Just let me let go of my eggs!

May 9, 2011 7:24 PM

Did you stop taking HBC, not because you wanted to get pregnant or because you were having problems with it, but just because?

I started taking HBC (Estrostep/Tri-legest Fe) about 7 months ago. It was my first time on any hormones, and I didn't have any noticeable adverse side effects. It did lighten my period every month. I am a single woman in my early twenties and have this desire to start ovulating again. This sounds silly, I know I'm still young, but what if I end up with someone who's not really compatible with me?

I practice safe sex, I get tested regularly and go for yearly pelvic exams. It's just that I'm currently partnerless and am wondering about how going off the hormones would affect me. If you decided to do this, would you advise it? What things changed, for worse or better? Is this a bad idea, if things are going all right? Note I'm particularly looking for experiences that deal with voluntarily going off HBC, not for women who had to because of bad side effects or other medical reasons. However, I welcome any stories! Thank you very much.

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (25 answers total)

IANYD but in my personal, non-professional opinion, if you don't feel good about hormonal birth control for whatever reason, you don't have to stay on it. There are plenty of non-hormonal contraceptives out there to use.

HBC fucked with my hormones a lot (in ways I didn't realize until I went off it, which I did just as an experiment to see if it helped my lack of libido) and I wouldn't go back unless I had to for some kind of serious me reason. I was on the pill from age 17 or 18 until around 22. It took a while for my body to restabilize after I got off the pill, which to me indicates that it wasn't the best situation for me physically. YMMV.
posted by pupstocks at 7:31 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I went off it by choice (had been on Alesse for 8 years!) and found that when I did I was a totally new person. An awesome person with new found zest for life and ambition! It was very gradual but the pill made me this dull, numb person just going through the motions of life. You could not pay me enough to go back on HBC.

Condoms were not a big deal at all. And I discovered it weeded out potential partners rather nicely. I'm not interested in being with someone who is not willing to use a condom.

You just have to be responsible and practice safer sex, which it sounds like you are already doing. Go for it, get off the pill.
posted by sadtomato at 7:32 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I had no problems with HBC and went off it for no specific reason. I didn't notice anything different being off them except being less regular, which was why I went on them in the first place.
posted by cecic at 7:39 PM on May 9, 2011

I did the same thing when I was about 22and I was in a long term relationship. I didn't feel like hormonal birth control was a good long-term choice, and I decided I wasn't happy with the idea of it. I wanted to trust my body to regulate itself. I just stopped taking it, and I'm glad I did. No noticeable side effects while I was on it, but once I was off, I realised it had been making my PMS much worse than it really was naturally.
posted by Joh at 7:40 PM on May 9, 2011

I once stopped taking my birth-control for a while. I was on it for regulation purposes, and wasn't sexually active. Just stopped because I felt like it. And I liked being off them.
posted by Neekee at 7:41 PM on May 9, 2011

I had no problems on the pill, went off and the only side effect was that my forehead became super oily. Now I'm back on it and I've broken out more than I ever have in my life. So basically the back and forth seems to effect my skin more than anything else.
posted by amro at 7:42 PM on May 9, 2011

I went off HBC several times because my prescription had ran out and I just couldn't be bothered to fill it.
posted by aetg at 7:42 PM on May 9, 2011

I stopped taking HBC just because realized that I didn't want to be feeding myself hormones every day. It just seemed weird. I'd taken them off and on for 10 years at least and just...stopped. I wasn't in a relationship then and would have been using condoms anyway with any new partner so it seemed sort of dumb to be taking them. But then when I did end up in a relationship I didn't want to go back on HBC so I didn't. We used condoms until we got tired of them and then I got a diaphragm and then I got pregnant. And then we had a baby!
posted by Mrs Roy G Biv at 7:59 PM on May 9, 2011

I went off it when I wasn't having sex and just wanted a break from synthetic hormones. I felt great (except for my periods, which came along with monster cramps). I got back on the pill when I started having sex again and I've felt great since then too. From what I have read, and I have read a lot, there are no medically harmful effects of stopping taking it, or stopping and then restarting when you need or want to.
posted by so_gracefully at 8:17 PM on May 9, 2011

If you decided to do this, would you advise it? What things changed, for worse or better?

