Can we get a little personal over here today? I think it's important to talk about issues that affect women with your girlfriends, so why not here? I've been on the contraceptive pill for a long time now and I think it's time to start thinking about some alternatives. Doctors have told me lots of different things about how long you should be on what we call the combined oral contraceptive pill in the UK before you should take a break - some have advised no more than 6 years, others have told me 10 is fine, and I'm sitting somewhere in the middle.
Aside from the fact that I've been taking it for basically my whole adult life and it's probably time to give my body a little breather, I also recently remembered reading an article about how women thinking about getting married should go off the pill and rebalance their hormones as it could affect how they feel about their partner!! While I'm not getting married anytime soon, and I'm sure I would feel the same about my boyfriend on or off the pill, it's certainly very telling that a study is saying the pill could affect your hormones so much that it might impact major life decisions.
I've really only had good experiences on my pill, Ovranette, and it has really helped some of the problems that I first started using it for, but lately I just have this feeling I am not quite myself. I'm feeling antsy for no reason, suffering quite badly with bouts of anxiety and generally feeling lethargic and not really up to it, if you know what I mean. It really could be nothing to do with the pill, seeing as I've been using it for such a long time without any side effects whatsoever, but you never know; as your body grows and changes, I would assume your hormone levels change too, and something that worked 5 years ago might not always work for you now.
Other options include the injection, the implant, the patch, the coil and so forth, but all of them still entail controlling your hormones, and some of them release chemicals into your body at much more alarming levels since you don't take them every day like you do with the pill. I'm also terrified to go off the pill and go back to the unbearably long, painful periods I used to have.
So if you are happy to share, then I'd love to know what you do and what works for you. Have you had negative experiences with any of the methods I've mentioned or have you tried something I haven't? If you don't want to talk about it, perhaps you could leave an anonymous comment, but really I'm curious to know what you girls are using too.
Love this post Catherine, you write so well! I think I've told you this in 'real life' anyway, but... I came off the pill aged 25 (5 years ago) having been on it for ten years. I had the odd break, but I got such painful periods that I went back on it again. The reason I stopped at 25 is because I started getting bad side effects as I kept forgetting to take it, and if I missed a day or two and then took one it would make me vomit. I decided to stop altogether, and get used to how my body behaved without taking the pill. I can't say I was 100% careful about replacing it with another birth control method, but I was in a long term relationship (that I'm still in) and felt it was the right decision for me. It did leave me with horrible, painful periods that floor me for two days every month which I don't love (I haven't been to the doctors about this, but I wonder if there is something they can offer you for this that isn't the pill?). I also wasn't crazy about any of the other invasive methods like the coil, implant etc but almost all of my friends use one of those. It just wasn't for me. Perhaps give yourself a break from it for 6 months and see how you feel? x
ReplyDeleteThanks Siobhan - that makes me feel a lot better. Periods are no fun! I think I'm going to come off it after Christmas and see what happens.
DeleteI was having the same conversation with myself about two years ago - I just didn't feel like myself but couldn't put my finger on it. Antsy and moody, and then really really down for no reason at all. It was never for long which almost made it stranger - an hour or two every few days. Anyway, after humming and hawing for a few months I decided to steer clear of hormones and see how I felt. I took two months off the pill and felt so much better, and then decided to go for the copper coil. I had it for about a year and a half until it expelled (sorry, no other way to say it!) My doctors don't know why but a small number of women do have that issue so they weren't concerned and were happy to give me another one. In the end I didn't want to worry about it happening again so decided not to, and while I'd love to ultimately use a totally natural method, it's not practical for us at this stage so I keep track of my cycle as much as I can while also using condoms. My main worry was that the very painful periods I had as a teenager would come back, but it hasn't been that way at all. I had been on the pill since I was 16 so I can only assume my body changed considerably over that time, and they naturally got lighter. All this is to say in a very roundabout way that if you're not feeling right then I would definitely recommend taking a few months off and seeing how you feel. After having a few conversations with friends I felt a lot better about my decision than talking with my doctor who seemed to think I was a bit mad for stopping altogether, so it's great to see posts like this - thanks for starting the conversation!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! Yours seems like a really similar situation to mine - really glad you shared, it makes me feel a lot better x
DeleteSo glad to hear that lovely, seeing all the other comments makes me wonder why we're so reticent to talk about things like this in the first place! Really hope they all give you food for thought and help you feel less anxious about whatever you decide.
DeleteI think I'm a bit older than the other commenters - I'm 42. I've been back on the Pill (very light dose) for a few years now to control heavy periods that lasted for over 30 days! The Pill has been an absolute godsend in that regard - I really couldn't live properly with the way my periods were, so I'm so grateful I have it. I don't need it for birth control and I admit I would prefer to be without the hormones...but the alternative is so terrible in my case that I live with the hormones. Eventually the doctors may want to take me off it as I get older, but until that day I will carry on. The other thing my doctors suggested was the Mirena coil; I wasn't keen but maybe that will work for you? Still involves hormones, but apparently as it's internal you don't have the same sort of emotional side effects. I don't know why that would be but that's what my doctor told me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment - oh my gosh, poor you! I'm glad the pill is working for you. It's been a dream for me up until now.
