I Tried 3 Different Methods Of Birth Control And These Were The Side Effects
I can remember so vividly when my life journey with contraceptives first began.
I was a few months shy of turning 18, and my relationship with my love interest at the time was going incredibly fast–so fast that he had become my first. I was in the living room and my mom was sitting at the computer in the kitchen when I posed the question, “Can I get on birth control?" She was quiet for a few heartbeats before asking, “Are you having sex?" I told her yes. “I'll schedule you an appointment with the doctor next week." It was that simple.
I still think on that memory and laugh a little bit at how uncomfortable, but necessary those types of conversations are and how seamlessly my mom always allowed me to have them, mainly because she did not want to talk details. Remain as surface as possible and she's fine. Birth control was surface and preventative. She could deal with that.
I got on Loestrin 24 Fe shortly after.
It was a godsend. A little white pill that came in a packet of 28 – 24 of them hormones, four of them placebos. In the beginning, I loved them. My body was so full of hormones that I did not have a normal period for the first four months of my use. My partner and I loved that and I'm sure you can guess the reasons why. And the pill was a godsend to my very hormonal acne. The hormones in the pills balanced out my issues with my severe acne and cleared up my skin completely in a matter of months. I didn't wear makeup before, but I definitely didn't need it after.
For $54 a month, it was on the pricey side but as someone who was sexually active, was in a monogamous relationship, and didn't really like the feel of condoms, Loestrin was an ideal way to protect myself from getting pregnant.
But a couple of years into being about that oral contraceptive life, I was hit with a harsh reality of my doctor no longer being able to write prescriptions of Loestrin for me at a discounted rate. And the old rate of $54 had become doubled.
Yes, I love my health, but damn!
As a college student on an extra extra tight budget, that kind of price point didn't work for me. At this point, I was out of my long-term relationship. I was fine with eliminating the cost of an oral contraceptive for now, replacing it with a box of Trojans that I kept in my bedside table for the time being in case I did partake in casual sex.
Condoms were my default way of protecting myself from babies and the risk of STDs (aka, I can't trust these hoes or their tired lines of, “I don't have a rubber on me." “Sir, I have one. No worries.")
When I entered a new relationship, I became interested in alternatives to condoms once more. I thought about IUDs, but didn't like the idea of something being implanted up into my vagina for a lengthy amount of time like that, sight unseen. A roommate of mine told me about how she does Depo-Provera, mainly to reduce menstrual cramps, but she discussed its ease and efficacy. And it was easy and efficient. I went to my doctor, requested the shot, got one in my shoulder, and was told that after 24 hours it would go into effect. One shot every three months and it lowers your chances of getting pregnant all the way down to 0.3%? It sounded too good to be true.
And you know what? For me it was.
Every side effect that you could possibly have with Depo-Provera, I got.
I gained a little weight: no complaints here. I was nauseous, but what's a little nausea? I could deal with that. What I could not deal with, was the havoc the shot wreaked on my skin. Before any birth control products and well into my pubescent years, I had bad skin, it reverted and I was delivered, but Depo brought all of that back and with a vengeance. I had the worst breakouts all on my back and shoulders, my chest, my cheeks, my jawline–it was awful. Painfully cystic acne. I had one shot and I was done. Every woman is different, everybody is different, and Depo just did not work with my chemistry for whatever reason. I could deal with certain side effects, but the return of horrific skin was not one of them.
I went to another roommate who told me about how she does oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and regulate her periods. I remembered how much greener the grass was on the other side, so I was willing to give the pill another try. She told me about a $9 option that Walmart offers called Sprintec to women who do not have coverage on their insurance plans for contraceptives (which are a lot of women surprisingly–what's up with that?).
I was on the pill for another year to year and a half. I'm guessing due to its affordability and to the fact that it was a generic brand, Sprintec didn't offer the same skin benefits that Loestrin did. Honestly, it made the pill's luster dim quite a bit for me. I was finding it hard to keep up with wanting to wake up at 6 A.M. every day to take a pill, especially during times of droughts where I was abstaining from sex.
The ritual of taking one every day, 365 days a year was boring.
The things we must do as women…
Although I completely understand that life comes with its share of big pills to swallow, I still haven't gotten over how many annoying things come with being a woman. Birth control being one of them. It's one of those necessary evils to counteract aspects of nature that we wish to prolong or inhibit. Some women use birth control to help with painful periods, some take them to regulate irregular periods, and some to stop Mother Nature for doing its thing and making babies. I'm very much in the latter part of birth control intents and purposes. I think through trial and tribulation, I'm finally going to settle on oral again. Ever since a lot more health insurance plans are required to cover out of pocket expenses for birth control due to the Affordable Care Act, it's a little easier to get what it is I'm looking for, without settling for its discounted counterpart.
The third time's the charm, right? Let us hope and pray.
Have you struggled with your contraceptive measures too? Share your stories below, let's make this a contraceptive circle.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images