The Toll of Birth Control

Women all over the world have to deal with their changing bodies, periods, cramps and bleeding once a month.  That’s if they are lucky.  I would conservatively guess that the majority of women who have used any form of birth control have had a negative experience with it.  The toll that it takes on our bodies is a heavy price to pay for trying to practice safe sex, make financially responsible decisions, balance hormones, or clear our skin (because actually it’s no-one’s business but our own as to why we are on birth control).

I belong to a Facebook group for women in the area that I live in, it’s an ideal group for asking for advice, getting support or having a vent (another reason why women are so great).  I noticed a post by someone asking for advice on a particular method of birth control that she was considering, and was horrified that every woman on there had endured really terrible side effects from birth control.  The following women reached out to me after I asked if anyone would be willing to share their stories. They are here so that we can all be aware of what others are going through, can learn from their experiences, and can possibly help someone else who might be going through it to not feel so alone.

Danielle:  So my "story" begins with not having real insurance as a teenager. We had Medicaid and had to go to this overly populated clinic. A very old doctor and his son who is also a doctor ran it. I remember a time when the older man prescribed worm medication because I talked about pain in my lower area (I have endometriosis, I later found out). It was the type of place where they only spend a minute with you and hand you whatever. Well, being on birth control, I had no side effects and I also didn’t even know it was a shot until they got down to it (Depo-Provera). The nurse injected it twice. Bear in mind that at the time I was barely 16, underweight, and a vegetarian. I lived off of salad basically. In this time I became severely lethargic. I didn’t even feel the need to eat or drink, and if I did it would be a bite and I’d be done for a long while. I slept all day and night. I believe it was a fast forward of maybe 5 months and heavy, heavy bleeding constantly. My throat lymph nodes began to swell and I wasn't able to turn my head in either direction. At the hospital, they found my white blood cells in my urine, a lot of them. They questioned leukaemia. Needing better treatment I was rushed via ambulance to a mobile all-women’s and children's clinic (at maybe around 3 or 4 am). I got a room set up and had two IVs. I needed a blood transfusion. My blood count was, I believe, a 2 or 3 (I know it was very low). I still didn’t want to eat but was forced to. My veins were popping out in some places. Tests and tests for what felt like forever. Then the doctor cleared the room and said, "Is there any chance you could've been pregnant at the time of the Depo injection?" At the time, I was living in a very unstable environment. I had my first boyfriend. I was too afraid to say it was possible, and too afraid to get help. I was also physically drained and couldn't think clearly and just wanted to curl up and sleep and rip out my IVs. Also realizing, after more tests that same nurse mentioned that the injection could have permanent effects on my body and affect my fertility. 

Currently, ever since then I've had more miscarriages. I can't have kids. My older sister with the shared endometriosis had her first child. Now I'm at a point where I can get results with clinics. But even to this day any doctor related place that I visit results in me shaking and sweating heavily, and panicking. It was a nightmare feeling like the dead weight I was because of the depo. I am currently in the process of starting birth control again, for that I need to get my records from the hospitals and work with specialists to see what went wrong and how we can avoid it this time around. I only want birth control to help the painful periods but it's all very scary because of what happened to me, and at such a young age.

Katie: I was on the pill for years, and decided to try the Depo shot. I got my first shot and bled every day for the next three months. The doctor said that my body was just getting used to the switch and to give it time. After getting my second, third, and fourth shot I had bled every day for 1 year. Not just spotting, full-on bleeding, every single day. So I went back to the pill and all was well again. About 2 years later I decided to try the Nexplanon implant in my arm because it lasts for 5 years and IUDs aren't recommended for women who haven't had children. After 9 months of bleeding every day, I got it removed and went back to the pill. Every year or so I have to switch pills to a stronger dose or I will sporadically bleed throughout my pill cycle when I'm not supposed to.
What is the point of birth control if you can't even be intimate with your partner due to bleeding all day, every day?!
Anyways, that’s my saga. I'll probably be on the pill forever.

