Do you feel like you have been scammed by the birth control pill? I sure do. Thinking back to my teens, I can’t really remember going to the doctor and not hearing that the birth control pill was the answer to my problems. It was so routine: make an appointment, tell the doctor “symptoms” of hormonal imbalance and then get handed a birth control Rx, some free samples, along with a $200 office visit and $15 co-pay.
According to a lot of doctors:
Got acne? Take the pill.
Got PMS? Take the pill.
Got irregular cycles? Take the pill.
Don’t want to get pregnant? Take the pill.
But wait a second—something is NOT right.
Why not instead:
Address the gut for inflammation, digestive weakness, and food allergies for acne?
Address nutrient deficiencies to up regulate progesterone production NATURALLY to address PMS?
Address malnutrition, a calorie deficit, hormone synthesis for irregular or non-existent cycles?
Address relationship status and have a real talk about how to responsibly prevent pregnancy without taking synthetic hormones than can be harmful?
What is the pill?
Birth control pills are made up of synthetic hormones estrogen (estradiol) and progestogen (progestin). And what are hormones exactly? In short, hormones are messengers, "a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another”(source).
If hormones are messengers, then taking oral contraception is essentially a message to override your body's natural hormonal rhythm. Do you really want something made in a lab sending messages in your body telling it what to do, instead of relying on your body's own innate intelligence? I sure don't, not to mention the nasty birth control side effects...
The downsides of birth control
1) Drug induced liver injury
Most drugs are linked to some form of liver injury, and birth control pills are no exception. According to the LiverTox database, birth control pills are well linked to liver injury with a likelihood score of A (well known cause of various forms of clinically apparent liver injury).
Birth control pills are closely correlated with the biliary condition called cholestasis, which is essentially when your bile (think river of fluid helping toxins and waste leave the body through your stool) thickens up and starts stalling in your biliary track. This is awful for your health and directly linked to chronic fatigue, constipation, SIBO and other gut issues, estrogen dominance and poor detoxification. Cholestasis is essentially the drain on your detoxification system slowing down and getting backed up.
2) Doesn't address ROOT cause of symptoms
The pill makes you ignore what your body is ACTUALLY trying to tell you by suppressing your symptoms. I see this as one of the biggest dangers, since PMS, infertility, and irregular cycles are a HUGE indicator of your health and your ability to reproduce! If you are not having a regular cycle, it’s a key indicator that your health and nutrition are seriously suffering. Your body naturally lowers progesterone at times of malnutrition, starvation and stress as a protective mechanism to keep you alive (if you don’t have nutrient stores for yourself, supplying them for a baby is pretty unreasonable).
3) 10-30% increase in the risk of breast cancer (!)
According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation "A pooled analysis of data from more than 50 studies found that while women were taking birth control pills (and shortly thereafter), they had a 10 to 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never used the pill. Once women stopped taking the pill, their risk began to decrease and after about 10 years, returned to that of women who have never taken the pill."
4) Pill-induced nutrient deficiencies
According to the Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook, oral contraceptives can result in the following nutritional deficiencies: zinc, magnesium, selenium, vitamin C, vitamins B2, B3, B6, and B12, along with folate. These deficiencies can occur because the liver uses more of these nutrients to metabolize estrogen and detoxify it out of the body.
Here's some probable nutrient depletion data from MyTavin on some popular birth control pills:
- Mircette: B12, B6, magnesium, folate, roboflavin (B2), zinc, tyrosine, vitamin C (source)
- Natazia: B6, magnesium, C0Q10, vitamin C, folate (source)
- Nordette: B12, B6, magnesium, folate, B2, zinc, tyrosine, vitamin C (source)
- Lo Ovral: B12, B6, magnesium, folate, B2, zinc, tyrosine, vitamin C (source)
- Ortho-Novum: B12, B6, magnesium, folate, B2, zinc, tyrosine, vitamin C (source)
- Ortho Tri-Cyclen: B12, B6, magnesium, folate, B2, zinc, tyrosine, vitamin C (source)
According to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD, "Infant brain damage can be caused by a deficiency of the B vitamin, folic acid. Taking estrogen, as in birth control pills, tends to deplete the body's supply of folic acid, so that if pregnancy occurs right after stopping the pills it is more likely to lead to miscarriage or deformity from folic acid deficiency." The pill confirms this by addressing it on their warning label “Serum folate levels may be depressed by oral contraceptive therapy. This may be of clinical significance if a woman becomes pregnant shortly after discontinuing oral contraceptives.” (source)
5) Increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Synthetic estrogen's cardiovascular risks have been known since 1940 including its ability to cause blood clots, varicose veins, miscarriage and PMS. "It is the estrogen in oral contraceptives which correlates with their effects on the clotting system. In the last 20 years there has been a general agreement that increased risk of cardiovascular disease, rather than cancer or immunodeficiency or depression, is the most important concern about the effects of oral contraceptives" Ray Peat, PhD.
