Pill or not pill?

I'm 24y now and I started to take the when I was about 21y.

I started to take it mostly because of cramps.. they were so strong, and of course to have safe sex. Although I've always used condoms.

1 year and a half later, I started to gain a lot of weight and I started to wonder if the pill were a good thing for my health or not. Not just for the gain of weight but for all of the secondary effects...

In April I stopped taking the pill, the cramps returned, but now I begin to lose some weight. However, I do not know what to take to relieve my pain..

can you help me?