Stacey: In brief, I kept getting swapped around on the contraceptive pill I was on (combined) and told I could just continue taking my pill no problem. I ended up getting unexpectedly pregnant due to this. I was told later by different doctors that it was probably because certain ones were cheaper and they had to keep to a quota in the UK.
Recently I was swapped from the combined pill to the mini pill (progesterone only), apparently due to my age I had to, and they said I was at a high risk of having a stroke from the migraines I was having; migraines with aura. I actually ended up being diagnosed at the hospital ER after having non-epileptic seizures. I was out of work for four weeks and then lost my job due to being off work sick.  Since then I’ve had an ovarian cyst which was scary for me, being in pain, being submitted for extra pap smears and stuff which was not a nice experience; and the pain I was in, worrying if it would burst. Then to be told I have fibroids which I was worried sick could be cancerous and prevent me from having children. Then, I was told I ‘probably’ have endometriosis- which means I’ll have a lifetime of pain, need to remain on the pill with all its side effects and extra cancer/stroke/DVT risks, and I was told that they want to put me back on the combined pill because apparently the mini pill probably caused this.
It’s just an endless circle and I’m still in pain.  I had to have more Pap smear tests, more internal ultrasounds and fingers in places I don’t want. Too many strangers have seen my bits, it’s so uncomfortable and embarrassing. I’m still worried it’s going to affect my fertility. They told me 60-70% of women like me still get pregnant in the first year. Year?! I want three.....I’m 32 and since when is 60-70% good odds. I can’t afford IVF. All of this because I tried to do the right thing and take contraceptive pills to prevent getting pregnant when I wasn’t in the right relationship, had the finances, or just simply wasn’t ready for kids. I only met my husband a year ago, he’s the only man I want to have kids with, or have ever wanted to have kids with.
Women are punished for having sex and this is one of the ways. Why don’t they make a male contraceptive pill? After all, most of the issues are with the sperm, and the pills are often used to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg in the first place.
I don’t recommend any pills that prevent ovulation! My body is so messed up now. The endometriosis is in my uterus bowel and bladder and I’m 32 with no children yet.

I was told to consider having kids sooner rather than later, one year into my marriage... we wanted time for ourselves but thanks to all of these side effects that choice was taken out of our hands.

Madison: When I was 15 I began Depo-Provera. I received the injections for approximately one year.  After the first injection, the following week I experienced constant anxiety, I couldn’t sleep, and I became sick to my stomach. This cleared up after the first 7 days and I continued on with my daily life. Before the next injection, I had lost 10 pounds and my hair became frail. I continued with the injections as my doctor assured me that my body would adjust accordingly. One week before the second injection I began spotting. This incident of spotting lasted for 6 weeks continuously. The same thing happened after the second injection, 7 days of constant anxiety, shakiness, insomnia, and so forth. Then came the spotting, this time it lasted for 8 weeks. The third injection came, the same 7 day cycle of pure hell. At the last and final injection I informed the physician that this would be my last one, and I wanted to try the pill next. At this time, I had lost 30 pounds over the course of the year and a large chunk of my hair from the back of my head, and the rest of my hair was very thin and damaged. I was a walking skeleton. My first period after the last injection put me in the hospital due to excessive bleeding. I knew that it was NOT normal to not have a period for an entire year. So, then I tried the pill. All was well until about 8 months after my 18th birthday. I spotted again, all month, every month for 6 months and still had a period during this time. I switched to a stronger pill, which kicked my anxiety into high gear. Not as bad as the 7-day hell, but still bad. This led to my doctor putting me onto anti-anxiety medication, which messed with my hormones even more. Eventually, I gave up. My husband had been scheduled to get a vasectomy, so I decided to stop the pill and my anti-anxiety medications at once. Now, I’ve been off the pill/meds for 9 months and I finally feel normal again. My hair is thick, my weight is normal again, and we are still happily child free (thanks to the snip snip).

