I can still remember the seething pain in my lower back, so intense it woke me from a deep sleep early that May morning twelve years ago. The pain was paired with an urgent need to urinate, so instead of laying low and letting the pain pass, I got up and faced the day. Grimacing, I somehow forced myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the cold bathroom tile, confused and afraid, wondering what had caused a pain so sudden and so intense that it knocked me to the floor–and wondering why it had mysteriously disappeared.
The following day, the ultrasound tech at my gynecologist’s office told me as she pointed to a tiny empty sac on the monitor that the pain I had felt in my back was caused by a bursting ovarian cyst–a problem that I was assured could most easily be solved by hormonal birth control. And thus began my seven-year stint on the Pill.
The Pill: A magical wonder drug for ovarian cysts?
When I was first prescribed birth control, I was a 20-year-old college student. Afraid of getting more cysts and totally unaware of any potential downsides to the Pill (I was promised regular periods, clearer skin, and no more cysts! Sign me up!), I got the prescription filled. And I was glad I did–at first.
The constant pain in my lower back that had plagued me for years was totally gone. I had never known that it was related to ovarian cysts, but it had cleared up since going on the Pill. My cycle was almost completely symptom-free, and my “period” (which I would later find out wasn’t actually a period at all) was so regular that you could practically set your watch by it.
Every 28 days (almost to the hour!), Aunt Flo would pay her monthly visit for approximately five days, and then skip town again without a peep until the 28-day mark rolled around again. With the exception of occasional yeast infections (more on that later), my gynecological health was–in my mind, at least–optimal and easy-breezy on the Pill. So why would I get off of it?
A wake-up call
Fast forward to spring of 2020. As a newlywed, my husband and I were in the “someday” stage of starting a family–as in “we definitely want children someday–but not quite yet.” For that reason–and because I had no glaring issues with the Pill throughout my seven years of taking it–I stayed on hormonal birth control without giving it a second thought.
That was, until a close friend who had recently gotten off the Pill filled me in on how much better she felt since ditching it. My friend told me that she felt balanced, happier, more feminine, and more “like herself” again. Her testimony got my wheels turning. And since I knew we’d want to start a family eventually, I began to consider what life would be like Pill-free.
The moment I realized I hadn’t had a true period in nearly seven years
My recently-birth-control-free friend recommended a book called Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighton. The book was a wake-up call, showing me how little I knew about my female body. Despite being “educated” on cycle health since elementary school, there were so many holes in my knowledge that it’d be embarrassing… if this ignorance wasn’t so commonplace among women of my generation. New phrases like luteal and follicular entered my vocabulary. I learned that women could only get pregnant a handful of days each month. And perhaps most shockingly, I learned that the “period” that came every 28 days like clockwork wasn’t actually a period at all, but withdrawal bleeding–which meant I hadn’t had a period in nearly seven years. (Mind blown!)
In addition to learning the basics about the female cycle, I learned just how harmful birth control is for the female body. Aside from altering hormone levels (which is problematic in its own right), hormonal birth control may affect fertility even long after quitting it, since it may deplete a woman’s ovarian reserve, and negatively affect cervical mucus production–a key component of conception. Birth control also increases inflammation in the body, which can lead to a whole slew of other health issues.
I hadn’t connected the dots between hormonal birth control and yeast infections
In hindsight, the biggest health concern I had while on the Pill was frequent yeast infections. At the time, I hadn’t made the connection between hormonal birth control and candida overgrowth. I’ve since learned that the Pill can increase estrogen levels, which can raise blood sugar and lead to yeast infections. Additionally, hormonal birth control use can increase susceptibility to bacterial and viral diseases since it alters immune cell function. Needless to say, if I had been aware of these connections at the time, I would have gotten off the Pill years earlier.
After finally realizing the toll the Pill was taking on my body, it didn’t take long for me to decide to ditch hormonal birth control. At my next gynecologist visit, I told my doctor I didn’t need my birth control prescription refilled: I was officially done.
How I’m feeling without the Pill
Getting off of hormonal birth control was by far one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my health. I followed the advice outlined in Beyond the Pill for getting off the Pill in a healthy way, and tried my best to maintain a wholesome, nourishing diet. I also took the right supplements and herbs to help my hormones reach healthy levels again, naturally. I was worried my ovarian cysts would come back, but they never have. Not to mention, I haven’t had a single yeast infection since coming off of hormonal birth control four years ago.
Since coming off the Pill, I’ve educated myself about my cycle, gradually filling in the glaring gaps in my knowledge about the female body. I also started tracking my periods, and eventually got into the habit of tracking my biological markers, including cervical mucus and basal body temperature (BBT), to determine when I was ovulating with help from the FEMM app. I’ve learned that utilizing a Fertility Awareness Method is by far the healthiest method for family planning, and it can do double-duty in helping women successfully avoid or achieve pregnancy. (I myself have used it for both!)
By coming off of the Pill and becoming familiar with my cycle, I’ve become more connected to my body. I’m more in tune with my emotions and feel more feminine overall. As my dear friend put it, I feel more “myself” than I ever did when I was on the Pill. I only wish I had ditched hormonal birth control sooner.
Want to read more real-life experiences from women who got off the Pill? Wondering what changes to expect in terms of libido, acne, or weight loss, or how long it might take for your fertility to come back? Check out our Coming Off the Pill topic page. And if you’re ready to take the plunge and get off the Pill yourself, check out the resources in our special guide to “Getting off the Pill… for good!”
