I don't know how long I've been on birth control for, probably 3-4 years. I never knew that it contained estrogen until this year and I didn't fully comprehend what that meant until tonight, actually. Right after I took it tonight, I felt so awful and I'm really dysphoric right now :/ I feel like I've sabotaged my whole transition, why didn't anyone tell me what was in it? I found out online. I feel like everyone was secretly making me a girl I think all I can do now is induce vomiting and try to get it out of my system. I have almost three hours to do that. I don't want to take it anymore because I don't want to look feminine. Nearly all my issues with my body would be gone or reduced if I stopped taking it. But then the problem is that I'd have you-know-what every month which is the whole reason I started bc in the first place. It'd be even worse than it is now too but I almost get it monthly anyway. The doctor also said that I might get cysts if I don't take the pill and I don't know if that's worth it. I just feel like I've swallowed a heap of poison and I need to do something quick. Is there anything to stop periods in teenagers that doesn't contain estrogen? I don't know what to do :icon_sad:
Even though it is difficult to, I would suggest you wait until you see your doctor before you stop? You can then talk to them about your concerns and they will be able to help you. Particularly because you mention you may develop cysts if you stop taking it? Also, from when I was on bc a few years ago, I remember my doctor telling me to finish a whole cycle of pills before stopping them, not to stop mid-cycle. (I was taking ones where you take 3 weeks of daily pills, then have a week off. Not sure if you are on this type though?). Hope you feel better soon, and I am sorry your dysphoria is worse because of it
You need to remember that stopping taking it won't change anything darastic about your appearance. All that would happen is shark week would return which I'd assume would create more dysphoria. There is an alternative. The mini pill which contains progesterone and not oestrogen. You take it daily and don't miss a week out so for some people it stops shark week altogether but others still have it. It's hit and miss unfortunately. I haven't had anything since I started taking it so I'm hoping it'll stay like that but I'd recommend going back to your doctor and either asking to be swapped onto the mini pill or asking about alternative treatments that don't contain oestrogen.
The amount of estrogen in birth control pills is really insignificant in a body that's already estrogen dominant. Birth control pills do not cause feminizing effects. I know it sucks to think about putting estrogen into your body (I know this because I was on the pill until very recently, and it sucked for me too), but it's not doing anything to you. Keep taking the pill until you can see your doctor, because stopping will most likely give you a period right away. If you keep taking the pill until you can get an alternative method, you may be able to avoid having any periods while making the transition. There are progesterone-only pills you can take. Those are the birth control pills that you have to take every day at the same time in order for it to be effective. For some people they might stop periods. You can also ask if you can take the birth control continuously and skip the placebo pills if the pill doesn't stop your period on its own. There are also IUDs you can have inserted which are likely to stop your period. Medicated IUDs (not the copper ones; you want the ones that have progesterone in them) usually stop people's periods. The insertion process can be unpleasant and dysphoria-inducing, but once it's in, you don't have to worry about it for about 5 years. Talk to your doctor about these alternatives, but in the mean time, keep taking your pill. Remember that even if you don't like the idea of putting estrogen into your body, it's not actually making any physical changes.
I never tool birth control precisely because there's estrogen in it which does not belong in my body. And not in yours either. Stop it. And if you get you-know-what again, you can thinl about it differently. You go through this every month and only a real warrior can do that, right?
You should talk to your doctor about stopping it so you can make sure you do it safely. You might could talk to your pharmacist about stopping, but talking to your doctor would be a better idea. Also switching to the progesterone pills (as others have mentioned) might be a very good option as you won't be putting more estrogen in your body but you still won't have periods. But definitely talk to your doctor about it, changing any kind of medication doses on your own is very risky business.
