Coming off the Pill - My Journey - 01 The Beginning

At the time of writing this, I am a few months away from turning 30. I have been on the pill since I was 15 years old & despite Drs & nurses telling me that it is perfectly safe to remain on the pill for this length of time, something inside me, my intuition, is telling me it's finally time to give my body a break. For literally half my life I have been taking these pills, daily, for three out of four weeks every month. I have no idea what my natural cycle is actually like & no idea if my thoughts , feelings or body will change without it because quite honestly I don't know who I am without the pill.

I went on the pill when I became sexually active as a teenager to avoid pregnancy & never looked back. I trialled a few pills with varying side effects until I settled on Microgynon. I don't remember the Dr really explaining much about the pill to me at all, nothing how it would effect my body or how it would make me feel. It wasn't until recently, when I read the book 'Period Power' by Maisie Hill (10/10 would recommend) that I found out the periods I've been having all these years since being on the pill aren't actually periods at all but rather, withdrawal bleeds. This was never explained to me & once I read those words, something just shifted in me. I was reading about all these women becoming so in touch with their natural cycles & with themselves, embracing their woman hood & feeling more empowered for doing so. I wanted to experience this for myself.

This morning I had a call with a nurse just to double check that simply stopping the pill would the right way to go about this. She explained that when coming off the pill it would be possible to get pregnant pretty much immediately (which is something I want to avoid) so I will be using condoms & eventually the fertility awareness method to help prevent pregnancy. I will be getting the Natural Cycles app, where you take your temperature every day, record how you're feeling & any bodily signs that come up so that you learn to recognise the different parts of your cycle. The app then tracks the data you input to accurately predict ovulation/ menstruation so you know when you are able to conceive or not. I have also considered the copper coil as I non-hormonal from of contraception but at this point in my life, my intuition is telling me to not put any more foreign objects into my body. At present this feels like the right choice for me.

It must be said, being on Microgynon for me has been easy & stress free. It has always worked for me in regards of stopping pregnancy, my bleeds are light - medium & fairly pain free & my skin has always been reasonably clear. I do get rather extreme PMS, the week before my period my mood swings are wild & my chronic constipation (more on that topic in another blog post sometime I'm sure, lucky you!) is always at it's worst. From coming off the pill I hope to become more in touch with my body, my cycle & myself. I hope to gain a stronger libido, a clearer mind & a more balanced & healthy gut. I hope to feel more empowered & enriched as a woman.

So that's where I'm at right now in this journey, the very beginning. I am currently on my week break from taking the pill to allow for my monthly withdrawal bleed but will not be re-taking the pill once the week is up. I am going to document my journey here, the good & the bad (if there is any), in the hope that sharing my journey might help others going through the same shifts & changes, to share my experience so you don't feel so alone & so you have an idea of what may happen if you choose to go down the same path.

It goes without saying that I am not a medical professional & nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice, I am just simply sharing my experience of this journey & I am inviting you to come along with me if you feel called to do so.