Have you STOPPED using birth control??

megcalvert

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it but the coil is a great alternative to the pill. I was on POP pills, progesterone only, which really didn't work for me hormonally with all kinds of side effects and a complete pain to remember to take every day. A few of my friends got the hormonal coil before me all without practically any side effects or discomfort, two of them were really lucky and don't get periods/spotting at all, I have minimal. Because it's er...localised the actual amounts of hormones is tiny in comparison with the pill, plus you don't have to think about it at all for five years, or less if you wanted to stop birth control before that which is easily doable. There's also the non-hormonal copper coil which actually has about the same percentage protection as the pill!
Good luck!

I have never heard of the "coil" What is it and can you get it through your gyno? Is it the IUD?

ackeebee

i have been on the microgynon 30 for the past 6 years and 3 months and the only side effect i have really noticed is mood swings. i was moody before anyway but it has definitely gotten worst.

i have been reluctant to try another pill because so far this one has been successful in that i haven't gotten pregnant lol. also i am afraid to come off the pill as i use to have terrible period cramps before and the pill has definitely helped with this.

Amara15

I quit taking BC last year bc it was making me PSYCHO!

This! I quit taking mine as well because I was crazy. My life became an emotional rollercoaster. I could not control my emotions, and I would take it out on everyone else. I also deal with Seasonal Affect Disorder. Living in the good old midwest we have dark winters, and my bc made this worse. I'm so thankful to be off.

Rae6503

When I stopped it didn't seem to affect me much. I love not being on it now. Haven't been on it for 6 years.

shannon121278

Figured I would add my two cents in and experience.

I was on the BCP for probably more than 4 years. Over those 4 years I gained like 80 pounds, got high blood pressure (whether from the pill or weight gain, I still blame it on the pill), and my sex drive slowly just pretty much completely disappeared. I know the pill was not the main reason of weight gain, but I feel it was a big help in that area.

I went off my pills in April, used condoms for about 2 1/2 months, then in June my husband and I decided we would start trying for children.

I dieted from April to August, with no luck at all. But I did my own dieting. I pretty much just slightly cut back my portions, sometimes. I assumed the weight would just fly off after going off my pills, and that was not the case. In september, I actually started working hard, exercising a lot more, watching my calories closely, and over the past 10 weeks or so, I've lost almost 30 pounds. It took a little hard work, but the weight will come off if you try. I will never know if my weight would have come off while on my pills or not, because I am never going back on pills again. Because of the weight loss and being off my pills, I've noticed an improvement in my blood pressure, but I can still tell I have a problem. I still have about 56 more pounds to lose though, so I guess we will see how that turns out.

As for my sex drive improving, I have not noticed a change at all. I still have pretty much no sex drive. Whether that was the cause of my pills or not, I've been off them 7 months and seen no noticable changes. I wish there was.... but no.

I'm kind of a walking contradiction right now. I'm dieting and losing weight, while also trying to conceive at the same time. I realize that I will gain weight while pregnant guys, so please don't make those comments. BUT I am working to lose as much weight as possible, before a baby happens. I feel it's better to gain the weight for a reason (to help grow a baby), than to just plain be fat. That's the way I think, and that's not gonna change.

You have got to do what you feel is best for you and your body. If you wanna go off and use other forms of BC (or not), then that's your choice, or if you want to try different pills, again, it's your choice. I've noticed some improvements and some non-improvements after going off my pills, but nothing has gotten worse, that's for sure. I will never go back on pills again.

shannon121278

Figured I would add my two cents in and experience.

I was on the BCP for probably more than 4 years. Over those 4 years I gained like 80 pounds, got high blood pressure (whether from the pill or weight gain, I still blame it on the pill), and my sex drive slowly just pretty much completely disappeared. I know the pill was not the main reason of weight gain, but I feel it was a big help in that area.

I went off my pills in April, used condoms for about 2 1/2 months, then in June my husband and I decided we would start trying for children.

I dieted from April to August, with no luck at all. But I did my own dieting. I pretty much just slightly cut back my portions, sometimes. I assumed the weight would just fly off after going off my pills, and that was not the case. In september, I actually started working hard, exercising a lot more, watching my calories closely, and over the past 10 weeks or so, I've lost almost 30 pounds. It took a little hard work, but the weight will come off if you try. I will never know if my weight would have come off while on my pills or not, because I am never going back on pills again. Because of the weight loss and being off my pills, I've noticed an improvement in my blood pressure, but I can still tell I have a problem. I still have about 56 more pounds to lose though, so I guess we will see how that turns out.

