15 Fashion Journal readers share their experiences with birth control

“Since this health area is so under-researched, it really feels like doctors are just using trial and error to help me find the right birth control.”

The introduction of the oral contraception pill in February 1961 marked a monumental change for Australian menstruators. They no longer had to rely on the cooperation of a male partner or be married to gain access to safe contraception. It was a revolutionary step forward in the women’s rights movement – so why is it that almost 60 years on, finding the right birth control still feels like an uphill battle?

For more health and wellness advice, head on over to our Health section.

While we are lucky to have so many more options on the market, education surrounding the effects of hormonal birth control leaves much to be desired. Below, 15 Fashion Journal readers share their experiences with birth control, and detail the methods that have – and haven’t – worked for them.

Micah*, 20, she/her

Birth control changed my life for the better in so many ways! As a teenager, I had extremely painful cramps that would cause me to thrash at night, clawing at my stomach and pass out from the pain. It eliminated that and allowed me to regulate my periods and when I got older allowed me to tap into so much sexual freedom, I prefer sex unprotected with my partner, so it has been great.

It’s hard but as a wellness and health lover, I try to tune out a lot of the messaging around birth control ‘secretly ruining your body’ when it’s actually, according to my own doctor, the best thing for me. I get checked regularly to ensure my blood pressure remains unchanged, but even with a stronger dose, I haven’t noticed any side effects that would put me off continuing it.

Amber*, 18, she/her

I hear all these horror stories about birth control and I seriously empathise! However, my birth control journey has been pretty successful. I started on the pill in 2020, I was on one of the basic ones and went straight in with the full dose and it worked for me! I didn’t experience any mood changes, no bad periods and felt the same, was just protected from babies!

But… the pill is hard to keep up with and I wanted something more definite and not reliant on my memory to take a pill every day… that’s where I started to experience the horrors of birth control. I opted for the implanon, the procedure was fine (no worse than I expected) and the same for the healing process. The first few weeks were fine, my arm was super sore but I didn’t feel any different. It hit a month since and I started getting my period every week.

I would have about six to eight days between periods and god, were they bad. Cramps were horrendous, and what used to be a four-day period with the last two days spotting turned into a seven-day period with only the last day spotting. More than a year later (I got the rod in December 2022) and I still get my period every two weeks.

Although I’m so grateful to have escaped the mental side effects and the weight gain, a period every two weeks is so bad. Birth control has so many benefits but it also has so many deficits. Really think about whether this is for you and find the right option!

Lilly*, 20, she/her

I’ve been on the pill for around two and a half years now. I was really scared to start taking it, but the fear of being pregnant and having to get an abortion made me more scared. I take the Evelyn pill – not that I am recommending this to anyone, as everyone is different. I have had zero problems with this pill, I feel like nothing has changed and my skin has honestly gotten even better. I am really concerned about when the time comes to go off it! I feel like there is zero education about going off the pill…

Sylvie*, 25, she/her

I’ve tried almost every single type of birth control and had a really rough time doing so. My mental state is easily affected by hormones, and almost every birth control method I’ve tried has made me feel down. I get migraines with aura, so I can’t go on the combined pill. I tried the rod, which caused intense migraines and wildly long periods, and the progesterone-only pills I tried affected my mood too much.

My doctor advised me to try an IUD, which I did – I’ve had that in for a year and a half or so and it seems to be working well. I get my period rarely, but I’ve never been sure if it affects my mood. I also didn’t go under anaesthetic to get it inserted, so that process was super painful (weirdly, my period pain is worse with the IUD, and similar in feeling to the IUD insertion pain).

I’ve almost run out of options and for now am opting to keep the IUD in, as it seems like the best of a bad bunch for me. Exhausting! Since this health area is so under-researched, it really feels like doctors are just using trial and error to help me find the right birth control, which is rough at times.

Ayala*, 26, she/her

I started taking oral birth control when I was 18. My period had become unpredictable and super painful and was impacting my ability to work or get to uni. My GP put me on one to start that absolutely wasn’t for me… I had wild side effects. But the second formula I tried changed everything for me. My periods stabilised, the pain reduced and I don’t really deal with any side effects. I’ve been on it continuously since then and it’s helping me manage my recently diagnosed endometriosis. For me, it works and lets me just live my life.

Li*, 23, she/her

I was using the Implanon (hormonal implant/‘the bar’) as birth control for around six years. Every three years they expire and you have to get a new implant inserted. After my third implant was inserted, I began having very painful and heavy periods. More concerning was that my mood also changed dramatically and I started having intense body dysmorphia – where I would look at myself in the mirror and feel that I looked as if I were dead or made from clay.

