Woman On TikTok Shares Her Terrible Withdrawal Symptoms From Quitting Birth Control—"Nothing Is As Bad As Getting Off This Freaking Drug"

Most women who are currently on birth control started it when they were younger. Parents often put their young teens on birth control to avoid teen pregnancy and painful PMS symptoms. We’re only now learning about the consequences of staying on contraception long-term, thanks to social media, and it’s caused a movement of women to ditch the pill. The impact women have when it comes to being vocal about their birth control journey is important and revolutionary – it educates young women on the importance of connecting with their natural cycles and honoring them. 

One woman named Abigail Martin recently shared her horrifying birth control withdrawal symptoms on TikTok, garnering thousands of views and support from her followers. She used the NuvaRing for five years and the EluRyng for one year until she decided to finally go birth control-free. The rings are soft, small, and made out of plastic. They're inserted into the vagina and release hormones into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy.

Martin’s withdrawal symptoms started just a few days after she dropped the contraception. “Three days ago, I quit my birth control for the first time in six years,” she says in her video. The reason? She says the EluRyng gave her mood swings, terrible nausea, and awful anxiety. She decided to finally take it out, and what came after was a series of withdrawal symptoms that Martin didn’t expect.

Just five days after being off birth control, she uploaded a new video where she describes her dreadful symptoms. Abigail, sitting in her car, had just gotten out of urgent care. “This is day five off of birth control, and I just got done at urgent care. Why did nobody tell me that this was gonna be so difficult?” she asks. Martin, despite her calm composure, explains the myriad of health issues she was experiencing: extreme nausea, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, randomly crying, and "the worst cramps I have ever had ever." 

Two days later, Martin responded with a video to a user's comment that said, “I thought I was dying when I got off birth control, it was HORRIFIC.” Martin says her withdrawal symptoms caused her to have panic attacks and that she was given medication for her insomnia. “I didn’t sleep for like three days,” says Martin. In addition to her anxiety, Martin also experienced painful cramps. “I had the worst period of my life. Like, I have never had it that bad, to the point where the cramps were, like, absolutely debilitating.” She then says she needs an IV from the random waves of nausea that caused her to be dehydrated. But the worst symptom, Martin says, is the anxiety she was feeling. “I naturally have mild to moderate anxiety, but nothing is as bad as getting off this freaking drug.” 

Since her series of posts on TikTok, there have been several comments from women who shared the same concerns. “I’m also getting off mine sis,” writes Carolyn. “Nobody talks about how bad the side effects are. Or the long-term effects.” Indeed, we’re educated on contraceptions and what they do when we visit a doctor, but we’re not made aware of the withdrawal symptoms and side effects that come with it. As a result, a lot of us had to learn about the dangers of contraception the hard way.

As for the other women who want to get off birth control, Martin wants to give them this last piece of advice: “If you are thinking of getting off birth control soon, I would highly recommend consulting a naturopath beforehand to try to get your hormones balanced before you get off of it.”

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