Are you thinking about taking the pill off? Here women who have already been through it report on their personal experiences. They stopped taking the pill for a variety of reasons – and got to know their bodies all over again.
It used to be a symbol of emancipation. Today, on the other hand, stopping the contraceptive pill represents an act of liberation for many women. They want to free themselves – free from the responsibility of regulating contraception alone, from approving side effects and free from the hormones that make one believe to be pregnant.
Pills, IUDs, condoms and the like – choosing the right contraceptive is big and not always easy these days. What works for one literally gives the other a stomach ache. Ultimately, contraception is highly individual – and yet a downward trend can be observed in terms of the pill.
In 2011, the contraceptive pill was still considered the most important contraceptive for 52 percent of adults – in 2018 it was only for 46 percent. And if you look around in your circle of friends, you will see the ringing mobile phone alarm clock, followed by reaching into your handbag and routinely breaking open the pill pack much less often.
In our editorial team, too, many women have decided in recent years to stop taking the pill. Here we report on our experiences – why we said goodbye to hormones and how our body found it that way. Because one thing is clear: even stopping the pill does not leave us without a trace.
We stopped the pill – 5 women and their experiences
In this article you will find purely personal experience reports – what happens medically in the body and you should know when you have to stop taking the pill, we have summarized for you.
I find it exciting to get to know my cycle again.
"I took the pill for almost 10 years as a matter of course, it was easy to do after a certain age, it seemed to me. Then more and more studies came up on the side effects, especially with regard to thrombosis, and I no longer felt well. It was more of a creeping process from the pill to the mini-pill until I stopped taking it completely. Today I'm incredibly happy about it. Yes, my days are stronger, I get blemishes and PMS also likes to knock. But: I'm emotionally much more stable . I really have the feeling of having been a completely different person under the pill, as if throttled. At the same time, I find it exciting to get to know my cycle again – you somehow approach the body. I like that. "
How do I know I have blemished skin while I ovulate? Because now I can actually feel my ovulation.
"Because I had a constant feeling of tension in my breasts, my gynecologist advised me to stop taking the pill. Up until then, I had been taking the pill for almost 15 years. In retrospect, I think it's a long time, but I'm just always good with it In fact, I was a bit scared of going off because friends of mine had horror stories of bad acne and worse mood swings or missed their periods for months.
And indeed – I was allowed to go through almost all of that: even six months after weaning, I still have to struggle with a very irregular cycle and very blemished skin during my ovulation. How do I know I have blemished skin while I ovulate? Because now I can feel my ovulation. I also notice everything else more strongly: The cramps during my period can often only be endured with painkillers and I have much heavier bleeding. I want to watch all of this for the next few months and discuss my experiences with my gynecologist at the next check-up appointment. Even though a lot has been exhausting since I stopped taking the pill, I find it hard that this drug has apparently suppressed my physical reactions so far. The pill is no longer an option for me as a contraceptive method and I would have liked to have thought about alternatives earlier – or to have been proactively approached by doctors. "
I stopped taking the pill 4 years ago. Today I am much more balanced and do not feel controlled by others.
"I stopped taking the pill 4 years ago and I am very happy about this decision! A hormonal contraceptive method can also depress the mood of many women – that was the case with me too! With the pill I was much more emotional and sometimes had my feelings not well under control and started to cry faster. Today I am much more balanced and do not feel controlled by others. "
I found the thought creepy, non-stop fooling my body into pregnancy.
"I stopped taking the pill years ago because I found the creep of the non-stop fooling my body into making a pregnancy (that's basically more than absurd and common sense would have to rebel). I felt a lot after that better: Less headache, less susceptible to infection and overall I felt fitter. Of course, the period became more painful again, but I can cope with that, because at least I no longer intervene in the natural mechanism of my body month after month. "
Seriously, where is the pill for the man?
“The question of why I stopped taking the pill is easy to answer: I wanted to get pregnant. The question of why I didn't want to take it again afterwards is more complicated. Or actually not: I simply don't want my body to do this Do more. They are and will remain artificial hormones and even if the contraceptive pill was certainly an incredible breakthrough, it only weighs on the woman's body while the man can lean back and relax and is not an issue with mood swings, weight swings, pimples , Thrombosis, an increased risk of cancer or the various other side effects. Why should contraception be a woman's business? Because it's us who also get pregnant? Who have to endure childbirth? Seriously, where is the pill for the man? "
sources used: Internal survey, Federal Center for Health Education