Story Time: My Experiences with Birth Control

A few people have asked what birth control I was on when I got pregnant and some have assumed I wasn’t on any at all. I wanted to do this post to share my experiences with the different forms of birth control I have used. Just remember everyone is different, what wasn’t good for me or someone else could be be great for you or vise versa.

I only have experience with condoms, the patch and multiple brands of the pill. I will start with when I got pregnant with my daughter. I was extremely young so I was not taking a form of birth control. However, my boyfriend at the time and I used condoms. So no, my daughter, my first, was in no way planned. Chloe came from horrible bad luck that turned into the best thing that could have ever happened to me and her whole family. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, I am thankful that this is the path I was dealt even though I was so young.

After I stopped breastfeeding Chloe I started taking the pill. I took the same brand for quite a few months, it works, the side effects weren’t terrible. The only thing I didn’t particularly like was that my cycle was totally off and I had liked being able to track it in the past. Also, I was getting really bad headaches which wasn’t normal for me. A couple months before I got pregnant with Logan, my second, my doctor changed my prescription to a cheaper brand. It was barely any cheaper but I didn’t think it would be much different. The side effects were a bit worse than the previous brand but it was alright. I never missed a single one and always took them at 8 am everyday and was never off my more than 30 minutes. I found out I was pregnant with Logan in October 2014, only four short months after switching brands. I can’t remember the name of either brands but at the time I found out I was pregnant supposedly there was a recall with the brand I was on. However, by the time I found out about it I had already threw out my old packages. I have no idea if that was the problem or not, it sure would explain getting pregnant when I never missed any and was not taking any other medication.

Many people don’t believe that it is possible to get pregnant by mistake three times, if any at all. I can understand how easy it would be to think that, though many people can also say that it is a lot easier than you would think. No matter how protected you think you are, it still happens. Lots of things can affect and decrease how well a birth control form will work. Being on other medications and how perfectly you are taking it I would day are the two biggest factors that can mess with the effectiveness.

After I finished breastfeeding Logan, a little less than a year after he was born, I started using the birth control patch. For anyone who doesn’t know it is a patch you wear for a week, after the week is up you remove it and put a new one on. You do that for three weeks then you have an off week, just like the pill’s placebo week. This one had been working for me, but it gave me the heaviest periods ever and cramps that put me in tears for the whole week my period lasted. My cycle was totally off and I was having periods really often and close together. I stayed on the patch for about 5 or 6 months. I decided I would try the pill again just a different brand. I had what I thought was a light period the begining October and that is when I transitioned from the patch to the pill again. A month later I found out I was pregnant with the baby I am currently carrying. I assumed it was the pill again that screwed, I did the transition just like the doctor told me to and assured me that the pill would become effective right away. When I started the patch I was also taking an antidepressant for my anxiety, I stopped taking it over the summer. In september I began taking it again but it was a new brand. My doctor also assured me that the two medications would not mess with each other.

Up until my ultrasound I blamed the pill and figured that it must just not work for me. I now know for sure how far along I am. I turned out that I got pregnant in September, which was before I switch to the pill. I got pregnant on the patch, I don’t really know how you can screw up using the patch. I always switched it on time and it never came off early. I figure that it was either my antidepressant that messed with it or it was just my luck. After this baby is born the first thing I want checked is whatever the doctor has to check to see if my hormone levels are compatible with the birth control I will take. I will probably go back to the patch or possibly try out the ring.

I don’t look at getting pregnant any of these three times negatively. I may not have been any where close to being happy now or when I found out but I truly think this was all meant to happen to me. I may sound crazy but that is okay, I would not change any of this, being a mother is the best way I could live my life and I am glad I got to start at the age I did. Also, keep in mind that I am not saying I recommend this path at all. No one should get pregnant purposely at a young age, being a parent is very hard for anyone at any age. I don’t know of anyone that will tell you it is easy. If you do happen to find yourself in a situation similar to mine feel free to email me or message me on instagram. I am always available to talk and vent to.

Thank you for reading my story about my experiences with birth control, I love sharing stories. If there are any in particular you would like to hear comment below or message me, I will add them to the list of posts I plan to do in the future.