I Went Off Birth Control Pills for the First Time in a Decade, and Here's What Happened in the First Month. Last month, I made a somewhat drastic decision about my body that was motivated primarily by laziness. I didn’t have any more refills for my birth control pill, and I was like, “Ehhhhhhh. Don’t wanna deal. Won’t deal.” After so many years of inconvenient trips to the pharmacy and calls to my doctor, this was, apparently, the last straw. Plus, for the past year or so, I’d been having a very regular internal dialogue about whether or not to stay on the pill. I’m sure a lot of you know what I’m talking about: Should I stop taking it? I’ll keep taking it. But is it bad to still be on it? I’ll just keep taking it. But should I stop though..? My apathy led me to the conclusion I’d been slowly edging toward: I wanted to see what would happen when I stopped taking the pill. I’ve been taking these little guys for 1. Suggestions for Weight Gain With Cymbalta If you are taking Cymbalta and weight gain becomes a problem, talk to your healthcare provider. He or she will do a physical. Progesterone-Only Oral Contraceptives What are Mini-Pills? Mini-Pills are progesterone-only birth control pills. Mini-Pills come in packs of 28 pills and one is taken. New research shows that maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut can prevent weight gain and metabolic problems like diabetes. Detox Tea Private Label In The Us Weight Loss 30 Days Diet Soda And Weight Loss detox.for.weight.loss.and.energy Pure Weight Loss La Weight Loss Mishawaka In Weight. Ten years is a long time! Flash back with me, if you will, to the charming year of 2. It’s my sophomore year of high school. I am wearing a nightmare ensemble featuring a peasant shirt and bright green high top Converse, probably. I am 1. 5, and I have a boyfriend (with a red mohawk) but haven’t had sex yet. My doctor put me on the pill because I was A) Really skinny. I Went Off Birth Control Pills for the First Time in a Decade, and Here's What Happened in the First Month. Both weight gain and weight loss are reported side effects of amitriptyline. However, previous clinical studies have not reported how commonly weight gain occurs in. Menopause is defined as the absence of menstrual periods for 12 months. It is the time in a woman's life when the function of the ovaries ceases. Both weight loss and weight gain can be symptoms of depression, so talk to your doctor about any change in your weight. Do not stop taking. B) Not getting my period regularly (which was a result of A, she thought), C) Rocking some seriously angry acne on my face and body. When my period would show up every six months or so, it was extremely rude and soul- crushing. It was absurd amounts of blood and horrendous cramps. It lasted much longer than a week and made me dread going to school. The whole idea was: birth control was going to fix all this stuff. And it did! It worked great. I was one of the lucky ones who never needed to switch brands because everything became very normal and stayed that way from the get- go. Over time it soothed my acne, gave me regular periods, helped me gain weight (read: BOOBS FINALLY) and also - - MAJOR BONUS!! Birth control pills were my friends. Until they weren’t. We’re back in present day, I just want to binge- watch all the . The nurse said, “Cool. ALSO DO NOT FORGET TO USE CONDOMS!!!!!” Condoms aren’t that much of a nuisance to me and I think they are just. My boyfriend feels the same, so that aspect of this choice was filed under No Big Deal. Step two was GOOGLING. I googled “what to expect when you go off the pill” and many permutations thereof. It was calming and helpful to pore through the comments sections of different articles and read about different women’s experiences. I started to think of the next four weeks as a tiny personal science experiment, and became really amped up about learning more about my body. Because, again, for basically as long as I’ve been a sexual being, I’ve been on birth control. What’s gonna HAPPEN!, ya know? For the most part, Week One was uneventful, with one very notable and fantastic exception. Within a couple days, my libido came back in FULL FORCE. It had been on hiatus for a while, apparently. In retrospect, the libido- sucking aspect of the pill happened in slow motion, to the point that I hadn’t even really noticed it was missing or that anything was different, which is kind of horrifying. I chalked up any relative lack of desire to being older and having been in a relationship for four years. However, once I stopped taking the pills, I was starting to actively crave sex with much more frequency. Happy to have this crucial part of my humanity back in action, I continued on to Week Two. Week Two. Exactly one week after going off the pills, I had terrible, terrible cramps late that night into early that morning. Popped two Ibuprofen from my angel roommate, headed out the door and felt fine throughout the day. But the cramps felt SUSPICIOUSLY just like my PMS cramps I'd get the week/few days leading up to my period. I used the Internet and found out about Mittelschmerz - - that’s the name for cramps that come in the middle of your cycle, about 1. Could have been that? Because my body was confused? Could it have been the past- its- prime onion I put in my chili? Who can say? Not me, I got a C in high school biology. JUST SELF- REPORTING, dudes. During this week, I over- analyzed every tiny thing that happened in the realm of my body and mind that was even slightly different than normal and attributed it to going off the pill. Here’s that list. IT’S THE NO BIRTH CONTROL THING! DEFINITELY BECAUSE I STOPPED THE PILL! LACK OF PILL! HOT FLASHES BECAUSE NO MORE BIRTH CONTROL! I’m pretty sure none of the above had anything to do with my pill- less lifestyle, buuuut then again, who knows. I am feeling very clenched- teeth emoji about this. For the past few years, my skin has been really clear and nice and I just wash it with water and we get along great. So when I started noticing more and more pimples pop up on my chin and around my hairline, I was not pleased. I’m even noticing it on my back and chest, which is officially Not Cool. I didn’t think I’d care this much about the acne returning - - I had read that it was a common symptom, but didn’t freak out about it. Once it started happening, though, I felt betrayed by my body. Week 4. I made this note at the beginning of the week: It's like the calm before the storm over here.. I, uh, got two new pimples on my forehead that are small? But otherwise.. I feel really balanced and haven't felt any different physically. And at the end of the week, on Saturday, I GOT MY PERIOD! I really didn’t think that was going to happen. And, what’s more, it was a normal period in most senses. I actually had fewer cramps, and it was lighter and shorter than usual. I dodged the going- off- birth- control bullet of going right back to whatever put you on the pill in the first place (in my case: HELL PERIODS that took their sweet time). I’m not sure what will happen this coming month, but I was very pleasantly surprised that I had a fully average period my first month off the pill. So, here’s where I’m at: I’ve got one major pro, which is my sex drive’s rise from the dead, and one major con, which is my newfound acne woes. And, as much as I can certainly tolerate a condom every now and again, I’m not sure how sustainable they are as a long term birth control method. Plus, I'm interested in trying something that doesn't require a daily task. And so, drumroll please, I’m going to go ahead and play hormonal birth control roulette and get an IUD. With any luck, the pimples’ll retreat but the libido will hang out. Ultimately, I loved having a reason to really listen and tune into my body. It was exciting to see how this daily pill had been changing me and find out how my body functions without it. What about you guys? Anyone go off the pill recently, or think about doing it? What were your experiences? Any IUD fans out there? I’m really fired up about some insurance companies still not paying for birth control years after the Affordable Care Act was passed. If you are too, you can sign Planned Parenthood’s petition here.
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