Which contraception side effects should I put up with, and which mean stop?

Many methods cause changes in the first three months — irregular spotting, tender breasts, headaches — that settle on their own, and stopping early is the commonest reason a method is judged to have failed when it might have suited. Three months is the usual advice before deciding.

Some effects are not waiting-out material: a severe headache unlike your usual, calf pain or swelling, chest pain or breathlessness, yellowing of the eyes, or a mood change that is frightening you. Those mean contact a clinician now rather than at the next appointment.

Which effects are likely depends on the method. Bleeding pattern changes are expected with progestogen-only methods; the cardiovascular warnings belong mainly to combined methods containing oestrogen.

Disliking a method is a sufficient reason to change it. There are enough options that living with something you hate is rarely necessary, and you do not need to have tolerated it for a set period first.

This cannot tell you whether a symptom is from your method or something else, or which alternative would suit you better. Both need a clinician who knows your history.

• Is this expected with this method, and for how long?
• What would make you want me to stop it?
• If I change, is there a gap where I would not be protected?
• What else would you suggest, given what has bothered me?

Stop and seek urgent care for calf pain or swelling, chest pain, breathlessness, coughing blood, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, or sudden visual loss.