As for my sex drive improving, I have not noticed a change at all. I still have pretty much no sex drive. Whether that was the cause of my pills or not, I've been off them 7 months and seen no noticable changes. I wish there was.... but no.

I'm kind of a walking contradiction right now. I'm dieting and losing weight, while also trying to conceive at the same time. I realize that I will gain weight while pregnant guys, so please don't make those comments. BUT I am working to lose as much weight as possible, before a baby happens. I feel it's better to gain the weight for a reason (to help grow a baby), than to just plain be fat. That's the way I think, and that's not gonna change.

You have got to do what you feel is best for you and your body. If you wanna go off and use other forms of BC (or not), then that's your choice, or if you want to try different pills, again, it's your choice. I've noticed some improvements and some non-improvements after going off my pills, but nothing has gotten worse, that's for sure. I will never go back on pills again.

Oh, forgot to mention, the only negative side effect I've noticed after going off the pills, is that I did not have a period after stopping them for about 5 months. Then it seems to have not stopped the past 2 months. I spot (lightly) for a week, then stop for a week, then spot for a week, off for a week, etc. I'm just waiting for it to get back to a semi-normal routine.

Dumbell_Diva

My epic rapid weight gain started after taking the mini pill. In July before I took the pill I was a size 10, within 3 months I was a size 16 - gained 30lbs within 3 months. (average 3lb per week). I gained 14lb whilst taking the pill and the rest in the month aftter I came off it. Although the month I came off it I was quitting smoking at the same time so some of that could be due to that, but certainly the bulk of the weight gain was the pill. Some of the side effects on it were:

Hair loss, Loss of sex drive, Personality change, Leaking breasts, Huge weight gain, bloating and appetite increase,
Facial hair

I came off it in September and since then I have developed hives and itchy skin, my doctor said this was an allergy to the progesterone in the mini pill and said it would gradually disappear in a couple months,once the pill had gone out of my system. I had sensitive breasts for the first two months after stopping it and bloated tummy. I found the whole experience an absolute nightmare!!!! My periods have come back (I now have an IUD) but I cant lose weight. Ive been on this for almost 4 weeks, I walk miles, cut back on carbs and chocolate, yet I STILL cant lose weight, not sure if this is becaise of the pill but would be interesting to find out!!!!

ackeebee

Hi again guys,

I have a question......for those of you who have stopped taking the pill to try for a baby, approximately how long did it take you to conceive. iIhave asked my doc and she says it should happen pretty much straight away however from stories i have heard from my friends, it has taken them quite a while. One of my friend came off the pill and it took her about a year and a half to eventually conceive. In fact she was at the point where she was about to start doing tests for IVF treatment when she found out she was pregnant.

Plsd to hear your stories

Barneystinson

I stopped in 2007. I lost a decent amount of weight (mostly water retention) in the two weeks that followed. I had started taking the stuff at age 16...2000, I think. I've tried Yaz (awful), Nuvaring (infections), Ortho Evra patch (didn't stick), Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, Desogen, and some off-brand that was similar to Desogen.

Weight wasn't the main driver for stopping, though. Migraines were. Migraines with aura suck. I haven't had an aura migraine since taking that crap. I also had battles with depression with another type I took (Ortho TriC). And an overall lack of energy and sex drive. And as a generally calm and positive person, 2 of the kinds I took turned me into a raging psychopath. So yeah...It's fair to say I don't like hormonal birth control.

Barrier methods and temp. charting work for me and don't make me ill or angry to the world.

There are many other ways to prevent pregnancy besides the pill. The pill just happens to be the end-all method of convenience that most doctors are quick to throw at you at an ever younger age without actually explaining how your body works in regards to fertility and cycles and how birth control affects it.

cantobean

I just stopped mine! After being on BC for 6 years, I decided it was time to stop. It wasn't really doing it's job anymore (I was getting my period to early and too late, never on time) and I think the jury is still out on whether daily doses of hormones are harmful or not....I do want to start a family in 4 or 5 years so I figured it'd be good to stop.


