Women who quit B/C pills:

I've been pill free for about four months. I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclin (not the low kind) from 17-19, then again for a few months at 24. I hated the way I felt on them, especially this last time. I tried the patch for a couple of months. It got disgusting around the edges and kept sticking on my panties. Condoms aren't good for me and my fiance because he's allergic to latex and the polyeurethane ones give me yeast infections. So I got a Merena IUD. Two, actually. The first one got pulled out by my menstrual cup. The second has been great. No condoms, no worries. The only thing is that I have random cramps sometimes, so I never know when I'm going to start my period, since I usually only cramp the day before.

 

Thanks to everyone for the further responses. I'm surprised so many people replied citing similar problems with the pill. I'm a little bit pissed off looking back that my gyno told me NOTHING about potential side effects when first prescribing the pill to me at the young age of 15.

I've noticed a shift in how I feel over just the past few days. I feel really good, almost like my old self again.

I remember this conversation I had with a male friend when I was 15, a couple months before getting on the pill. The subject of PMS came up and I remember saying "I don't really understand girls who get in a bad mood before their period. I get in a really good mood."

LOL! I have hope that I'll be able to say that again someday soon.

 

yay, this was a nice thread to find.

I just quit taking Marvelon after like 5 years of taking it. I feel a lot better already, I idea of artificial estrogens really freak me out, and I don't want to have to live off the pharmasutical industry anymore.

However...I started taking it because my irregular periods were causeing me to form systs. One large one wrecked one of my overys and I had to have this big surgerys and I've been afraid to stop taking the pill because it keeps be regular, and syst free...But I started to think that I was young and skinny at that time and maybe now that I am older and healthier it would regulate itself in time, and it's crazy to stay on something out of fear like that...


But ya, I feel emotionally better already. The pill deff made me a lot more emotional. Lots of really big highs and lows which were really out of my control...and sex drive got pretty non existant...


But yay, for learning more about the bodies natural cycles and stearing away from dependence on artifical hormones...

 

yay i've just stopped taking it too
i don't know, it's only been a week, so it's hard to tell, the last couple of days have been good tho

i was put on birth control at the very beginning of getting my period, my mom was trying to help me because in my family we get heavy periods, and being a vegetarian i can't afford to lose too much blood
but it's pretty much the only thing i've known so i'm really looking forward to trying something new and different
i talked to my doctor, i asked if there was another option for me, he said no but if i wanted to try being off of it, i should try it for three months before deciding

i'm so prone to hormonal mood swings, so i'm hoping being off of the pill will help even me out, along with other changes to my life, i really want to sort of the crazy in my head

 

i went off it about a year and a half ago after being on it for two years. i just decided i didnt want to be ingesting hormones everyday. and i wanted my body to do its own thing, naturally. ive only had sex once since, and i used a condom. at the rate my love life is progressing, ill probably just abstain until im ready to have kids. ill never take hormones again.

 

Toni Weschler makes a good point about how it is so backwards that even though women are only really fertile ONE day a month, birth control pills need to be taken ALL month.

In other news, I got something really cool--a fertility microscope by Maybe Mom...usually about $50 retail but was on clearance at Longs Drugs for $9.99! I had heard about it and was interested in it a few weeks ago but dismissed it because of the price. So cool. If you don't know anything about a fertility microscope, what you do is put a drop of your morning saliva on the lens, let it dry, and then view it. Most of the month all you will see is little dots, but when you are about to ovulate and there is an estrogen surge, you will begin to see "ferning". Probably makes no sense if you hadn't heard of it previously so I recommend doing an internet search to find out more. I think it will be a good addition to reading my body signals.

The weird thing is, I saw ferning yesterday morning. I thought WTF? because according to my chart I thought I had ovulated over a week ago. I did some research and it turns out that the estrogen surge directly before menstruation also will result in ferning. Sure enough, I started my period today. So it not only lets me know when I'm ovulating but when I'm about to start my period. Awesome.

