We all know about western medicine, right? Of course there are a multitude of things that it absolutely excels at. Honestly, I am glad that I have it at my disposal. For example, If I have a life threatening emergency. I like being alive, so I am glad that I can prolong my life if I get into an accident or something.
Overall, though, if we want great health it doesn?t really have a lot to offer you or me. We could even go in for annual check ups for preventative measures, and if nothing was glaringly obvious we would be deemed in good health and skirted out the door. When there is something that threatens our quality of life we are often given a band aid rather than a real cure.
This is hugely the case with women and hormonal contraceptives. Yes, they are a contraceptive, but let?s set that mechanism of action aside for a while and focus on the other things that it does for women of reproductive age.
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Clears skin
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Makes the bleed come regularly
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Alleviates cramps
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Relief of symptoms from endometriosis and polycystic ovaries
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Lightens heavy periods
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PMS relief
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Less periods (for those on some types of pills or long acting hormonal contraception)
How many people do you know struggling with any of these things? I?m guessing a lot! The thing is, what all of these have in common is that they are a result of imbalanced hormones. A non-regular period can happen due to some other things that are not pathological, such as short term stress or illness, but everything else is going to be better addressed another way.
So long as doctors have a tool to eliminate symptoms, those pesky messages from our body telling us something isn?t right, ?there isn?t as much desire to get to the root of the problem. Either on the doctor’s or patient’s end.
From a patient?s perspective, unless they are very proactive about their health, they are going to listen to their doctors. When their doctors offer them relief of whatever symptom they originally came in with they feel that whatever they took or did ?worked.? And it did work in that it alleviated a symptom. What we experience as a symptom is just one facet of a larger problem. Typical doctors are very good at eliminating that symptom, the problem is, many of them don?t have the first idea of how to go about treating the underlying problem.
So, how does this relate to women?s health, in particular their hormonal health? Since women are able to cover up symptoms, they are often unmotivated to get to the root of their problems. I would say that, for most, that lack of motivation does not come from lack of care for their health, but from the fact that they just truly don?t realize that the symptom is just a message telling them about a larger problem in the first place. What they are using as that ?band aid? isn?t actually fixing that problem. Just look at this author talking about her experience with period suppressing pills.
Hormonal contraceptives are an extremely easy ?fix,? which is one of the reasons they are so prevalent. But here is where the real issue comes in: Not only are those who have a hormonal imbalance in the first place ignoring the underlying problem in favor of symptom relief, but they have their own side effects associated with their use, like any other drug. So when we take the drug to suppress a symptom, not only do we have an imbalance that we don?t deal with, we also add hormonal imbalance on top of that. What a doozy, right?
Listen, I don?t judge anyone for making a decision that is right for them, but I want to help people make an informed decision so that they really know that it is the right choice and they can feel confident in it. If you aren?t ready to deal with a lot of health stuff, which often even delves into the emotional, maybe those hormones are your best bet right now. But, if you want the best health you can get let me assure you that artificial hormones are not a piece of that equation. I should say, there may be exceptions to that statement, like for those that have had an early total hysterectomy, though I don?t think we have enough data to really know.
One of the reasons this can get so out of hand with hormonal contraception is because of their double purpose. Women find it convenient that what helps them be symptom-free also helps them not get pregnant.
One of the great things about the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness is that it?s kind of like hormonal contraceptives, but the opposite. You get the whole birth control thing, but you also get a window into what is going on with your hormones so you get an idea of how to fix them (since your typical doctor isn?t going to be much help in fixing the underlying issues).
I invite anyone taking hormonal contraceptives to examine your motives for doing so, and think about whether you might be able to get more feedback about any of your health problems if you got off the hormones and experienced your body as is.
Hannah Ransom is a Fertility Awareness instructor. She teaches a live, online course on how to properly use the symptothermal method of fertility awareness as both a contraceptive method as well as a fertility-enhancing tool. There are still a handful of slots open for her next class on Saturday, August 31st. Click HERE to read more and to register for the class.
Ok Hannah, thank you for this article. I have mentioned my 11 year old daughter a few times in the Women’s forum, but I also have a 21 y.o. daughter who is a university student. She’s been on the pill for three years. Of course, she’s also under a lot of stress at school. She has a thick mane of hair, but recently she’s been losing large amounts of hair. I suspect its “the pill”, although I don’t know much at all about its side-effects. Could this be a side-effect?