6) Clitoral shrinkage
According to Dr. Sarah Gottfried synthetic hormones in birth control pills can shrink the clitoris by 20% causing her to refer to the pill as "genital mutilation."
7) Depression
According to a recent study out of JAMA Psychiatry, depression can be a side effect of hormonal birth control, especially with teens, "Use of hormonal contraception, especially among adolescents, was associated with subsequent use of antidepressants and a first diagnosis of depression, suggesting depression as a potential adverse effect of hormonal contraceptive use." (source)
8) Poorer Periodontal Health
If healthy dental health is important to you, you'll want to hear this one loud and clear. According to a 2007 study, "Current users of oral contraceptives had poorer periodontal health." The study's findings are as follows:
"Forty-two percent of subjects were taking the contraceptive pill at the time of periodontal examination. Current pill users had deeper mean probing depths compared to non-users (3.3 mm versus 2.7 mm; P = 0.006) and more severe attachment loss (2.6 mm versus 1.7 mm; P = 0.015). Pill users had more sites with bleeding on probing (44.0% versus 31.1%; P = 0.017)." (source)
9) “Other” birth control side effects from the warning label
Aside from the well know side effects such as weight gain, bloating, breast tenderness, moodiness, and reduced libido, I thought I would share some other side effects that you may not know about. I highly encourage you to read the full list of birth control side effects here.
- Headaches: “The onset or exacerbation of migraine or development of headache with a new pattern which is recurrent, persistent or severe requires discontinuation of oral contraceptives and evaluation of the cause.” (source)
- Fluid Retention: “Oral contraceptives may cause some degree of fluid retention. They should be prescribed with caution, and only with careful monitoring, in patients with conditions which might be aggravated by fluid retention.”(source)
- Emotional Disorders: “Women with a history of depression should be carefully observed and the drug discontinued if depression recurs to a serious degree.” (source)
- Nursing Mothers: “Small amounts of oral contraceptive steroids have been identified in the milk of nursing mothers and a few adverse effects on the child have been reported, including jaundice and breast enlargement. In addition, combination oral contraceptives given in the postpartum period may interfere with lactation by decreasing the quantity and quality of breast milk. If possible, the nursing mother should be advised not to use combination oral contraceptives but to use other forms of contraception until she has completely weaned her child.” (source)
10) Reduced wellbeing and quality of life
A 2017 study found published in Fertility and Sterility "demonstrates a statistically significant reduction in general well-being by a first-choice OC in comparison with placebo in healthy women." The study was based on a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of three hundred and forty healthy women aged 18–35.(source)
The choice on whether or not to take the pill is a very personal one. I encourage everyone to make an informed decision on what is right for their own body.
Ready to combat your hormonal issues by understanding your body?
Further reading:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler
Do you feel like the birth control side effects were made clear to you by your doctor? Please share in the comments!
PIN IT:
References:
Birth Control Clipart: used with permission from Microsoft.
Peat, Raymond. From PMS to Menopause: Female Hormones in Context. Eugene, OR, 1997.
Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook, 2nd Edition 2001.
Peat, Ray. Progesterone, not estrogen, is the coronary protection factor of women. Retrieved on September 18, 2013 from http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/coronaryprogesterone.shtml
Peat, Raymond. Nutrition for Women. Eugene, OR, 1993.
Physicians’ Package Insert: Ortho Tri-Cyclen Tablets. Retrieved on September 11, 2013 from http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2005/021690lbl.pdf
Skovlund C, Mørch L, Kessing L, Lidegaard Ø. Association of Hormonal Contraception With Depression. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online September 28, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2387.
