In the beginning of the semester, I stopped taking the birth control I had taken for over a year and began a new pill. My gynecologist promised me that the switch wouldn’t affect me and that it was the most similar alternative to the one I had previously taken. It made me nervous, but I had no choice as my insurance stopped covering my old prescription.
Starting a new birth control brand or any type of birth control in the first place is nerve-racking because you don’t know how those tiny little pills will impact your body, your moods or even your brain chemistry. And since I had finally found a pill that didn’t make me physically or mentally miserable, I was petrified of starting something new.
I found myself experiencing no physical symptoms after the switch, and my periods remained the same as before. However, I felt like my mood had been affected in a way I struggled to grasp. I felt more irritable than usual, and small things done by my friends, family members or even my boyfriend drove me crazy. I also felt stagnant in a way, almost numb. Things were going well for me in school, and I didn’t feel as happy as I should have. It was driving me crazy to feel the way I felt, and I couldn’t even begin to explain why.
In an attempt to fix the way I was feeling, I came to the conclusion that my new birth control could be responsible. I had been taking the pills for two months which is in the time frame when most women experience side effects. However, this was the only one. I had not gained weight, felt nauseous or anything in between. I just felt lethargic.
I decided to stop taking the pills, but here’s the tricky part. According to Modernfertility.com, it can take up to three months to fully feel the effects of getting off the pill. However, some women report feeling positive effects within weeks of stopping. So not only does it take a good amount of time to feel those effects, but I have found myself experiencing a serious placebo effect from it. I can’t tell if I feel better from actually getting off of it or because I told myself I would. While I would love for birth control to be the reason for all of my problems and be able to solve them by eliminating it, that may not be the case.
Although I will not experience the effects of stopping the pill for many weeks, the psychological weight that has been lifted off of me by not taking it has made me realize how taxing this can be. Feeling poorly and not knowing why is one of the worst things. For me, the possibility of the cause being within my complete control is reason enough to find out if it’s true and stop my birth control.