I've always had problems with my period. We just never seemed to get along. Realistically, no girl "loves" her period or is best friends with it. Let's face it, we all hate periods. My period would always come at the worst times imaginable and it would leave me in crippling pain. From the cramps, staining, breakouts, cravings, bloating, and occasional moodiness, at some point I decided that enough was enough and I would need to take matters into my own hands.

I started out with pills. Birth control pills are exactly what you would imagine them to be — little pink pills that come in a foil packet for the month. They were a quick and easy fix, but to be perfectly honest, they were inconvenient to say the very least. I had to take them every single day, at the exact same time, and refill my prescription every month. I would constantly forget to take them and it was too embarrassing to carry them with me in public. I would loathe having to go to the pharmacy once a month, I would have to wait online at my campus pharmacy, which has very peculiar hours that clashed with my school schedule. Even with the pills, my periods were still irregular and painful. They didn't really seem to help me as much as I hoped they would.

After two years I decided it was time to break out the big guns: It was time to bring in the IUD.

I hate needles. I hate surgery. I hate the concept of any medical procedure that would be painful. YES, I am a wuss, but honestly, who LIKES pain? No one LIKES pain. (Unless you're some sort of masochist, but that's something else entirely.) The thought of blood or getting sliced open makes me queasy. Having a piece of plastic inserted in me was also under the umbrella category of things that make me queasy. And so, the IUD was an option that I really didn't want to choose, but I ended up settling on anyways.

I went to my GYN and discussed my options and we decided on an IUD that would best fit me and my lifestyle. She told me about the pros and cons and I was looking forward to a new form of birth control that would make my life easier. The IUD would protect me from pregnancy for up to five years, regulate my periods, help with the breakouts, and lighten up my periods over time. That sounded promising enough to me. And the best part? My GYN told me that after around a year or so, I might not even get periods anymore. Imagine that, not having periods at all for a couple of years.

The IUD would give me an opportunity to rid myself of the living hell I go through each and every month. Yes, please and thank you!

My mind was filled with pleasant thoughts for the weeks leading to the procedure. I would have clear skin and my periods wouldn't be as painful. I wouldn't have to worry about the irregularities that I always dealt with whenever my period would surprise attack me, which means no more staining those expensive VS panties! Eventually, my periods would disappear entirely! The thought of not having periods anymore was simply too heavenly. The one thing I didn't account for was the amount of pain that would come with my IUD. Sure, I read a couple of things online about people's experiences with IUDs, but not many experienced pain. Why would I be an exception? I'm just a normal girl with periods like everyone else, I wouldn't need to worry about a painful procedure, right?

Wrong. Fast forward to the operation and holy smokes. I thought I was going to die. Upon insertion, I experienced the worst pain I have ever felt. I've broken bones, twisted ankles, contracted strep throat, had cuts so deep that you could see the bone, but THIS…nothing could have ever prepared me for the amount of pain that I would experience upon the IUD insertion.

It felt like the worst cramps I've ever experienced in my life, but 10 times worse. I saw stars and felt like I was going to pass out. I couldn't move for what felt like an eternity and just lied there, writhing in pain. Once I regained feeling in my legs, I went straight home and slept for hours. The pain was excruciating. I didn't want to eat, drink, or even move. Along with the pain came bleeding, like LOTS of bleeding. Like, the kind of blood you get on your heavy flow days. Imagine those great big dams flooding, but instead of water, it's just red. For a whole week. Sigh. Thankfully, the pain and blood subsided after around a week.

Fast forward again to the present. Now I've had my IUD for around six months and I've learned to live with it. I'm not at that stage where I can get a tattoo of my IUD and claim that it was the best decision of my life. Nor can I state that my IUD and I are BFFs. When I say that I live with it, I mean just that.

It's like having to live with a cat that you don't particularly like and the feelings are mutual between you two.

I deal with my IUD and my IUD deals with me. The truth is that it did regulate my periods and it did help with my acne. I have not gotten pregnant, so at least I know that it works and will keep me baby-free for a long time. It's not like my IUD completely changed my life. I still get periods and I still get bloated. I still get hormonal breakouts, just not as bad as before. My period still exists and I still get cramps. Unfortunately, my IUD has not magically gotten rid of the bleeding or pain…yet. I really hope that at some point it does, but that's just some wishful thinking on my behalf.

If you're tired of periods, as I am and always have been, I would say that birth control is definitely something to consider. Of course, different forms of birth control have different effects on different people. Certain methods of birth control might be better for you than they would be for me. Plus, there are plenty of types of birth control out there! I'm currently using the IUD, but there's also the shot, pills, the patch, etc. I can't promise that an IUD would be better for you than the pill, because I don't know you, you silly goose. I'd recommend that you discuss it with your health provider and see what they think and then go from there. Periods suck, but at least there are things we can do to make them suck a little bit less. Who knows, in a year or two I might actually have a tattoo of a little plastic T. But until then, we're acquaintances for the time being, not friends.