9 Side Effects of Hormonal Birth Control
thepill
Have you ever visited your gynecologist with complaints such as ovarian cysts, painful periods, or PMS? And did he or she tell you to “start taking the birth control pill?”.
I bet they did.
Now raise your hand if you did just that, and perhaps, yes, some of the symptoms went away, only to result in losing your libido, getting depression, experiencing digestion problems, weight gain, or perhaps just an overall vibe of not feeling like yourself?
Well, you’re not alone.
“Just take the birth control pill.” It’s the easy solution and it's just plain lazy.
What these doctors don’t want to acknowledge is the root of your problem stems from an imbalance of your hormones in the first place. But they’d rather just tell you to take the pill because:
A) Investigating your imbalance requires much more work for the doctor and you (well in the long run it’s less work for you to get to the root of the problem, as we'll learn later the pill comes with a host of problems).
B) The doctor knows that to get to the filling of this peanut butter cup mystery requires the patient make a diet and lifestyle change, which I get it, is hard in most cases. Especially in today’s world of the “just give me a pill that cures everything” mentality. So they just opt to write a prescription.
C) Perhaps they genuinely don’t know better and believe it is the best option for you (you’ll frequently find this with older generation doctors).
So why would they give it to me if it doesn't work?
I'm not saying the pill doesn't work to prevent against pregnancy. It has a 99.9% effective rate with perfect use. So there is that.
But what about all the other hormonal problems that seem to be “cured” by taking the birth control, like PCOS, irregular periods, hormonal imbalances, painful periods, etc?
Newsflash-hormonal birth control can’t fix your period problems.
The reason the pill appears to be“working” is because it is pumping your body with synthetic hormones. Your body actually STOPS making its own hormones, ladies! Women who take hormonal birth control stop ovulating, which means they stop making progesterone.
And guess what? When you stop taking the pill, all these problems will still be there in full force.
Let's talk infertility, one of the biggest problems associated with the birth control pill.
Because your body does not make its own hormones while on the pill explains why many women today experience infertility for a year or two when trying to conceive. Many clients come to me after a year of not being able to conceive, frustrated that it’s taking so long. What many of them have in common is that they stopped taking birth control literally the month before they started trying.
It doesn’t work that way, amigas.
Yes, some women are blessed and can get pregnant on the first try, but for many it’s much more difficult. And this is because it takes the brains and ovaries time to start communicating again.
Good news is the body will eventually come around, but it takes an average of 6 cycles for this to happen. To bring your cycle back, you have to court it first with nourishing foods, exercise, supplements, and sometimes, in last case scenarios, bio identical hormones (and that makes for a whole other article).
9 Cons of the Hormonal Birth Control Pill:
It can reduce your chance of conceiving in the future- studies have shown that women who were on the pill are twice as likely to have trouble conceiving, and even more so if they were on it for a long period of time. (1) Post-pill infertility affects many women today. Women getting off the pill have to learn how to make their own hormones again, and it could take months or even years to start learning again.
It’s robbing your body of nutrients- Birth control pills destroy your ability to absorb nutrients, so you are robbed of precious vitamins and minerals that are crucial to your health, resulting in fatigue, migraines, and much more. (2) Crucial minerals that are depleted are selenium, zinc, and B vitamins. Selenium and zinc are important for converting the inactive form of thyroid hormone (T4) and converting it to the active form (T3) and B vitamins are responsible for hundreds of processes in the body
Causes depression and anxiety- Because of reason number two and five, your body is susceptible to depression and anxiety (3).In November 2016 the largest study to date researching the correlation between hormonal contraceptives and depression was released in JAMA.The study which included more than 1 million women living in Denmark, found an increased risk for first use of an antidepressant and first diagnosis of depression among users of different types of hormonal contraception, with the highest rates among adolescents.
Lactose intolerant or vegan? Many hormonal birth control pills contains milk, so not good if you are lactose intolerant or vegan.
It’s bad for your gut health-the pill can cause an imbalance in bacteria, which creates the perfect conditions for overgrowth, pathogens, parasites, and yeast which can result in weight gain or loss, IBS, bloating, increased food sensitivities, and all other types of digestive disorders.This imbalance is a hidden stressor on the body and drives up inflammation.
It can make you pick the wrong mate- Since your body isn’t making its own hormones while you’re on the pill, you are choosing a mate based off your synthetic hormones. Some researchers are blaming this for the high divorce rate (4).
Lowers thyroid and sex hormones- Lowers thyroid and sex hormones by raising sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and Thyroid Binding Globulin (TBG). SHBG acts as a carrier to regulate how much active hormones are found in our blood. HBC has been found to elevate SHBG, and get this- it can do so permanently. The higher the levels of SHBG, the fewer free hormones we have to use, which means low sex hormones & thyroid. This can lead to fatigue, low libido, vaginal dryness, & more.TBG binds to thyroid hormone making it inactive.
Increases your risk of blood clots, heart disease, and strokes- This one is not really hidden, you can find this on all of the pamphlets. (5)
It masks hormonal imbalance- Sure your hormonal imbalance will appear to “go away” with the pill because you are being pumped steadily with synthetic hormones, but when you get off, all those problems will be right their waiting for you - and most likely amplified. You can’t run away from your hormones, gals.
So now that you know the risks of taking the hormonal birth control pill, it’s probably time to explore your other options.
-----> Click HERE for 6 Alternatives to the Birth Control Pill <-----------
And ladies, if you continue taking your birth control, don’t feel bad. I want you to know I’m not judging you. We all have to do what we need to do, and if having a baby is not something that is presently appropriate for you, now or ever, and you don’t think that you are able to commit to another plan, then by all means please do what is right for you. My hope for you is that you are properly informed so you can make the best decision for your needs.
Be Well,
Jenna
Sources:
Oakeshott, Isabel. Pill Could Harm Future Fertility. January 30, 2004. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ health/article-207039/Pill-harm-future-fertility.html (accessed April 9, 2013).
Bennett, Jane, and Alexandra Pope. The Pill: Are Your Sure It’s for You? Allen & Unwin, 2008. Deroo, Bonnie, and Kenneth S. Korach. “Estrogen Receptors and Human Disease.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation 116, no. 3 (2006): 561-570.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27680324
Kluger, Jeffrey. Why We Love. January 16, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/health/ article/0,8599,1704355-1,00.html.
Yasmin Pamphlet. n.d.