What is the best female contraceptive to replace “the pill”? How does it compare? Where can she learn about it?
I’m obviously not Hannah, but the pill can absolutely cause hair loss.
It can, but the stress could be it, too! That’s kind of what I was getting at with part of this article, you can’t get to the root of a health problem when you are on a drug!
Hi, I also had this issue in college when I was under a LOT of stress and also taking the pill. I recently went off the pill to try to balance my hormones myself. I have found that getting my weight back to a more normal range (I was underweight for quite some time) has helped immensely with this issue and my hair is in great shape now. However, it took a couple of years to get to this place. I also think that antibiotic acne meds might have played a part in the hair loss, but it is hard to tell. I also am trying to find other suitable methods of contraception so I don’t have a lot of advice there. But thought I would share that I have had the same experience as your daughter with the hair loss – you’re not crazy for thinking this could be a cause.
Sorry, I didn’t notice the part in your questions about the best contraceptive. That would definitely be up to the person to decide, though. I use and teach the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness, though it does take a certain amount of maturity and commitment to the practice (I’m not saying your daughter doesn’t have this, but it’s something to take into consideration). Other than that I’d go with condoms or copper IUD (though this isn’t without side effects).
I was diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago and the first thing they did was give me birth control to try and regulate my periods. It didn’t work and I ended up stopping having periods all together. Then I tried provera which made me feel horrible and stopped taking that too. I found out afterwards that I don’t ovulate so if the BC/progesterone doesn’t help then I’m not taking them for no reason. I was on metformin too with no luck and again I’m not taking something that makes me feel horrible and not getting any results. Most of my doctors have only tried things that worked for other patients but since those things don’t work for me they don’t have many answers or solutions.
The only thing I worry about is endometrial hyperplasia but I don’t have insurance right now so not a lot of alternatives.
This was a good article though and I agree with you!
That’s super common. I just had someone telling me they were having their period nearly constantly, so they were out on hormones, and they got off because of other issues they were having with the hormones, and now they aren’t bleeding at all. You are probably better off troubleshooting and looking into doctor alternatives, anyway, all they really have for you is hormones!
Nothing against you, but the article talks a lot and nothing to back up. Where is the health detriments caused by BC? Please provide these and then we can make an actual decision. Just reading this article didn’t help at all in answering “Should I take Birth Control”… in my opinion.
No offense taken. Seems like common sense, though.
It’s a group 1 carcinogen http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ClassificationsGroupOrder.pdf
And that is just starting with the big stuff… Though, I’m curious what you are actually asking. This article was focusing on the fact that so many people have hormonal imbalances and cover them up with hormonal contraceptives, thereby doing themselves a disservice in terms of actually obtaining great health.
What can one do after coming off a long stint of bcp use to balance out hormones and sort of repair the damage the pill does to your body. I took the pill from 19 to 30. I stopped 3 years ago and I still feel like I am recovering. Knowing what I know now, I would have never taken the pill if I could go back.
Eat well. I’m not big on vitamins, but this is a time that they might be good short term.
-Make sure you are eating fats, particularly some animal fats, low PUFA.
-I recommend organic, the conventional stuff has endocrine disruptors in it and it’s best to avoid it, especially while trying to balance hormones.
-I also recommend whole foods as the majority of your diet, not lots of refined sugars, instead use sugary stuff that has nutrients to it — honey, maple syrup, ect.
And then of course, sleep/stress. Sleeping in a totally dark room can also help some women, as night lighting can mess you up.
Angie/Hannah, I am in the same place. I am 2.5 years out now, after being on the pill for 15 years. I had zero hormonal issues (to my best knowledge) other than normal going-through-puberty stuff when I went on. It sure created hormonal issues when I came off, though. It has been a doozy. I finally feel over the hump now thanks to homeopathy, which I finally resorted to because I was so imbalanced. The normal eating, rest stuff was not enough. I’ve been eating well (whole foods mostly, organic as much as I can) for years now. Sleep is hard for me because I get insomnia when stressed, but that at least better now, too. My skin is still not totally recovered, but a lot better.
My best advice to others is do not ever stay on the pill long-term. The people I know who came off with no issues either were not on for more than a few years or they got pregnant right away after coming off, which I think re-sets your hormones (although maybe not great for the baby). And also, when you are coming off, be *extremely* gentle with your body. I came off and had a really stressful summer, which I think compounded the issues. Had I come off and rested a lot, I think it would have been easier.
