any of my friends have been to PP.

About Diane-35, no, I haven't heard of it, but it just doesn't seem safe to me to order drugs from another country. That is just my opinion though.

firefly · BCBG

I don't want to hijack this thread, but Daiz519-- do you have a basset hound too? Aren't they the sweetest?!

That's my adorable puppy to the left. :)

-- Edited by firefly at 10:12, 2006-07-27

daiz519 · Dooney & Bourke

yes, I do have a basset hound!!!!!! He's so adorable and fun. His name is Elvis ;)

The icon I have is not actually a picture of elvis, I chose it because it reminded me of elvis.

Yours is a cutie!!

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

I've used Diane before, and it worked fine. Whenever I go to Costa Rica, I stock up on birth control, since it's over the counter there and really cheap (which is the way it should be in the US, too). I've had no problems with ordering medication in other countries; it's much easier and cheaper than it is in the US, always.

I've noticed a huge difference in PP in the last several years (or maybe it's PP in CT vs. in OK) -- birth control has become way harder to get from them and is way more expensive than it used to be (this is true not only of PP, but also of other clinics designed for low-income people). As someone else said, I blame the political climate and underfunding. I try to donate to them yearly through their website, because I think they provide a very, very important service, and they're becoming extinct faster than I thought possible.

calico · Kenneth Cole

I don't know about Planned Parenthood, but I did want to say that I went to the doctor a few days ago looking to switch birth control because the one I am on seemed to stop clearing up my skin (Tri-Cyclen), and there were three that the doctor said were effective on clearing up skin-- the one I am one, Diane-35 and one other one. So I asked about going on Diane-35 and she told me that no, she wouldn't put me on that, because recently there has been some evidence that it causes blood-clotting. Soooo I ended up just getting a prescription cream to clear up my skin (doctor said it was probably just summer weather and stuff affecting me-- I have had no problems with Tri-Cyclen and have been on it for over two years now).

Moral of the story: I don't think Diane-35 is very good/recommended. Oh and I live in Canada, so we can get it here (not sure about it being available in the States for sure or not)