They ALWAYS hassle me with my birth control- now it's FINALLY otc!

First off I KNOW that the birth control pill is not for everyone and am no means judging anyone's choice - please have respect for those of us who choose to be on it.

When I hit puberty, I started very painful and erratic periods. I'd gone to doctors and specialists, but they couldn't find anything wrong. The pain, nausea, and dirreha that would come along with my monthly periods would get so bad that I would miss school. once, I suddenly got it during class and bled through. My period also left me so exhausted I couldn't focus or pay attention.

My mom put me on the pill, and after trying a few ones during high school I finally found one that really regulated my period and got my symptoms massively under control. I finally had my life back. 🙌

And then came the cultural msyogyny. The constant hassling me - wanting me to come in for an office visit every 3 months for a refill and constantly trying to take my rx which worked and switch me to entirely different birth control, and suggestions to stop using it completely. Dr's asking if I really "needed it". For note, I wasn't sexually active until college and had no side effects on my bc, and they never found anything "wrong" with me. I was just being hassled, every single time get refills. My mom chalked it up to the fact that I was a high school sophomore and finally found a pill that helped after a few duds. But the hassling continued through college and all of my 20s and seemed to get worse as I aged.

I've argued with doctors and switched doctors many times over it. Before I officially moved out of state, I ordered the bc through one of those apps. When I got into my new state, the Healthcare system was more of a mess than I expected and it was over 7 months to get a dr appt. Hence having to use the app to continue to get refills. Then the app started hassling me, trying to get me to switch to other bc, forgetting to bill the insurance, canceling the order on me and me having to call them to tell them I still wanted it, then they messed up again and put it for the name brand and wanted to bill me $450 instead of just a few bucks for my generic (after being told multiple times always try generic a then geneic b and then the name brand if those dont work). A mess! And during it I ran out, and started the very painful periods again which when I did get the pill again took time for my body to readjust of course. And I did miss work while suffering!

Finally met the new Dr in my new state and lord he was awful. Telling me that I "might want kids" and "well other women change their mind" and tried getting me to switch from my bc pills to an IUD and then told me the IUD would give me heavy periods and probably make them worse. Wtf would I want my period pain again? I wasn't sure what he couldn't understand about that I have been on my same generic bc pill for 10+ years with no issues I just need to make sure you write me the script for that. I do NOT want an iud! He was telling me how "popular" they were with other women who "may want kids in the future". Smh

Needless to say I haven't gone back to him and got back on the app while again having to wait MONTHS to book a different doc, which is a 45 min drive away but he was the only one in network taking new patients, and it was another 7 or 8 months of waiting to get in. 😑

Then there was the app in the meanwhile - when I was between jobs they went and tried to bill my card a few days earlier than when I was supposed to be billed and it declined. Then they tried charging me a fee to re run it. I had it taken off, and then they ran the payment again and it took. The next day, they contacted me saying they cannot fill my rx and that I need to contact local pharmacies to see if its in stock, have them run my insurance, and then I'll need to drive and pick it up. That's a load of bs because I had not one but TWO Backup choices and they were all out of stock?! And the app is supposed to handle fullfulling the order and shipping it to you hence why I paid the fee when I signed up! It's a load of nonsense.

Internalized msyogyny pickmes will just tell me I'mbeing dramatic, and i should just listen to my doctors! I should have just done all the work myself, called all the pharmacies, sat and waited, and drove around who cares! And dont get me started on the internalized misogyny of the pickmes who will tell me "bc is bad, weight gain, moodiness" etc. and then shaming me for using the pill. I've had awful experiences on other bc pills so that's why I am so adamant about sticking with the one that works. You dont see me telling THEM that they NEED to get on the pill. The pain that I'd have otherwise and that returns if I run out of it and start my period again is so bad it's like food poisoning and being stabbed and I couldn't do school let alone work. No women should demonize what helps another woman and allows her to take control of herself, I've even seen it here on fds. I am also lost in this Healthcare system that no one teaches you how to navigate. It makes no sense, takes forever, constantly having to go into see a dr to get a refill is expensive because the office visit has a copay and then another bill that comes in the mail. The app was convenient and allowed me to bypass all those copays and bills. I should only have to go in once a year to the reg doc and then once a year to the gyno. Not every 3 months AND the annual gyno and annual reg doc. And I'm so tired of everyone even on the apps trying to really pressure me into switching to an IUD or a different brand. I have told them on that app listen that's what works so if I can't have that or it's generic you won't have my business and that's worked. But of course she started suggesting other things they have in stock and I'm not dealing with things that may or may not work. The app I use is NURX. The app hassle was all from NURX. I looked into planned parenthood direct as an option as well as WISP, but they are significantly pricier or didn't have my rx as an option.

then I learned that at my local walgreens, they started selling a 3 month pack of OTC birth control pills. No rx needed. No refill appointments. No hassling. As a woman who has had to fight for over ten years to stop suffering with her awfully painful periods - I am so tired of fighting for something that works for me. I really feel like people as a culture can't stand to see a child free single woman - managing her symptoms so she can continue working and flourishing instead of missing work sick every single month for something entirely avoidable. My mom even jokes as to how every refill is a stressful mess! The otc was a massive win.

I know there's risks especially for younger women who don't know and all that but the USA has a massive lack of sex education and a broken Healthcare system.

I know that yes there's Risks and responsibilities that come along with taking any pills, and that some people unfortunately have had awful side effects. But, for those of us similar to myself this otc is an excellent option and step towards making birth control more accessible in an otherwise shit show.

Because up until now, it's been a lot EASIER for me to go buy guns then a pill that stops me from being sick and suffering every month. Yeah im in TX you can go into any stores even some out of state, theyll hand you the unloaded guns, and you can purchase in about 15 minutes. Dont even get me started on ammo vending machines and ammo ive seen for sale in thrift shops. Zero hassle. Why has it been harder to get a birth control pill? And then finally Finally a hassle free option 😌 it's like everyone wants me to get pregnant in the worst way.