Pitt State women balance birth control benefits, side-effects

By Lilli Weir and Addie Hinterweger 

PITTSBURG, Kan. – 23-year-old Gabby Schultz had always been content with her health when she was younger. In high school she occasionally had insecurities about how she looked and how much she weighed, but it never affected her deeply enough to take a toll on her mental health. When she went to college in the fall of 2019, she decided that getting on birth control would be the best option for her to practice safe sex. She never imagined the ways birth control would shift other aspects of her life.  

“When I went to my appointment to get on birth control, the only thing I told my doctor was that I just didn’t want to get pregnant,” Schultz said. “After that she didn’t ask me much, just talked about some effects I may have from being on birth control.” 

There were no tests done and not many questions asked. Her doctor prescribed a combination birth control pill, the most common type of birth control given, containing both progestin and estrogen. 

Birth control is often prescribed without prior testing or in-depth questioning. As a result, women are having health issues related to the hormones like weight gain, hair loss, depression, anxiety, and personality shifts. 

“I will probably never go on it again.”

Schultz was on birth control for two years and said she had no issues with the prescription. Her periods were normal, and she felt stable. She did notice that her hair was thinning a bit, and she did gain some weight. She was told weight gain may be a side effect, so she was not too upset with it.  

Then, in the fall of 2021, she went to her doctor for a check-up about her birth control. She told her doctor she liked it and that it seemed to be working. Her doctor then asked her if she wanted to try a new birth control that would completely get rid of her period.  

“I never told my doctor I wanted a new birth control or that I wanted to get rid of my period all together,” Schultz said. “She was recommending it, so I thought it would be better for me because she was the doctor, after all, not me.” 

But, as soon as she switched birth control, she felt different. She became more emotional than ever before. She felt out of it, drained all of the time. She continued to gain weight, and her hair loss got even worse. She became extremely insecure about herself and how she looked. She did not like herself anymore.  

“My periods did go away,” Schultz said, “but I would have traded a regular period every month to feel like myself again.” 

After almost a year of taking the second birth control, she decided to stop taking it. She did not ask her doctor—she just stopped asking for the prescription.  

She said that after she got off of it, she went back to the way she used to feel before taking birth control. She gradually started to lose weight. Her hair started to thicken again. She didn’t feel emotional anymore, and her thoughts weren’t clouded.  

“It has been almost 2 years since I have been off of birth control,” she said, “and I will probably never go on it again,”  

Schultz is not the only woman to stop taking birth control because of intolerable side effects. According to a 2010 American Academy of Family Physicians survey, 64.6% of women who stop taking oral contraceptives do so because of side effects.  

According to The College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, combination birth control pills typically contain both progestin and estrogen. Like most birth control methods, these pills work by releasing the hormones into the body to prevent pregnancy by stopping ovulation. Combination birth control pills also thicken the mucus in the cervix, making it more difficult for sperm to enter the uterus.  

If taken correctly, fewer than 1 in 100 women will get pregnant during the first year. The possible benefits include lighter periods, less painful cramps, and “sometimes less acne and reduce unwanted hair growth.”  

Schultz was taking extended cycle birth control pills, which allowed her to not have a period at all. Extended cycle birth control pills work similarly to traditional birth control pills but are designed to reduce the frequency of menstrual periods. Instead of the typical 28-day cycle with 21 active pills followed by 7 inactive pills (or no pills), extended cycle pills are taken continuously for a longer period, typically for 12 weeks or even longer.  

Taking active pills continuously for an extended period keeps hormonal levels in the body remain steady. This helps to suppress the hormonal fluctuations that trigger the menstrual cycle, resulting in fewer or no menstrual periods. 

No bleeding, but plenty of anxiety

Before Kaydn Trochim went to college in the fall of 2019, she decided it would be best for her to get on birth control. Her older sister was on an etonogestrel birth control, an implant that releases the hormone progestin. Her sister had had success with it, so she figured that she would too.  

“When I was in high school, I had a regular period, but my cramps got really bad.” Trochim said, “I was hoping birth control would help get rid of those cramps and ultimately help me practice safe sex.” 

When she went to the doctor to ask for birth control, they gave it to her with no questions asked. She was told her period might go away and that she might gain weight, but nothing else besides that.  

According to the National Library of Medicine, women who want a progestin-only contraceptive must choose one of the four options: norethindrone or drospirenone progestin-only-pills (POPs), etonogestrel implant, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices (IUDs), and Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injection.”  

Trochim decided on an etonogestrel implant in her arm. The implant, as well as other progestin-only contraceptives, prevent pregnancy by continuously releasing a progestin hormone called etonogestrel, which prevents ovulation, thickens cervical mucus, and thins the lining of the uterus. This prevents sperm from reaching an egg and makes it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in the uterus. 

For the next 1.5 years, Trochim did not have a single period. But as soon as she got the implant, she felt different. Her anxiety was heightened to levels she had never felt before. She gained weight. She said she felt crazy. During the last two months of having her implant, she bled for 60 days straight, which is what ultimately made her decide to get it out.  

“I just kind of dealt with the anxiety because my cramps were gone and I wasn’t going to get pregnant,” Trochiam said. “I kind of just picked my poison.” 

While on birth control she also got on anti-anxiety medication, which she still takes today. She hasn’t seen much weight loss since being off of it and is too scared to get off of her anxiety medication. She has had a regular period since being off of it, but does have pretty intense period cramps again. She probably will never get on birth control again, even if it would get rid of her cramps and help her practice safe sex.  

“I feel like it really did affect me so much that I have never even thought of getting on it again,” Trochim said. “It’s not worth feeling like some test subject and trying another kind of birth control that may or may not work for me.”  

Prescribed Young

25-year-old Abby Shoemaker was 14 when she first got on birth control. Her doctor recommended it to her after she realized her cycle was not like everyone else’s when she started missing school because the pain was so unbearable. 

“My flow was so heavy, plus I had cramps that were practically paralyzing and nausea that would last for days,” Shoemaker said. “I ended up going to the doctor because it got so bad.”  

The doctor told her everyone’s cycle is different and did not recommend any other solution to her problems besides birth control. At such a young age, Shoemaker had not ever thought that the solution to her issues was going to be birth control. Her doctor gave her an estrogen and progestin combination birth control.  

“Now thinking back on it, being 14 was probably way too young to get on birth control,” Shoemaker said. “I sometimes wonder if being on birth control affected my growth or development in some way.” 

Shoemaker did immediately get relief after she got on birth control. Her cramps vanished, and she never felt sick while on her period anymore. She got to attend school regularly again and finally had regular periods. But she also started gaining weight, and she began to feel different mentally.  

“Before birth control I definitely had that teenage attitude, you know, just was mean to my mom and freaked out all the time,” Shoemaker said. “I kind of had a personality change after, I was immediately less mouthy and more calm.” 

Shoemaker was on birth control for the next 10 years. She said she was dependent on it and never thought of getting off it because she was so scared her cramps and nausea would return. When she was 23, she started to feel a little off and not like herself anymore. She was sad all the time and felt like a cloud over her head constantly.  

“I decided to get off of it after a year of feeling crazy,” Shoemaker said. “I was sad and almost felt bipolar, just very back and forth with my emotions.”  

She got off birth control at 24 and noticed a change in her emotions immediately. She was happier, and her mind felt the clearest it ever had. She now says she will never get on birth control again and does not recommend it to anyone else, even though it did help her in some ways.  

“I am extremely against birth control now just because I feel like I would have been a completely different person in the 10 years I was on it if I wasn’t on it,” Shoemaker said. “Who knows what it really did to me hormonally and mentally.”