Birth control is a hot commodity nowadays. Virtually every lady over the age of 12-14 is prescribed hormonal birth control, whether they are sexually active or not. And this horrifies me.
I was taking hormonal birth control in the beginning when I was first diagnosed with MRKH. Hello, extra hormones, and whacked out body. Give a 16 year old girl who can't get pregnant hormones to keep her from getting pregnant? Should be harmless, right? Nope, I was a crazy, psychotic wreck every 28 days. I was extremely irritable, stressed, overly anxious and even violent! Some women may say that this is "normal" during your period, but trust me, it is not. I NEVER had issues like that before starting the Pill. It is not normal. My doctors didn't even know for sure I was ovulating regularly. I have no uterus to bleed from or carry a child, but this Pill was what the doctors prescribed. I was on one brand for 3 months, then switched to a "lighter" brand. Same results. Crazy, cranky, irritable. Switched to yet another brand, same results. Switched to a super low dose of hormones meant for menopausal women. Took those for 2 years. I was no longer "crazy" every month but couldn't see what benefit they were even giving me! I had better skin, but no other benefits. And what's the point of popping two pills every day when I can't even get pregnant in the first place? I found it defeated the purpose.
Finally I stopped taking all of them. I approached my doctor and told her I quit, cold turkey. She told me I might not have any eggs and said I should keep taking them, just to encourage them for "someday": if I ever wanted to try IVF. I was adamant. She sighed, and wrote me another year's prescription, "just in case". I was determined. I didn't even KNOW my own body anymore. I didn't know if I even produced eggs or could do IVF in the future!! I had to know.
My skin flared up for the first month. I had HORRIBLE acne. But the amazing thing was, I started to feel better. I did not have crazy mood swings around that time of the month. I started noticing my ovulation time (I am 1 of 20% of women that actually physically feels when I ovulate - mittelschmerz). I ordered Ovulation Predictor Kits off Amazon, and tested and tracked my "cycle". My doctor initially told me I have no eggs. After a year off the hormones, six months of at-home OPKs (with dates and picture proof!), 8 blood tests and 2 ultrasounds, I learned not only do I have a PERFECT 28 day lunar "cycle", but I produce more ovum than most women (8-10 follicles at last count during my ultrasound) and I actually have a slightly INCREASED level of natural hormones. This explains why the "birth control" made me so crazy, and why I physically feel the eggs being released every month. My body doesn't have a place to carry a baby, so the eggs get dissolved in my abdomen. But, I am a medical miracle. I cannot carry a baby. But, I produce enough eggs every month naturally to do IVF at any given time. I have a perfect cycle, hormone-wise. So WHY do they not check these things before prescribing them? Why has this become the "norm"??? How is it that we can't trust a teenager to put on a condom, but we trust a young girl who is not even yet sexually active or completely sexually mature, to take her Pill reliably every day, at the same time? Why would you prescribe this to someone who can't even get pregnant in the first place? I understand there are other benefits of the Pill, but in all seriousness, is there not another method we could be using? Is there not something else we could be doing besides shoving artificial hormones down girls' throats as the "only" real option?
I was taking hormonal birth control in the beginning when I was first diagnosed with MRKH. Hello, extra hormones, and whacked out body. Give a 16 year old girl who can't get pregnant hormones to keep her from getting pregnant? Should be harmless, right? Nope, I was a crazy, psychotic wreck every 28 days. I was extremely irritable, stressed, overly anxious and even violent! Some women may say that this is "normal" during your period, but trust me, it is not. I NEVER had issues like that before starting the Pill. It is not normal. My doctors didn't even know for sure I was ovulating regularly. I have no uterus to bleed from or carry a child, but this Pill was what the doctors prescribed. I was on one brand for 3 months, then switched to a "lighter" brand. Same results. Crazy, cranky, irritable. Switched to yet another brand, same results. Switched to a super low dose of hormones meant for menopausal women. Took those for 2 years. I was no longer "crazy" every month but couldn't see what benefit they were even giving me! I had better skin, but no other benefits. And what's the point of popping two pills every day when I can't even get pregnant in the first place? I found it defeated the purpose.
Finally I stopped taking all of them. I approached my doctor and told her I quit, cold turkey. She told me I might not have any eggs and said I should keep taking them, just to encourage them for "someday": if I ever wanted to try IVF. I was adamant. She sighed, and wrote me another year's prescription, "just in case". I was determined. I didn't even KNOW my own body anymore. I didn't know if I even produced eggs or could do IVF in the future!! I had to know.
My skin flared up for the first month. I had HORRIBLE acne. But the amazing thing was, I started to feel better. I did not have crazy mood swings around that time of the month. I started noticing my ovulation time (I am 1 of 20% of women that actually physically feels when I ovulate - mittelschmerz). I ordered Ovulation Predictor Kits off Amazon, and tested and tracked my "cycle". My doctor initially told me I have no eggs. After a year off the hormones, six months of at-home OPKs (with dates and picture proof!), 8 blood tests and 2 ultrasounds, I learned not only do I have a PERFECT 28 day lunar "cycle", but I produce more ovum than most women (8-10 follicles at last count during my ultrasound) and I actually have a slightly INCREASED level of natural hormones. This explains why the "birth control" made me so crazy, and why I physically feel the eggs being released every month. My body doesn't have a place to carry a baby, so the eggs get dissolved in my abdomen. But, I am a medical miracle. I cannot carry a baby. But, I produce enough eggs every month naturally to do IVF at any given time. I have a perfect cycle, hormone-wise. So WHY do they not check these things before prescribing them? Why has this become the "norm"??? How is it that we can't trust a teenager to put on a condom, but we trust a young girl who is not even yet sexually active or completely sexually mature, to take her Pill reliably every day, at the same time? Why would you prescribe this to someone who can't even get pregnant in the first place? I understand there are other benefits of the Pill, but in all seriousness, is there not another method we could be using? Is there not something else we could be doing besides shoving artificial hormones down girls' throats as the "only" real option?