I’ve been lucky enough to have always had good health insurance that offers a range of services to help with many different things at a low cost. Since I was 15 years old, I have been on birth control. I picked it up every three months from the pharmacy for free. At the start of 2018, I decided that I was going to give my body a break from the added hormones and see how it would be to have a pill-free period. It’s been about a month now, and I have noticed so many differences with my body and my emotions.
I started taking birth control at such a young age because my mom was diagnosed with endometriosis at age 20. Any time I had a bad day filled with cramps, it worried her because she did not want me to have the same experiences with my period as she did with hers. Endometriosis is a condition where uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus and attaches to other organs. It can cause extreme pain and attack the ovaries and fallopian tubes. While it has not been confirmed 100%, researchers have found that the condition can be passed on through generations, and it can only be diagnosed in surgery because it doesn’t show up in normal radiological procedures like X-rays and ultrasounds. Birth control is supposed to help with the transfer of the condition, and once my mom found that out, she instantly recommended that I start taking it.
It’s been six years since my relationship with birth control began, so breaking up with it was a challenging decision, but ultimately, I think it was the right thing to do. The side effects have been noticeable and enormous, but they haven’t been too overwhelming like I thought they would be.
It has been a rollercoaster of emotions— probably not the best time to catch up on recent episodes of This Is Us. I have been craving sweets like no other and crying at almost everything. What has been most interesting to me though is the fact that I’ve been sweating a lot more. I’m not sure if it has to do with the fact that my body is adjusting to my natural amount of hormones or if it just seems like that, but I didn’t notice the excessive amount of sweat until I stopped taking the pill.
While I expected to break out really badly and to have a really bad period, I surprisingly haven’t experienced that. I know it’s only been a month, and it may get worse, but my first period off of birth control was actually pretty calm. I may have bled a little more than I did before, but the symptoms that come with having a period were very minimal.
I may be an emotional wreck at almost all times now, but the fact that I’m now off birth control and still feel as if I am thriving is amazing. I forgot what it was like before I started taking the pill, but I am so grateful that it isn’t as bad as I expected it to be.
I don’t have a boyfriend or anything, so birth control isn’t something I need right now. So if you’re in a similar boat as me, I definitely recommend taking a break from the pill! If you’re on birth control for other reasons though, and you’re still thinking about stopping taking birth control, make sure you are being safe in every sexual encounter you experience!
Photos and gifs courtesy of Pexels and Giphy