Thread: The Pill good or bad?

Well....I recently wrote a post "Women + Birthcontrol - Men = ?????" or something like that, venting my frustrations with birth control and the role society places on women. You can read alot of my experiences with the pill in that post. However, here's a few things:

1. I was on for almost 10 years, for the first several my sex drive did not suffer. But for the last several years I was on it, I struggled with decreased libido often

2. I lost alot of hair while on the pill. I've been off of it for 1 mth and am amazed at all the little new hairs growing out of my head. I used to have thick coarse hair, which over the years had turned into much thinner, finer hair. I'm now taking High potency Biotin every day to regain some growth.

3. The pill causes your body to think it's pregnant, therefore causing you not to ovulate, therefore causing you not to get pregnant (if taken properly). For me, I didn't gain ALOT of weight, but I gained weight in places like my sides (lovehandles), tops of my legs, and abdomen. No matter how hard I worked out, just couldn't seem to do anything about those areas. A month off the pill, miraculously that excess fat is going away.

4. The mood swings. I switched and switched and switched. One pill I'd feel emotionally good on, but physically awful. On another I'd feel physically good, but be an emotional wreck. Each new pill, the dr tells you to "try out" for 3 months and then if things still haven't leveled off, they'll switch your pill and then you try it out for another 3 months etc. Every time they'd switch me I'd get online and do some research on that particular pill, searching user reviews and almost always, my symptoms on that pill would mirror very closely to what others had experienced.

Now....the good parts, I had unprotected sex many MANY times while on the pill and never got pregnant. I also had shorter, lighter periods. But on another note, I've been off the pill for a month and have felt AMAZING. I just had my first regular period off the pill and yes, it was a bit heavier, and I cramped more.....but honestly, I can deal with one week of a little discomfort compared to an entire month of bad and almost unbearable side effects. There are no Planned Parenthoods in my area, but I'm going to talk with my doctor about non hormonal options like the cervical cap.

You'll hear from some who have never had a bad experience on the pill. They're the lucky ones. In the end, your experience may be quite different than mine and the decision has to be your own. I think it's great that you're trying to find out about it first though. I would highly recommend talking to your doctor about ALL your options, not just hormonal bc.

GOOD LUCK!!

By the way, Love love LOVE your profile pic.

I've been on the pill since i was 14.(health reasons) And It has never messed with my sex drive,in fact,im almost 17,but i have a seriously high sex drive that probably isnt normal. hahaha Im not using it for sex,BUT when using it for sex,you need to use either spermicide,or a condom until a week after you start taking the pill.Getting off the pill for me was easy,just certain kinds tear me up and make me dizzy and give me headaches and nausea.It depends on the kind of pill ur on,but overall they are a good idea.

Originally Posted by Mes_T

Have you thought about non-hormonal methods at all? IUD, cervical cap, diaphragm?

Thats actually what I would rather use. But to behonest I don't really know much about the alternatives!
I guess I should have answer about those too...