Interestingly, I cycled regularly immediately after coming off. Period every ~30 days, ovulation, etc. All normal. However, the rest of my body was in utter upheaval, I had every gynecological issue possible, my immune system collapsed. So I have no idea how that is possible, but it happened.
Also, I have been thinking lately a multi vitamin might be helpful because I am still rebuilding my body. Does anyone have recommendations for a good multi or pre-natal?
Hi The Real Amy,
I would look into The Synergy Company for both a multi and pre-natal.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Birth control depletes folate and other b vitamins. These vitamins are critical for our bodies to methylate. Without proper methylation, your body becomes a toxic waste dump.
Problem being, a good portion of our population also carries a MTHFR genetic mutation which prevents folate from being absorbed at optimal levels. I learned last week I have this MTHFR from my OB, and “the pill” isn’t a good idea for some one with this condition.
Add to this the depleted state that BCs cause, a even more health problems arise. Most docs I saw wrote off my years of migraines from “stress” but as soon as I went off the pill, they lessened to a greater extent.
Doctors should be testing ALL women before going on the pill for this genetic mutation, as it carries many health implications beyond just wacking out hormones.
Western medicine seems to prescribe first, and retract later.
This is totally off topic, but MTHFR makes me think “mother fucker.” But I digress…
Hormonal contraceptives are hugely malnourishing. It is very sad the lack of information that really is conveyed before putting women on a major drug.
In the autism community…that’s what we call it!
Awesome.
Hey Nicolette,
So glad that your migraines are better–that’s a big deal! Also, I’m happy that you found out that you have an issue with methylation (I mean, I’m not glad that you have this, I’m just glad that you know about it). Like you eluded too, so many people carry this mutation, and so few know. Fortunately, for the most part (not always) it can be easily worked with utilizing proper supplementation, and many women who carry this mutation can safely take the pill.
All the best.
I’m glad I know as well…can’t wait to see the good changes that come with the proper supps. I’m sure die-off will be a bitch, though.
Thanks…
Hannah, thank you for this article. I feel it’s crucial that women have this information BEFORE they take the plunge. Certainly wish I’d known! I decided to go on birth control when I was 18, for the sole reason of preventing pregnancy. I’ve known about this and other unpleasant side effects of the pill for a while, but I’ve recently come across information concerning the damage it can inflict on the gallbladder. Having a family history of gallbladder disease this freaked me out…but at this point coming off the pill seems a scary prospect. I’m 24, a student and I don’t want children any time soon (or ever). Me and my long term partner still use condoms while I’m on the pill because I’m so paranoid about getting pregnant…Needless to say I freak out even more whenever I read other women’s “coming off the pill” stories (weight gain, hair loss, acne, pregnant, you name it). I’m sure those things mean nothing in the long run when your health is at stake – nonetheless they are a bleak prospect. Anyway, I’m sorry about the rant. Really just looking for someone who could relate, or maybe has a positive experience post pill!
A lot of people do have a negative experience, especially for a couple of months, BUT go on to feel much better than they have in ____ (insert amount of time they were on hormonal contraceptives).
I actually originally learned this method because I never wanted kids (that has changed now, but that’s not the point) and wanted to use 2 methods because I was so freaked out! I ended up only using one, and then switching to the sympto-thermal method and only using it.
A lot of people who never want kids and don’t want to be on hormones tend to get copper IUDS or use the sympto-thermal method if they don’t want to get sterilized. There are ways you can use the method to make it even more effective, so that is a huge plus.
Leah,
I took the pill a few different times, and I only had one bad experience because the pill I was prescribed had a very high dosage of hormones and made my acne terrible. The other couple times I took birth control it was a lower dose and I had no problems whatsoever. The only problem I had going off the pill was that it took about 5 months for my body to adjust and start having periods again. I didn’t notice one bad thing about going off of the pill- no weight gain, breakouts, hair loss, nothing.
Honestly, if its working for you I wouldn’t mess with it. Of course that is your decision, but it may be a case of where the benefits outweigh the risks; clearly pregnancy is not something you want right now. But I’m also not a doctor-hater like many who comment here are.
Just to second — or 3rd — that going off may not be that bad. I took the pill for about 2 years in college, and went off it for good after breaking up with that particular boyfriend. This was 15 years ago when the formulations were stronger than now — nowhere near as the “nuclear hormone” pills as the 1970s versions, but a little more intense than today’s versions.