Not to sound all hippy on you, but I find it interesting how my menstrual cycle has so quickly gotten back on track with the moon. Looks my body is really starting to adjust back to normal. Which reminds me,

I had no PMS whatsoever before starting my period this time. It was unreal. I feel like my body is quickly rewarding me for getting off those pills.

 

Not true. You're confusing ovulation days with fertility days. Your body releases an egg on one day a month, but the actual process of the egg leaving the ovary only takes about 5 mins. After this point, it takes the egg 3 or 4 days to travel down your fillopian tubes to your uterus. It's during this 3-4 day period when the egg is in your FT that you're the most fertile. Also, sperm can survive up to 3 days in your body. All other times of the month, it's implausible but not impossible to get pregnant.

 

I stand corrected. Thank you, I don't want to spread misinformation to anyone reading this. I should have said "Toni Weschler makes a good point about how it is so backwards that even though women are only really fertile a few days a month, birth control pills need to be taken ALL month."
Don't let this give you the idea that I don't understand the concept that birth control pills need to be taken all month to work, though, because I fully understand that. The comment about backwardness applies to the fact that it is disappointing that there is not a better method, a method that doesn't require daily ingestion of hormones.

 

Cons I've run across:
*I'm having a period every three weeks rather than every four (how I was pre-B/C).
*Said periods are lasting 7 days rather than 4 like on the pill.
*Hormonal breakouts. My skin is pretty terrible right now.

ETA: I'm also beginning to wonder if the pills aren't to blame for my mood and libido-related lulls. I read a post of mine from a year or so ago in which I stated that I hadn't run across any negative side-effects from the pill. I did go through a bit of a bad time with my boyfriend. What if its all in my head?

Can't wait until those synapses finish developing KC.

 

I was really worried of that happening coz I heard lots of horror stories about it, but my skin actually looks awesome now, better than before. I hope yours gets better when your hormones settle down, it should do anyway!

 

That's good to hear. Did you have acne before getting on the pill?

I'm kind of worried because the pill actually really helped my skin.

 

It's hard, but you need to be really patient. Think of it this way - you're kind of going through mini-puberty. Especially for those women who took the pill for years starting before physical maturity (remember - women aren't really physically mature sometimes until 20-21 years), your body is really just learning to regulate it's own hormones for the first time.

Feel better lace! Hopefully things will calm down soon!

 

Is it normal to feel really down immediately after ovulation? Perhaps based on changing hormones or what not?

 

OH JOY and celebration

I got my period back exactly on the day it was expected- first BC pill free period...I feel like havingg a party

 

I went on the pill for about 5 months.

I gained a bit of weight while on the pill, I had no sex drive, I lost the tenderness and pleasurable sensation in my breasts - and I got cramps.

I *never* get cramps. It was horrible to be getting cramps while on the pill when I knew that I wouldn't have them if I went off.

Also, my period was being induced. I've been tracking my natural menstrual cycle for almost 2 years now, and my average cycle is 35 days. When I was on the pill, I was having a period every 28.

So - I got off it. I had always used condoms, and I continued to use them with spermicidal jellies. I also started using a diaphragm - and I flippin' love it!!! It's so comfortable and easy to use every now and again. I mostly use condoms.

 

^That's good to know, about the diaphragm. I've considered getting one, or a cervical cap if I can. Maybe not even for always, but sometimes, you know?

I do get that let-down after ovulation, Lace. Actually, I'm a hormonal wreck right now because my levels are never the same from one month to another.... but it seems like the worst times are right after ovulation and right before menstruation.

Right now I'm pissed off at my girl-parts because nothing they do ever seems "normal". I got my period two days ago and I'm bleeding lighter than I remember a regular period EVER being... but the cramps are unbelievable! They actually went away for a few hours yesterday while I was riding my bike around town, running errands, and as soon as I got home and stopped the physical activity (by this time I was really tired and my legs were like jelly, too) the cramps just hit me again like a brick wall. I don't know what the problem is, but it's unpleasant!