Diaphragm

I used it very successfully for many years... however, it doesn't work if you don't put it in! I think hubby mentioned that he could feel it, but it wasn't a problem for him... it was either me using a diaphragm, or him using condoms, so I think he felt it was worth it. (Besides, with condoms, we ended up with 3 kids.....2 of them unplanned, and 1 planned. With the diaphragm, we only ended up with 1 more child, and that one was planned.)

I didn't have any problems with UTI's... however, I still make it a habit to urinate right after sex.... (I don't use the diaphragm anymore... I had my tubes tied many years ago.)

I found it was the right thing for me, especially as I am not interested in using oral contraceptives, and I hate condoms. I would also track my cycle so I was pretty familiar with when I would be the most fertile. I would use it during the fertile days and not worry about it the rest of the month. Worked for me! Oh and no UTI's. :)

I used one for a long time. Then I used the pill for a long time, tried to go BACK to the diaphragm, and found that I could no longer get it in. That's embarrassing to say, and a little funny too. But it's true.

I no longer have to worry about it since I'm menopausal now, but if you actually CAN insert it, it's a good form of birth control. I do NOT consider it to be very convenient unless you and your husband just have plain ole sex. You need the spermicide which in my view is messy and is NOT a good substitute for lube. In order to enjoy the various kinds of foreplay, you need to do them first and then stop and put in the diaphragm/spermicide in order to safely have sex. When we were young, it was no big deal to stop in the middle of everything. Now that we aren't young anymore, stopping in the middle wears on my nerves and I don't like it. Neither does my husband!

If you get up and pee everytime after intercourse, you shouldn't be getting UTI's. I have never heard of diaphragms making it more likely to get UTI's.

Good luck with what you decide!

Dawn

I've used one as my only birth control for the last year and it was ok. Actually using it-applying spermicide, inserting, cleaning afterwards-wasn't difficult. If it has been properly fitted, it slips right in and stays put. It heightened sensation a bit for me as it put extra pressure on my g-spot in certain positions. Other than that, I never felt it and neither did my husband. No UTIs or yeast infections here and I can't use condoms, especially spermicide ones for those exact reasons. If you go to your local adult "novelty" shop, their toy cleaners are the easiest and safest to use to clean and disinfect the diaphram without damaging the integrity of the latex (or silicone).
That said, I rarely used mine. It was just an extra step that was often forgotten or ignored, unless I thought I was ovulating. We knew we wanted more kids and were just waiting for age spacing, so if we did have a surprise, it wouldn't have been the end of the world. Most often we used the very scientific :-) pull-out method. So basically, we used no birth control at all.
I will get another one after our next child is born, because using it a half-dozen times is better than nothing, but it is definitely not something that became routine for us. I hope this helps!