I stopped taking them after a few years just because I didn't want to take them anymore, and they were getting expensive with my lousy insurance coverage. I had no negative side effects from the pill. My skin was awesome on the pill, and I did start breaking out more in the months after I stopped taking it, but now (in my late 20s) I seem to have figured out a skin care regimen that works, so I rarely break out anymore.

The other very noticeable thing is that, contrary to what Joh said, my PMS has gotten a lot worse since going off the pill. While on the pill, I never had cramps nor any of that PMS moodiness to speak of. I didn't even get why people thought PMS was a thing. But now I'm pretty debilitated every month on the first day of my period, with awful cramps that have almost convinced me to call out of work a few times, and in the days leading up to it I find myself feeling emotionally bad and negative in ways that don't make a lot of sense and aren't typical of me, which is my first clue that I'm about to get my period.

These things considered, I've never regretted my decision to stop taking them. If you don't feel like taking them anymore, there's no reason to continue. However all this stuff is a very individual thing, and everyone's body reacts differently.
posted by wondermouse at 8:17 PM on May 9, 2011

I went off HBC because I thought it had dried up my sex drive. It turned out that that was at least in part because I had lost interest in my partner at the time, but my sex drive is definitely higher now than it was before going off it. On the other hand, I'm now a woman in her 30s, and the mythical crazy sex drive is not purely mythical.

I didn't notice other changes in my mood, but I did find that I now get far fewer yeast infections than I did previously, and I don't get blisters on my feet nearly as easily as I did when on HBC.

I'm not comfortable using only condoms for birth control, so I have a copper IUD to give me greater peace of mind.
posted by rosa at 8:27 PM on May 9, 2011

I've been off and on different HBC for six years (ages 15-21). Initially I went on HBC to help regulate my periods and make my cramps less severe. Added bonuses of being on the pill have been clearer skin, less severe PMS related mood swings, and the option of going condomless when I was in a steady relationship. But I have stopped taking HBC several times for various reasons: I ran out of my prescription and couldn't be bothered to go to the doctor to get it refilled, I simply neglected to start the next pack after a placebo week, I decided I wanted to see how my body would react if I went off of it since I felt like my HBC was an unnecessary expense at times.

I have noticed certain changes when I've gone off the pill. First, my period is still really irregular, even after six months without the pill. This can be super frustrating when you're used to knowing exactly when it's going to come. It's also annoying not being able to skip your period by stacking pill packs if you have say, a 2 week camping trip coming up. My skin is also a bit of a disaster off of the pill with much more frequent break outs. I'm a moody mess off of HBC--not just when I'm PMSing. I think that perhaps the pill "leveled me out" and prevented the sudden hormonal changes that result in the irrational anger and crying spells that I experience when I'm pill-free (although one HBC I was on made me MORE hormonal).

The main benefits I've found from going off of HBC have been pretty minor. I generally lose about 5-10 lbs the first month that I am off the pill. For me this extra weight is not a big deal. It also is nice not to worry about remembering to take your pill, or forgetting to bring them on a trip, or trying see a doctor to get a refill.. However, I am currently on HBC and probably will be until I switch to an implant or am trying to get pregnant.
posted by gumtree at 8:39 PM on May 9, 2011

"what if I end up with someone who's not really compatible with me?"

Here's a tip: your sense of smell is really bad at sussing out men who make good life partners. Good breeding partners? Sure. But good LIFE partners? Good SEX partners? That's not your sense of smell. Someone's genetic suitability to breed with you for maximum genetic diversity has nothing to do with their compatibility for you as a life partner -- it tells you nothing about their stability, attitude towards money, ability to cope with gender equality, political ideas, etc.

You always have the option of deciding you're intellectually and emotionally and sexually compatible with someone (or at least partway there) and THEN going off the pill somewhere between "hmm, we might have a future" and "wanna get engaged?" to get your sniff on and decide on genetic compatibility.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:00 PM on May 9, 2011 [6 favorites]

I went off the pill a year ago, at twenty-six, after being on it for eight years. I went off of it because my blood pressure was high, and because I'd always had some side effects, whether it was crazy crazy mood swings or breast cysts or leg cramps. My doctor initially just switched me to a lower dose pill, which led to the whole normal pill-switch crazies, and I couldn't deal with it anymore, so I bailed.

