How coming off the contraceptive pill changed my body
And I wish I meant that in a positive way. Spoiler: I do not.
Trigger warning: This post contains the words ‘period’ ‘menstruation’ and ‘fertilisation’ so if you’re uncomfortable with these terms, or similar ones around the subject, maybe try growing up. Respectfully.
I came off the contraceptive combined pill when I was 29, after almost 14 years on it. I didn’t come off it because I wanted to immediately have a child, and in fact I happily existed off the pill for four years, child-free. It was because I had never experienced adult life without it, and I felt I should know what that might feel like. (I may add at this juncture that none of what’s written below should be construed as medical advice. Speak to your doctor if you’ve questions, this is my experience only.)
Being on the pill for that long had – as it transpires – dulled me. It had softened me around the edges, particularly when it came to my menstrual cycle. It had just kept me tipping along, unaware of the true fluctuations that (should and would) happen month to month for most women. Fluctuations isn’t a particularly gentle word per se, but it’s still BY A MILE too soft a word for the chaos that was about to ensue in my body. Little did I know.
I came off the pill. Not gradually, or anything. I just stopped one day.
Without warning (genuinely, I don’t think my GP or anyone around me who knew I was stopping the pill told me) I started experiencing ALL sorts.
My hair started to fall out. And not just fall out, but change texture. I gained weight, quickly and without any other massive lifestyle changes. I had three consecutive HEAVY periods, back to back, with about a two week window in between each one, with each one more painful than the last. I was exhausted, constantly. I was googling B12 deficiency so much I was being fed Instagram ads for supplements on an hourly basis.
But that wasn’t the end of things, and what was to come continues to this day. The absolute and complete *demonic* crystallisation of my menstrual cycle. Let me explain…