It’s about time I updated you on the whole uterus situation, don’t you think? In mid-September last year, I published a post titled “I’m Going Off Hormones”. In it I discussed how I was about to go off my hormonal contraceptive (I was using the NuvaRing at the time), why I wanted to stop using it and what my hopes were. A month later I published my first update, to monitor any accute changes in my body and/or mood. The conclusion then was that nothing remarkable really happened. My next update was posted six months after going off the NuvaRing. By that time I still noticed few changes in the way my body felt and looked. My mental state had gotten better, but I pin that on the anxiety therapy I went through and not the hormones. PMS was worse than ever at this point, though.
In that six month update, I did raise some concerns about my cycle. Things hadn’t gone back to the way they were before I started using hormonal contraceptives and I was starting to get a little bit worried. I was having very long periods, up to two weeks of bleeding, in a different pattern than I’m used to. At the end of that blog post I said I would visit the doctor if my period didn’t normalise within a couple of months.
It’s been a little over a year now, six months since my last update, and my cycle is still a little irregular. I still bleed for longer than is considered average (although the bleeding is not heavy, luckily) and I’ve been getting a bit of spotting here and there. It’s taking quite a while now for my uterus to get used to regulating itself, and when you experience spotting it’s recommended to get a checkup just in case. So I decided to visit the doctor! We started by testing for some more serious conditions (following protocol) and luckily so far all the tests have come back negative, which is fantastic. The doctor has told me nothing seems out of the ordinary for a person my age so there’s no reason to worry. We’re just checking off all the standard boxes to be 100% sure, and I think getting a thorough checkup of such an important body part every once in a while is a good thing anyway. I’m still in the middle of this so I haven’t decided how many details I do or don’t want to share yet, as I’m sure you can understand, haha! Luckily I don’t experience any pain at any time except on the first day of my period, which is what I remember from my teenage years, and the pain is definitely bearable then as well. No pain is definitely a good thing, even though I can’t rely on it to really tell me much, of course.
If I test negative for all of the common things, and maybe just in any case, I’d like to get some bloodwork done to see how that’s looking and if any of my values are out of balance. I have been on a predominantly plant-based diet for a while now and have never had a checkup in that regard, so that would provide valuable information.
I do just want to stress how important it is to talk to your doctor if you notice anything abnormal going on with your reproductive organs. It’s not uncomfortable or awkward at all- doctors see loads of different things every day and no matter what you have, they’ve probably seen it before.
I was very nervous about getting my first Pap smear at the start of this process, because of all the stories and general anxiety that surrounds the words smear and speculum. Honetsly guys, it was SO underwhelming! If you’ve ever used a menstrual cup, this is nothing. Or that’s my experience, in any case. Honestly, I’d much rather get a Pap smear than go to the dentist and that means something as I’m not even that scared of the dentist, haha! But seriously, if there’s anything you’re unsure about or want to have checked out just in case, go ahead and do it. Your health or at least peace of mind is worth it.
As far as other symptoms go, I still don’t really notice a difference compared to when I was on the NuvaRing still. I get PMS a week before my period starts, the severity of that varies from month to month. I haven’t gained or lost weight, I haven’t gotten acne, and I don’t really notice a difference in my mental health.
All in all, I’m happy I made the decision to come off hormonal contraceptives. I still have hope that my period will normalise a bit more in time, and I’m glad I’ve gone for the checkup with the doctor so that I can get treatment if anything needs to be treated, or know that I’m healthy and don’t need to worry if everything comes back negative.
Have any of you used hormonal contraceptives, and then stopped? How was the transition for you?
Thank you for this discussion. As others have said, this is deeply personal, but here is my experience: I started on the birth control pill in my very early 20s, and it made me very sick. I actually ended up accidentally pregnant, because it was making me vomit so frequently.
After that traumatic experience, I got a copper IUD. I figured no hormones, should be good for me. Somehow, that experience was almost more traumatic! I ended up pregnant again–the device was not misused or out of place. The rate of failure on the copper IUD is actually slightly disturbing once you look into it. It does work really well for many (including many of my female family members), but it also fails enough statistically that I would never, ever risk it again.
Now, I am on Nexplanon. It’s not perfect, but it’s less hormones than the pill. My period and cycle are very irregular and difficult to track after all the sudden changes and trauma (physical and emotional) over the last five or so years. And the first few months on Nexplanon were difficult. But this is the best thing I’ve found so far for me.
Very glad things are going well for you and hope the good results continue coming in!
Lucy,
I just want to say thank you for sharing your experience. I have been following your blog for a few years and you inspired me to go off of my hormonal contraception also. It hasn’t been easy and I have still been suffering from irregular periods and PMS. But, that being said I don’t regret my decision and I definitely won’t be going back on hormonal contraception in the future. In fact, overall, my anxiety and mental health has improved. I have been working with a Naturopathic doctor which I highly recommend and have been taking a variety of supplements including Chaste Tree, Relora, and a Vitex for regulating menstrual cycles. I am also considering acupuncture and I am wondering if you have given this a try also? I have also just purchased “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” which I am excited to read. Thank you again for inspiring me.
Hugs from Canada,
Grace xo
I’m so glad you’re happy with your decision! I might start looking into alternative treatments if/when everything turns out to look fine medically. Just want to make sure there isn’t anything major going on first!
I’m currently on the pill and I’m not sure if I want kids but I’m worried that will change if I come off it. Have you noticed any difference in broodiness?
I was half expecting a change in broodiness, but it hasn’t really happened. I’ve gotten slightly more open to the idea of having kids but definitely no “rattling ovaries” as we call it in NL, haha!
