any experiences coming off birth control ? What to expect? I’ve been on hormonal contraception since 13, I’m now 21, I’ve been on the pill , patch and implant and I’m ready to come off but would like to hear other peoples experiences about coming off contraception completely

You can basically experience any withdrawal or side effect for up to 12 months. Every persons experience is entirely different, some don’t notice a thing and get a cycle right away, for some it’s irregular, and for some it doesn’t even occur for months. It’s best to go in without any expectations but if you decide to quit it should at least be for 12 months, else you’ll risk an increased risk of clots. So be sure it is something you’ll commit to long term. Don’t expect your bleeds to be the same as when you were a young teenager, as it’ll likely be very different now you’re entering adulthood. Things change!

I had/have awful cystic acne that I never had once in my life since coming off birth control. Every new cyst scars so im left with tons of scarring, I’ve tried almost everything to stop it for the last 2.5 years and the only thing that worked was going back on BC recently. But I’ve since stopped cause it made my mental health awful and I’d rather have acne. But yeah, you read about the acne coming full force online and think it won’t happen and then it does 🥲 nothing prepared me for it lol. Hopefully you are luckier than me!! I’ve gotten off the pill once before and didn’t have ANY side effects at all, it was great. Not sure what happened the second time around.

@falafels_ this is what’s worrying me the most the acne! Im coming off for my mental health also, I guess I’ll just pray 🙏🏻 and if it gets bad I’ll have to go back on it

@Pippinpom I understand!! The acne brought on a different side of mental health stuff for me in terms of self esteem, I cried a lot.. but birth control genuinely made me want to admit myself to the psychiatric ward. It was bad bad and I regret going back on to try and get rid of my acne :( Our bodies are all so different, you might not have a single breakout and coming off the pill for mental health reasons is absolutely worth it.

Off the pill since May, honestly been pretty smooth for me. I went on the pill for acne so yes that’s come back but it’s not too bad. My periods have been fine, a little irregular at times but my natural periods before I went on the pill were not perfectly regular anyway. Mental health/emotional state wise I haven’t felt any difference

i went off the pill in like may 2023, i had a great experience and I was soo scared of the horror stories I heard. But i got my period back exactly on time and has been on time ever since! a few things that could have helped but technically no way to know for sure: i went to acupuncture, i took Elix Healing balance tincture as soon as i knew i was going off the pill. other things that can help are teas like raspberry leaf tea and menstrual relief tea blends. Staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, eating a well balanced diet! I was on the combo pill for about 7/8 years straight before going off