I got my birth control removed and it’s been around six months now that I’ve been off birth control and honestly I feel the best I have in years. I have loved seeing my periods become regular and light again. I feel more in touch with my body and the moon!

Serena,* 24, she/her

I was on birth control throughout high school. It made me horrifically depressed and gave me migraines almost daily where I would lose feeling in my arms and legs, vomit and lose my vision… It was completely debilitating and every pill I tried caused the same side effects. So many women I talk to have had adverse effects on the pill but with few options on the market, they feel cornered into taking it despite the way it makes them feel.

One of my friends became seriously depressed on the pill and the doctor’s solution was to prescribe her antidepressants. It becomes a slippery slope of putting bandaids on problems that are only going to continue to exacerbate without addressing the root cause. There’s such a lack of education about women’s health. There’s a narrative taught in schools that ‘if you have sex you are getting pregnant’, without really teaching girls the reality of their cycle – it’s disempowering.

Elsa*, 30, she/her

I’ve tried and tested 90 per cent of all birth control for women, and what I would say worked for me wouldn’t for others. The pills through my high school years made my life weight fluctuate and my skin break out. And in the end, I had to stop and let my body go back to normal. Once sexually active again, I opted for the bar. It was fantastic for the first three years and then once it was replaced, I experienced hell.

I then used the Mirena and copper IUD. The horrible insertion procedure was extremely painful and the Mirena was not for me… the hormones made me moody, erratic and an emotional wreck. The copper IUD worked the best, although the cramps and flow were extremely painful and heavy. I removed all types of contraception now in my thirties as I’m over it and have children.

Maya*, 23, she/her

Deciding to go on the pill at 15 seemed like a no-brainer… it was to help with cystic acne and chronic migraines… The pill provided me with a level of bodily autonomy I wouldn’t realise til much later. At such a young age, I didn’t realise how my mother’s decision to allow me to start the pill would affect my introduction to sex.

I never feared falling pregnant when the time came to it. There was no need for those awkward conversations regarding pregnancy or sex at a young age. She knew I was safe. I am forever grateful to her for allowing me to make my own decisions regarding my body.

Shaanti*, 24, she/her

I was on birth control for six years, and when I came off it didn’t get my period back for three years. After having numerous tests and seeing a specialist I was told everything was healthy.

Coming off it I had never felt better… I lost weight, was more energetic and much happier. My period arrived one day in 2022 with no reason as to why it had gone. So although I felt great physically, I felt very unfeminine and out of tune with my body. This was something I struggled with until it came back.

Clara*, 24, she/her

I feel I was extremely lucky, my doctor suggested I go on the pill for my skin and I was wary of all the side effects but it didn’t seem to affect me too much! No crazy hormone changes or gaining weight. I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS so being on the pill has really helped with irregular periods and pain.

Lottie*, 24, her/she

I started on Levolen at the age of 17… I had a bad reaction and I suffered nausea and headaches every day. I didn’t know it was the pill at first but when I’d miss even one or two, I felt completely different. I felt normal!

Eventually, I got a new script for Yasmin, which replaces progesterone with a man-made alternative called drospirenone… they really advise you not to smoke and use this pill, but I did at the time. Naturally, I was looking for something without the side effects and contacted my GP who recommended an IUD.

I looked into it a figured out it has the same stuff my body doesn’t agree with. I brought it up to my GP, who hadn’t even clocked my prior issues and she said there was a chance it would have the same effect (this is after many gruelling appointments with people I didn’t feel understood my situation).

So now once again, I’m in no man’s land about what contraceptive is best. Seriously the Explained Netflix episode on birth control was life-changing. It’s infuriating hearing the horrific history of what uterus owners had to endure before us to only get us to this subpar contraceptive landscape.

Emily*, 26, she/her

I went on the poll when I was 15 due to terrible menstrual symptoms. Over time, I blew up and looked bloated permanently. My period cramps lessened slightly. I went off the pill at 20 as I felt I wasn’t sexually active and didn’t want to keep taking this pill that I didn’t really know that much about.

I had hormonal acne for about two years while my hormones settled. I don’t want to go back on anything because of the way it impacted me (emotionally and physically) but that limits my options for safe sex (in addition to condoms) as there’s always some harmful side effect.

Freya*, 24, she/her

I was honestly so nervous to go on birth control as I’ve never had to before and felt like I was going to lose control of my body. I think losing control is the scariest part…

Claudia*, 20, she/her

I went on the pill at 13 mostly for my skin. I was put on something that I later found out was only supposed to be taken for at most a year. This was three years later. At 17 the pill had completely changed who I was and how I acted. I was so tired of not being in control of my own emotions that I stopped taking it. Three years later, I’m off birth control completely and fully in touch with who I am and my emotions.

*Names have been changed.

For more birth control stories, head here.