I used pills (2 different brands) for almost a year and I am so happy I stopped. My breast hurted A LOT with the first brand, and with the second one a few months were OK but then it was the same. The last months I took it I had weird pains all over my body, it was like someone was clicking me with a needle constantly. It stopped right away when I went off the pill. And also it was hard on my mental health. When I started and when I stop taking them I felt a lot of emocional distress.
I experience aches often on the first day of my period too, but chinese medicine has helped me a lot with that – I highly recommend it!
This post is written just for me!! I am on the pill for two years now and I’ve decided to quit too. I am using the last pills I have and then I will be hormone free and I cant wait honestly. As many girls said before me, my libido is zero and it really frustrates me plus I have bad migraines all the time. I want to switch on cooper IUD so we’ll see if it helps with my problems.
I went off the pill two years ago. My libido had been low for the entire time I’d been on the pill which is odd for me, as well as my mental health being shot. I am using the fertility awareness method and read the book “taking charge of your fertility”, which I’d recommend to everyone with a uterus because it teaches so much that I didn’t know. It’s really baby boomer ish with the jokes and cartoons but it’s still good information.
Lucy, I’d really recommend tracking your cycle via cervical mucus and basal body temperature even if not for contraception. It’s good to get to know what your “normal” is, or to figure out where your body hasn’t got a rhythm yet.
For example the extra stress I get from being stressed and missing my period is alleviated because I know I’m not pregnant. My body temp is too low to signify a hormone rise that a zygote needs to survive. And when I do finally ovulate I have the same luteal phase length as what is normal for me and then I have the same length period. It’s neat to see the patterns when they happen.
I wrote a review of that book on here a few months back! It really is wonderful :)
I was on the combo pill off and on for almost 10 years (exceptions during 2 pregnancies), and after my youngest was born I tried the progesterone only pill – it was better but still hormones. I always felt tired, my mind muddled, and my libido was zero. I know some of that was from post-pregnancy/raising two kids, however 6 months ago I had had enough of the pill and synthetic hormones in my system.
I decided to get the copper IUD. Insertion was NOT fun but before the first month was up I was feeling more like myself again. Every month I felt more and more “awake”, my energy levels have bounced back and my moods are better, and I feel like the mental fog I was in had been finally lifted. I also lost about 5 pounds, and 2 whole inches around my waist, which I have never had issues with weight but it was incredible to see a change like that from changing one thing in my life. I will never use hormonal birth control ever again, nor recommend it to my daughters.
I was on the pill for 4 years and this year I decided to quit using it after getting the pill bleed when it wasn’t supposed to arrive. I stopped in January and a month later I got my first real period, but then I went to my gynecologist in March and she made me feel so scared of getting pregnant that I started taking the pill again (a different one from the one I used to take). I took it until August but during that time I wasn’t happy at all. I got some acne (probably from the mess of quitting birth control and then using it again) and once again, the major problem I had while taking the pill appeared: little to non-existent libido. I felt really sad for not feeling in the mood for having sex. Even though I wanted to feel desire, I had to do substantial efforts to feel anything. I knew that even if my partner was really understanding, it would become a problem in the future and in terms of self-steem it frustrated me a lot. I talked with my boyfriend about this issue and that I wanted to quit the pill again and made the decision together. It’s been a bit more than 2 months since then and have had two rather healthy periods. Plus, it was as if someone had turned on a switch in my system. I’ve always been quite emotional, but while on the pill I felt more disconnected with that part of me. My libido has come back slowly and I started reading a lot on quitting the pill, what to eat to support each phase of my cycle and my hormones, seed-cycling and learning how to track fertility signs (not only to know when I am the most fertile to avoid a higher risk of pregnancy, but to track any signs that could indicate hormone imbalances). I did get acne on my chin and that is something I’m working on now and a clear sign of hormonal imbalance and that my liver is getting rid of residues from the pill. But my periods are great, with very little pain (compared to when I was a teen and had to curl in a ball for an entire day).
I think that the decision of using the pill or other hormone based methods is quite personal, but also that every woman should be and feel more empowered by knowing their own cycle and how their bodies function, what other methods they can use and what alternatives there are for other issues not related to avoiding pregnancy. The pill and other BC methods are a good tool, but they definitely come with considerable side effects and downsides that most of the times are not worth it at all.
Whew, long post! Sorry about that, hahahaha. It’s just that I’m happy to exchange experiences with others that are on a similar journey. Little by little I’ve seen more women taking the same decision we took and it is amazing to know we are not alone in this. Thank you for sharing!!!
I used hormonal pills for few months and it was terrible. My doctor recommended switching to Nuva Ring and promised no unpleasant symptomy. I felt like crap and had to quit 4 months later. It was almost year ago and I still have huge acne and libido problems. I fear that I will never find any good long term contraceptive method… I did blood tests and such and nothing came out. But just like you I probably need to find some better doctor and do more advanced tests to check out what’s going on.
I had three bad months on the NuvaRing when I started, but was alright after that. However hormones are still hormones… Have you considered the copper IUD? It has some downsides as well but might be better than what you’ve tried so far
What do you use to prevent pregnancy if your period is this irregular?
Condoms always! Not taking any risks
I’ve used the pill for 3 years, but it was a bad experience for me I gained 10quilos and it worsened my migraine and then I’ve decided stop for 1 year and half.
My cycle took more then a year to normalize. Currently I am using an copper IUD, and I’m very pleased with that.
Every body has their time but as you said in the post it good to see a doctor just in case.