I remember being curled up on my cold bathroom floor holding my stomach, crying while gasping for air and begging God to rip my uterus out so the pain would finally stop.
It might seem dramatic, but that was the reality of my menstrual cycle for five days every month. My only escape would be if I was drugged up on pain pills, living out those five days in a haze of artificial relief.
The pain was so overbearing when I turned 15 that I couldn’t take it anymore. My doctor suggested I try birth control and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
My birth control journey began with taking the pill.
The pill is 91-99% effective against pregnancy if you maintain the medication’s strict schedule, according to Planned Parenthood.
The pill is taken once a day at the same time down to the minute. Some side effects include headaches, nausea, sore breasts, change of period flow and spotting, also according to Planned Parenthood.
Being young and immature, I would consistently forget to take the pill, which caused it to be less effective. Not to mention I experienced one huge side effect: weight gain.
I immediately wanted to stop using the pill because in my 15-year-old head, gaining a little weight was a bigger crisis than being in agonizing pain every month.
So I switched up my birth control and tried the NuvaRing, which I loved.
The NuvaRing is a small, plastic circular ring inserted into the vagina after the user's period every month and is removed before menstruation starts. It prevents pregnancy by releasing hormones into the body, according to Planned Parenthood.
I was a bit intimidated by the NuvaRing at first and was honestly grossed out to shove it up my vagina, but I soon realized it’s a great birth control method.
Having hormones pumped into my body not only helped control my awful period pain, but also cleared my acne, maintained my weight and allowed me to practice safe sex when I was first exploring my sexuality.
I experienced freedom within my own body for the first time and it was extremely liberating.
However, all good things come to an end and so did my time on NuvaRing.
I was about to take a leap into young adulthood and attend San Jose State six hours away from home and I knew I needed to switch to a more permanent birth control method.
NuvaRing came one ring at a time and required me to go to the pharmacy once a month to pick up my prescription. As I moved away from home for the first time in a completely new environment, I felt unprepared for a new prescription without my mom’s help.
So after talking to my doctor, I decided to try Nexplanon.
Nexplanon, known as “the implant,” is a thin, short rod that is inserted into the arm and prevents pregnancy up to five years, according to Planned Parenthood.
I won’t lie, when Nexplanon was implanted into my arm it hurt tremendously and left me with extreme bruising for days.
I could almost feel the overwhelming wave of hormones taking over those first few days and it changed the way I viewed my body at a crucial time when I was trying to understand myself.
The implant came into my life at a period when I was struggling with bouts of depression. I’m unsure whether it was the new wave of hormones running rampant through my body or that I was leaving for college, but I started to feel happy and love myself again.
Birth control gave me empowerment across all aspects of my life because I'm in control of my body and my mental health.