Wikipedia. Hormones. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone
LiverTox Database: Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK548539/
Martha
Oh, yes! After years of irregular period and acne I started taking the pill at the age of 18. I didn't really need it as birth control at that time. For years I thought the pill was the best thing that had happened to me because it gave me perfect skin and control over my period (which had been a stressful thing for me before, since I never knew when it was coming). For years I have also had IBS and other smaller health issues. I felt I had tried "everything" for my IBS when I started to read about traditional foods almost a year ago. Not long after, I quit taking the pill. Thats now 9 months ago and I still haven't got my period back. I'm not really surprised after almost ten years on the pill. I have been eating very nutritional since I quit taking the pill, and I know that I will get my period back when my body is ready. It is just so frustrating thinking about all these bad things I have let into my body instead of giving it the right nutrition. And now I want children, but my body is not capable yet. I wish I had known. I love your blog, by the way. You write about complex things in our bodies in a way that is easy to understand. Thank you for being an inspiration to me 🙂
Catherine
Thanks Martha for sharing your story and your very kind words 🙂 I love sharing information because of people like you!
Catherine
Angie
I feel scammed. I went on the pill at an early age (17) for my acne at the time. And from there I stayed on it to prevent pregnancy. Now I am 39 and I've tried twice to go off it and I can't because my face, chest, back break out in terrible cystic acne! I lasted about 3-4 months the last time and went to the doctor to ask for help and he told me there are 3 options: 1. antibiotics 2. accutane 3. stay on the pill. He said realistically the pill is safe so just stay on the pill. So I went back on it. I don't want to take antibiotics or accutane. I wish I could go back and use a different method of birth control such as an IUD. I'm stuck taking the pill. I'm thinking of going to a naturopathic doctor for hormone therapy and go off the pill again and see if that works.
Alyssa villa
I'd suggest not to take antibiotics bc they are poison to your body. Take some time to invest in natural cures. A good vegan brand for facial cleansers is "100% Pure". At night soak your face with an Organic Coconut Oil / Aloe Vera plant Mixture, this should help a lot. Don't forget to drink water all day and night for this should help drastically.
Alicia
The best thing you can do is cut out all your dairy products which I did and immediately and got rid of all my acne. I might add I had been pill free for a year before cutting out my dairy. Surprises me still why on earth we still consume this so called product that isn't even made for the a human.!! We are nothing like cows and until people realise this we will carry on having problems. What's normal about consuming milk from any other mammal than our own mothers milk. Do yourself a favour and eliminate meat too while your at it as this will cure of of your problems. Cancer!?!? What cancer
Alicia
The best thing you can do is cut out all your dairy products which I did and immediately and got rid of all my acne. I might add I had been pill free for a year before cutting out my dairy. Surprises me still why on earth we still consume this so called product that isn't even made for the a human.!! We are nothing like cows and until people realise this we will carry on having problems. What's normal about consuming milk from any other mammal than our own mothers milk. Do yourself a favour and eliminate meat too while your at it as this will cure of of your problems. Cancer!?!? What cancer. Get some serious research done and look up the doctors. Michael Greger, Gary Yourofsky, China study, doctor John McDougall. You are what you eat so stop putting (foreign) things in your body ie pill, dairy and meat and you will thrive rather than survive. Get the truth. Annette Larkin's also another favourite of mine is 75!!! She looks 40 !!! Why you say!!! Check out what she eat. A raw vegan. Vegan have no health problems but neat eaters well the list is endless.
Sue
Hi Angie, Like you I was on the pill for years; almost 30...yikes. I kept wanting to go off of it but I was afraid the cystic acne would return and my doctor assured me it was safe. Last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I started seeing a naturopath immediately and she believes the pill could've been the cause; it was estrogen receptor positive. I went off the pill and she started me on different vitamins, minerals , and supplements. I was taking zinc, vitamin c, a digestive enzyme and a high quality probiotic along with other things. I believe that combo prevented the acne from showing up again. There's is hope so please don't give up. If you can go to a naturopath about this I would recommend that...it worked for me.
Brit
Sorry, I disagree with this article. It's not a "scam." It does what it purports to do: control birth. Yes there are side effects but there are side effects to ALL medications and those who use BC can find all that information included in the pamphlet that comes with their pills.
I don't think the pill should be THE ANSWER to every issue a woman experiences and I definitely agree that nutrition should be addressed first in many of these cases, but the pill's main purpsoe is so you don't get pregnant when you aren't ready. Avoiding unwanted pregnancy by controlling your fertility is a must for many women and it doesn't matter how much bone broth you drink or how many "relationship talks" you have -- if you are going to have sex with your partner, then birth control is much more effective than other forms (like the "natural family planning" method or withdrawal).
