It has been almost a year since I stopped taking the birth control pill, two years since I started taking anxiety medication, and a few months since I FINALLY recovered from the skin nightmare that followed my hormone influx stopping the pill… so I am here to talk about it all, my advice and the products that I swear by!!
Starting anxiety meds and stopping the pill
For many, many years, I tried to maintain and “handle” my mental health naturally and organically. I used exercise, food, vitamins, sleep and routine. But in May 2021, after being hospitalized, my doctor prescribed me medication for my anxiety and I realized it was the ticket I had been missing as far as keeping my mental state at bay. Meanwhile, I was seeing so much online about the birth control pill, the dangers it was actually doing to the female body and fertility. Like so many girls, at sixteen I went to my family doctor and she put me on the pill, it didn’t work, so she gave me a stronger one, and I stayed on it for years to come. Also like most, I was offered and IUD, but that didn’t sound very appealing to sixteen year old me… so pill it was!
In May 2022, I finally decided to stop taking the birth control pill, and I began using the Natural Cycles app to track my cycle.
After coming off of the pill
I instantly fell into the blues… I don’t want to completely blame coming off the pill because of course there were multiple contributing factors. I didn’t notice it as much while going through it, but especially now looking back, I realize how bad my emotions flucuatted during that time as well.
My period was ALL OVER THE PLACE and I didn’t ovulate for months. Sometimes I got my period every couple of weeks. Sometimes I got it every couple of months. My temperatures were up and down. I didn’t ovulate for almost six months. I was so relieved when I finally started getting positive ovulation tests… thank God I didn’t wait until I was planning pregnancy to get off of the pill!!
One year later and my cycle is just becoming regular.
The skin nightmare that followed
Right: Nov 28/22
Left: Dec 7/22
I can still feel the ouch in those photos… not long after coming off of the pill I started getting acne. Deep, cystic, under the skin… it got much worse before it got better. I tried it ALLLLL… I was a regular at Sephora trying to find the right skincare combo, I tried all the wivestales and the Pinterest remedies… nothing. I finally went to my family doctor and got a prescription cream (right). It burned my eyes, wrecked all of my pillow cases and made my skin peal… Did it “help”? I guess you could say “sort of”.
And FINALLY I found the skin care routine that didn’t only just fix my acne but gave me the skin I never thought I would have.
1. Arbonne Acne Cleanser: morning and night, applying with a face scrubber from the good ol’ Dollarama
2. Glow Recipe Toner: at night, apply with a cotton ball or cotton ball pad
3. Watermelon Dew Drops: by Glow Recipe… the one thing Sephora gifted me that I actually used and loved… this was the game changer for me!! At night after toner.Â
4. Hydrate Me Nightime Booster: final step to my nighttime routine. My dry skin LOVES this. I don’t bring my entire skincare on weekends away, this is the one thing I will bring. This is also what I will put on for the no make-up days!
Left: Jan 30/23Â
Right: Mar 20/23… my DREAM skin!!
Links and Notes
Skin Vitamins I’ve recently started taking: JS Skin + Digestion
Favorite make-up removal wipes
RE9 Molecular Water… I put this on in the morning under my make-up in the winter months! Works soo good if you have dry skin like me! I also love it for traveling.Â
https://www.naturalcycles.com/ Note: the natural cycles app is a natural family planning method based on cycle tracking and does not prevent pregnancy or any STI’s.
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