#birthcontrolstories

[themidwifeisin]

Submission from @tehhufflepuffinquisitor:

My name is Akym and I love my birth control.

I was on the patch for about 9 years, which worked for the most part (I became pregnant and miscarried at 19), and I now have the Paragaurd IUD. I always feel a little in the minority. I see the posts that say people with uteruses go on BC because they have debilitating periods or horrible symptoms, and honestly, I’m on it because I enjoy sex with my husband and I am NOT ready for kids.

But I switched from the patch to Paragaurd because I wanted a non-hormonal form of birth control, so when we are ready to start trying, I won’t have to also deal with my system readjusting to the hormones. I also want to throw out there that apart from my initial appointment my mother made for me when I was 14, all my BC related appointments through Planned Parenthood. They are consistently amazing, considerate, and patient-first!

The paragard is such a GREAT method of non-hormonal birth control - if that’s your priority, check it out!  12 years of incredible, worry-free, non-hormonal birth control?  Sign me up!

[themidwifeisin]

Anonymous submission:

I’m 16 and I have been on the pill for 4 months as I am sexually active and because I had hormonal acne I didn’t want to deal with. I have been late some days with taking it, but luckily I have yet to have a pregnancy scare. My parents do not know I’m on the pill (my mum wouldn’t let me go on it when I was younger for my acne). I went to see my doctor after having sex with my boyfriend one time and the condom broke. (I still use condoms but the pill is for reassurance) My doctor assured me that the only way my parents would find out is if they saw me taking the pill or if I told them. I’m thankful that I can take care of my sexual health without concerning my parents.

It’s great to be able to take care of your sexual health on your own terms and without the interference of others who love you but may not be aware of exactly how to help you the most.  Good for you for getting yourself covered!!!

[themidwifeisin]

Anonymous submission:

I started taking Ortho-Tricyclen when I was 18. I had extremely irregular periods‒it would come randomly and stay for 4-9 days. Some months it didn’t come at all. PMS was bad and I was usually a weepy, cramping mess (think crying at Hallmark commercials while curled up on a heating pad.) I also had terrible hormonal acne for years that just would NOT go away despite seeing 3 different dermatologists and trying more skin medications than I can remember. I also have PCOS. My gyno put me on the Ortho pill and within weeks the ugly, painful acne was gone and as a bonus, my periods were finally regular for the first time ever! It was AMAZING. No more insane PMS and bad pain. She switched me to the OT lo dosage to see if my body would still respond to the smaller dose of hormones. All good. My hormonal acne still stayed away and everything stayed regular. I f*cking love it. I know now what days I’ll be bleeding come July of next year. I still have mild PMS symptoms but I know consistently what to expect and my periods only last about 4 days. I love my birth control! <3

You love your birth control, and I love this kind of enthusiasm!!!!!!  Birth control can make peoples lives SO MUCH BETTER!  <3 <3 <3

[themidwifeisin]

Submission from @dxlyaxe:

No Selfie, but! I love my IUD! I started on a lose dose pill when I went to college because my periods were very infrequent and painful (plus I had a boyfriend). My acne cleared up and I was so happy to have a normal cycle! Fast forward a few years, the boyfriend because a fiance and I was getting married. Of course, when I counted out the weeks I was going to be on my period the weekend of my wedding. In addition, I really really don’t want to get pregnant and decided to go with an IUD. I was hoping for Skyla, but Mirena was all that my insurance covered, so Mirena it was. My mom was a bit hesitant, but she trusted me and went with me to get it inserted. It was pretty painful, but after about three days, and a lot of walking, I was feeling a lot better. It took a while for the bleeding/spotting to stop, but I haven’t had a period in several months now, including during my wedding! As I get older, taking care of my reproductive health has been gotten more important to me! 

It’s so nice to be able to rely on a method that you know will help you avoid having your period when you don’t want it!  The beauty of the modern day :)

[themidwifeisin]

Submission from @wonderling:

I love FAM :) I was on and off the HBC pill when I travelled, but I hated how it made me feel. I also get migranes with an aura, so my doctor told me i shouldn’t be on the pill really. It was a shock, but as I wasn’t sexually active, I didn’t need a solution right away. Then I heard about FAM and I loved the idea. I got married a year ago, and my husband and I started using FAM. No regrets! I don’t have to mess with my hormones, I have a great sex drive, we have have unprotected sex and I feel so in control! I read Tcoyf (taking Charge of your Fertility by Toni Weschler) cover to cover, I use kindara and I’m a member of many groups on Facebook, so there is lots of support. we use protection in my fertile tines. We don’t practice NFP, so no abstaining ;)Don’t be scared to bin hormonal birth control!

Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) can be a perfect option for tons of folks who aren't ready for kids and aren’t interested in birth control!  You learn so much about yourself!!

[themidwifeisin]

Submission from @plumtezuka:

hi!! im Taylor and I’ve been taking minastrin for about two years now (since I was 16)!

I love it because before I started using it I had awful, painful periods that came seemingly at random, but now they’re much lighter, more regular, and way less painful!!

Minastrin is a combined birth control (estrogen and progesterone) with very low levels of hormones and a structure that makes periods shorter.  I’m so glad you love it!  It’s awesome to have light, regular, less-painful periods!!

[themidwifeisin]

Submission from @justalittlebentnotbroken:

I’ve been on birth control of some sort since I was about 16 or 17. I wasn’t sexually active with men at that time but my periods were absolutely horrible…to the point that I couldn’t get out of bed because of my cramps and I would bleed for 2 weeks out of the month. I was taking the pill because since I wasn’t with guys, there was no chance of getting pregnant. It was great…I didn’t have a period at all and don’t really remember any side effects.

After a bit if an identity crisis around 23, I decided the pill wasn’t working for me. I’d forget to take it sometimes and getting pregnant wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. I started on the Depo shot and I have loved it ever since. It’s easy…I don’t have to remember to take a pill everyday, it’s just more convenient for my life. I know a lot of people have had issues and awful side effects from the shot but I’ve been lucky and don’t feel like I have had to deal with anything unbearable. 

I’ve always had acne, I’ve always had headaches and I’ve always been overweight. I have gained weight since I started the depo but I had some lifestyle changes at that time too so I can’t 100% blame it on the shot. 

I needed something that I didn’t want to deal with daily and the idea of an IUD honestly kind of freaks me out. It has been over 2 years now so after talking with @themidwifeisin, I am going to talk to my doctor about whether or not I should switch to something different but for now the shot works for me!

Yes!  It’s so hard to find the right method sometimes, but we all have things that we’re willing to deal with for the sake of effective, reliable birth control methods.  Gaining weight is not a horrible thing!  Feeling like you’re definitely covered no matter what is worth it!

[themidwifeisin]

Birth control story submission from last weekend!

“Hey! I started birth control shortly after I first started getting my period. I'm lucky in that I have unusually painful, heavy, and long periods (full 7 days everytime). Two years ago I had two ovarian cysts removed but my periods went back to being terrible after a year even though there are no new cysts. My gyno told me to just keep taking the pill until I have break-through bleeding. So even though my period is unusually painful for reasons even investigative surgery can't elucidate thanks to the pill I get experience it very minimally.”

Yes!  Do the things you need to do to make your period manageable!  Cysts suck!