Luckily, we live in a society where women have rights and their own choices regarding their reproductive system. We are blessed to have birth control (in various forms), male and female condoms, the diaphragm, the contraceptive implant, and so forth.
Birth control has done wonders for me in regulating my period (which was two weeks long and irregular before) and in helping clear up my acne. When I started birth control at the age of 14, I was using it purely in conjunction with Accutane to help regulate my hormones and work on clearing up my acne. When I became sexually active years later, I was using it as a contraceptive and again, for my acne. I loved being in the pill for these reasons.
Around the age of 19, I began to struggle with my birth control and had to switch between various kinds to find one that was going to work best for me. I finally found one. Let us all keep in mind EVERY SINGLE medication has its own side effects and affects EVERYONE differently. One random morning I got pain behind my eye, had blurred vision, saw an aura of light, and lost my sight before I came back to seeing with the most blinding pain in my head and behind my eye I have ever experienced. Little did I know this was the start of an atypical migraine that could lead to strokes due to my birth control. As these migraines continued, it was decided by myself and my doctor to stop the pill completely.
I have never felt better than being off the pill as I do now. I do not suffer from the same number of mood swings, my anxiety and depression are not nearly as bad, and I finally have a sex drive again. Most importantly, the migraines stopped. Although this has caused my acne to flare up again, I am grateful I am no longer at a risk of strokes.
When I told some of my girlfriends that I stopped the pill, I was instantly shamed. You stopped the pill? Why, do you want to get pregnant? How are you going to have sex? That’s a stupid choice … and so forth. I was SHOCKED! LADIES WE ARE IN CONTROL OF OUR OWN BODIES! I couldn’t believe my girlfriends were giving me a hard time for stopping the pill before even hearing about the health issues it was causing. I have never practiced unsafe sex, nor will I start. There are condoms, plan B (in emergency circumstances), and if need be, there is an option of abortion.
I would never shame a girl for being on birth control or not taking it. It is their own personal choice that I will support. So I guess my message to everyone out there is, do not shame others’ choices because they are not your own! There are various forms of contraceptives, not just birth control. So please, next time someone explains their views for taking or not taking the pill, hear them out. Every medication has their own side effects and affects everyone differently. We must do what is best for OUR bodies, and not worry about what others have to say.