Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between and beyond, let’s talk about birth control! I personally feel that birth control is stereotypically a part of a dyad. You have condoms, which is placed in the concern for men, and everything else that becomes solely the concern for womyn. Let’s clarify that it can be used to do more than control potential births. Birth control is used to regulate periods, ease pain and discomfort due to periods, level out hormone levels, and to prevent certain STIs. Even in heterosexual relationships, birth control should be of concern to both parties. Womyn should feel as in charge to provide condoms as men should ask and ensure that the womyn is on her own birth control if that is of any concern to him.
Now my two cents on the ethics of birth control is over and my own story on birth control is taking over. (yay!) Back in September I got a birth control implanted in my arm. I was sold on the 99% effectiveness, but this was definitely not nearly enough information to make an educated decision. Trust me. Keep reading and I’ll give you more reason why you should consider possible side effects and the retention rate of the birth control!
My Experience on This Arm Shit:
My moods were ridiculous. Ridiculous. And with bad timing. I was in the beginning of a new relationship, someone very close to me passed away on my first day of classes, and I was already dealing with severe chronic depression. I was laughing uncontrollably one minute and bawling my eyes out the next. Needless to say, it was not an easy job to put up with me. On top of that, I gained 30 pounds within the first two months. I did not feel good about myself. I was working out between 3-5 times per week and still the weight continued to pack on.
I blamed everything on myself, until one day I was talking to my best friend about what I was going through and decided to finally Google reviews on the birth control. Come to find out, almost everyone had some form of issue with the birth control. Even if they didn’t have terrible side effects while it was implanted, the doctors had difficulty finally removing it after the three years.
The convenience of not having to take the pill daily was not worth it. Within the last two weeks that I kept it in, I gained 10 more pounds! 40 pounds packed on total. I was active the entire time and throughout the last two months I had it I was also eating a whole food diet.
Taking it out was the best thing that had happened since. I immediately lost 3 pounds from Tuesday – Friday! I had started vitamin therapy while I was on the birth control, and after taking it out I could fully feel the benefits of doing it. The vitamin therapy helped with my depression immensely, and I no longer suffered from severe mood swings. I felt like a brand new person who was finally in control of their body again.
The Take Away:
ASK QUESTIONS!!! Don’t let the percentage of effectiveness decide what you think will work best for you. Ask your doctor about the side affects and how they think it will affect you based on your history and the reason why you’re deciding to take birth control in the first place. Do research to see what others have to say! People tend to give insight into their own history and experiences with the birth control, so it makes it a little easier to decide what will work for you accordingly. Also, use your friends as resources and ask about their experiences with birth control. There are plenty of resources out there to make the proper decision, so make sure you take advantage to find the best thing for you. You’ll likely still have to go through trial and error, but it should help take some of the guessing out of it!