Contraception in Ireland

bee1012

Hey everyone, I am an American moving to Dublin this September (woo hoo).  I am currently on an extended cycle of birth control pills (oral contraception) and I am getting mixed reviews on the ease and availability of birth control in Ireland.  My husband has health insurance through his company in Dublin.  I guess what I'm asking is - 
1)  Should I switch to some sort of implant or iud BEFORE I leave?  Or are either of these options readily available?  I have been thinking of switching to a more permanent method recently and I'm not sure I want to do it before I leave or get a doc in Dublin.
2)  Are the pills easy to access and relatively inexpensive?  I read a few posts about how oral contraception requires more checkups in Ireland which is okay with me.  By inexpensive, I mean not hundreds of dollars for every prescription; my birth control is currently covered under my insurance.
Please no rude comments.  I have never been on this kind of forum and I am sincerely curious.  I have been taking birth control for the hormones since I was in my mid-teens and I am just trying to make this part of my move as smooth as possible.
Thank you!

Rodin

You will have no problems whatsoever getting the pills you need.

njs030

There is a thread called 'lady gardening for dummies' in the ladies lounge forum (where you posted your other thread) have a read through that it deals with contraception amongst other things and might help answer some of your questions.
You might be better off starting at the end and working backwards though as its been going for quite a while!

Big Bag of Chips

Contraception pills generally require a 6 month check up at the GP to check your blood pressure and make sure the pill suits you. You will then be given a 6 month prescription that the chemist will fill without question. It's not expensive.

I don't know who is telling you contraception pills are difficult to get in Ireland. But whoever it is they obviously don't get contraception pills in Ireland!

There are other more permanent forms of contraception too, and maybe if you are going to be in Ireland long term/permanently then you are better waiting to get here and finding a GP and discussing it then. I have the 'Implanon' bar in my arm and only one GP at my surgery inserts and removes it. So if you got something from the US that was different to what GPs here were used to it may cause issues down the line when the time came to change it.

Airyfairy12

All contraceptives are available in Ireland but it can depend on the doctor and what he 'decides' is right for you, my advice would be to go to a female doctor as from experience with a number of male doctors, female doctors tend to take you more seriously, trust your decision and give you what ever contraceptive you ask for.

You'll need a checkup every 6 - 12 months about 60 euro each time to see a doctor. Contraceptives vary in price and can be quite expensive although not hundreds per prescription. A one month supply of contraceptive pills can cost anything from 10 - 30 euro depending on the brand but can be cheaper if you buy in bulk.

testicles

This post has been deleted.

amtc

Just a point...health insurance here does not normally cover gp visits or may only cover a portion of it. Insurance in its meaning in the US is completely different than here. You'll pay for each visit.

Absolutely no issue getting contraception so I've no idea where you're getting this from!

Well woman clinic is good for specialising in that if you're going to be in Dublin.
Yes, we have all those options

Big Bag of Chips

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

my advice would be to go to a female doctor as from experience with a number of male doctors, female doctors tend to take you more seriously, trust your decision and give you what ever contraceptive you ask for.

And my advice would be find a doctor you're comfortable with, regardless of their gender! I've had a male doctor my whole life, all through my teens, my pregnancies and various women's health issues and have always much preferred to see him than the female doctor he has in his surgery.

Faith

Brand names are different in different countries, so bring a box of your current pill with you when you first visit a GP so they can figure out if we have it in Ireland, and what's closest if we don't.

SusieBlue

My pill costs me about €13 per month and I get six month prescriptions.

Dixie Chick

All types of contraception are available. A doctors visit is required to get a 6 month script. In Cork a doctor (well mine anyway) is €50 for this and my pill about €9 per month then as well.

athtrasna

My pill is around €5 per month. Doctor gives me a six month prescription and then I can phone for a repeat prescription for €10 next time.

Lia_lia

My oral contraceptive, which is a triphasic pill called Logynon, costs me about €60 for the whole year for the pill itself. I get a 6 month prescription and a full 6 months supply of pills every 6 months.

