STOPPING BIRTH CONTROL AFTER 14 YEARS: MY EXPERIENCE + HOW I FEEL 1 YEAR LATER 

hi guys! sorry this video is so long but tried to answer everything! let me know your thoughts! are you on/off it? how has your experience been?

I've never been on the pill, but it makes me happy to see other women using alternative/natural ways to prevent pregnancy. I think if we were taught how to track ovulation as girls, the pill wouldn't be so popular.

I am so glad women are starting to speak out on this. I have had horrible digestive issues and weight gain and just stopped BC for the same suspicions and immediately feel better and am losing weight, all while my gynecologist insisted I was wrong abt my suspicions.

Extremely grateful for this video. I am 34 and have been on the pill for almost 20 years which sounds so crazy. I really want to quit especially after watching "the business of birth control" documentary (highly highly recommend). Hearing you makes me feel a bit less nervous.

This is why I LOVE my IUD. I got the Kyleena IUD after being on birth control pills for about 6 years and oh my GOD the difference was crazy. I love that I can rely on the long term birth control, but that this IUD has a grand total of 19.5mg of hormone that releases over 5 years, whereas my previous pill had me taking 0.18mg per day (328.5mg over 5 years). Glad that you were able to find the method that works best for you too!!

Thank you so much for sharing this very personal video with us Stephanie! Your message is so important and I hope as a society we shift from hormonal birth control being the standard for women. It should not be the first option. We need to be educated on womens health and have an understanding of how our bodies truly and naturally operate to prevent pregnancy first and foremost. ❤

Health insurances should cover app. based birth control methods!

I can’t take birth control due to genetic conditions but I’m always so interested in hearing other peoples stories from it!

I’ve recently started thinking seriously about coming off of birth control. I’ve been on it for about 10 years now and I feel like there are things in my body that are directly due to the hormones. This video was so helpful!

I was on birth control for 8 years, starting when I was 15. I decided to stop taking it (after 2 years of questioning what to do) because my mood swings were out of control and I was treating my boyfriend/friends/family awfully. I stopped taking the pill September 2020. I didn't realize birth control was the reason I had so much anxiety and depression. My outlook on life is so much better now and I didn't even realize how much the pill affected my mental health. I also have so much more confidence in my body now that I can see it regulating properly every month. Our bodies are amazing and I can't believe I was manipulating it for so many years!

OMG I am so happy you posted this! I have been thinking of coming off birth control for the past few months. I have been on it for 7 years. I stopped for a period of time and got an IUD... which gave me extreme cystic acne so went back on birth control. I have started getting yeast infections after almost every period and my doctor thinks its caused by the birth control. I am totally going to make the jump and hopefully the supplements you recommended help with the crazy acne. Apparently the cystic acne is one of the biggest reasons most women go back on the pill!

It's been almost 16 years for me, with no breaks. Now that I'm in my 30's, I want to know what I'm like off the pill. I'm tired of the symptoms and just want to be natural and track my cycle. 😅 here's hoping it works out.

When you were describing this, it was everything I could relate to, I was on the pill for 10 years straight and all of sudden had the same thing happen. I started having severe night sweats, gained 10lbs without any diet or exercise change, and felt so tired all the time. I went off and immediately lost 5-8lbs after a couple of months and started to feel so much better. In the meantime I’ve tried many birth controls, and IUD and the nexplanon implant and nothing has made me feel good. I’ve had issues with every single thing, so I went to tracking my cycle. Every time I went to the drs they always made it seem like no big deal, but clearly after trying birth control for 15years and nothing making me feel ok, then that’s an issue, it’s not natural for our bodies and clearly has more side effects than really mentioned! Thanks for sharing!

I’ve been off birth control for 3 years and use Natural Cycles. I had a super similar experience and am very glad to have taken a break!

i recently stopped birth control about 4 months ago after being on it for 6 ish years as well. I randomly just had this over whelming feeling to stop so I did. I feel so relieved knowing my body is doing what it’s supposed to do. When I was contemplating stopping I had watched so many of these videos so just know you’re helping a lot of girls simply by just sharing your story :) xoxo

My mother underwrites health insurance for a living, and one pattern she consistently sees is women coming in on the pill with depression and it gets written off as stress. I didn’t believe her until it happened to me, and even then I didn’t want to believe it because the pill helped my skin look better. But it had changed my entire personality. I was moody, sad a lot, and very depressed... and I’m still convinced the way it prevents pregnancy was that it killed my sex drive. I finally came off and I’m normal again. It took a few months. Never again.