The very next month my period/cycle was back to exactly as it had been before the pill — which is not to say perfect, but there was comfort in familiarity. The only side effect of going off was the return of acne … I’d been nearly pimple-free while on the pill. But, it was a net plus, because the pill itself had always had side effects for me — frequent headaches, frequent nausea, and what I perceived to be weight gain, but what was possibly bloating because it went away as soon as I was off it.
Hannah, I’m very grateful for your information about sympto-thermal (sp?) method! I’d been taking my temp almost daily anyhow to work on metabolism/thyroid, and the additional information in your writing gave me the courage to go for it au naturel on days that are absolutely not fertile (long term partner, obvs). I’m still a little more conservative than necessary because I don’t want to fall pregnant, but it’s really liberating to have the knowledge and confidence! And, thanks to eating a lot more, an actual interest in it.
Good, be super conservative, because just what I have written isn’t enough to know the method, yet! You can probably find the book “Taking Charge of your Fertility” at your library, though, which is a great one.
Thanks, I will look for that!
The key here is you do not want to stay on it more than a few years. Most people I know who came off after a couple of years on were fine. Those of us who were on 10, 15 years or more have been totally f’d up for lack of a better term. I cannot emphasize enough that it is a terrible idea to be on longterm, based on what I’ve seen in myself and others. I’m in my 30s now, so I am seeing it a lot in my peers.
I would advise getting off now. You probably won’t have horrible issues since you haven’t been on more than a few years. There are GREAT other BC options. Now I track my cycles so I know when I’m fertile and combine it with condoms (when there is any chance whatsoever of fertility) and withdrawl all the time. It’s actually a really easy and effective way to prevent pregnancy.
Your body will thank you later if you take care of it now.
I’m shocked by how many women at my work have taken the pill for 20+ years. Doctors keep prescribing it right up to menopause. Once you are that reliant, you can’t get off it without major crashing.
Yet these women on the pill suffer from headaches, anxiety, depression, low energy, etc. And the doctors can’t link these symptoms? They are classic side effects of birth control.
I got off the pill after 10 years, which was long enough to mess me up. That was 7 years ago now. I would never go back on it. No matter the “beauty” benefits (less body hair, clear skin, estrogen cheeks). The fatigue and anxious/depressed feeling it caused back then still haunts me. I never realised how much “lighter” you are once off it. Happy to use condoms forever or get my tubes tied after having my baby.
Didn’t mean for my comment to sound overly breezy … what I meant was, don’t fear the bounce-back now, get it over with. Like pulling off a band-aid, do it quick (i.e., soon) and it may be easier. I do believe my easy return was because it had only been, now that I think back, only 1-and-1/2 years, not even 2 years, and maybe because I was just 21-22 and still had some of my “invincibility shield” intact. Also, I wasn’t particularly in touch with my body back then, so it’s possible I had nonspecific symptoms that I ignored or attributed to external factors.
Sidebar — Real Amy, upthread you mention homeopathy. If you ever wanted to write about your experience with that, I’d be really interested in reading it. I’ve never tried it, but have always been curious about it since I had some interesting occasions to learn about its history … particularly how widespread and mainstream it was 100 years ago, yet is so little known today. I understand that to do “real” homeopathy with a classical homeopath (as opposed to picking up some arnica cream) is a financial investment, though, and I don’t have the means right now. Also, my health has gotten much better lately, and it would be great to move away from doctors of any kind.
I think homeopathy is amazing. It definitely “works” but only if you get the right remedy. When you do, some really cool things can happen. I don’t really understand it, but you need to work with a good classical homeopath, as you point out, and it can take awhile to get to the right remedy. I had a few that did nothing at all, and a couple that helped me in certain ways. Between that and eating well/resting, I was in a much better place. But when I finally got the right one, it was like a light turned on. Things just lifted. My energy levels rose, and I felt like a really normal, energetic person again for the first time in a couple of years. I had enough energy to be the happy, social person I really am. Not like everything in my life got perfect, but like something had shifted that made it possible for me to move forward. It’s hard to explain. I still feel like I am healing, and I need to pay a lot of attention to sleep, stress reduction and eating well, but when you have enough energy to deal with life, it is huge. I stopped feeling overwhelmed. I worked through several tough emotional issues in short order as well. Additionally, I was able to start exercising again, and that was a truly amazing thing for me.