I have read about intense side effects from stopping--mood swings, depression, acne, etc. I haven't experienced any yet, but I've only been off it for about 2 weeks.

zemilyc

I am on my second Mirena IUD now. I first had it inserted in 2006 had it removed in 12/2008 and got pregnant the same month!! had it reinserted after my second child and the only side effect I have experienced with both is breast tenderness within the first month of insertion and abnormal spotting. After that I have lighter and shorter periods each month. No estrogen just progesterone hormone is in the Mirena so to me it works great.

bluebutterflyzz

I've heard gaining weight while on birth control is a myth but I don't know if it's entirely true cause hormones have different effects on different bodies. I got off of birth control for 2 months and it didn't effect my weight loss. I'm now on generess so I hope it improves my lifestyle :-) I know my boyfriend will be happy that I won't be so scared to get preggers.

I have all of the symptoms of BC - fatigue, mood swings, low sex drive but I can't be sure if that's just the lifestyle a full time working woman living in NYC who is also trying to lose weight LOL I guess I'll see if anything changes while I'm on generess.

Edited to add that I didn't get my period for the 2 months that I was off BC so I think my body needs it.

Sookie_182

I was on Yaz and came off it a while ta give my body a break while I was on it I did gain weight, massive mood swings etc but I think that was more to my less eating healthy and stress of finals in college. Since I came off it I havnt noticed much of a change in my weight and Im still a bit moody! But sure im a girl tis allowed! :laugh:
I'm thinking il go back on it next month though coz my period is literally all over the place :grumble: I had never ever had any kind of cycle it changed every single month and it was brilliant knowing when it was going to come!

spotlighthw

hehehe

HeidiMightyRawr

When I first went on it I got put on "Microgynon 30" This gave me major mood swings and made my sex drive next to nothing.
My doctor switched me onto "Ovysmen" (sp?) but that gave me spotting mid cycle. Then I got put on "Cilest" and that was fine, I stayed on that for the majority of the time I was on the pill but made the choice to stop taking it altogether in April this year.

I stopped completely randomly, didn't even wait 'til the end of the pack I don't think. Had 2 "periods" that month. Things were surprisingly regular once I stopped, I thought they'd be all over the place but they weren't I'd never had any problems before I went on the pill for that side of things though.
Now, I feel so much better without all the hormones and I love not having to remember to take it every morning (I got quite bad with forgetting near the end) I feel more relaxed, more like myself and even though I never had major mood swings on it, I still feel like I'm more calm without it

killerqueen17

hehehe

Oh you... I just knew you would have to chime in on this somewhere!! lol

please no baby comments, we are NOT TRYING YET, kthx :bigsmile:

Ewhite5

I stopped recently. I've had some issues after stopping that i'd be willing to talk about in a private message but all and all, i'm pretty happy that I'm off.

Tree72

I stopped once for about 3 months when I was between jobs and didn't have insurance. It was not good. But things did go back to my "normal" fairly quickly. It's just that my "normal" is pretty awful.

It did take trying about 5 or 6 different pills for about 3 months each to find one that worked okay. (Yeah, that was not a fun year.) There were a couple that were truly awful. The worst was the one that made me feel angry and suicidal at the same time. But I knew it wasn't me, it was distinctly the pill. Also tried the NuvaRing. Didn't care for the side effects on that one at all.

So, it can be a bit scary. If you're not sure you want to be taking them, definitely stop. But for some women, like me, it's worth the effort it takes to find one that works. My natural hormones are all kinds of messed up, and artificial ones restore some normalcy to my life. (No more missing work because of migraines or cramps so bad I can't get out of bed.)

jess_blonde

Hi!

I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for about six months and had zero sex drive so I switched to the NuvaRing. That kinda-sorta helped but not really. I also had estrogen-withdrawl migraines but was unable to stack the ring because I would just bleed constantly until I gave my body the hormone free week. I also gained weight (more my own doing than the birth control) and it was impossible to lose! I also had ridiculous vaginal dryness (I'm 25 and I needed lube EVERY TIME I had sex...not cool).

I switched to a non-hormonal IUD (Flexi-T 300) six months ago and am LOVING it. My sex drive is back, I have no problems with lubrication, migraines are mostly gone and the weight is coming off! The copper IUD is an option even if you haven't had children so if you're interested in remaining protected against pregnancy but stopping hormones, it's certainly a great option! If you have any questions, let me know!

spotlighthw

hehehe

Oh you... I just knew you would have to chime in on this somewhere!! lol

please no baby comments, we are NOT TRYING YET, kthx :bigsmile: