My experience with Levora, ie. "The Pill"

During September and October I was taking Levora, ie. "the Pill." I had decided to start hormonal contraception for a mixture of reasons - (1) it seemed like a good way to delay pregnancy, (2) I was curious about whether it would make my migraines less frequent, and (3) my doctor recommended it.

Neither NaturalBoy nor I was that enthusiastic about starting Levora. On my part, I felt like I needed to be on contraceptives because I felt like it was the only responsible thing to do, and that I might "ruin" NaturalBoy's opportunities with an ill-timed pregnancy. NaturalBoy, on the other hand, was very worried about how hormonal contraceptives would effect my health and the health of our future children, but didn't feel he could ask me to stop them since I would be most impacted (physically at least) by pregnancy. This was not an auspicious start by any means.

I blame at least part of this communication break down on the idea that birth control is a woman's choice and right. We speak very little about men's role in preventing or achieving pregnancy. "Sexual health" is almost always grouped with "women's health."  The fear of "ruining" NaturalBoy's opportunities - this one I can only attribute to struggling to transition into new roles. We'd already decided we wanted kids! NaturalBoy had already reassured me that a pregnancy would be welcome! I think this fear was related to transitioning from single to engaged, and preparing for the transition to married. 

The first week I started Levora was miserable. NaturalBoy was out of town, and I was too sick to function. I was exhausted, nauseated to the point of throwing up, and light headed. When I called the doctor's office, I was reassured that this was normal and were simply adjustment issues. Just as I was told, these symptoms faded. Unfortunately, they were replaced by a general sense of unease, tiredness, and, as NaturalBoy reports, "crabbiness." After two months of hanging in there and hoping it would improve, we were both feeling very uncomfortable with the new status quo. When I finally told NaturalBoy I didn't want to use hormonal contraceptives and asked if he'd like to use NFP, he was relieved, and so was I.

We had discussed NFP before I had started Levora, so we knew what we were getting into. We started charting almost immediately after I stopped taking the pill. I'm still waiting for my cycle to return to normal. I'm happy I'd done a bit of charting prior to birth control because I know that what I'm seeing now is unusual. (I'll be writing more about the technical aspects of charting while coming off of the pill later).

We are incredibly relieved to be where we are now. Natural family planning fits with the biological realities of being healthy, married, young people, while also offering a way to space our children. It's a good place to be!