Did anyone else have digestive issues while taking the pill that were similar to IBS? So tmi and I’m sorry lol but for over 10 years while taking the pill I experienced horrible pains after eating.. as well as it basically going right through me 😬 I stopped taking BC 3 years ago and almost immediately it completely went away .. like GONE. Has anyone else experienced this? I’m wondering if it’s linked.

I’ve never been on birth control, I’m just nosey 😂

To anyone: please be careful as I have heard people say that you can get pregnant easily right after going off the pill.........and that you may want to be careful not to get pregnant (unless you want to!) for a year after going off of it, to get all the chemicals (?) out of your body first. Also, some women go through meno as early as late 20's..some women get their periods until age 65 and older. So interesting.

I’ll never forget I was on birth control pills for years and I was switched to one called “Chantel” and right away I started getting constant crippling migraines I thought I was going to die. I’ve never had migraines, I couldn’t even open my eyes or talk. I right away stopped the pills and as soon as it was COMPLETELY out of my body the migraines stopped.

The Green Day insert!! I cannot with you girl 😂😊😂

Thank you for much for sharing this! After being on the pill for 4 years now due to my heavy periods and cramping but at this point I think I’d take that over being so tired, all the headaches, weight gain, and everything else. I didn’t really start noticing it til last month. All the symptoms you had I’m dealing with now. I’ll have to check out the balance pills!

Thank you so much for this video. I removed my iud and feel such a difference already. I bought this app and I’m excited to start tracking my cycle to learn more about my body

Thank you for sharing with us! Love you Steph!!! ♥️🌻✨ps: out of all of the beauty/lifestyle RU-vidrs, you are the most beautiful/stylish guru. Love it!!!

My hair fell out like crazy when I stopped taking the pill when I was trying to conceive

I’ve been off the pill for a few months now and the biggest perk I found was being able to control my emotions and eating. One of the decisions I made was stopping the pill.

So great and helpful!! You are so real and love hearing your story. Glad you got better!! XO

I had the exact same experience with years being on the pill. I also just went off the pill because of all this. Literally same symptoms as you. Being on the pill for 10+ years really recently messed up my body so I’m glad i decided to go off it.

I got my IUD removed after almost 5 years two months ago. It was not a hormonal birth control, yet somehow my skin has cleared up significantly and I have lost almost 10 pounds since getting it removed. The only bad thing is my periods are heavier the first day like they used to be. My gyno was realllly trying to sell me on getting a new one inserted even after I said I didn’t want to be on birth control for a while and wasn’t having sex. Interesting experience.

Girl definitely get tested for celiac disease! I had similar symptoms & elevated liver enzymes. They can do a blood test (you have to be eating gluten), and if that comes back positive they do a biopsy to confirm. Celiac is quite common but often misdiagnosed, and it can develop at any age. Good luck! :)

Wow this is so crazy! I’ve been on the pill since 13ish due to period issues and stayed on it for pregnancy prevention. I’m 28 now, 29 in November 😩

I had the exact same experience when my pharmacy switched my Yaz to a different generic. I had been on Gianvi for years and after one month on a different generic I went back to talk to the pharmacist and he said multiple women who had also been switched to the new generic had come in with various issues ( Weight gain, acne, headaches, etc.)

Ugh, I feel like I was having too many troubles after I came off so I got BACK ON birth control and I dont even need to be 😩

Congratulations! That’s awesome that getting off the pill has improved your health so much. Just had a friend get off too and she’s using a similar method now. The funny part is that you’ll notice your libido go up by a lot on the red days 🤪 ovulation is a funny thing

How did you go first coming off the pill, how long before your cycle stabalised? I’m the same and have been on the pill for 14 years and stopped taking it 2 days ago. I’m very nervous because I don’t want to get pregnant

I gave up BC after 2 years (tried 3 different pills) because I started getting horrific heart palpitations and blackout episodes daily. Thanks for sharing this stuff ❤️

I had the night sweats and random bloody gums too. I'm turning 30 soon and been on since I was 13. I stopped for a year at 21 and had a period for an entire month

I seriously have the same story..all of the same symptoms that you have and now I’m wanting to get off the pill. My liver is weird too. Been on the pill for 13 years.

I was on Diane 35 and Yaz for 15 years. I was 30 years old and worried about blood clots. My husband and I didn’t want children, so he got a vasectomy so I didn’t need to take it anymore. I had the WORST breast pain after I stopped taking it. Also I didn’t realize how painful ovulation was lol

Unfortunately I will have to be on birth control because I just got diagnosed with endometriosis and I will have to use it throughout the whole time without a 1 week break :( so sad because I am 25 and I have never been on the pill

Omg I am on the generic Yaz with the long name and I feel awful! Literally all of these symptoms.