My personal feeling is that it’s best to try lifestyle modifications first. They might be enough. But if not, I think homeopathy is an amazing tool IF you are working with someone good and have some patience. Some people are too imbalanced (physically, emotionally or hormonally) for lifestyle modifications to work, and this is where I think homeopathy can be incredibly beneficial.
I’ve taken remedies a couple of acute situations, too, and it worked. I’m a believer.
Thank you! That was very informative.
Hiya. I know very little about these women’s things but when I was writing my recent thyroid&cvd article (published a week ago in 180 Degree Health), I found some quite interesting and very old papers in which thyroid hormones seemed quite useful for some menstrual problems. Some of you might find them interesting:
1) Foster&Thornton: Thyroid in the treatment of menstrual irregularities (1939)
“Fifty patients with ages ranging from 16 to 34 years were seen because of dysmenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, amonerrhea, metrorrhagia and menorrhagia. All were apparently healthy individuals with normal pelvic findings. These patients had B.M.R. ranging from -1 to -33 with an average of -15. All were treated with desiccated thyroid.
Of 25 cases of dysmenorrhea 17 had complete relief, 5 partial, and 3 no relief.
Of 17 individuals with an oligomenorrhea all had complete relief.
Of 4 patients with amenorrhea lasting from 8 months to 4 years only one had relief of her symptoms.
Among 13 patients with metrorrhagia 12 had complete relief and of 7 with a menorrhagia 6 had complete relief.”
2) Litzenberg JC: The endocrines in relation to sterility and abortion ” (1937)
Since 1922 I have studied the relation of the basal metabolic rate to sterility, abortions and menstrual disturbances. In our first small series of sixty-nine consecutive women, in whom no other evidence of myxedema was present, 50 per cent had a low basal rate; adding those who had conceived but aborted, the figure was 56 per cent. Carefully supervised thyroid medication resulted in 33.3 per cent conception, 14 per cent of whom aborted. […]
Haines and Mussey of the Mayo Clinic confirmed our thyroid treatment of functional menstrual disturbances, saying: “Because of a desire to determine the effectiveness of thyroid medication alone, in the treatment of certain menstrual disturbances, no patient received any other treatment. All were definitely improved; amenorrhea, 72 per cent; oligomenorrhea, 55 per cent; menorrhagia, 73 per cent, and general health, 75 per cent.””
3) Barnes BO: The treatment of menstrual disorders in general practice. (1949)
[“In 1949, I published a report on 143 women with menstrual disorders whom I had seen in my practice and for whom, after taking a thorough history and carrying out a complete physical examination including examination of the pelvis, I had prescribed thyroid therapy. These were women without evidence of fibroids, ovarian cysts, or any other organic disease. In some, basal metabolism test indicated thyroid deficiency; in others, the basal temperature test was used.
Forty-eight of the women suffered from menstrual cramps. Only five failed to get some relief from thyroid therapy; thirty-five experienced complete relief.
Forty-five of the women had irregular cycles. Forty-three benefited, with the cycles becoming completely regular in forty-one.
Fifty women suffered from excessive bleeding. Two failed to benefit; two improved somewhat; forty-six resumed periods with normal flow.”]
Then there was this one PMS paper too:
4) Brayshaw&Brayshaw: Thyroid hypofunction in premenstrual syndrome
[54 women with PMS were studied. Various thyroid tests were done (TRH-stimulation test especially). The average TSH level of the women was within the “normal” range (<4.0) but still 51 of the women showed some cues of hypothyroidism. 34 of these patients were given T4 medication. All of these 34 women were cured from PMS symptoms.]
Thanks for the info!
All of our hormones are VERY inter-related. If we have problems with one it will affect others.
Wow! Thanks Valtsu! Very interesting.
There’s something wrong with contemporary medical practice when — for some issues — it can make the 1920-40s seem like something of a Golden Age.
My symptoms of terrible cramps are slowly getting better each month, but I mean it’d also be really awesome to not have a period. I don’t got time for that shit. I want to travel and be free to do whatever without worrying about my heavy period.
To each there own :)
I would probably freak out without a period. It seems grounding.
Think about the health implications of not having a period, and you may feel differently. Once your period normalizes, it won’t be so bad to deal with. I am very thankful for my period each month, although it is annoying to deal with. It’s a sign we are women and that our fertility is intact. And not pregnant, for those of us who are not ready for children – that is reassuring!
