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(All things hormones, birth control, toxic-free living, and self advocacy)
My Entire Life As I Knew It Changed With This One Decision...

IT WAS SUMMER OF 2019 WHEN I DECIDED TO RESEARCH WHAT WAS GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES OF BIRTH CONTROL 

I was just like everyone else. Prescribed birth control in my early teens to help alleviate a symptom that was hormonally-driven and driving me bonkers! For me, that was my acne. It was the cystic kind, it hurt, nothing that the dermatologist gave me was truly helping like I wanted it to. Why not try birth control? And oh yeah preventing pregnancy was a cool perk too! 

Everything was "fine" during those seven years I was on birth control. Fine in the sense of I would get sick a few times a year, take over-the-counter or prescription meds if needed to help my symptoms, went to the gym because I wanted to be skinnier, did as I was told to in society, etc. I was your average run of the mill twenty-something year old trying to find her way in this world. But I really wasn't fine as I would later come to find out...

And then one day, something changed. I had been following this influencer on Instagram and she was sharing her experinece with birth control and telling me all these things I NEVER knew about it. After being introduced to the ways that hormonal birth control was seriously impacting my body, I continued to read and learn about things that I wish I knew before going on birth control. My doctor sure as heck didn't tell me this stuff, or if she did, I didn't listen because I was too busy feeling grown up and cool for being on birth control in high school. Haha, good old 16 year old Sydney... 

Back to  2019. I was finally ready to get off my birth control. I did my due diligence as much as I could and I was ready for this change. I was at this point where I wasn't comfortable with not having my real period and not knowing what my body was like anymore. 

My appointment was in September where I was going to get the non-hormonal IUD, ParaGard. I needed something as a backup and sure as heck didn't trust myself tracking naturally! So this was the best option for me at  the time. 

A couple days after I got the IUD with my bf in Nashville, loving life and not sure what to expect with my hormones!

So what happened then? Life went on as normal, I got my real period back right away, and had no problems or post-birth controls symptoms at all. Easy peasy? HA I WISH. 
Stay tuned for how my life looks now in Part 2!

Want more discussion on how to naturally balance your hormones after birth control? Need some more birth control facts and education? How about a support group of those just like you wanting to get off birth control but are worried about the transition? Join the Happy Healthy Hormones Community! Hope to see you in there :)    
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Just so you know, I may earn a commission off the links on my blog at no cost to you through various affiliate programs. I appreciate your support and love sharing my favorite products with you! :)

I Felt Out of Balance

 

It all started with small rashes under my armpits. They grew bigger. They were fiery red. They burned. I couldn’t itch them since they burned so bad. They flaked. They were embarrassing. I didn’t know what they were. Then they showed up on the crook of my elbow and on the top of my right hand. I thought it might be due to a gluten or dairy intolerance, so I changed my diet. It helped temporarily and my rashes didn’t hurt as bad and weren’t as red. But diet changes weren’t enough. I was devastated. My rashes remained for MONTHS!

Then the "fluff" showed up around my belly and hips. Maybe the start of winter contributed as well; either way I swear my pants used to fit me way better…

My hair started falling out. In chunks! I’d always had some hairs come out when I washed my hair, so I was used to it. But not to this extent. I knew something was going on.

My acne became out of control, almost to the extent when I was in high school. Red, painful, cysts that I just couldn’t resist picking. And here I had spent all these years at the dermatologist “healing” my acne for it all to come back with a vengeance.

I was in tears at least once a week. I felt hopeless. I felt so alone. No one could relate besides one girl I followed on Instagram. My boyfriend was supportive, but how could he understand though? He had no idea what I was going through.

I took a deep breath, wiped my tears and trucked on. Then the next week would start all over again with a meltdown because I was fat, my hair was falling out, my acne was returning, and my rashes burned SO. FREAKING. BAD. I was angry, frustrated, confused & hopeless. 

I had heard that stopping birth control could come with some pretty gnarly symptoms. And I thought I was ready for whatever would happen. But I didn’t realize how mentally and emotionally challenging these symptoms would be.

Like many people, I started taking birth control in high school. I took it mostly for my acne, but pregnancy prevention was nice too. My hormones were manipulated for over 7 years. The birth control was prescribed by my doctor, so why would I ever question how it was affecting my body?

Turns out, I had NO idea just how much it affected me. All of me. It wasn’t until I read this book that I understood how much my body was impacted by these synthetic hormones that I didn't even realize were synthetic at the time. How hormonal birth control can be prescribed to “treat” certain conditions, yet it’s really only a bandaid fix. I didn’t want that bandaid fix anymore and I wanted to heal myself naturally. So I took the leap and ditched my birth control.

Aside from some of the challenges of getting off birth control, I noticed a whole new world of positives that came from it. For the first time in my life, I actually had energy! I no longer needed to sleep half the day away. The mental fog was gone! My mood increased, as well as my libido, which I swear was gone for good. I finally felt like I was in control of my health for the first time. Truly healthy and truly better.

My goal is to be that shining beacon of light for you if you are struggling with the decision to finally get off hormonal birth control. You are not alone in worrying how your body will react. You are not alone in this transition and your experiences. It might be challenging. But we are strong. We are healers. We are self-advocates. And only we know what’s best for our bodies.

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