Alex Cooper Says She Was Miserable After Quitting Birth Control

Host Alex Cooper thought going off the pill would be straightforward. Maybe some mood swings, a little spotting, but nothing she couldn’t handle. For a minute, that’s exactly how it went.

“When I first went off the pill, at first, everything seemed fine. The first month I experienced spotting, I didn't get my period back, but overall, I felt pretty normal.”

Everything started unraveling, fast. “I started to experience extreme vertigo and dizziness. And the new hormonal fluctuations were just so intense and really affecting me. I would be in interviews about to pass out. I would pass out in the shower. I was so f*cking emotional all the time,“ she said. “And it was frustrating.”

Millions of women have been on birth control for years – some since they were teenagers. Contraception is often handed out like Advil for cramps, acne, and mood swings. Unfortunately, when the day finally comes to a stop, there’s no roadmap or help from doctors.

“I like physically, I could feel my body trying to re-regulate and find its new normal. And it was struggling. I started breaking out like crazy," Cooper explained. "I felt awful 24 seven. And I just felt so out of control with what was happening to my body. I could tell something wasn't right.”

Cue the late-night Google searches and spirals that feel too familiar to anyone who has tried to self-diagnose at 2 a.m. “I'm f*cking Googling everything. Obviously, the biggest one being like, 'Am I fertile? And will I even be able to get pregnant?' And I just started spiraling and assuming the worst as we all do.”

It took nearly half a year, but her period eventually returned. Still, her symptoms didn’t let up. “But my cramps were beyond excruciating to the point that my doctor considered that I may have PCOS.”

At that point, it wasn’t just about symptoms anymore. It was about regaining some kind of stability – physically, emotionally, mentally. Which is why Cooper and her fiancé, Matt Kaplan, decided to hit pause on trying to conceive.

“And so all of this is happening and we're all trying to just figure out like, how do I get back to normal? How do I feel? OK. And while this is happening, Matt and I have a conversation and we decide to just put a pause on getting pregnant because the first priority was I need to get back to feeling good and normal.”

So if you’re wondering why so many women stay on it for so long, even when they want off – there’s your answer. Her story is exactly why Toxic Breakup exists if you’re getting off the pill.

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