So you want to get off birth control. Now what?
Birth control although no doubt an amazing advancement in women’s reproductive freedom and liberation has me thinking, at what cost? With a side effects sheet that you could use as a blanket, pitch as a tent, or eat your dinner on it saddens me when I still have to break the news to clients that a lot of their suffering could be potentially due to their daily contraceptive pill.
In Australia, the most common method of contraception is the oral contraceptive pill with over 40% of women using it. Alarmingly of that 40%, 60% of women actually use it for reasons other than preventing pregnancies meaning, a lot of women out there are using it to mask their current symptoms.
What does birth control actually do?
The impute of these synthetic hormones basically turns off the communication between the brain and the ovaries which in turn stops ovulation (making it very effective at preventing children as no ovulation = no baby). Contrary to popular belief our endogenous sex hormones have a much bigger play in our bodily functions other than just reproduction. Some of these functions (and definitely not limited to) are:
Metabolic function and thyroid health
Brain health and assisting with good mental health
Calcium homeostasis and bone health/density
Blood pressure management
Sexual health and maintaining a healthy libido
If all these functions are reliant on your natural hormones then of course it can be expected when we don’t have these hormones for us to have issues with our mood, mental health, thyroid function, metabolism, bone health, blood pressure, and libido.
If your doctor is telling you to go on the pill to fix X Y Z what they are really saying is, “Take this now and deal with all these symptoms later”
When coming off the pill it would be fair for you to expect to bounce back to your normal self and for it would be a seamless transition. Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth for countless women.
The most common symptoms I see and treat in my clinic are (and are not limited to)
Post-pill amenorrhoea (or absent period)
Post-pill acne
Post-pill mood dysregulation
Post-pill hair growth (and unfortunately basically everywhere but your head)
Intensified PMS
The return of PCOS & Endometriosis (hello bandaid solution)
And sadly, post-pill infertility
My top treatment tips when coming off the pill:
Nutrients: B2, B6, B9, B12, Vitamin C, Zinc, Selenium, Mag - help to restore the main nutrients and minerals the pill depletes
Other compounds: P2 Detox I like to use to help detoxify the body from synthetic hormones
Foods: carrot with the skin on helps to attach to excess oestrogen and detoxify it out of the body
Broccoli sprouts: to help up-regulate liver function and detoxification
Prebiotic/Probiotic-rich foods: to help restore the gut microbiome
Herbs: Paeonia & Licorice these two herbs are my FAV for post-pill support they work together to help decrease the post-pill surge in testosterone (which is responsible for a lot of the nasty symptoms)
Chaste Tree: to restore the communication between the brain and ovaries and promote ovulation
Been thinking of ditching the pill but don't know where to start? Let’s work together