The Pill ie Oral Contraceptive type advice

[ToLiveToLaugh]

Soooo. I finally decided to broach this subject. I'm currently 21. I've been on the pill since I was 17. I'm considering stopping. This is probably WAY too personal, but I really don't know how to address it otherwise. I switched birth controls a little over a year ago, and it just killed my libido. Death. Killed. Flat out. I don't want to switch to another one, as the rest are more expensive and I just don't wanna spend the money and I don't want the hassle of changing over again.

So my question to you is: what are the risks of being on... or getting off the pill? I haven't found much online, I'm just curious about all of your perspectives on this. Thanks!

 

[Wildsky]

I quit taking the pill in my 20's, I just hated taking hormones, and then I started to get dark pigmentation on my face and that was it...

 

[patandchickens]

Well, the biggest most obvious "risk" of going off the Pill is the risk of pregnancy if you are, er, doing things that can lead to pregnancy

Everyone's situation is different.

If you would really really *rather* not get pregnant, but if it happens, then Oh Well Okay; or if you are not going to do things that would lead to pregnancy; then it seems to me that going off the Pill is a very reasonable thing to do. Fertility-sign charting methods work "reasonably" well for many (not all!) women for pregnancy avoidance, once you learn to recognize your body's signs and assuming you have the willpower to behave accordingly.

But if it would be a really serious problem to you to get pregnant and yet you feel you are likely to do things that run the risk, then I don't know of any other contraceptive method that is AS reliable (assuming you take your pills faithfully) and not MORE harmful to the body.

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[Wifezilla]

I went on the pill because it was supposed to help regulate my horrible periods. It made them worse! o top it off I gained 20lbs Grrrrrr.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Just a side note about it, all three times I have conceived, it happened while I was on the pill.

Risks associated with the pill are blood clots, other cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer, gallbladder disease.

I'm not familiar with (or finding) any effects from stopping BC, other than detrimental effects on attempted pregnancy.

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

Yeah, I'm always a little tentative on believing the accuracy rating of the pill... I was a "bonus baby" on the pill. My parents decided to stop after my brothers. Which didn't work out, obviously. My mom says God was so determined to add me to the family that hormones didn't matter. One of my friends in High school got pregnant while she was "on the pill", but she frequently missed days. So I think it's a little hard to tell all in all.

 

[urban dreamer]

I had a terrible time remembering to take my pills. So got the depo shot. So far it has worked (manly because it killed any kind of drive) and I don't have to take the pills everyday. I have to be on birth control as long as me and my SO live with his mother (her rules). I would like to be off it, but at the same time I like not having periods every month. I really want to move out and feel "natural" again. Good luck with whatever you ultimately decide! Wish I could be of more help!

 

[Mackay]

The contraceptive pill is a very dangerous medication. I took it when I was your age and lived to regret it.

For me it causes serious yeast infections. I understand the pill these days is not as strong and I would assume that that is good but you are demanding your body to do something that it does not want to do.

Of course I am sure you are aware of all the cardiovascular risks etc that it offers. Young people do not take these risks too seriously, but you should. The body you have now is the one you will have to live with for many years,

When I left the pill I tried the copper 7 intrauterine device, it hurt so dam much to get it in that I told them to stop in mid proceedure.

I hear the new generation of IUDs are better. You might look into them, but again I do not think that anything that disrupts your normal cycle is a very good idea for very long.

From there I went to the diaphram and spermicide. I also knew the rhytm method and during days of ovulation I used the diaphragm and demanded a condom or just did other kinds of sex play. When I was far from times of ovulation I sometimes used nothing, but only when my cycle was clicking along perfectly. Elsewise I used the diaphragm with spermicide.

This worked well for me. But you have to have some dicipline and self control and a partenr who is thinking of your relationship and best interest. Often I would put the diaphragm in before my husband got home so I wouldn't have to mess with it when the time came. If nothing happened then nothing happened.

My mom used the diaphragm but I don't know that they had the spermacide at that time, I don't think so. She had 3 children. I had two. Not bad for a cummalative 50 years of messing around!

 

[Javamama]

It messed up my body so bad, I will never consider any kind of HRT again. Weight gain which was very difficult to lose, loss of libido, the list goes on. I think it killed my metabolism and 10 years later I'm still dealing with it.

 

[Occamstazer]

The pill for me exacerbated anxiety and depression issues to the point that I couldn't function.
My friend has the same issue, she just calls it "BC Blahs", and says it makes her stop caring about anything, or lose her zest for life or something.
I'm charting now to start using FAM, and getting by with condoms in the meantime. But, I've also gotten old enough that an unplanned pregnancy wouldn't end the world. It would be inconvenient, sure, but fun!
A couple years ago I was singing a very different tune, it would have ended the world.

Also, that cool Seasonale pill? Yeah. Two month long period.