Kelsea: I’ve been on some sort of “pill” since I was 15 to control acne, cramps etc. I’m now 26. I never had any issues with it until about two years ago, I started having migraines and didn’t know why. I ended up in the ER a few times because the pain was so bad, and at this time I also started gaining some weight. From about 130 to 145 pounds. After CT scans, MRI’s, chiropractors, etc. my doctor determined it was my oestrogen-based birth control. So at that time I switched to the Depo shot because it’s one of the only birth controls without oestrogen. Oestrogen is apparently very bad if you have migraines and drastically increases your risk of stroke. I was on the Depo shot for 3 cycles (9 months) and in that time gained weight from 145 to 174 pounds. I’ve been off of depo or any kind of birth control now for about two months and I don’t have my period back. I’m scared I won’t get it for a while. And now I also can’t lose the weight despite a strict diet and going to the gym about 4 times per week. For someone who was previously very healthy, now having constant headaches and gaining close to 30 lbs in 9 months has been hell for me. So I’m trying to rebuild now, and it just stinks because my husband and I have been married for 5 years and want children soon, and I’m not even having a period at this point due to birth control.

Kylie: I started the Depo shot in 10th grade and after the first month of being on it, I gained 30 pounds in one month and my blood work showed that I had a high white blood count which was super weird. The shot lasts for 3 months so after the three months and gaining 30 pounds I got another shot to give it one more try. I started bleeding again right after the second shot. I bled for 9 months straight, without stopping. I was hospitalized and had to have a blood transfusion. During this time I was also getting severe headaches, back aches, swollen joints and a facial rash. I was passing out and in severe pain. Long story short; that Depo shot triggered lupus and reacted an autoimmune response in my body. So now I’ve had lupus, vasculitis and scleroderma since getting the shot at 16. My rheumatologist showed me many reports on how birth control can mess the body up and trigger underlying autoimmune diseases that could’ve stayed dormant our whole lives, or make them come out early or worse.

Megan: It started when I was in high school, I was a “late bloomer” and never got my period! I had so many tests done checking everything; thyroid and hormones. I also had an ultra sound to make sure all my lady parts looked normal. This was done when I was about 16.  After I graduated high school, still no period. So I went to the doctor again and they gave me some pills to take for a week to see if I would get a period. I don’t remember what they were but I did bleed for a few days after the pills. They thought it would start triggering my period, but it never did.  Two years later, I started getting really bad cramps. I was 20 at this point. I was like, “Oh here comes my period.”  The cramps kept getting worse over a week, then I started bleeding really badly; like filling a maxi pad in an hour bad. I knew something was wrong so I went to the doctor. They did a CT scan and I had a huge cyst on my ovary. It was the size of an orange! I had to have emergency surgery a week later. After that I started to become sexually active.
Now the fun part: Birth control! I was started on the pill, gained weight almost immediately, but my skin cleared up and that was great! Then I started to get really bad at taking it on time and was always worried I was pregnant. So I looked into other forms of birth control. 

Next up was Nexplonan! The arm implant, I gained 40 lbs and was a raging psycho the entire time. I bled for 8 months straight. I had to scream and cry in the doctor’s office and beg for them to take it out. My doctor said it takes up to a year for my body to get used to it, but I was sick of all the bleeding. They went into my arm to remove it and it was so buried in my arm that she had to call someone else to come in to dig it out. She put me back on a pill after that.
I went into my local planned parenthood to get tested maybe last year? And the wonderful nurse asked who prescribed me the pills I’m on because they were a super high dose of oestrogen, something for women going through menopause.  She asked if my mood swings were bad and I said yes.  She explained that the pill was the problem and I’m not actually that moody! I went back to planned parenthood for another check-up 6 months later, I found out I have high blood pressure. They took me off the oestrogen pills and put me on a non-oestrogen pill. I broke out super bad and being on this kind of pill, my periods are so irregular it’s unreal. I tried to go back and be put back on an oestrogen pill, but they can’t do it with my high blood pressure. So, I’m still on that pill and trying to get my blood pressure down so I can switch so I don’t have to deal with these issues anymore!

Image from Pixabay (Public Domain Website)