After years of receiving the same “talk” and “learning” about puberty, sex, and adult life in my teenage years, I finally made what I thought was the educated decision to begin taking the pill. Knowing little about it other than that it stopped you from having children when you did not want to, I thought it was a safe bet. At the age of sixteen, I felt grown up. My skin was clearing and I did not gain any weight, which I had always heard was a side effect, and I was just as happy as could be. Life could not seem to go any better for me, until I had been on the pill for about a month.
Having only ever been taught about the pill, I did not know what an IUD was. Standing for Intra-Uterine Device, it is a small t-shaped piece of plastic that sits in your uterus every day for up to 5 years and in some cases even 12 years. This idea can be scary to some, which is why it is not advocated for to young girls. Most of its appeal comes from the fact that you do not have to think about it. Once it is in, it’s in, and there is no daily reminders or chances of throwing off your period by a simple miscalculation.
Being a teenager comes with its ups and downs, obviously, but it should not be only just downs. My abstinence-only high school program did not fully inform me of the side effects of birth control and I was hit hard with one of them. For at least a year in my life, my mood would swing aggressively from anger to depression, with no in between. For a while, I thought this was just typical teenage behavior, and I never thought twice about the timing. However, it was not until a close friend educated me about the IUD, something I had never heard of. After reading about the procedure and its side effects, I came across articles like this one. Explaining the difference in mood, the change in weight, but with the same overall effectiveness.
I looked into the procedure and started to give it more consideration. I thought that maybe this could be the end to all of my mood swings and a struggle through depression, and I started to get excited that things could change. I booked the appointment before I left for school so I could finally know what it felt like to feel normal again.
I will not lie, the procedure is not a fun one. You have to be committed to the cause before you go for it because it is a pretty painful experience. But as I saw it, it was 12 hours of torture for 5 years of regular emotion and enjoyment of life, and my excitement overcame the brief pain.
After a day full of cramping, Netflix, and my most favorite candy, I noticed an immediate change in my mood. I never thought I would be able to feel normal again while placing such hormones in my body. It has now been 6 months, and I can honestly say that my life has made a complete 180 and I have never been happier with anything else. Any negative situations that come my way and would have earlier caused a rise out of me just flew away and my self-confidence flourished. I wondered where this had been my whole teenage career.
My life has not been the same since I made the switch, and I am so grateful for this. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner, I should have been more responsible for the things I was doing to my body. I advise to anyone with the same health education to truly research any medical procedures or medications completely before going through with them just because it is “what everyone else does” so it must be safe. There could be better options for you out there that you may have never considered had you not researched them yourself.
Of course, I understand that birth control pills may be the better and easier option for many and that there are other options for of contraceptives. I know that everyone has specific reasoning for what they do to their bodies and in no means do I want to force any ideas among anyone. However, I do want to spread awareness of my experience to people everywhere who may not know what an IUD is or how it can possibly benefit you.