Background: I've been on some form of hormonal birth control since I was 17 or so, around the same time I started getting headaches. I was on it for cramps and because I had slightly irregular periods and heavy flow (which I'm going to have again soon, woohoo!). I started with different kinds of The Pill, and then Ortho Evra Patch, then nothing for a while because I suspected it was giving me headaches, but after maybe six months I didn't notice a difference, so then I went on The Pill without breaks for a period, which my neurologist suggested. Of course then I had break-through bleeding and bad headaches. Then my gyno talked me into getting a Mirena IUD for maybe two years, which you can read about here and most recently I had the Nuva Ring, which you can read about here.
So last week I took out my Nuva Ring (without my neurologist's permission; please don't get the impression that I'm saying this is right because it's NOT; I just got fed up and made a quick decision on my own). After a few days I got a light period and I've had some nausea and diarrhea which I'm guessing are withdrawal symptoms. I've still had headaches but I'm hoping they'll improve.
I've also been exhausted. I slept all day today and even missed church, which makes me sad. But God knows how I feel, and he understands. Plus, as my mom told me - it IS a "day of rest"! I haven't worked out in three weeks so I'm sure that's not helping.
I have a new theory, which I'll blog about soon, but for now I just wanted to put in writing that I'm never ever going on hormonal birth control again. My husband (who supports this decision) says I'm a broken record because I've said this before, but I mean it this time. My body does not like those crappy synthetic hormones, and I'm convinced that my headaches will improve as my cycle gets back to normal.
And no, I'm not planning on having kids any time soon, no offense, future kiddos.
