Hormonal Contraception: When it's time to say bye bye.

I have been on some form of contraception since I was 15, *dramatic gasp* yes, 15. Now, if I took a wild guess, you just jumped to the conclusion that I did this to avoid having a baby because I was... well you know. While its true that at this age my hormones were raging, especially since all the boys returned from summer 5 inches taller and a lot more ~Manly~ the real reason I went on the pill was to lessen the burden of my absolutely excruciating periods.

Oh yes, the P word, I can hear the men running for the hills right about now. In all honestly my periods were horrendous, I would collapse and throw up and wouldn't be able to sleep for the first two days, so when the chance to take a tiny pill that could stop all of it arose, of course I grabbed it with two desperate hands.

The truth of the matter is its not all its cut out to be. After taking my first pill for around 2 years I had atrocious skin and even more of an attitude problem than before. So, I went to the doctors and pleaded through tears to be put on another one. Of course they obliged, my innocent 17 year old face joyous to be prescribed another hormone filled tablet.

Four years later, at 21, I have decided to pack in the hormones all together. No, I've not become celibate and no I am definitely not ready to have a mini me running around, the truth is I'd just had enough.

For four years I had felt like a shell of myself, just overall a bit dull. Of course, I thought about this a lot before deciding I was done but the question that loomed over me was what would I do next?

The constant stream of celeb endorsed instagram ads promising that tracking your periods using an app would help you avoid pregnancy and 'hack your hormones' somehow didn't appeal to me. Perhaps because a fair few ended up with a Babi of their own not long later.

So I was stuck. I came across the coil as a viable option and that's when I nearly backed out and went back to popping pills like nobody's business. The prospect of having a tiny copper coil inside me made me want to physically vomit. I heard horror stories of the process, fainting, throwing up, awful nurses and unwanted pregnancies. In fact, when I called to book an appointment (shows how much I was sick of the pill) the nurse even tried to put me off saying I would be better off with the hormonal version.

But I stuck to my guns, determined to return to my true state and longing to feel how I'm supposed to. And you know what? I feel fab. I'm not tired, I don't ache and I'm not fainting or being sick anymore.

Yes, it was painful but literally only for a few seconds, and to me that is so worth it to feel 100% myself again.

My experience won't be the same as everyone else's. Some people out there will love the pill and never have any issues with it and that's great, good for them. My point is that you should trust your own instincts surrounding your body. No one knows you better than you.

Whether it be tracking your cycle, sticking with the pill or just hoping for the best (maybe don't do that unless you want a mini you) don't let anyone put you off, be brave, stick to your guns and put yourself first. Its ok to be selfish when it's important.