A Youtuber who I love is a sex educator, body positive influencer, blogger and all round incredible human called Hannah Witton. Her channel is based around giving people the confidence to be proud of their bodies as well as discussing fashion and her journey of her own bodily changes through her vlogs as well as a docuseries aptly named ‘Hormone Diaries’. She started these chaptered videos in 2016 and currently has 18 episodes and I have been HOOKED.
She began with discussing the different contraception options including the range of pills you can take, the coil and many others. She also describes her own experience of having a uterus and all of the things she has tackled along with it. Hannah has suffered from a chronic illness called Ulcerative Colitis since the age of 7 and has had many health complications especially recently resulting in her having a major operation called an ostomy. Since then she has had another operation because of a complication she has experience and has evolved the hormone diaries into a diary entry of her stoma as well. These operations led to her core being weakened and adapting to having a stoma bag has evidently been a huge change in her life but she continues to be incredibly positive and I find it so inspiring and interesting to listen to her talk about sex and a whole host of other life factors. I highly recommend her channel [ https://www.youtube.com/user/hannahgirasol/featured ] and this [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvGNiwR57iI ] video in particular holds a very interesting discussion.
I think that it is interesting to hear people’s experiences of a whole host of things but contraception in particular is quite helpful in knowing how other people have dealt with it and the effects. As with all medication the contraceptive pill holds many health warnings including a change in period length, timing of said period as well as mood swings and headaches. When weighing up the different choices of contraception there is a lot to take into consideration but for me I just wanted to try out the pill and see how things would go.
My doctor prescribed me Cerazette, also known as the mini pill, which only holds the progesterone hormone whereas the combined pill has both female hormones: progesterone and oestrogen. I was recommended Cerazette as I have a history of migraines therefore the combined pill could have worsened this situation which I completely understood. This did however mean that I would need to take one pill every single day within a 12 hour window. I was fine with this addition to routine as I am an extremely organised person so I had no concerns with the possibility of forgetting to take it.
I had been wanting to start a pill for a while as my periods have been incredibly painful and heavy as well as intense changes in mood and silly me thought that by starting this magical tablet I would eradicate this or at least improve it and make it more manageable. In addition, I wanted to make use of another form of contraception which, overall, has made me a lot more comfortable and there’s been less of a worry regarding possible pregnancy.
July 23rd was the date I began taking Cerazette which, helpfully, was right as I started my period and it was a Monday which meant I have perfectly started taking them at the start of a cycle and at the beginning of the packet. In a box you get three sleeves of pills each containing 28 days worth in them. 17 days after finishing that period I started another one which I was expecting as one of the warnings my doctor gave me is that the pill can make your periods irregular both being either late or early so I was prepared and it wasn’t too much of a shock to me. What was a shock is that it was super light and I had no cramping or boob pain whatsoever. It was honestly the easiest menstruation of my life and I thought ‘oh great, if it’s like this each time I can deal with this’. Part of my hoping on the pill was that I would stop them completely as they annoy the hell out of me and are just such an inconvenience and a literal pain.
Despite this wonderful start, 8 days after that period finished I started another one and this, was, horrendous. I bleed for 22 days straight and was in a lot of pain for 80% of it. My digestion system messed up, I would cry out of nowhere, my temper would flare up in an instant and I just binged on sugary things which made me feel worse mentally. It made me so sad because of how much I was hurting as well as how annoying it was. There will definitely be another post to come about period poverty and my relation to it as I honestly think that there needs to be change on this situation as for this thing I couldn’t control was literally needing to be fed money in order to protect myself and I was so aware of that on this period. I couldn’t wait for it to end.
Since that I had another 8 days and I started my period again. Absolute joys.
Silver linings though my friends as since finishing that period I haven’t had one since or any kind of cramping or other bodily pain and it is now 49 days on. Therefore, if my body has now become used to the chemicals I’m putting in my body then I will hopefully not have a period from now on (until I stop taking the pill).
Unfortunately, my mental health has certainly been majorly and negatively affected by this medicine. My depression has become increasingly worse (because of personal life things) and I think that the pill has been a huge contributing factor to my negative attitude and general hatred and anger towards a lot of things. My doctor advised me to continue with the medication as my body just needed to settle from this imbalance and it has only been in the last couple weeks, I would say, that I feel much more clear-minded and even positive some days. This just goes to show how powerful these medicines are and that side effects really are a thing!
One thing that has really helped me with tracking is the app Clue, which I’m sure many of you have already heard of. It is essentially a mood and bodily change diary which assists you in tracking the day of your flow and gives a suggestion of when your next cycle will be. The more information that you put in the more accurate the predictions will be but it is a great way to document your period and most of the time it is pretty spot on which is cool. There is also a paid for feature which allows you to sync up with other people you know who use the app and you can see when you’re menstruating at the same time and the time of PMS which to some people might sound weird but others like that idea of connection and reminds you that you’re not the only one going through it. I have used Clue for just over two years now and it is honestly a godsend.
Much like Hannah I will be sure to create an updated post further down the line in a diary type style and depending on how I get on with the pill will determine if I continue with it or choose another type of contraception but for now, we’ll see what the Cerazette does!