livinTX

Well, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Some small percentage of women on the pill do fine, don't have any side effects, but most have some (many women do not even associate these side effects with the pill, but it's true). First and foremost, breakthrough bleeding (bleeding between periods can happen randomly any given time on the pill, you can take it perfectly have no trouble for several years, then just suddenly have 3 weeks of bleeding). Also, most women who are on the pill long term notice a huge decrease even absence of sex drive. It becomes harder to get aroused, sex is dryer and more painful, and often the pill makes you care less about having sex. That's just for starters.

Many side effects creep up on you after taking the pill for several years. You might do fine, then suddenly have a host of problems. I was OK on the pill for 6 years, then suddenly, my body went nuts. I gained 20 lb. of water weight in 1 month (I am not kidding). I started having so many symptoms of pregnancy, I was convinced I was pregnant even though I was not--the area over my uterus became hard and bulgy, I felt like all the cells of my body were pushing outward, I started craving milk (which I HATE the taste of), zero sex drive, but worst of all was what it did to my mood--I became highly anxious and moody, depressed. I started waking up daily on the verge of tears. I have a history of depression, but this pill-induced depression was different from the other. I was convinced I must have a serious mental illness. It really strained my marriage.

I tried switching pills (from Ovcon 35 to loestrin to yasmin to a pill I'd previously done OK on--northo-novum 7/7/7...no luck). Sometimes the side effects would go away a few days, but they always came raging back. I quit the pill 7 months ago, and I am so glad I did! Within 2 months, my mood & attitude improved. I stopped waking up on the verge of tears and crying daily. I began to see my sex drive return (nowhere near pre-pill levels but at least some sex drive is better than none, it's thought the pill may permanently damage your sex drive even after stopping it). I lost 10 lb. but am still retaining water because 7 months after stopping...my periods STILL are not normal!

Now, I'm having very light periods, lighter than pill periods some months (just spotting most of the time of my period). I believe this is causing me to continue to retain water and it makes me think if I wanted to get pregnant now, I might not be able to--I'm thinking the lining isn't building up properly on my uterus, which means a fertilized egg might have a hard time implanting. I want to start a family in about a year and I hope to God my cycles straighten out by then. I'm only 28 years old (well, almost 29). I had perfectly normal periods before starting the pill.

So...consider it carefully...and if you do go on it, be sure to be on the lookout for side effects like these that may creep up over time. It's a nightmare. I really wish I had known this could happen before I started on it.