To my surprise, I could suddenly feel emotions with an intensity I hadn't in years. Sure, I now have longer, crampier periods and have to deal with hormonal weight fluctuations, but I just feel more like myself. I also have a stronger libido and no longer have problems with vaginal dryness. Which is nice.

what if I end up with someone who's not really compatible with me?

I honestly think this stuff is a bit silly. I've only been with one partner, and I'm just as into him off the pill as I was when I was on it.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:19 PM on May 9, 2011

Here's a tip: your sense of smell is really bad at sussing out men who make good life partners. Good breeding partners? Sure. But good LIFE partners? Good SEX partners? That's not your sense of smell.

I heartily agree with this sentiment, except for the bit about Sex. It took me awhile to realise that for me, there is something intrinsically about someone's smell that determines how flat-out hot I can find them. It's weird, because I don't otherwise notice smells, and I'm not entirely consciously aware of what I'm smelling (ie it just smells like a person, but an *attractive* person and woah, your sister smells hot), but it's pronounced enough that if they had a blind date service that let me smell their t-shirts first, I'd go for it.

And y'know, same goes for most of the stupid instinct things - good sex is often independent of being a good life partner, but boy does it make for a reason to stay with an incompatible life partner.

I was on the pill. Didn't notice any effect on my sex life etc. Went off it. Started reading, *cough*, erotica again. Went on it. Stopped reading erotica. Repeat a couple of times til I finally noticed the correlation. Luckily I was bored enough at the time that that was a measurable indicator. Anyway, it was definately doing something, I researched my options, and I'm now happier using a Mirena IUD (& condoms).
posted by Elysum at 10:49 PM on May 9, 2011

Eyebrows McGee is absolutely right. I've been on HBC continuously - and I mean CONTINUOUSLY - for ten years, which will have the hippie earth mother midwife types cringing in horror that I could SULLY MY BODY with HORMONES made by PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES. I remember one woman upbraiding me for taking all those 'nasty chemicals'. She proudly proclaimed that she used the rhythm method. I asked how that was working out for her, and she said she'd had two terminations and a son.

I stay on HBC because I tolerate it well and I am absolutely neurotic about the idea of falling pregnant when I'm not ready. I'll still freak out and take unnecessary pregnancy tests if I feel a little nauseous or tired. I'm absolutely pro choice in every way, but I don't want to have to make the choice to terminate a pregnancy if I don't have to .

Of course you can quit HBC if you want to. You're an adult, it's your body, it's your choice. Condoms do work if you're diligent about them, but for me that margin of error is enough to keep me up at night, so I keep the implant in my arm.

FWIW, I do know a few women who love the shit out of their IUDs.
posted by nerdfish at 1:57 AM on May 10, 2011

I love the shit out of my (copper) IUD.

I also had the strange urge to ovulate and let my body deal with things by itself without all the extra hormones. Was on the pill or variants (injections etc) from age 16 to 25. Also, libido++. Never going back to hormones.
posted by corvine at 2:34 AM on May 10, 2011

Yeah, it was expensive, I had no boyfriend and no prospects, it was a hassle to fill a prescription, it was a hassle to keep (NuvaRing) refrigerated. If I'd been taking traditional pills (every day! srsly?) I don't think I would have lasted a week. I noticed that I felt better (and yes, totally, more libido) after I came off of it but it was subtle and gradual. There are situations where I would strongly consider going back on it, but not as my life currently stands.
posted by anaelith at 3:35 AM on May 10, 2011

I went off of mine fairly accidentally last fall (I have not been sexually active in the meantime) and I haven't noticed a difference. I was on the NuvaRing, and loved it- it is a low dose of hormones, which may or may not be why I haven't noticed a shift in much since I went off it. There are definitely effects from HBC- this is why I went crazy on the patch but am fine on the ring. The only thing I have noticed is that I am breaking out more, but who is to say, really, that this the birth control and not anything else? And for me, it seems like my libido has shifted to a bit less, actually, but its hard to say why, and (weirdly) a bit straighter than when I was on the ring. If anyone can explain that, I would love to know why.