DeleteWhat a brilliant post! Literally have just come off my pill (cerazette) a few weeks ago. Exactly the same problems, made me angsty, moody and down. It also gave me really sore boobs. Now that I'm off it (I know it's still early days), boob pain has gone and already feeling much happier. Trying to decide on a new method is tricky though. At the moment I'm thinking about th copper coil, as I don't fancy pumping more hormones into my body. But not sure how I feel about the coil either!! I wish we just had a switch "don't want to get pregnant" or something, haha!
ReplyDeleteLouise :)
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YES! Someone needs to create that switch! Loving your blog, thanks for commenting xx
DeleteI took the pill for around 5 years, but I never liked how it made me felt. I went off of it a year or two ago and now I just use condoms, but I don't have a boyfriend so I would do that anyhow! I personally feel a lot better not taking it.
ReplyDeleteCOOCOO FOR COCO
This is something I really feel we should all be talking about more - like you I've been on the pill for a very long time and I'm not entirely sure about how good it can be for me in the long run. That said, I just don't really feel comfortable with any of the alternatives. I did try the implant for two years, and while it was great not having to remember to take anything, it definitely knocked me out on the hormones front, to the point where I had it taken out a year early. *Sigh*. No solutions here, just sympathy on the same problems!
ReplyDeleteLove this post Catherine. I love talking about this stuff. I need to come off mine too but I don't like the sound of any alternatives. And it's SO nice having regular periods that start on the same day each month. Interested to hear how you feel after coming off it for a while x
ReplyDeleteFeel weird talking about this stuff online but like you say we really should. I have never been on the pill as I didn't want to put all those extra hormones in my body. We use condoms and I celebrate (not literally) when my period comes each month! Having no experience of 'inputted' hormones I would definitely say your system does naturally change. I've never been 'like clockwork' but can tell when my period is coming but some 'symptoms' have changed over time. Definitely affected by diet and the weight I am at too. Hope you find some insight and feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThis has sparked quite the discussion - it's something that obviously myself and others feel strongly about.
ReplyDeleteI started taking the pill at 18, and to be honest, it never really sat well with me, the three month 'bedding in period' excuse the pun(s) was awful, my moods were horrendous and I was not myself at all. It calmed down for the next three years but to be honest, looking back I never really felt like myself (which is a long time to be affected by something), but I never put two and two together.
When I moved to London at 21, my local doctors didn't supply Yasemin (which had served me well or so I thought and got rid of my mild acne) so I was moved on to the starter pill for three months to see how I would get on. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement, I was the worst to be around, irrational, irritable, angry just eurgh all the bads.
So I took the decision to come off the pill and move onto the implant which was the best decision I ever made. I feel normal again, I feel chilled and relaxed like I knew I always was. The implant for me has been the best option. I used to have really bad hormones and periods before the pill but this has been the best solution by far, and I don't need to think about it for another 2 years.
Reading through the comments it's clear that what may work for one person may not for another but I guess it's all just trial and error. x
Thanks Ala! It's nice to read about someone who has good things to say about the implant! xx
DeleteI've been on the Pill about five years now but about a year or so ago, I started experiencing really horrible mood swings around the end of each packet and that basically hasn't stopped up til now, which is horrible for everyone around me really... I've been on Marvelon the whole time with one tiny interlude of Yasmin when Marvelon stocks were low (ha), so am not really sure what's changed. My doctors have recommended trying other forms of contraception like the injection, but like you say, it seems that all the other methods (apart from condoms) entail scary amounts of hormones as well as various side effects, and if you're planning to have a family at any point you have to make sure to come off the injection 2 years beforehand. Which method would you consider for when you come off the Pill?
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why I'm not keen to come off the Pill is that I used to have terrible skin and the Pill really helped clear it up...worried that if I stop I'll go back to having teenage skin! Argh! Wish men knew the pains we go through to regulate our periods and contraception! x
fab post. I've been on it for 6 years (i think) and despite having bad headaches the first few months they eased off. I've been noticing headaches more recently on my pill free week and I'm not sure what to do. I'm scared to tell my doctor because I'm worried about having a terrible time with another pill when this one has been fine. And I also have my mum telling me she used to get headaches down the side of her face at my age for years too, so part of me is telling me it isn't the pill.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of the patch or the Nuva ring? The patch is like a nicotine patch, you change it weekly for three, then have a week off. and the Nuva ring is a hormonal ring you put inside the vagina. I can't remember if you change that weekly also, or even leave it for three!
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