A good tip to know is getting your full 6 months supply of pills in one visit to the pharmacy (drug store). That way you are not charged a dispensing fee for each month you get your prescription. If I got my prescription every month it would cost about €12 each month, so €144 a year. Big difference!

A doctors appointment costs around €50-€60. We luckily get our doctors appointments subsidised by work/insurance so it costs me €15 each time I go. If I was to go to a doctor outside of work it would be €25, as I get €25 back on health insurance. I don't know of any health insurers here that cover medication. Maybe there are some, just never heard of it before.

You'll have no problems getting contraception here.

Dial Hard

Not sure where you're getting your information from but pretty much all contraception (tubal ligation being the exception) is freely available in Ireland.

For a contraceptive pill you'll pay between 50 and 70 euro for the consultation with the doctor and a prescription for six months of your pill, then anywhere between 3 to 13 euro per month for the actual medication itself.

My doctor will renew the prescription without seeing me every other time for €10. Not all doctors will do this and it will depend on your overall health too.

Persephone kindness

testicles wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

OP the good news is it has. It's been widely and freely available since the 90's.

The system might be different. But that is just because the concept of health insurance is different here. Regarding check ups etc. But faith gives great advice about bringing your version of the pill to see what we have that is similar.

Welcome to Ireland

Synthol

Freely available? You need a prescription while in the rest of the world you don't, so keep telling yourself that it is freely available. I am sure this requirement has resulted in many more pregnancies than if it would actually be freely available. Please don't spread misinformation about being freely available. Our country is still controlled by Catholics.

Penny Tration

OP, you shouldn't have a problem getting oral contraception.

The cost isn't too bad. GP once every six months to check your weight and blood pressure, which is between 50-60 Euro, then your pill itself. Most are relatively inexpensive.

Mine was 12 Euro a month, til they released a generic, so now it's 23 for five months.


Keep a box, or remember the name of the active ingredient in yours, because our brand names can be different.

Wesser

Synthol wrote: »

Freely available? You need a prescription while in the rest of the world you don't, so keep telling yourself that it is freely available. I am sure this requirement has resulted in many more pregnancies than if it would actually be freely available. Please don't spread misinformation about being freely available. Our country is still controlled by Catholics.

In every other country in the world, you don't need a prescription eh? Every single country?

lawred2

testicles wrote: »

So, Americans think we haven't moved on since the 70/80s...

Many Irish people haven't

eviltwin

lawred2 wrote: »

Many Irish people haven't

The availability of contraception has. There are requirements but that's the health care system in general. There is no Catholic bishops conspiracy to try and restrict access to birth control.

Noo

Synthol wrote: »

Freely available? You need a prescription while in the rest of the world you don't, so keep telling yourself that it is freely available. I am sure this requirement has resulted in many more pregnancies than if it would actually be freely available. Please don't spread misinformation about being freely available. Our country is still controlled by Catholics.

No prescription? Bit irresponsible to not see a doctor before randomly selecting a pill off a shelf. I suspect you're looking for a reaction having absolutely no concept of the variety of pills available.

I live in country not controlled by the church and i still need a prescription.

amtc

I know for a fact you need a prescription in Australia. Any doctor I've been to you don't have to talk them into it! No issue with gps in Dublin. I must say I did move to a gp other than the one I saw growing up but simply because he didn't take appointments...basically you sat and waited...and it was completely impractical with work (has led to some funny instances when I bump into him in tesco and I assure him of my perfect health for the last rwenty years).

I think the confusion is here mixing up american version of insurance with irish. Op here you pay to go to gp, insurance may or may not cover a portion of it or hospital care.

dudara

Posters - let's not get into off-topic discussion on Catholicism or American views on Ireland

OP - a doctor's visit is required to get your prescription which is usually for 6 months a go. An initial visit to a GP is circa €60, but subsequent visits can be cheaper depending on your doctor. For the sake of comparison, I fill all 6 months of my prescription in one go and it costs around €35 depending on the pharmacy.

The Well Woman clinic is well recommended if you want to get an IUD fitted