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Fast forward 15 years and I was still on the darned pill. After 15 years and a variety of different types of birth control pills later, I decided that I was done. FINISHED! I have probably been on 10 different types of pills. Some pills were great, meaning they didn't affect my life except for relieving period symptoms, but others were horrible. I took one pill for four months that made me cry every day. After four months I realized it was the pill so I switched kinds. Another pill made me depressed for almost a year. I am a happy person, it takes a lot to get me down, but boy oh boy did I struggle that year! I tried everything to get out of my sad slump but nothing worked until I switched birth control. Once I switched pills the sun came out and I was my happy self again. I thought I was lost forever, but it was just that darned little pill.
So after years of ups and downs with birth control, I decided I was done putting extra hormones into my body. While it may work for some people, and has worked for me in the past, I am choosing to be done with it. Au natural is the way I want my body to be. The interesting thing about it though, is that being off the pill is almost worse than being on it.
First of all, I have now successfully been off the birth control pill for about 6 months. It has not been an easy time though. Immediately after going off the pill I felt great, my complexion was dewy and glowing (like it has never been before!) and I didn't get my period for three months. I wasn't so bothered by the missed period because I had heard of that happening, plus I was not eager to experience cramping again. After three months my period came and the cramps and vomiting were back with a vengeance, like they had never left. Then, my hair started to fall out. It has been falling out in clumps for the last three months! I've also had some chin-hair growth. (What?!) I now have a few solid black hairs growing from my chin that I keep track of and pluck more often than I'd like. Acne, that's another one. I feel like a teenager all over again with a forehead completely broken out. Lets see, what else...oh yes, the anxiety! The few days after my period finishes I experience some of the worst anxiety I've ever had. Sometimes it is so crippling that I struggle to get into my car and drive or run errands. After a few days though, it disappears until the end of my next period where it rears its ugly head once again.
Quitting birth control as it turns out, is NOT EASY. I am so happy to be free of the extra hormones, but this is almost not worth it. The times I have tried to come off it before have been similar, but short lived because of the awkward symptoms. This time I am determined to stay off. I know it will be good in the long run, but for now I feel like a mess. Oh to be a woman!
Update: (many years later) In looking back over this forgotten blog I have noticed this is one of my most popular posts. So, in an effort to be of help to all the people finding and reading this, I am going to add what has helped me. After going off of birth control I struggled for about 2-years with the symptoms above. Then I found DIM! (Ha, this sounds like an ad, but I promise it isn't.) It has been a miracle for me and these symptoms. DIM is derived from broccoli, so I don't feel like I am putting (too many) chemicals into my body. Either way, the benefits for me are worth it! I take DIM every day and it has helped to eliminate my hormonal acne and the hormonal anxiety. I still get rough cramps, but only maybe once a month now...and I'm not quite sure why that is. Unfortunately, after taking the DIM for a handful of years now, I have realized that if I stop taking it for a few days the hormonal acne and anxiety come back. So it is something I am committed to taking all the time. I take this brand of DIM that I found on amazon and it works well. Through the years, I've read that it is also good to take something called Calcium D-Glucarate along with the DIM, so I do that now too. If you try this a forewarning though, it will turn your pee bright orange. I was shocked the first few times this happened. This is due to something with the liver detoxing when you take the calcium d-glucarate. I take these supplements at night and usually only my first pee in the morning is orange, then it is back to normal for the rest of the day. Anyway, this is what has helped me and I hope this may be helpful to you too.
I quit BC in June and experienced the craziest symptoms buthings seem to be pretty normal now at 4 months later. It feels great not having the extra hormones.
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