I remember the pain. Stabbing. Never-ending. I remember curling up into the fetal position, crying until the sockets of my eyes ached as much as my insides. Begging for a relief that never came.

Due to debilitating menstrual cramps, I was placed on the birth control pill in junior high.

Junior. High.

I remember holing up in the women's restroom, sitting on the shiny linoleum, clutching my cramping stomach as math class continued on without me. If I was lucky enough to be permitted by my parents to skip school, my late grandmother would come by while I was home alone with some Midol and chocolate.

My beloved boyfriend has taken up the reins since then.

My case, although severe for my age, is not unusual. Contrary to popular belief, contraceptive was not solely created to prevent pregnancy. For me, it lessened the pain of the dreaded female condition and allowed me a regular schedule of when I could expect, and work around, said pain.

But I've experienced side effects, too.

Depression. Nausea. Muscle pain. Mood swings. Changes in libido.

Not to mention, the risk of permanent fertility damage.

Although I was experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression long before I began birth control, there is a distinct difference in my body's hormones when I am menstruating and when I am not. I'm aware. Keenly aware. I'm one of the lucky ones.

Woman everywhere face this. The most recent statistics about female contraceptive are from a study conducted by the CDC in 2006-2010, in which 62% of women of a reproductive age (15-45) are taking one form of contraceptive or another.

If one becomes a mother and takes contraceptive to avoid another pregnancy, they are expected to perform several roles perfectly. Wife or girlfriend. Homemaker. Mother. Employee. They must fulfill - excel - in these roles while experiencing the added stresses these pills place on them.

And that just isn't right.

For the last two weeks, headings regarding male contraceptive have overtaken the media's airways alongside the impending election. I, for one, had no idea this study was even being conducted until it was announced that it wasn't. Because the symptoms were too severe.

I will acknowledge the double-standard, but instead of complaining about how the men can't handle what we are expected to, I urge you to take action against the current contraceptive system.

Do not let this double-standard fade away as another headline, another missed opportunity. Sign the Fix My Birth Control petition. Tweet about your experience with the hashtag #fixmybc for Fix My Birth Control. Share this message.

Make a difference.

If not for yourself, then for the next generation of girls that curl into themselves from the pain and cry themselves to exhaustion.