But while we may be well aware of the changes that might result after taking birth control, we rarely hear what happens after women stop. For the next six months I had seemingly normal periods. But then my monthly bleeding stopped completely from January 2015 until June. Turns out my body forgot how to have a normal period! The bleeding I’d experienced before was just hormone withdrawal. I was so worried while waiting for it to return, and I wish doctors had been better about informing me of all the changes my body would go through with hormones." — Rebekah, 29, Philadelphia, PA I was so surprised by what happened. While I saw some physical changes, the biggest response was what I experienced emotionally. For the first time in more than 11 years, I felt like an integrated being within my own body. Essentially, ingesting something that controlled my natural bio rhythms was not in my best good. I hadn’t realized how much more empowered and more like ‘myself’ I would feel when I stopped taking the Pill." — Shira, 40s, South Salem, NY But after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, I decided to take a more natural approach to my health, and went off the Pill. It took nine months for my menstrual cycle to return and once it did, my skin went crazy! Cystic acne began to appear all over my face and neck. Then it traveled down to my chest and shoulders. I struggled to even leave my house — it was that bad. It took a good two years of diet changes and healing from within to see my acne finally diminish." — Carly, 27, Australia Later, I decided to go off the Pill simply because I wanted to live cleaner. As soon as I stopped, all of my headaches went away. I’ve had maybe two migraines since, and it’s been decades. I wish someone would have considered that the migraines were a side effect of my birth control." — Kathy, 45, Santa Barbara, CA At first, everything seemed fine. But about two months after I should have received my next shot, my breasts enlarged at least one full cup size and became extremely tender and sore. Wearing any sort of bra was uncomfortable, and I even had to decrease my exercise and jogging because it was too painful. After about a year, my period finally came back, and once it became more regular, I finally started to feel better." — Julie, 27, West Des Moines, IA Previously, my birth control had completely killed my sex drive. This was more than your normal “I’m too tired/had a long day/don’t feel like it” type of thing. It was to the point where I rarely thought about sex, or had any kind of urge. When I stopped taking pills for that month, I experienced all kinds of symptoms. But what was extremely noticeable was that my libido instantly increased. So much so that I would catch myself checking out my boyfriend as he got ready for work in the morning. Safe to say it was a major change — one my boyfriend was very happy with." — Lydia, 27, Las Vegas, NV But right after I stopped, I completely lost my appetite. All I could do was graze on ‘sick food’ like chicken soup and mild fruits. In just over a month, I lost 20 pounds. This rapid weight loss was very scary, but I worked with a nutritionist to eventually return to a healthier weight. Still, my melasma stayed the same." — Lauren, 32, Malibu, CA So far, I still haven’t gotten my period back. Besides that, I also started getting night sweats pretty frequently for the first month and a half without it. It felt like going through menopause! Now I’m only getting them maybe once a week, but it was definitely the biggest change I noticed." — Lisa, 30, New York City So far, I already feel definitely, considerably more level. I haven’t noticed any spikes of highs or lows before my period like I used to, and I find I’m emotionally healthier." — Christina, 28, San Francisco
