Going on the contraceptive pill in Germany

I am on my year abroad here in Germany, never bin on the pill in england but wanna go on it here; was going to sort it out at home in england but figured not the best idea when i wasn't going to be there!! is it a problem to do if u have never bin on it before?? and also will i have to pay? i obv have an ehic card and am a member of the deutscher ring but i'm not sure if that just covers illness?
thanks for the help!!

Unlike in the UK, the pill is not free in Germany unless you are aged under 21 (and even then, if you're on an expensive one, you may still have to pay a part of the costs). Sadly you haven't completed your profile with that information. You may also have to pay for the consultation (although this should be covered by you state insurance with Deutscher Ring) or pay the 10€ quarterly charge for a consultation (which all state insured people have to pay).
Also be aware that a check-up is usually done at the same time, including taking blood pressure and often a smear test too.
It might be an idea to pop along to ProFamilia in Hamburg (German equivalent of Family Planning Assoc./Planned Parenthood) for advice, an exam and more, I wouldn't be surprised if a staff member also spoke English too.
And if you go tonight, you don't even need an appointment.

ok, thanks for the info!! i am 20 btw. so will my deutscher ring card cover me for all/part of consultation costs? or does that only cover illness? my german is also not v good, do you know if it is easy to find a doctor here that speaks english??

oops, sorry, just read that you already answered the consultation bit!!!

Yes Katrina is correct. But I thought it was under 20 and not 21? I might be wrong.

Also to add onto the EHIC card thing (is this the new version of an E111 or something?) before you go to the Dr. be it for the pill or anything else you will need to get you Krankenkasse karte. Now when I was on my year abroad we were all with the AOK (I don't think this will have changed in the last 10 years). So to get your AOK card I think you need to take this EHIC card and your student papers to the AOK and they will issue you with one.

I might be wrong on this so best to check it out first with the Akademisches Auslandsamt I guess they would know. Just will save you going to the Dr. tonight only to find you have the wrong papers (something that happened all to often to me on the year abroad)

Oh sorry did I misunderstand you have your health insurance with the Deutscher Ring? In that case ignore what I said about the AOK.

If your Deutscher Ring card is the normal Krankenversicherung then yes it will cover everything in answer to your consultation question but you have to pay the 10€ practice fee.

Up until your 21st birthday is covered and then you have to pay to have your way
But go see ProFamilia, they're a nice bunch.

haha. thanks guys, i was stressing cos i wondered if it would be a problem that i'm not german n wasn't on the pill back in england. alls i need to do now is fins someone who can speak english at this profamilia place!! think that will be a problem?? what are the doctors like for speaking english??

I think normally pretty good - at least the younger ones. I work for a medical company and all the doctors here have a very good level of English.

What are you doing on your year abroad then? Are you studying German?

no, i'm an assistant at a school. i study german in england, so i can speak some german, but not very good!!! so i'm here to learn it this year!!

Shagging around a lot by the sounds of it

yeah, cos everyone on the pill is shagging around *rolls eyes*

Teaching?

yep!!

Well the pill is good for 3 things
1- not to get pregnant
2- ovarian cysts
3- acne
...but the complication list is long - so read the inside leaflet well. I was on the pill for years because of ovarian cysts but never bothered to read the leaflet till I was having problems with my cycle last year and had to change 3 times in 9 months my pill. When you get closer to 30 your hormones change. Then I saw all the complications one of which my granny and two aunts died of so I made the decision and stopped the pill. I would suggest look at your family history as well before going on the pill. Please be responsible to your body.

A tip on getting the pill cheaper--
sometimes you can get the pill packaged for another country (in my case it was the French version of Trinordiol) at an International pharmacy and it will be cheaper. In my case this made a price difference of maybe 30%. The packaging wasn't quite as nice, but who cares. I am not talking about a generic pill, I mean the EXACT SAME product, just packaged for another country. A pharmacist pointed this out to me -- probably wise as I always went back to that pharmacy subsequently!

Should have brought some with you from the family planning clinic back home.Wife did and saved a fortune

We save even more money by not having sex in my house.

Oh do you do it in the garden instead then

@Johnny - That's not much help if the pill is taken for dysmennhorea.