Why I’ll Never Take Hormonal Contraception Again: My Journey Explained

When I was 17, like many young girls, I was prescribed the combined contraceptive pill by my local GP. My first period started quite late at 15, and for the next 18 months after that, I experienced constant spotting, lots of pain, and very irregular cycles. I was young, and active, yet I was still gaining weight and suffering with terrible skin no matter how many products I tried – which was hurting my confidence and messing with my mental health. My doctor briefly mentioned something called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition I had never heard of. She explained how “at my age” it wasn’t something I needed to be worried about, and if I wanted to have children later in life, I could seek help or advice further down the line. It was brushed off, and because I was young, naïve (and lets face it – just darn right embarrassed to be talking to my doctor about sex or babies) I didn’t question her, or probe the issue any further.

My consultation appointment lasted 10 minutes. After few quick medical questions, and a recording of my height and weight, I was handed the pack of pills along with some colourful leaflets extolling its benefits and sent on my way. Great!

Spoiler alert: they are not so great.

Fast forward almost twelve years, and the pill had become a constant normality in my life. I took it well, always made sure I went along for my check-ups with the sexual-health nurse. My skin had cleared, and I was able to manage my weight a little easier. Life was peachy. Until suddenly it wasn’t. I found myself dealing with daily stomach swelling and pain after eating, constant exhaustion, a new wave of gnarly breakouts, and a nice new family of unwanted hair on my chin, neck & tummy. For two more years, I suffered, not realising that my long-term use of hormonal contraception could have been masking (or even causing) a bigger problem.

I started to wise up. (Knowledge is power, people!) Reading articles and stories of various women who stopped taking the pill after many years and found almost immediate relief from similar symptoms to mine. I began following forums and Instagram pages about PCOS, understanding the symptoms better, and discovering I wasn’t alone in what I was feeling.

“Hallelujah!” I thought. I decided to give my body a much-needed break from hormonal contraception. My partner was supportive, and we hoped that stopping the pill would be the answer to my prayers and the end of a few shit years.

Five months later, nothing had improved. I was still shuffling back and forth to the GP on the regular, only to be repeatedly fobbed off with the classic “It sounds like IBS. Try cutting out gluten and dairy and keep a food diary, come back in six weeks”.

I did everything they suggested—went gluten-free, dairy-free, even egg-free at one point, I tracked copious amounts of food diaries, started taking natural supplements, and even lost over a stone in weight. Yet, my symptoms persisted. FML

Finally, at my wits’ end, I marched back to the doctors office and demanded more thorough testing, basically in tears with frustration by this point. Reluctantly, they sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound and blood tests. But I was made to feel like a right old “Moaning Myrtle”

A week later, I received a call that I’ll never forget: “We found a mass in your liver. We are referring you urgently to Oncology for further testing.”

My heart dropped.

Thoughts of the dreaded “C” word raced through my mind. Why had my symptoms been ignored for so long? What was going to happen to me? Whose fault was this? Was it mine? Could something have been done differently?

The following four weeks of waiting for emails, phone calls and test results were excruciating. Finally, I was told the mass was a “Hepatocellular Adenoma” —a benign accumulation of hormones from the contraceptive pill that my body could no longer break down properly. The mass was pressing on my parts of my digestive system and causing my pain, and was likely related to my general fatigue and feeling rundown.

Although my diagnoses was rare, and could of had other underlying factors aside from contraception. I was left wondering why no one had discussed these risks with me before prescribing the pill. Why had my GP dismissed my symptoms for so long? There’s a glaring lack of education about the potential range of side effects of these “magical” pills, and it needs to be addressed.

I’m now under the care of a specialist and have yearly MRI scans to monitor the adenoma. There’s a chance it may completely break down on its own now that I’ve stopped taking hormonal contraception, but surgery or other treatments might be necessary in the future. Though the tumour hasn’t totally regressed, it is shrinking very slowly, so I take that as a small victory.

Two years after coming off the pill, I’ve finally (officially) been diagnosed with PCOS. A condition that was clearly showing signs when I was a teenager, and should have been dealt with properly all those years ago instead of covered up with tablets. *sigh*

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I regularly continue to research natural supplements and educate myself on holistic ways to help my body to heal and find its natural rhythm again after years of hormonal turbulence. I intend to share that journey with you too.

My aim now is to openly share my contraceptive journey with as many people as possible, and to encourage people to be persistent with their healthcare providers when they know something just “doesn’t feel right”.

You know your body. Listen to it. Please.

Wholeheartedly,