My Struggle with Birth Control

I was put on birth control at the age of 15 to help combat the debilitating cycles I was experiencing. My mom was against the idea and tried to find other ways to manage my problems but struggled with where to look or who to turn to. She finally agreed to the pill to see if it would help me. And they did, for several years.

Suddenly after almost 7 years of varying types of birth control, my body started to react to the hormones in them. I began having night sweats, insomnia, hair loss, weight fluctuations, debilitating exhaustion, nausea, and headaches. It took about 4 months for anyone to realize it was the birth control because I had been on that one for over 2 years at that point.

Almost as soon as I stopped it, everything cleared back up. We let my body rest for a little while and switched to another form. Ultimately, we wanted me to try an IUD but I had to try the injection one before my insurance would cover it. The first injection was fine and I had no problems. The medication stays in your system for about 3 months before you can do any other kind of birth control or take the next dose of injection. My insurance wanted 2 injections done, and fail, before moving on. I began having major problems the week they gave me the second injection. The symptoms I had experienced before came back plus a huge weight gain, severe nosebleeds, and horrible mood swings. I did not feel like ME.

I was dating my now husband at the time and the whole situation put a serious strain on our relationship. Thankfully, he knew what was causing the problems and helped me work them out until the medication left my system. It was a long and hard 3 months, but even after that I still wasn’t completely back to myself for a while.

As soon as I was able to, I got the IUD and had no problem for almost 2 years. I felt amazing again and was able to lose the weight I had rapidly gained.  Until I suddenly began having sharp pains in my sides. They determined the IUD was still in the correct place and couldn’t figure out why I was having the severe pains. We pulled it out and the pain went away soon after. I haven’t been on birth control since. I had it removed about 4.5 months after I got married. We decided if we got pregnant then, we would be happy! We weren’t trying, but we weren’t preventing it any longer.

When we did begin actually trying, I learned about the wonderful world of charting for your fertility. It can be used for getting pregnant or not. I highly recommend these methods for anyone who struggles with birth control and wanting to eliminate the hormones and chemical build up they can bring.

Sign up here for my next webinar on Charting for your Fertility. 

Let me know if you have any questions about these methods, I love to talk about them! Everyone’s situation is different and unique. If you have questions or concerns about your birth control, send me a note.

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