Most of us are familiar with the side effects ofstartinghormonal birth control.
Of course, every woman’s body handles hormones differently.
But it’s still helpful to know what you might encounter when you say goodbye to birth control.
My body forgot how to have a period.
“I was on NuvaRing, a vaginal ring that releases hormones, for two years.
For the next six months I had seemingly normal periods.
But then my monthly bleeding stoppedcompletelyfrom January 2015 until June.
Turns out my body forgot how to have a normal period!
The bleeding Id experienced before was just hormone withdrawal.
Rebekah, 29, Philadelphia, PA
2.
I felt more in tune with my body.
“I spent the better part of my teen and adult years on birth control pills.
But at 27 I stopped taking them, as I was ready to have children.
I was so surprised by what happened.
While I saw some physical changes, the biggest response was what I experienced emotionally.
Essentially, ingesting something that controlled my natural bio rhythms was not in my best good.
Shira, 40s, South Salem, NY
3.
My skin went crazy.
After 10 years on it, my skin was flawless and I very rarely had a breakout.
It tookninemonths for my menstrual cycle to return and once it did, my skin went crazy!
Cystic acne began to appear all over my face and neck.
Then it traveled down to my chest and shoulders.
I struggled to even leave my house it was that bad.
It took a good two years ofdiet changes and healing from withinto see my acne finally diminish.”
Carly, 27, Australia
4.
My migraines went away.
It got to a point where I was having three to five per week.
Later, I decided to go off the Pill simply because I wanted to live cleaner.
As soon as I stopped, all of my headaches went away.
I’ve had maybe two migraines since, and it’s been decades.
I wish someone would have considered that the migraines were a side effect of my birth control.”
Kathy, 45, Santa Barbara, CA
5.
My breasts became extremely painful.
“I was on the Depo-Provera shot for close to eight years.
At first, everything seemed fine.
Julie, 27, West Des Moines, IA
6.
My sex drive skyrocketed.
“I’ve been on the Pill for 12 years since I was 15.
Previously, my birth control had completely killed my sex drive.
It was to the point where Irarelythought about sex, or had any kind of urge.
When I stopped taking pills for that month, I experienced all kinds of symptoms.
But what wasextremelynoticeable was that my libido instantly increased.
Safe to say it was a major change one my boyfriend was very happy with.”
Lydia, 27, Las Vegas, NV
7.
I quickly lost 20 pounds.
“I started taking hormonal birth control at 14, due to extreme irregularity.
But right after I stopped, I completely lost my appetite.
All I could do was graze on ‘sick food’ like chicken soup and mild fruits.
In just over a month, I lost 20 pounds.
Still, my melasma stayed the same.”
Lauren, 32, Malibu, CA
8.
I developed night sweats.
I just went off the Pill three months ago, so my body is still adjusting.
So far, I still haven’t gotten my period back.
It felt like going through menopause!
Lisa, 30, New York City
9.
I felt more emotionally stable.
“After being on the Pill for ten years, I recently stopped taking it.
So far, I already feel definitely, considerably more level.
Christina, 28, San Francisco