I'm 32 and am on the pill for the second time just because I can stop at any given time if we are ready to try for another baby. I was on in when I turned 30 for like 3 months but stopped to try to conceive. It gives me terrible acne. I hate if so much. No matter what I do it's awful. I'm sure it doesn't help with my already moody self.

I had nexplanon in my arm which is so convenient, no pills to worry about and it stopped my period completely. However, I did worry about that long term. When it ran out I didn't get another since I was no longer in a relationship. Before that I used low hormone pills and never had any issues but I can't stand having to remember to take a pill every day and if you forget even once it's basically a life-altering issue. The pills also helped my periods to be a lot lighter, now I'm back to bleeding through everything 😭 but I like the feeling of not having anything in my body that I don't need.

I got my IUD changed after 5 years to a new one. Ever since my breast are in pain 24/7, I haven’t worked or anything because I’m so unmotivated and drained. I’m really thinking about removing mine. I think it’s weird to have something altering our bodies 24/7

i got off it 4 months and my skin has broken out so bad its the only thing that takes my acne away, i dont even use it for sexual purposes since im single but honestly its done so much for my horrific cystic acne. i know alot of people hate it but the pills been the only thing to save my skin nothing else has worked. it balances my periods from blacking out and does wonders for me. but wheni was younger and on the wrong one i did get suicidal thoughts & really bad. if you find the right one for you it can be beneficial

My Mom made me go on it at 18, when she took my to my first Gyno appointment and I have been on it since (I'm 24 now). My mental health and body has changed over the years. I've always attributed to my life experiences and growth, but I have had my doubts about the pill. Has anyone else felt like the pill has affected their mental health?

The IUD made me gain weight like crazy and give me cyclic acne. It was so bad. The acne went away after I got it taken out. I lost weight too.

try face reflexology for libido. works so well ❤️

Great video!

Off as of June, removed an IUD, after 20 years of birth control 😳

I’m curious if you could also have Breast Implant Illness. A lot of people have health issues without realizing it’s from their implants!

Thank you for this video!

I got off because i knew it wasn’t good for me then got pregnant 3 months later … be careful everyone ♥️

I have lupus and the pill literally almost killed me, it put me on the worst flare I’ve ever had. Then I tried the iud and still I felt like absolute crap. Now I just have him pull out, and if he has a problem then he can get neutered if he wants 🤣 (we have a kid he’s 11, I decided to try birth control after he was born) we haven’t had an oopsie tho, and if we did then I’d gladly have the baby, but one is enough 💙

I feel like this was a sign, I’ve been contemplating getting off my birth control for a few weeks now and then this popped up. Thanks for doing this video 💕 and the comment section is so refreshing. I feel like no one publicly talks about the side effects and the toll it takes on a woman’s mental and physical health. Solidified my decision to get my IUD taken out.

I love that we are all discovering that we can't actually get pregnant every day and we're able to prevent pregnancy without hormones ❤️

I was on the pill on and off for about 7/8 years. The worst part for me was nausea on the first day of starting the pill... it was the weirdest thing ever. Switched to another one that KILLED MY LIBIDO. I used to pray that my husband wouldn’t want to sleep with me every single night. Since being off, our sex life is CRAZY AMAZING! It’s like we’re teenagers again even after 3 kids!!!

Thank you for sharing your story. After 15 years on the pill, my husband begged me to get off of it. Since I never wanted kids, he got a vasectomy. Problem solved. Glad you’re doing well and back to normal.

Just scrolling through the comments and it's so obvious how amazing your little corner of the internet is. Going off birth control is a big deal! These comments are so supportive for any person going through this - as it should be! 💕💕💕

I got off birth control after 14 years too. I also got rid of my breast implants and i feel 1000000%. Alot of those symptoms are also the same as breast implant illness which I also had.

I still remember the “what’s in my bag” Video when you showed your birth control and said “to prevent the birth of children” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

BC can really affect your mood. If you're struggling with depression or anxiety, and on the pill, you should talk to your doctor and rethink the pill. This is a HUGE issue and talked about so very little.

Really wish the burden of birth control wasn't on women. Vasectomies are safer and very effective. Men taking zero responsibility is unacceptable.

I got off a week ago after 15 years on! This was perfect timing☺️ thank you for sharing your experience!

14 years is a long time. I am thrilled you are so aware of your body. We all should!

