Starting back in high school in 2015, Annie Uyeki was always anxious when she had to leave a class. “I wondered, What does my teacher think?” she says. Anywhere from two to three times in an 82-minute class period, Uyeki had to step out. Her body demanded it.
Now a lacrosse player at Vassar College, Uyeki was used to infrequent occurrences of excruciating pain that came with irregular and unbearable periods. She started taking birth control pills to help regulate them—she just wanted to feel comfortable in her own body, function as an athlete and compete at the highest level without pain.
But, as she tried to find a birth control method that would prevent pregnancy and help her body cope with relentless cramps and pain, the pill only made her life worse. Maybe this type of pill was a bad fit, she thought. Uyeki switched from one type to another, but her pain didn’t change. Her mental health suffered.
