As soon as I turned 18, I already knew what was expected to come. I was now a fresh seed blossoming into adulthood…legally. I could vote, get a tattoo, get a credit card, and stay out past curfew. On top of that though, I was quickly reminded by the women in my life that it was also time to go to the OB-GYN.
Initially, I was a bit nervous over the thought that someone I don’t know would be observing me in different aspects, some more intimate than others. Yet, after some proper research and tactical planning, I subsided my anxiety and began thinking about my options.
I thought about if it was a good time to start birth control. I was going to be attending college in only a few months and was debating on if that would be a good option for an added protection guard. Aside from that, I also developed — and still unfortunately experience — very painful period cramps. It feels almost as if someone was twisting an old Shakespearean dagger into my uterus on repeat. I heard from peers that birth control was a way to thin your bleeding and ultimately lessen your cramping.
I was bouncing around that idea for a while and with the many, and I mean tons, of birth control options that are provided. I didn’t want a depo shot in my butt, not keen to an implant in my arm, and was definitely NOT getting an IUD, so with that I chose the birth control pill option. Just a bit of foreshadowing if you have made it this far already…probably one of the worst decisions I have made in my life.
I am not going to bash the concept of contraceptives based on my own personal experience because like most medications, everyone has different side effects if they even experience any at all. However, based on my own battle with birth control, I quickly realized that it was not the best match for me.
My OB-GYN put me on Elinest and I have been on it on and off for a year or so, but I realized how horribly my side effects were kicking in. My face started breaking out, I was getting dry skin, my hormonal acne was becoming worse, and I started gaining weight like crazy. I found no benefit of being on the pill at all! I mean yeah, my period flow definitely thinned out and my cramps were nonexistent. Though in return, instead of my usual three-day cycle, my period lasted three weeks!
I was the most miserable I have ever been. I was already irritated about the fact I was constantly bleeding for 19 days straight, but I felt as though the pills were affecting my mental state too. My anxiety was getting worse by the second and I felt myself falling deeper into my depressive episodes more frequently.
I was so confused on why this was happening to me when I took the exact same brand of contraceptives a few months prior and experienced no negative effects. I tried reaching out to my gynecologist’s office to possibly switch to another brand and they quickly told me my body was getting used to the pill and I should wait. That is when I realized it was time to get off. I did not feel completely comfortable with myself while experiencing constant mental and physical turmoil over this tiny, white pill.
I’m afraid to say this to you, birth control, but it was time to take a break from you…maybe we can reconnect another time.