Im so happy women are doing what's right for their bodies. I just want to say birth control is getting demonized I think more than is warrented in the media right now and that can be a little dangerous. I also went off birth control for a year, but had negative affects. I have PCOS, and so after a year I had terrible acne return, painful periods, and the kicker - androgenetic alopecia. I will be going back on the pill personally. Best of luck on everyones journeys & discovery of whats right for their own bodies.

You’re so lucky that your skin issues didn’t get too bad. I had attempted to get off the pill years ago and I had horrible acne .. like I mean huge red pimples everywhere on my face. I got so self conscious that I started the pill again 3 months later and all my acne went away. Now I’m a year and 3 months off and the acne did come back again and lasted for 9 months. I just had to push through in hopes it would go away and it did eventually but it felt like a long haul. But so worth it!!

I went off last year after 8 years being on and easily lost 10 lbs and have such better gut health now. So happy I did

I definitely needed to watch this & read the comments. I’ve been thinking about getting off the pill for a while now. I always don’t feel good, have a headache and just sometimes always cranky. I can feel something isn’t right. Hope your doing well❤️

I feel you...it's so nice to be natural and feel the ovulation pains and just let your body do it's thing. I gave up hormones many years ago and have used withdrawal, condoms and the non hormonal copper coil for the last 10 years. Doctors are so quick to write you up for the pill but there are better options out there for sure. Thank you for making this frank video and for sharing your experience xx

I came off the pill in my early twenties, I lost my period for 10 months and got down to 96 pounds (I’m 5’4”) and struggled with serious depression. I am 30 now and I have two kids plus another on the way. I didn’t know that we didn’t actually have periods when on the pill! I always heard that the pill “regulates” your cycle.

After 10 years of being on hormonal birth control (the pill, the shot and an IUD) I finally did the same and went all natural tracking my cycles. It’s been so freeing and empowering as a woman to truly understand your body and cycle. I highly suggest the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” to anyone thinking about getting off of hormonal contraceptives. Also, so glad to see you promoting Alani Nu Balance as that’s what helped me regulate my cycles! I’m now trying to get pregnant so all this information I knew about my cycle has been helpful in trying to conceive. Thanks Stephanie for bringing light to this topic as it can easily be glanced over by young women’s doctors! Xoxo

I got off of it after being on it on and off for over 20 years. I feel so much happier and clearer in my head if that makes sense. Best decision for me.

All this makes me rethink what i have been putting in my body for so long.

Thank you so much for the realness of this video. I realize how much you’re putting yourself out there with this and we really appreciate it. I’m a mom of 2, I’ve had 3 pregnancies, and I just got off bc at 34 after being on it since I was 16. I’m definitely feeling all the things you’ve mentioned and it’s nice to not feel alone!! THANK YOU!

“I probably should have wrote this down but I’m just not that kind of person” lol felt that in my soul 🤣

I would listen to you talk about almost anything bc your accent is so cute and you are quite possibly the prettiest person to ever exist. Like the girl next door upgraded version of Megan Fox.

I was on the pill for 10 years. I struggled with acne but I just thought that was normal being a teen you know? A year before I got off I began to get cystic acne. I got off the pill at 24 my skin drastically changed. My skin has never looked better. Lol granted 2 years later I’m pregnant but I’m married and everything worked out for the best 💕

Thank you for this video! I’ve been thinking of getting off of birth control for awhile now. I’ve been on it for 11 or 12 years. My periods before birth control were so painful and just insane cramping! I’m worried about them being like that again. Hopefully not though.

I was on BC for 10 years, my initial purpose was to help the severity of my cramps and heavy cycle. It definitely helped significantly, but my BP was always high on it. That was the only drawback of the pill. I’m 34 now and since I’ve been off it I haven’t experienced those severe cramps and the heaviness of my cycle is not as heavy. I just don’t see any need to be on it anymore. Since going off BC I had my period again within 10 days after it ending. I love that Balance product, I use the powder formula. I didn’t take it for a few weeks and developed cystic acne on my chin and got one on my eyebrow that would not go away.

Yay for women’s health talks🥰

I have been on and off birthday control since I was 14. I turn 31 next month and currently have the Kyleena IUD… I am honestly ready to be done with hormonal birth control at this point 🙇🏼‍♀️ I’ve tried everything from pills to the depoprovera shot to the iud, some better experiences than others. My parents were all for it to help lighten my periods and clear my complexion (which didn’t make a big difference)- funny enough, I’ve been single most of my life, so pregnancy prevention was never the big concern. And wouldn’t you know it, I’ve just entered a new relationship and debating whether it is wise to remove my iud 🤦‍♀️ what’s a woman to do?!

