Like a lot of women, I started taking The Pill when I was in high school. My periods were irregular and my boyfriend and I were starting to think about sex, so it seemed like a natural next step. For almost four years, The Pill worked great for me. The side effects I noticed were minimal, my periods were regular down to the hour, and of course the biggest plus: I didn’t get pregnant!
But over time, I realized The Pill wasn’t perfect for me. When I was abroad, there were a few weekends where I would forget to pack my birth control and spend the next week taking two pills every day trying to catch up. It was completely the fault of my own irresponsibility, but it was still a problem. The final straw for me was when I had unprotected sex during a month where I had missed a few days and had some spotting. I had to go pick up Plan B in my pajamas with a hickey on my neck, which is about as low as it can get. That day I decided that after abroad, I was going to find something else.
But of course, you can’t just stop taking The Pill and immediately jump to a new method of birth control. I gave myself a four-month window to let my body get back to where it was without birth control (and hoped and prayed that condoms wouldn’t rip). I had done research on what I should expect, but some of the effects were still pretty shocking.
Sex drive
This was the biggest one for me – my libido absolutely skyrocketed. My sex drive had gone down a little when I went on The Pill, and it went down further when I started taking medication for my anxiety. But this wasn’t like my libido was back at a normal level. This felt like how I imagine 14-year-old boys feel. I was constantly turned on to the point where I couldn’t even focus during my classes. This evened out in about two months, but my sex drive is still noticeably higher than it was while taking The Pill.
Acne
I should have expected this one, but without the extra estrogen in my system, I found myself breaking out more frequently. Even before going on The Pill I was lucky to have great skin, so even small breakouts are upsetting and unexpected for me.
Boobs
The Pill turned my almost B-cups into true B-cups, and it was the best thing that could have happened to 17-year-old me. Sadly, going off birth control brought me back to the Itty Bitty Titty Committee. At least four years later I’ve gained enough confidence to rock it though.
Irregular cycle
Since my cycle was irregular before The Pill, I expected some issues. But I didn’t get my period for four months (and probably saved a fortune on menstrual products). After lots of panic and a wasted pregnancy test (there’s no better feeling than only seeing one line), I finally made an appointment with a gynecologist and found out I actually have PCOS, a reproductive disorder that often results in irregular periods. Obviously it’s not good news, but going off The Pill helped me learn a bit more about my body and how best to take care of it.
If you’re thinking about going off The Pill, be prepared for any potential body changes and make sure to talk to your healthcare provider. Sometimes change can be a good thing, and it definitely was when I went off The Pill.