Coming Off The Pill | 1 Year Update

I meant to write this post at 6 months but read online that its a take a whole year for your body to realise the changes from taking the contraceptive pill so here we are! Better late than never, right?

 A year ago I went to the doctors for blood tests due to my ongoing relentless fatigue, completely unrelated to the pill. I saw a locum doctor and she took my blood pressure, it was higher than normal but that's not unusual since I suffer with white coat syndrome (who doesn't!), it was however enough for her to ask me to check my blood pressure at home everyday for the next week. We talked about my migraine situation and the fact I suffer with aura, it was then she proceeded to scare the crap out me. I was apparently at high risk of a stroke if I continued taking the combined pill and she wanted me to swop to a mini pill, Cerelle. This is where things went to shit.

I had heard of the mini pill and knew a couple of friends who had taken similar named brands, she told me there was a chance I just wouldn't have a monthly bleed which I must admit REALLY appealed to me, but she also said I could end up with one long continuous period. I don't know if I was ready for a game of Russian roulette. I was basically at the end of my packet of Microgynon at this point so she recommend I just started taking the Cerelle and skip my next period all together.

I gave it 4 days, yep 4 days - before I called it quits. In those 4 days I had the period from hell, headache was awful and I felt sick, major stomach pains and super dizzy. I just had this feeling I was going to be one of the unlucky ones who ended up with a continuous period and I was not signing up for that. Also I looked at the pamphlet that came with the pill, you know the one.. the one that basically says if you take this you might just die! Not really, but as good as with the list of scary symptoms. That put me right off, so I decided then and there I was just going to come off the pill and give my body the much needed rest from artificial hormones it most likely needed after 10 years.

By now your thinking how are you now? I read ALOT of online articles and blog posts about what to expect and most of them were pretty negative, saying things were going to get worse but to be honest that's not my experience. There's obviously pros and cons to not taking artificial hormones everyday and everyone will experience it differently. I have chronic illnesses so its sometimes hard to work out what causes what, however below I'm going to list what I've noticed in the last year.

The First Few Periods

I was worried that they were going to end up totally irregular. I had never been someone who had irregular periods before but you can expect the first few to be totally messed up whilst your body gets used to not relying on hormones. I downloaded the Clue app so I could keep track which has been so helpful as I can pretty much time them to the day or around then. The first real period (on the pill its called a withdrawal bleed) was fine, it came a few days after I stopped the pill and lasted 5 days. My next one came 37 days later which is a long old time but I figured it needed time to work out what the hell was going on. My next 4 were 31/32 days apart and that's pretty much where we've settled at. Apart from 2 months ago when I had high stress and it was 2 weeks late. Turns out when your not on the pill stress and illness can delay ovulation! You basically just have to be prepared at all times.

Mood

Pms hasn't improved, I didn't think it would if I'm honest but as weird as this might sound i can "feel" things now. I felt like my mood was always very flat before, after coming off the pill if I am pissed off you will know it. In fact I can be a bit of a dick around my period but it nice to actually feel the anger if you get me? I also find I don't take any shit from people anymore as I used to be a bit of a doormat and shrug stuff off. Not sure this is a good trait but makes me feel better haha. On the other side of the spectrum, if I'm happy I'm REALLY happy! It's a strange one.

Skin

I've never had great skin, it's always been on the oily side and spot prone. I broke out really bad, but especially on my chin when I first stopped taking the pill. It was like it for a good 3 months and I actually wondered if I was going to have to start taking it again, until I reminded myself stroke or spots? The vain side of me nearly won that argument. I still got spots but now my skin seems to be a little more on the dry side, the oiliness weirdly seems to have gone. They seem to get worse around my period. I've changed my diet recently so that may help anyway. Some people say it completely clears their spots up coming off, so you might be that person!

Period Pain

I don't get hardly any pain anymore. When I was in my late teens/ early twenties I had the worst period pain to the point I would just lay on the floor feeling sick. I even took Diclofenac which is a prescription only anti-inflammatory drug. It was the only way I was able to go to work and have a life during my 7 day long period. I even considered the possibility of endometriosis, but the doctor ruled this out. This did get better towards my mid twenties but I would still be in enough pain that I needed to take painkillers in the first few days. Now its rare if I take a ibuprofen for stomach cramps and if I do get a hint of it, its normally on the first day.

Duration

I used to be anywhere between 5-7 days, mainly 7. Now they last 3-4 and the second day is normally my heaviest. There also now way lighter. I don't know why that's happened as I was fully prepared for it to be a right shit show but that seems to have improved. I thought it would change as time went on but its been a year and its the same?

Ovulation

When you take the pill or any other type of contraceptive you don't ovulate, so for 10 years I had no idea what it felt like to ovulate. I had totally forgot my body even did that if I'm honest. Mid cycle I now get these little cramps and stabbing pains in my uterus (such an odd word) and my boobs hurt/ache for a few days.

Boobs

Talking of boobs I hoped they would get smaller as I read somewhere they might but no such luck. Most people wish for bigger boobs, in fact my 18 year old chicken fillet wearing self would be elated if she knew they went up a cup size, but I just want mine to be a little smaller. I do notice as I said they ache and can be really tender around PMS time but tends to get better once my period begins.

Weight

There's a lot of controversy around the pill making you gain weight. I personally didn't notice that, until I got chronically ill I was the same weight for years. I gained some weight due to not being as active and my love of sweet treats so sadly cant blame the pill. I did lose a few pounds after I came off as it can cause water retention but as I mentioned earlier I'm on a new diet (its called the no fun diet - no sugar, no gluten or dairy) and I'm slowly losing the weight that way. Don't expect coming off the pill will do anything to your weight, if it does that's an added bonus.

Headaches

I used to get the worst hormonal headaches around my period that used to last days at a time. I still get headaches as I seem to be a very headache prone person but in the last few months they seem to not be so bad. I have been seeing a osteopath/chiropractor for neck issues though so I cant be sure what's doing what there. Headaches during PMS are pretty common though as the estrogen levels drop.

The only real con to coming off the pill in my opinion is that I can no longer skip months. I didn't do that often, but if I had an event or holiday where I just couldn't deal with my period at that time I could delay it. Now I either try to plan things around my period or pretty much just suck it up. I would recommend anyone around my age that's taken the pill for over a decade like I did to maybe consider coming off the pill, but I know for so many its a necessity to be safe. You just have to do what you feel is right for you. I would love to hear from you and your experiences, or even if you've written a post about the same thing.

Leave me a comment!

Until Next Time xo



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