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The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/StreetBeyond9 on 2023-07-29 01:20:44.
Hi, just wanted to share my personal experience with coming off birth control. I started taking Yasmin when I was 17 and kept taking it for 18~19 years, so for a very long time. Turned 36 this month. I used it continuously and didn’t change the brand, didn’t try to come off earlier. It has been 6 months now since I quit the pill.
I had thought about quitting birth control for a couple of years, but I didn’t have the courage as I had read so many horror stories about acne and hair loss. I was especially scared of losing my hair, because my hair was quite fine and thin to begin with. In January I finally felt that I had the courage to ditch the pill and go through what ever changes my body would go through. I stopped taking the pills at the end of January.
The first month was mostly okay. Didn’t have any drastic changes in my skin or hair. The worst symptom during this time was a terrible head ache, or actually two head aches. Both of them lasted for a week. The first one was more intense and I even had some petechiae (pinpoint bleeding under skin) on forehead and temples. I also experienced milky discharge coming from my nipples (which felt really weird. Never been pregnant in my life).
In March (after 6 weeks) I started noticing changes in my skin. My skin got much oilier than before and also my scalp was producing more oils, so I had to wash my hair more often. After 7,5 weeks I have written in my journal that “it’s unbelievable how much oil my skin pushes out” and that I had some pimples on my chin. Was starting to feel more energetic, though.
In April I started to have more pimples and after 9 weeks had passed, I had a full blown acne on my face. I was feeling quite down about it. Had some hair loss too. I’ve written: “I noticed that I was losing more hair than usually. It continued for two weeks, but it feels like it’s calming down a little”. Well, that was a temporary relief.
In May my hair really started shedding a lot. It had been 3 months since I quit the pill. May was the worst month for me, because I had the acne and hair loss going on and I just felt so ugly. One time, after I counted my lost hair after shower (and stopped counting when I reached 300), I remember calling my mom and crying about how ugly I feel. I felt I was being vain for being so upset, but I couldn’t help it.
In June things started to look a bit better. My acne was little by little calming down. Hair kept falling however. One positive change was that I noticed, that some kind of swelling had gone away. Before quitting I was having small malar bags under my eyes/ upper cheeks that I was very conscious about, because they made me look older and tired. I tried every little trick to make them go away, but they didn’t, so I had been trying to accept them as a part of myself. Until one day, I realized that they were gone. I had to take a selfie because I couldn’t believe my eyes. I decided to compare it with a selfie that I took in January, when I was still on the pill. Shock. My whole face had changed! I hadn’t even realized that I had that swelling going on in my face. My weight was the same as in January, so it had to be because of the pills. Also in June I had my first period 4,5 months after quitting.
In July my hair has is still shedding a lot (maybe starting to decrease a bit) but I have also noticed some new growth. Weird, but despite my hair loss it seems that there has been very little change in the way my hair feels or looks. I have been taking pics of my hair and parting almost weekly and really, there is not much difference between January and July. Also skin has improved drastically! Now I only have a couple smaller pimples. Summer and sunlight have been helping a lot, I think. One new symptom that occured after period was vaginal dryness, which felt very uncomfortable. Never had that problem until now! I was sure I was having an UTI because I had almost all the symptoms, but thought it was strange that peeing itself didn’t hurt. Went to gynaecologist, got some cream and that helped a lot.
Now I finally feel that the worst is over and things are gradually starting to get better. Hopefully my cycle will get more regular, too. My second period was supposed to begin 2 weeks ago and I even had some PMS. Nothing yet, though. Just wanted to share my journey so far with you.