Hormonal birth control did a number on me, especially all the low dose pills. Then, when I went back onto the original higher dose pills, I was worse than ever. After my daughter was born, I got the copper IUD (Paragard) because it doesn't have hormones. Women tend to have heavier periods on it and/or longer ones, but I wasn't much affected either way from my natural state (because on hormones, of course, you have very light periods. But mine were like I remembered the 6 months or so off the pill before I started trying to get pregnant with my daughter (had to go off the psych meds too).

I never had issues with Paragard though I have heard some doctors don't like to give a woman an IUD if she hasn't had a child first. Now, after removal of the Paragard, I have not been able to get pregnant again. I guess I've been off it 7 or 8 years now. But I know other people have had it, gotten it removed, and gotten pregnant again. It could be something genetic for me too. My maternal grandmother was an only child, in a day & age when it was not uncommon for a woman (particularly from a poor family like hers) to have 10 kids or even more. And my paternal grandmother had to have some surgery done before she could get pregnant with my father. My mom and sisters all had kids no trouble. I got pregnant with my daughter the first month we tried, so go figure.

Anyway, you couldn't pay me to touch hormones again.