The first time I had an anxiety attack was at a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore during my senior year of high school. I was 17 years old and there to get my first birth control pill prescription.

After being in the waiting room for two and a half hours, I was lead into the back where they weighed me, and I waited another hour. I didn’t know what I was about to do to my body, but half an hour later, I walked out with three months worth of birth control pills at no charge to me. I took the first pill that night and over the next four months to a year, watched my body transform. My breasts got larger, my hips wider, and my skin clearer. My sex drive decreased and I gained 20 pounds in the first year.

The pill was alright. After two years, I decided that I was tired of putting hormones into my body everyday. I stopped taking it and, once again, watched my body transform. The first two weeks were the worst. Because my body was not receiving the amount of estrogen and progestin that it was used to, I experienced heat flashes, massive mood swings, and 17 days straight of menstrual bleeding. Over the next few months, my sex drive returned and I lost 20 pounds.

As it turns out, two people that don’t like condoms being in a sexually active, heterosexual relationship is not an ideal situation. I began looking for alternate birth control methods when one of my friends recommended I get an IUD. After doing some research, I found that it sounded like a good fit for and Planned Parenthood would, once again, be the easiest and cheapest option.

I made an appointment and went to get the IUD inserted in mid-July. The procedure itself was momentarily painful and uncomfortable. The PP nurses were outstanding and lovely people and professionals. After the procedure, as I was sitting in the waiting room to pay, I fainted and fell onto the floor. This, apparently happens to about one percent of people that go through this procedure. The PP staff was, of course, wonderful and made sure I was alright and had a safe way to get home.

The remainder of the day was spent in bed with while I endured extreme pain and discomfort. My uterus apparently did not appreciate a device being inserted into it. After about a day, the pain subsided. I still do experience very painful cramps during every menstrual cycle, but the gain outweighs the pain, in my opinion.

In summation: birth control is an oddly embodied experience that has provided me with a decent amount of pain and discomfort but very little pregnancy. Planned Parenthood is fantastic in every way.