I first started taking the pill when I was 15. Not because I met my high-school sweetheart and wanted to bone before I was legal, but because my skin looked like shit. I started taking it early in an attempt to cure my acne and, from what I remember, it didn't help clear it up at all. But it was useful to have once I did start having sex.
Even though condoms exist and my first boyfriend was terrified of knocking me up so he wrapped it up anyway.
I've never had much luck with the pill. I tried countless varieties before I eventually stopped. Crippling cramps that once had me stuck crouching on the floor in pain at a train station. Nausea and dizziness that once convinced me I was pregnant and led to me having to take a pregnancy test in a Tesco public bathroom. I hated it, my body hated it and eventually, I gave up.
Through my first couple of years at uni, I did my best to stay diligent with my condom use, with only a couple of visits to the doctor for the morning after pill. One accidental pregnancy, that I only found out about when I miscarried, later and I went back on the tablet of doom.
I stayed on this for another few years until it really began to mess with my hormones. I once had to leave a lecture early because I was crying because my knees looked, and reached a level of anger at how orange a sign was that made my doctor's eyebrows shoot up when I told her. Between the two of use we decided that the pill really wasn't for me after all.
The thing is, my medication is so strong it can cause birth defects, so going contraception-free wasn't an option. My doctor told me that the hormonal IUD was the best option and even though it was excruciatingly painful in the weeks that followed its insertion it eventually settled down and I had little to no trouble.
Until it came to having it removed that is, that was not a pleasant experience.
After my IUD was removed I went back to using condoms and the ill-advised pull-out method. I did think I was pregnant a couple of times because my period was late but, looking back, that was only because my ever-increasing drug use was causing my body to slowly shut down. Once I eased up on the drugs things returned to normal.
I've tried the pill a couple more times since then, with terrible results. Not only can it impact my medication, it turns me into a hormonal mess that cries at the drop of a hat. My most recent venture into this method of contraception happened a couple of weeks ago in an attempt to fend off my boyfriend's bionic sperm. But after 3 days I was out.
I've decided that the IUD is the best bet for me. I booked an appointment a few months ago but, inevitably, didn't go because I was too hungover. This time I was bamboozled into paying over the phone when the receptionist rang me just as I'd woken up. I've already dropped $300 on this thing and I have a further $40 to pay. I can't get out of it.
I don't remember the insertion process too well and horror stories from other people have clouded my memory, but I'd rather that than risk having a baby. I hate children and my boyfriend already has three, I'd rather not add anymore to his collection.
Stay safe on the road
Jess
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