The Great Ups and Downs of Birth Control
Birth Control is one of the great choices in every person’s life. People go on birth control for a variety of reasons, from skin care, period cramps to, of course, contraception. However, making the choice to go on birth control can lead to a variety of shitty side effects. So many of my mates experience bad mood swings, heavy bleeding, pain, all because of choices they made when they were as young as 14 or 15. Massive had some yarns with people and their different contraception choices, to better understand the kinds of struggles that students deal with on a day to day basis.
The oral contraceptive is the most common contraceptive and the gateway to other types. The people I reached out to all mentioned the pill, even if they were on it briefly. For example, Kelly first started using birth control to deal with her PCOS and period pain. PCOS is a hormone imbalance that causes issues like irregular periods, weight gain and hair loss. But while on the pill, Kelly would experience bad depression, stop taking the pill and get painful periods again. It would go on like that in a terrible cycle and made Kelly feel like she “couldn’t win”. To her, it also felt like “taking the pill was only putting a Band-Aid” on a severe health issue. From the sounds of it, the Band-Aids were beginning to layer up. At one point, Kelly was on a questionable drug cocktail that included the contraceptive pill and an antidepressant, which decreased her iron levels. So, iron medication was added to her prescription and another pill to help digest the iron. Eventually, Kelly saw a friend who was also a naturopath and nutritionist. She was put on a natural pill to help regulate period pain. She was also given diet recommendations that helped her situation.
Sarah* said she was on the generic combined pill when she was a teenager to lighten heavy bleeding and ease cramps. But it caused severe migraines for her. They got worse with age and after a whole slew of side effects from migraines to breast pain to extreme fatigue. These continued even after she switched to the mini pill. Sarah eventually found that taking the pill at night helped her, so she wasn’t so tired during the day. The side effects of birth control aren’t great, but an unplanned pregnancy can upset one’s life too. Overall, Sarah said that “I’d rather not be on any birth control medication… However, it’s better than being paranoid about getting pregnant. Even though condoms are effective, I don’t trust them!” Amen to that. Between the tearing and having to apply it correctly every time. There is something scary about trusting a thin layer of latex to stop a baby.
The Intrauterine Device (IUD) is long-lasting birth control inserted into the uterus by a doctor. There is the non-hormonal copper IUD and the hormonal one. It has a high effectiveness rate of 99%. At first, Ivy was on the pill but decided to go on the IUD due to side effects. However, she started with the copper IUD and wasn’t told that it would make heavy periods and pain even worse. Even though it is long-lasting and you only have to get it changed every couple of years, Ivy said that “insertion SUCKS”. She wasn’t given any pain medication, and the pain itself lasted for a couple days after. Eventually, she switched to the hormonal IUD, or Mirena. The problems were the same as before, but at least the extra pain from the copper IUD wasn’t there.
Maria has been on Depo Provera, an injection taken every three months for three years. She has no side effects (#blessed). She was on the pill originally, but had to switch to DP due to medical concerns. Maria didn’t have any major problems with birth control, but she faced barriers such as not being able to talk to her family about it, and receiving judgment from the medical staff. Maria said, “In my first nurse appointment I felt like she was quite judgemental,” which added to her feelings of embarrassment and fear of judgement about the topic already. In the future, she is thinking of switching to the implant - another long term contraceptive that is inserted into the arm rather than the uterus.
Despite the current problems with birth control, over 10 years ago the discrimination and judgement people with uteruses faced were tenfold. Sam has been using birth control for about fifteen years. She first started because of PCOS but after three years of being on the pill she switched to depo. She recalls her first time visiting her gyno – an older man – who dismissed her symptoms of PCOS. “He actually said to me, and my mother who was with me, that women have periods and I should learn to deal with it.”
Attitudes like these have led to many serious conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis being ignored. When Sam eventually switched to DP, her PCOS symptoms disappeared. From Sam’s experience, she said that “male doctors are very reluctant in handing out birth control and don’t believe periods problems exist”.
Sam also noted how age can play a factor in obtaining birth control. “Doctors don’t want to give birth control to teens.” This might be because of a presumption that birth control is prescribed for contraception exclusively, and not a presumption that it can help with valid medical issues arising from periods. I think, for the most part, that attitude is beginning to change. But as we’ve seen, no two experiences are the same. But that’s a whole other can o’ worms!
Doctors don’t take period problems seriously enough. But this is an issue perpetuating in many areas of uterus healthcare. Pain is dismissed as hysteria, or something to just get on with. It’s a cis man’s world and we’re just living in it. I remember hearing once about male birth control. Apparently, scientists are working on a gel that can be rubbed in the shoulders and arms to stop sperm production, but then again, we’ve been hearing these rumors for years. Hopefully, one day, the burden will no longer be placed solely on people with uteruses to navigate the treacherous world of birth control. But in all honesty? I wouldn’t hold my breath.