I myself would rather never go off of birth control pills, which is why I was hoping there'd be some sort of herbal or otherwise natural type of bc that would work like the pill, but I've never heard of one. I started my period when I was 12, and had HORRID pain until I got on birth control when I got married at 22. I've been married for over 9 years, and in the first year of taking birth control pills I began taking them continuosly, only having 3-5 "periods" per year, and I never, EVER want to go back! I can handle pain, I'm not a wimp, I only go to the doctor if I truly must, and even when I get cluster headaches, I still do my work through them... but period cramps are horrid, I've never felt anything worse, or nearly as bad. My mom and youngest sister get painful periods, but not as bad as mine, and my other sister gets almost no pain at all! We all started our periods at 12yo.
If I had no need for birth control, I would still want to be on the pills because of the pain. I was in mild pain from the time I ovulated until the first day of my period, when I was in horrid pain, couldnt move, nausea, diarrhea, all I could do was cry. Sometimes this would last 3 days, but usually only 1-1/2 days... as soon as it would end, I'd fall asleep, then wake up and get to doing my work again. All that week I'd have very strong cramps all day and night, bad enough that sometimes I'd double over but not bad enough to make me cry. The 2 weeks after my period ended were good, but over the 10 years it never changed- always that routine, every single month. Mom talked to the doctor about putting me on birth control when I was 16, but the doctor wouldnt prescribe them to me because she thought I'd become sexually active. Mind you, I was raised in a very strict home, and had no boyfriends, was homeschooled- plus, I was too well trained... also, my mom was always against birth control pills, always preferred natural methods for everything, but hated to see me in such pain. I bled very heavily, too.
When I first started on the pill, I had "periods" (I put them in quotations because they aren't "real" periods because you dont ovulate) every month- I still had painful cramping, but it was about half of what they'd been before- I wished I had known about it all along! About 6 months later I went to the continuos dose, and have almost no cramping when I have a "period", except some cramping around the start of my period- it'll wake me up at night, and keep me from running a lot, and make me move a little slower when carrying heavy things, but it is NOTHING compared to before!
I'd LOVE to be able to be on something healthier for you, but as long as I have a choice I will not choose the pain. I've researched all of the hormonal methods, talked to several doctors, and researched more- the low dose pill is the safest of all the hormonal methods.
As for birth control for SHTF plan, I am ready to handle the painful periods, my main reasoning for bc would be because I wouldnt want to bring a child into that world, and I am 32 this summer- so in say 3-5 years, I'd be an "older mother" if I get pregnant, which isnt good for mom or baby. I dont care either way about having kids, but hubby doesnt want them, and I'm happy with that. I have thought about a hysterectomy, but anesthesia has risks that worry me, and then I'd be having menopause issues- vaginal dryness, heat flashes, osteoporosis, etc...
To give a little more info, my mom has been going through "pre-menopause" for the past 7 or 8 years, she finally was put on the pill by a doctor who tends to prefer natural methods and she is much happier and healthier than she has been in years. She was having a heavy period every 2 weeks, and it was making her anemic & weak.
JK...
and not to forget the mental scope of things like this..
