When I was 16, I met my now husband and my mom immediately said “you’re going on birth control”. I had NO idea of the side effects, in fact I was actually giddy about it! I was excited to be a woman! And not going to lie, I was told the pill made your boobs bigger and would help with acne. Woo, sign me up right!?

 

Then came the migraines…I thought they were stress related at first and then I thought they were triggered by certain foods. Turns out my migraines were happening every month like clock work. I went to my doctor's office and they gave me a different prescription. Migraines were still occurring. I went back to the doctor, where I was told to stop the pill because it was putting me at high risk of strokes. That day, I quit cold turkey, (which I now know isn’t ideal).

 

For 6 months, my hormones were out of whack. I was randomly spotting, I didn't have a regular cycle or a cycle at all for that matter and I was still getting migraines here and there. I was super fkn worried about my health! 

I went back to my doctors and they ran blood work and ultrasounds. I was diagnosed with PCOS. My doctor strongly encouraged me to get an IUD to "regulate my cycle". They told me that I would likely have trouble getting pregnant in the future, but we could deal with that later on. So I got an IUD, I just wanted any type of relief, I wanted to fix my hormones! Was it really a solution though? No. It was a bandaid. The IUD prevented pregnancy yes, but I still had awful symptoms like migraines, breakouts and some cramping. But on top of that, I had some new symptoms too. I was extremely antisocial and full of anxiety and my sex drive was gone!

 
In early 2021, I decided that my nightmare of a journey with hormonal birth control was over. I ordered a bunch of books, immersed myself in research & followed some inspirational women on Instagram. I prepared my body for life without synthetic hormones through simple lifestyle changes such as eating more, establishing good sleep hygiene, prioritizing rest, getting morning sunlight, etc.!

Based on what I've learned since then, I believe I was misdiagnosed with PCOS. I do believe that I was experiencing post-pill amenorehea, which mimics PCOS. At the time I was also a university student, lacking sleep, living off of coffee and was severely malnourished - none of which was helping my hormones.

I am now two+ years free of hormonal birth control and I have a regular cycle, my anxiety has significantly decreased (ask my husband), my sex drive almost instantly came back (also ask my husband) and I don’t have awful acne and horrible period cramps like I did when I was younger. 

Fertility Awareness has forever changed my life. I've learned so much about myself and my body during the last two years and I continue to learn to better my health for myself, my future daughter (universe willing) and generations to come! I've learned how to truly nourish my hormones and live a life that aligns with my natural cycle. My outlook on menstrual health has completely changed, I no longer see my period/hormones as a nuisance but rather an invaluable source of information about the state of my body. Education is power and it never expires.