Omg I feel this soooo much! I have been on the pill since 16 and i’m now 34. I just stopped the pill (Yasmin) and I have been off it for 2 weeks! I already feel so much better, more energy and sleeping better. I am seeing a naturopath to help me with with hormones and preventing acne etc. My digestion and bloating has been terrible for years. I felt like an unmotivated blimp and was gaining weight as I got older. Not even in a relationship, I was just too scared to come off! I have learnt so much about the female body and my health! The western medical system has a lot to answer for! They are letting women down! I will never go back on that crap! I’m also taking Fem21 which really helps regulate hormones and detox liver etc. x

I’m so glad you’re being open about this! I was experiencing migraines, UTI’s, sporadic bleeding & after having to be put on an estrogen patch for menopause(still artificial hormones) to thicken my uterine lining back up I was done. I felt so good those 2 weeks on the estrogen patch! Like I felt like and actual woman! I also saw an article in the Kindara app that talked about prepping your body to come off the pill. When you see how badly it affects your nutrients it’s pretty much a no brainer. My husband practically begged me to get off of it. I started tracking my cycle (it’s so empowering!) and have been off around 5 years. Have 1 baby that actually took us 6 months to conceive.

Love this! I was on birth control for 8 years maybe, got on it when I was 17. Mine was the little rod that goes in your arm. The main side effect I had & say hundreds of reviews about was mood swings/ anxiety/ depression. I struggled with all 3 but the anxiety & depression was mostly from losing my husband. But the mood swings, wow soooo real! I noticed a difference within a month of two going off. That was enough for me to swear it off forever. I hope other girls/women see this! I’ve been tracking my period for a year now as “birth control” & its worked fine so far. Definitely recommend going off bc

oh. my. god. this is literally my exact same experience down to being on yaz for years and years before being switched to gianvi to another generic and THEN the weight coming on. we're the same age and were put on the pill at the same age too. this is all such a relief to hear!

I found out I had a very large tumor on my liver and the doctors originally said it was caused by being on birth control for 16 years. When they removed the tumor I had been told i was actually born with it, not from BC. When I got off BC I literally had zero side effects. I was kinda shocked to hear about all your symptoms and some of the comments with all of their symptoms!

Hubby just got his manhood procedure today😅 i am doing alot of research now on getting all contraceptives. If i can ask, which pill were you on? Pregestrone or estrogen?

Thanks for sharing! I’m 38 and have been on birth control for 20 years and want to go off it soon because I want to have a baby at some point. I went on it primarily though because my cramps were really bad and I used to faint from too much blood loss, so I just hope I don’t have those symptoms again.

What are the skin capsules called

I came off the pill after being on it for almost a decade and oh my god the difference!! I feel so much happier and less foggy. I don’t even care about the hormones figuring themselves out. I’m emotional as hell a week before my period and I get breakouts. All things that can be remedied with eating better and being conscious but I’ll take that over how low I was feeling these last few years and coming off has made a world of a difference.

All 3 times I went off the pill, I got pregnant. Every. Single. Time. All 3 of my pregnancies, were conceived the very first month of coming off. So be careful if you're not wanting any babes rn. ❤

I just quit birth control but I am terrified of hormonal acne. Any tips on how to avoid it?

Did anyone experience hair loss after stopping thr pill?

I’m 29 and I’ve never used any form of pharmaceutical birth control. I’ve always known it is not for me and I’ve always worried about what it could do to women’s bodies over a long period of time. Wishing you nothing but a healthy and happy life, steph! Do you what you feel is best for yourself.

I love this entire thing!!! So many women are afraid to speak out about the NEGATIVE side of birth control. I personally did not like how I felt while on it either and that was a time period of 7 months. I felt gross, just not me! Unfortunately the weight didn’t come off but I am working at it. You’re such an inspiration for making a video like this! I’m so glad you’re back on track with a healthy lifestyle and normal blood work results and feeling yourself again!! 💕💕💕

I’ve also been on b.c since my teenage years but every time I’ve tried to come off of it the cystic acne is unreal.

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!! I’ve been on the pill since I was young due to endometriosis and just stopped taking it a month ago. I’ve been experiencing the same side effects and so helpful to hear what others experience. So helpful!!!

Did you experience hair loss getting off the pill? Or has anyone here experienced that and if so did it eventually stop?

I experienced the same withdrawal symptoms including bleeding gums! This video made me feel so normal