I hear you, Kylie! It’s a hassle when it’s there, but it’s worse when it’s not. You earth mommas may be familiar with Ani DiFranco’s song “Blood in the Boardroom”? It was a big hit (uh, among feminist liberal-arts majors) when I was in college.
My twin daughters started their first periods around age 13. When they were 14 their periods slacked off and became irregular, eventually quitting. (And there was no way pregnancy was the reason.) The doctor wanted to put them on birth control pills. I knew better, so instead gave them Vitex/chaste tree berry, but with little success even after almost a year on it. When our family gave up the Paleo Diet (which we’d followed faithfully since the girls were 14) and started “eating the food”, guess what?! Their regular periods returned!
Also, another negative health aspect of the bc pill is that it ruins the good bacterial flora of the gut and therefore affect the health of future children born to the pill taker. See: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-the-pill-can-harm-your-future-childs-health/
I wonder if excess iron in the diet may cause this. Of course I do not know how you implemented the Paleo diet, but if you were eating a lot of meat it means you get a lot of iron and I wonder if irregularities/heavy bleeding may just be the body coping with the excess iron it is getting.
Lots of good reasons to avoid the pill!! Here’s a brief excerpt from a research essay I recently wrote on the topic:
“When a woman uses chemical birth control (such as the pill or patches) the entire composition of her hormones is changed. Birth control tricks a woman?s body into thinking it is pregnant. Naturally her body prepares pregnancy hormones, and her hormones stabilize to a flat line, similar to a male?s constant fertility (except she has a constant infertility). This stabilization of hormones changes her pheromones, and according to studies, this does a lot more than just make her unlikely to get pregnant.
Rachel Herz, a researcher and psychologist, said in Psychology Today, “Body odor is an external manifestation of the immune system, and the smells we think are attractive come from the people who are most genetically compatible with us.” In this way, our bodies are selective of mates that will bring healthy offspring. Yet according to Vicki Thorn, a leading expert who has studied this topic for years, this statement is not true for a woman on chemical contraception. Often a woman on the pill is attracted to a man with pheromones that are similar to her own, such as her father?s or brother?s. Her body, which thinks it is pregnant, is trying to help her surround herself with protection, safety, and familiarity. Unfortunately, the breeding between any mammals that are similar genetically can compromise the health of their offspring.
Today, women go on birth control as early as eleven years old and remain on it until about the age of forty. That?s nearly thirty years of artificial pregnancy hormones entering her system every day. A woman?s body was never meant to be pregnant for so long, and according to studies, this disruption of hormones can cause various cancers in women, as her hormones are regulated through artificial means rather than her body?s own mechanisms.
There are multiple other ways in which chemical contraception disrupts the biology of the body?s fertility in not just women, but also in men. In a study done by Shiva Dindyal, a researcher at the Imperial College School of Medicine, it was discovered that men?s sperm count has declined by more than half in the last fifty years, going from 113 million per millilitre in 1940 to 66 million in 1990. Dindyal suggests that this decline is caused mainly by an excess of estrogren in the environment, accumulated from plastics, pesticides, hormone-injected dairy products, and especially chemical contraceptives that the modern world has adopted. Dindyal warns that if we continue to accept these modern conveniences, we will likewise ?have to accept increased outbreaks of cancers and the possible extinction of the human race due to the decrease in fertility of our male species?.
“
Makes a person wonder what to do exactly. I had endometriosis at the age of 19, I had suffered from interstitial cystitis from the age of 14. They put me on bc to reduce the endometriosis. I also had surgery to remove it. I discovered at the age of 21, bilberry for my interstitial cystitis. For the first three years, I was on one kind of bc, I had debilitating depression, nausea, and I just ignored it because doctors don’t want to hear about a woman being nauseaus (spl?) they just test you for pregnancy and tell you that you are lying about not being sexually active (after abuse as a child, I was never going to allow anyone to touch me ever again.)
I have battled my weight since I was 9 years old. I started having hormonal issues at 18 months, I didn’t grow for a long time. At the age of 3, I was the size of an 18 month old. By age 3, I developed precocious puberty. But, I was never sure what caused it because that was also the time when I was being abused. That kind of abuse is known to induce hormonal problems. I don’t appear to have cysts. I do have mild hirsuitism, I used to carry fat around my belly more like a man, and my breasts did not develop to a proportional size for my hands/feet. My gyn tested me for my hormones and I don’t appear to have poor hormone production. Yet, I’m a bit odd. I am native American, we known to not have the same response to medications (especially hormonal, BC is known to cause suicide among us.) as the rest of the population.
