Before I begin to unfold the saga that is my birth control history, allow me to set the scene: the summer preceding my middle school years, I was attending a weekday water-sports camp with friends.
When I awoke for the last day of the camp, ready for the final rush of salty air and a warm breeze, I was alarmed by the brutal painting splattered across my bed sheets. After shouting for my mom from the other side of the house, she rushed to my side, supplies in hand. Being 12 and terrified of tampons, I called my girlfriends to let them know a swimsuit wasn’t in the cards for me that day. Cue an ironic and inconvenient relationship with my menstrual cycle.
For the next couple of years, I genuinely felt that my period was in charge of my life. It started with missing birthday pool parties or not going to sleepovers. Then it transitioned into not being able to make it through a two-hour class without running to the school bathroom to change my pad.
I was perpetually scared of spotting through my jeans in front of my peers. I let this fear keep me from living my life. Finally, I opened up to my mom and told her about everything: the heavy flow, the cramps, the fatigue. She set up an appointment with a gynecologist and my journey with birth control began.
The pill
The OBGYN office was extremely cold.
The walls were decorated with pictures of pregnant women and I remember thinking to myself, “I don’t belong here.”
I was only 14, and none of my friends had ever mentioned going to a gynecologist. When I met my doctor, however, I was welcomed with open arms and I felt all my nerves melt away. She reassured me she discussed solutions with girls my age all the time, and that alone made me feel more comfortable with the situation.
After doing some blood tests and having a discussion, she confirmed that I had an irregularly heavy flow accompanied with a mild case of anemia, which is commonly associated with periods and causes fatigue. She provided me with a birth control prescription and recommended iron supplements for anemia.
There was nothing necessarily anything wrong with this method; my flow was significantly lighter, and the pattern of my period became much more predictable. I understand the pill can negatively impact acne, mental health, weight and more, but I have never personally experienced those side effects.
What eventually deterred me from this form of contraception was, frankly, I was not responsible or committed enough to continue with the daily routine. I was too concerned with my schoolwork and extracurriculars to consistently take the pill, so my gynecologist and I decided to try something new. In that moment, I was slightly ashamed. I had finally found something that worked yet still wasn’t satisfied.
If this sounds like you, I am here to encourage you to not feel at a loss. Contraceptives have to work for both your body and your lifestyle. In this stage of my life, I was relishing in being young and free of responsibilities. There was no need to burden myself with that commitment.
Nexplanon
The next birth control method that I tried was an arm implant, specifically Nexplanon.
The insertion process was very easy. I remember bracing myself with a grimace followed by the sensation of a slight pinch in my arm. I was amazed by how stress-free and fast the procedure was. However, besides the effortless beginning, the next year of my life was absolute torture.
My flow became lighter, but there wasn’t a single day I wasn’t bleeding. Keep in mind my experience is radically different from most in regard to the arm implant, but it’s still a possibility.
When I first had the small stick inserted, my OBGYN told me that I needed to allow it three months to take full effect. Three months passed, and I was still experiencing my ‘never-ending period.’ Desperate for this contraceptive to work, I ended up incorporating estrogen gel to strengthen the intended effect.
I kept putting off appointments, insisting I just needed to give it more time to work. Eventually I came to terms with reality: Nexplanon was not the birth control for me.
IUD
My current contraceptive of choice is an IUD. I’m not here to sugarcoat the painful truth of intrauterine devices, and neither was my gynecologist.
As I laid back in the tissue paper clad chair with my feet in the stirrups, she told me to prepare for some serious discomfort. And she was not kidding.
In succession, three contractionary cramps surged through my body as she went through the process of inserting the contraceptive. I felt sore and weak for the rest of the day and treated myself to a heating pad and a nap.
Despite the initial pain of an IUD, it’s easily one of the best decisions I ever made. It lasts for about five years, and, for the two I’ve been a proud owner of an IUD, I have had no complaints. I’ve experienced little to no bleeding, cramps are a distant memory and I’m quite happy.
On my personal pursuit to find the perfect birth control method, I finally realized there isn’t one clear-cut solution.
Every contraceptive comes with its inevitable ups and downs. Every person, and every body, is different. My trials, experiences and issues may be different from yours, but if you commit to having an open conversation with your body and your gynecologist, finding an effective solution is possible.
The day I decided to take ownership of my menstrual cycle and no longer be a prisoner to it is a day I now look back on with pride.