Hey, hey everybody! I’m coming at you today with a post all about my experience with birth control. I feel like this is another topic that we don’t talk about enough, and we should! Birth control is serious, and it is our responsibility as women to be knowledgeable about the medications we put in our bodies.

I began taking birth control a few months before our wedding. My OBGYN and I wanted my body to get used to it and have it in my system before I actually began needing it. I tried a drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol combination birth control first. This birth control has both estrogen and progestin. This was a touchy thing for me because it could either make my migraines worse or better- no real in between. My OBGYN only gave me four days of a placebo each month in a hopes that it would keep my hormones a little more balanced.

For the first two months of being on BC, I had a lot of spotting. It wasn’t as heavy as it was frequent, and it was more of an annoyance than anything. The major thing I noticed was more painful periods and more migraines. I continued to take it for longer than I should have and finally switched to a different one in November.

I finally called my OBGYN and told her my migraines had been worse, and that I thought it might be because of the birth control. She agreed and sent in a new script for Microgestin. From what I understand, this BC is still a combination BC but the hormone amount is supposed to be smaller. I took this for about two months and didn’t see a difference in how I was feeling so I stopped all together.

When I started my first birth control, I stopped the metformin I was taking. If you want to read about why I was on metformin, you can read about it here! I felt so much better getting off the metformin. My daily nausea was gone, and I didn’t have as many spikes and drops in my blood sugar throughout the day. I was very happy to be off it.

My periods were much more painful and intense when I was on metformin and BC. When I stopped the metformin, they continued to be painful as long as I was on the BC. When I stopped my birth control all together in December of 2019 after being on some form for the last 10 months, my body was MUCH happier. My painful periods were gone. My periods came naturally, and my migraines started to ease up. I have still had a rough time with my migraines this year, but there are other reasons for that.

Another reason a lot of women get on birth control is because of acne. I get it, but to me it’s not worth it. I did have an increase in break outs for the first couple of months of being off my BC. However, there are other ways to treat acne! My diet is a HUGE trigger for my acne and finding the proper skin care routine has changed my life. Washing off my face as soon as I am done working out and drinking plenty of water every day is vital for me. My skin calmed down after my hormones evened back out after a few months of no BC, and my skin is now the best it has been in years!

I am still debating on if I will ever get back on some form of birth control. If I do anything, I think I will try an IUD next. I like that IUDs are not as systemic as other forms of birth control, and that I don’t have to remember to take a pill or go in for a shot. I also did some research on Natural Cycles, and while it sounds amazing, I don’t feel like it is a very reliable form of birth control. I think it would be great for staying in tune with my body and in adjunct with another form of contraception, but not by itself.

There are so many options for birth control. A lot of women do really well with combination birth control pills while I don’t. Everybody is different! I have heard great things about IUDS from some women and horror stories from others. Some women swear by the depo shots while some love the NuvaRing. One of my favorite resources is linked here for all things birth control. The point is that we are all SO different, and we have to do our research for ourselves. Sometimes we have to try a few things before we find what is going to work best for us personally while some women find something that works right off the bat.

YOU are your biggest advocate. Ask questions, monitor how you feel, talk to your doctor about your feelings. Don’t be afraid to stick up for yourself. Your healthcare provider can’t help you if you don’t reach out. Let’s continue to make this a female friendly world and support each other. Sharing these experiences is so healing and helpful. I hope this helps! ❤

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