Frankly, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want the hirsuitism, I don’t want the obesity, and I don’t want my period to be irregular. I just don’t know what to do.
Alisha, you are tough to have come through that! That’s a lot of crap for a kid to deal with.
I don’t know if this is appropriate to you situation, but there’s folk wisdom that pregnancy will halt endometriosis, maybe because of the hormone “reset” thing. This happened with my mom, and I get to unfairly claim credit, being the firstborn. Don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard it from others who have had endometriosis.
Alisha, I hope you get this! I have been having a crazy life the last few days and haven’t had time to check on comments.
As you touched on in your post, it sounds like a lot of what is physically manifesting itself in your body is due to emotional factors/trauma. A book that I would highly recommend is “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom” by Christiane Northrup where she talks about that link a lot.
A great book to read, no matter what your age, is “Sex, Lies and Menopause: The Shocking Truth About Synthetic Hormones and the Benefits of Natural Alternatives” by T.S. Wiley. Don’t let the title make you believe its for old farts. She has info in there for women of all ages and is a book women should keep on their shelves forever because she talks about all the phases of life we go through as females.
I think the thing she shared that resonated with me the most was that during the ages when women are usually supposed to be having babies, we are too busy in school, work, etc to have them, so we take the pill to postpone motherhood until we are “ready.” But unfortunately because the pill puts us in a “chemical state of menopause” our brain and body becomes quite confused. We were wired to give birth during a certain phase in our life, but the chemical menopause is now telling our bodies something different. You end up with a hormonal and chemical cluster fuck that may take your body years to recover from.
I am 48 years old and was on the pill for 17 years. I have been house-ridden for 4 years now because none of my hormones knows if I’m coming or going. I am much better since I found Matt, but will end up on a cocktail of hormones (bioidentical, of course) to right all the wrongs I’ve inflicted on my body. Is the pill to blame for my current condition? Probably not, but I believe with all my heart that it was a major player for sure.
Please think long and hard before beginning the pill. It is not natural to do this to your body and should be researched thoroughly before embarking.
Susan, when did you go off the pill? Right before becoming bedridden?
I took oral birth control pills (low dose) from 18 years old until I was 51 last year. As far as I know I have no lasting ill effects from them. I knew when I was 15 that I did not want children. That has never changed. I went off the pill last year because I was hoping that I was starting menopause. My regular cycle returned within three months of going off the pill. They have been regular ever since. When I was on the pill all those years I had very little menstrual bleeding and that was very nice. Now it is several days of heavy bleeding. Every cycle now I am reminded how nice it was to have light bleeding. I have no regrets whatsoever for taking the pill. Every woman is different and they have the right to have all pertinent information so they can make a choice. Access to better and more up to date information is the norm now where as over 30 years ago – not so much. Synthetic or natural – all substances can have some side effects. I believe the mind plays a big role in how pills or supplements effect the body. If you think something is bad for you – it surely will be. If you think something is good and it is helping you I believe that some of the negatives are transmuted. I don’t think we should judge people for taking birth control pills or going a more natural route. However I do agree with the article in that modern medicine uses pharmaceuticals as a band aid and rarely look for the root of the problem.
You are very lucky. I was blown away with my reaction to coming off the pill. I was someone who thought I did really well on the pill. No issues going on. I thought coming off was a breeze. It was a massive shock to me that it was not, and it took me over a year to actually acknowledge that that was the main problem. My ob-gyn agreed.
Alisa Vitti over at floliving.com has some excellent information on this very topic. Maybe Matt can get her to do a guest post.
I didn’t read every single comment, so if I missed this earlier, I apologize. For those women wanting an alternative contraceptive to the pill, I highly recommend the diaphragm. Not many women use it. In fact, the doctor that finally gave it to me looked at me like I was nuts when I first asked for it. But it worked 100% for us (I know because I got pregnant every time I DIDN’T use it), and it didn’t involve any hormones at all. I quit taking the pill several years before I wanted to have children because of the unpleasant physical and emotional side effects.
Never been on the pill and use the diaphram and/or condoms. Works fine.
