BIRTH control is a common medication that many people use on a daily basis.
There are many different forms, but for one woman, the Pill managed to turn her life into a 'living hell'.
Chancey Sessions had been taking contraception for ten years before coming off it in November.
But she wasn't prepared for the side effects which followed.
Chancey, who lives in Alabama, US said she developed alopecia and is now sharing her story to warn others of the dangers.
Posting to TikTok, in a clip that now has over 9.4million views, she showed images of her with long, flowing blonde hair, then revealed shocking clumps of hair in her hand.
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"Birth control doesn't mess you up that bad," she said.
When visiting her GP about the issue, Chancey said they claimed birth control wouldn't cause her any damage.
"Bullsh*t. I literally went through living hell for the past four months.
“Every time I would go to the doctor they would say, ‘Oh, birth control will help this.’ ‘Your birth control is lacking? Let’s up your dose. It will help this," she said.
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Following the first round of shedding, Chancey said medics told her the experience was normal – suggesting she go back on her oral contraception.
Speaking to BuzzFeed, she said she 'truly felt like my life was ending'.
"I knew something was up before it got bad, but no one around me would take me seriously," she said.
Everyone around her told Chancey she was suffering with stress and she said she first noticed something wasn't right when she was on her honeymoon in Bora Bora and Tahiti.
After visiting a dermatologist, Chancey was told she had experienced 'hormonal shock'.
Blood tests and a biopsy confirmed that her coming off the Pill had triggered alopecia.
Hair loss may be temporary or permanent, depending on the type of condition you are experiencing.
What is alopecia?
Alopecia is the medical term for baldness and covers all types of hair loss, from temporary to permanent.
This is the medical name for pattern hair loss, but many people are unaware that this is a form of alopecia.
Male sufferers of this normally see their hairline recede as their hair thins and falls out, starting at the temples.
Women can see it as a thinning of hair all over the head.
This is a natural part of ageing so should not be a cause for concern.
Around 50% of men over the age of 50 have some form of hair loss, while 50% of women over 65 have androgenetic alopecia.
This is permanent damage so your hair will not grow back although you can slow the process.
How is Telogen effluvium linked?
A less predictable type of hair loss, this is when your hairs move into a resting phase and shed.
It is a normal process but if more hair than usual moves into this phase, it can cause thinning and balding.
For many people this alopecia is triggered by a physical or psychological event and can spontaneously resolve itself.
Chancey was told she had telogen effluvium, which is a condition that is usually triggered by a traumatic event.
Many people who have been infected with coronavirus reported the condition.
Drastic weight loss or extreme stress can also cause telogen effluvium hair loss.
Medications – such as for gout or high blood pressure – can also trigger this hair loss.
It's important to note that for many people, the Pill in an affective form of contraception.
Now, months on from the initial diagnosis, Chancey says she has seven to ten bald patches left on her scalp and wears a hat because of the condition of her hair.
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Despite this, she said: "I’m grateful for the amount of hair I still have. It could be much worse. I’ve seen a lot worse."
But it is growing back, slowly but surely and her most recent videos on TikTok show that where there was once bald patches, hair has grown back.
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