i recently turned 16 but i’ve been having problems with my period for a year or two. i’ve never had an ordinary cycle but i figured that was because i was young.

however, my doctor told me that by now it should be more regular and wants me to make a decision. i either have to go to an obgyn and see what they think is the right path or get bloodwork and then see if i still need to see the obgyn.

i’m kind of horrified of needles and i really don’t want to get bloodwork, but i also know that going to the obgyn means probably talking about going on birth control. i’ve been thinking about it for a while because i have pretty bad acne and i’ve heard that some methods can help with that and to regulate but i’ve also heard that hormonal birth control can be bad for teenager’s health because part of their brain isn’t fully developed yet. i’ve tried to talk to my family about it but they’re very set in their ways while i like to explore all of my options.

so, does anyone have more information about how hormonal birth control can affect teens? did i get false information? am i overreacting by worrying about going to an obgyn?

thank you in advance for any input you may have!