I think the diaphragm is a great choice, as long as people use it right! I think the biggest offenders are getting it fit at the wrong time your your cycle (things can be different when you are fertile v. not) and not getting it re-fit after childbirth. And then obviously the normal stuff about making sure it’s in the right place and leaving it in for a certain amount of time.
This shocked me the most when I started studying birth control hormones: they are not necessarily contraceptives, most of the time they work as abortifacients.
It’s things like this that make me feel a lot better about being a single guy!
On the topic of MTHFR, this talk came out last week: “Beyond MTHFR – The Role of Methylation in Hormone Balance.” I haven’t listened to it yet but just downloaded it. There might be some good information in here.
I will say that for me, taking L-methylfolate and P-5-P has made a big difference in my mood (much, much less violent explosive anger than I used to have – and I used to have a *lot*), which I started taking after testing compound heterozygous for the C677T and A1298C mutations. I’ve been so focused on Peat lately that I’ve lost track of how important the MTHFR problem is. Anyway, here’s the link to the talk:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mthfrsupport/2013/08/22/beyond-mthfr–the-role-of-methylation-in-hormone-balance
What helps with very painful periods (besides the pill)?
Generally, if the periods are VERY VERY painful it is due to another problem such as endometriosis or PID. If it is just regular cramps (you can tell the difference by seeing if they subside if you take a NSAID, not that those are great to take in the first place), it’s generally a imbalance of protaglandins. Making sure your omega 6:3 ratio isn’t out of whack, you have no nutrient deficiencies, etc.
http://holistichormonalhealth.com/period-pain/
If you need acute relief, you can try herbs or yoga.
thanks :)
PS. I was wondering, in one article you advice to drink lots of water, exercise vigorously and to avoid sugar. Not very 180… Do you still hold to these ideas?
Hmmm… When did I say to exercise vigorously? I think that exercise can go either way, some people need more, some less. I would say most people should avoid refined (white) sugar as much as possible, though I do agree that if people have an eating disorder mentality they would be better off chilling out than going crazy over ANY food item. I’m big on fruit sugar and other sugars that still have their nutrition intact, though. Insulin and blood sugar levels are definitely big players in reproductive hormones.
Water I think people should drink when they are thirsty, BUT I have seen in my own life that it DOES help to reduce cramps if you are hydrated for the couple of days leading up to your period. Again, it’s always individual, but it’s worth a shot for anyone.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything on this site :) To me, this site is excellent for those who have been doing all kinda of crazy diets and their health is still failing. There is a lot to be said for less focus on food, and I definitely support people bringing their emotions into the picture, BUT I do generally thing people should eat whole foods and organically, as long as they have a good relationship with food (if they don’t, I do believe that is the first priority).
Does that make sense?
Makes enough sense ;)
You said it here in the list of do’s and don’t’s:
http://holistichormonalhealth.com/coming-off-of-hormonal-contraceptives/
The main problem with drinking lots of water is that it doesn’t have much electrolytes. Perhaps fruit juice with a bit of salt is a better option as it doesn’t crashes the metabolism so easily.
Ah yes, water is going to help flush the system when people are coming off hormonal contraceptives.
I love the sea salt :)
I eat whatever I want a long as I made it. I generally avoid gluten except when eating out (1-2 times a week) or visiting (1-2 meals a week) because I limited gluten for a few months and felt good and then started getting colds and having difficulty sleeping when I started eating it regularly again. I have also been supplementing with topical magnesium for several months. I am nursing a 16 month old and have had 3 periods. Mood swings and cramping have been minimal but I get several pimples each cycle around my chin. What could I look into or who would I talk to in order to get my hormones balanced? I have never been on the pill nor any contraceptive.
Just based off of that description it doesn’t necessarily sound like your hormones are unbalanced. If there is something that is making you think so, I would at least give it until you are done BFing and then re-assess.
Ok. Thanks :)
For those who care, it’s also worth noting the documented environmental impact of dumping massive amounts of synthetic sex hormones (passed by the urine of those on BC) into our waterways. It’s very disruptive to the reproductive cycles of the organisms inhabiting those waterways, with populations of all-female fish and etc. inevitably resulting in population decline.
Fertility Awareness and condoms-when-needed are certainly the greener way to go about it, and of course some of the same skills that translate to better experiences in the bedroom also translate to using fewer condoms per session. In case the guys in the room need a reason to learn greater orgasm control… do it for the fishes, and the trees, and the birds and the bees. Seems appropriate.