Experiences with birth control

I've been considering starting birth control as I have a steady boyfriend and its always fun to mess around, but I also have noticed my periods have been getting more difficult.

Lately the week before my period, my mood changes drastically; I'm not just sad or moody, I get depressed and angry and overreact and I feel very unlike myself. During my period, my cramps have also been miserable. I end up popping ibuprofen more often than I probably should, and avoiding doing anything that requires much movement.

I know birth control can help with symptoms like these, but even though I've tried researching I still get confused about the side effects.

Can anyone tell me their experience before and after getting on birth control, and if it helped at all with issues like these?

(I'm hoping to get to the doctor soon to discuss things, but being a college student and working as much as I can doesn't leave me with a lot of time, especially with finals coming up so any knowledge you could give me before I go in, I would be so grareful for!!)