But, as said, you are an adult, do what you want. Were I dating a man, I would consider any of my minimal side effects worth it because they have always been less of a pain than the fear of pregnancy, but I had found a birth control with minimal side effects. You may be more open to the idea, better at non-hormonal birth control than I am, or more stressed at this idea of ending up with the wrong partner than pregnant.

Should you decide to be sexually active again in the future, and want to go back on HBC, remember that most methods take some time to start working, so use a back-up in the meantime. Good luck!
posted by jenlovesponies at 4:27 AM on May 10, 2011

Not a bad idea. I went off HBC for a few months (not because of any particular glaring side effects). I had been in a long-term relationship for a few years and, like you, was a bit worried about ending up with someone incompatible. I am now back on a different pill, but I don't think was anything wrong with taking a break. I can also relate to the "wanting to ovulate" reason!

-Ms. DeucesHigh
posted by DeucesHigh at 5:18 AM on May 10, 2011

I'm all in favour of not being on unnecessary hormones, but I would be awfully nervous about making condoms my primary birth control method. They have been known to occasionally break. And you can't tell until after (yes, this happened to me--thank goodness I was also on the pill). I was on the pill for 14 years straight with no adverse effects whatsoever. Seriously, I noticed nothing when I came off (well, except the immediately getting pregnant part). HBC doesn't automatically translate into horrible side effects. Every woman reacts differently.

If you do feel strongly about the hormones, manybe investigate the copper IUD. It's a really great option for lots of women.
posted by Go Banana at 6:36 AM on May 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I can't belive no one has referenced Taking Charge of Your Fertility yet. I went off of HBC before I met my now husband (in 2003). After I met him, I went back on for awhile. Then back off after we got married. I really liked the 3-month pills too, but I just decided that I didn't want to be on hormones anymore. (I am a rational person, and I know there are good and bad things about HBC, but I just felt like it would be better to not be dependent on pills that messed with my hormones.)

I got a copy of Taking Charge, and have been using that method to avoid pregnancy. We used condoms on the iffy days. That said, I have the luxury of looking at this problem from the perspective that an accidental pregnancy would not be the end of the world. My skin does have more a breakout cycle now, although it is mostly controllable. I am moody beginning about 1 week before. And my non-HBC cycles seem to be a lot more regular than they were when I was in my 20's. But charting makes me aware of all of these things, and I like my knowledge about my body's cycles.
posted by Kronur at 7:34 AM on May 10, 2011

How young are you?

The *only* reason I would tell a young woman to stay on hormonal birth control (who is otherwise fine without it) is its protective effect against ovarian cancer. Unfortunately I only learned about that once I was practically 30, by which time the increased risk for breast cancer outweighs the protection for ovarian cancer. The doctors told me that as far as science knows (or knew, since this was a couple of years ago), the protective effect of the pill is permanent, not just for the time during which you take it. The more years before 30ish that you take it, the better.

I don't know that that's a good reason to stay on it, but it's the only one I would add to your consideration pot. Especially consider it if you have some family history of cancer.

As far as non-pill birth control, I loved my copper iud, I love my mirena even a bit more. And they're both more reliable than the pill.
posted by Salamandrous at 7:36 AM on May 10, 2011

I went off it by "choice" because I lost my health insurance and broke up with a long term boyfriend right around the same time.

I'm not sure how iconic the research you linked to is, or whether it should be interpreted to the degree that HBC = bad because it will cause you to be with the "wrong" partner. Biology and romance just aren't that well linked in the scientific literature.

While I stand behind whatever birth control choices you make for yourself, and I don't think there's anything wrong with going off the pill for whatever reason, I think this particular reason is sort of silly.

For anecdata purposes: the only real difference I notice between taking hormonal birth control and not is that my skin is oilier and I break out more easily.
posted by Sara C. at 8:29 AM on May 10, 2011

Teh pill also makes my periods lighter and more predictable. I went off for a month and had my period for 2 and a half weeks the first month and it was all (sorry, graphic) really dark scarlet huge bloodclots, heavily and constantly flowing. FFFFFF that I went back on after a month.

If you do decide to go off the pill and hormones in general, I would reccommend combining condoms with the pull out method (as in, guy pulls out before ejaculating to ensure there is no accident in the case of a broken condom). I just really don't trust condoms completely.
posted by WeekendJen at 9:17 AM on May 10, 2011