Michelle
I think the scam comes because it is used for EVERYTHING! I was told at 25, after being diagnosed with PCOS (essentially unbalanced horomones) that the pill was required to protect my future fertility. Just two weeks on the pill, and I turned into a hormonal nightmare, unable to work or function well. I got right off, and have never tried again. And as for my future fertility, I know have two beautiful children, and am pregnant with #3. Doctors are awfully quick to prescribe, for a large number of reasons, not just for birth control. If all they prescribed for was pregnancy prevention, then there would be far fewer women on the pill.
cindy
I know I'm late in this discussion, but I just have to chime in on this. Respectfully, the pill does NOT always "do what it purports to do: control birth". Despite following the prescription to the letter (no missed doses, no interference from antibiotics, etc) pregnancy can and does happen. Personally, I tend to believe part of the scam is the allopathic community pushing the idea that they are the only ones with knowledge of the human body and they have the authority to decide what's best for the masses. I appreciate educated individuals like, Catherine who are willing to present informative articles that allow others to make better informed choices regarding their own health.
Alyssa villa
It's a scam simply because it is made for profits, pharmecudical companys don't care about your health. Birth control pills ARE NOT NATURAL. Why do that to your body? You have acne? Okay throw some coconut oil & aloe vera on your face. Your PMS sympthoms are bad? Stop eating hormone filled meat. You don't want to get pregnant? Use condoms. Its a business, stop supporting it.
Vanessa finnegan
Perfectly said
Leanne
THANK YOU. Finally someone with some sense. There's no scam involved here - pharmaceutical companies made a product that does what it's meant to, and women are well-warned about the risks, generally speaking. It's good to know about possible nutritional deficiencies that could occur, but handing out advice like this in general to all women (including impressionable teenagers who may have multiple sex partners and not be able to have a mature discussion about the rhythm method or whatever) is a terrible idea. As it stands, I was put on BCPs when I was 13 for PCOS, and ended up with a clot in my leg at 18. I still don't blame the pharmaceutical companies, nor recommend that any healthy woman be frightened away from the Pill because of a nutritionist's opinions. Also, when it comes to the majority of the world's population (who, I might add, aren't always privileged Americans), sometimes having an unwanted pregnancy can be a death sentence - and will change anyone's life, regardless of their financial status. It's about each individual weighing up risks vs. side effects and making their own personal decisions, and this heavily biased clickbait doesn't help.
Rachael
I can attest to SO much of this from personal experience - the pill is not the answer (for everyone). In a hopeful attempt to regulate my cycle while, you know, avoiding pregnancy, I tried the pill for several months.
And it gave me the WORST indigestion and diarrhea. My depression flared up with an added dose of anger (not a normal part of my depression). I was on total mood swing mode, and could not regulate it with anything else.
The best part:
Because of my weight and other medications, the pill resulted in SPOTTING every *single* day each month - with a ton of cramping thrown in for good measure. Since cramping is not part of my normal cycle, this was incredibly uncomfortable and painful for me.
So, I decided to focus on healing the issues with nutrition, exercise, and less synthetic supplements. Currently, I'm taking a women's hormonal herb blend that's helping regulate my cycle and with some of the PCOS symptoms. Eating more fats like butter and coconut oil have done a lot, too.
I'm not where I want to be yet, which is a bit distressing since I've been working so hard and would feel such relief just to have a regular cycle. But, I will never go back to the pill. Or the ring. Or any of those birth control products.
Thank you for writing this!
Catherine
Thanks for reading Rachael!
Amanda
Another point to consider: a regular menstrual cycle is an important indicator of health. Medical conditions might cause an interrruption in regular cycles that trigger the woman to seek medical care and to discover problems. If you're taking the pill, you lose this indicator of health.
I have a pituitary tumor that began when I was on the pill. I didn't discover it until after discontinuing the pill. The tumor had widespread health effects. Had I not been on the pill, I am certain I would have been diagnosed earlier--possibly five YEARS earlier.
You can't listen to your body when your body is listening to the Pill.
Catherine
Absolutely. This is really the #1 risk of these pills. You no longer know what the &*%^ your body is trying to tell you. Dangerous.
Christina
I agree 100%. I was on the pill for almost 8 years. At first, I thought it was amazing because my periods were so much lighter and shorter. I started to get headaches almost everyday, as well as depression and irregular bleeding. I saw plenty of specialists, tried many different medications. It wasn’t until I went to a new family doctor, where I learned the dangers of birth control. I learned things that no gynecologist had or ever will admit to about the pill. My new doctor suggested going off of the pill for a while. I agreed, and I have never noticed such a difference in not just my headaches disappearing, but my whole body & health changed. It took a while for my body to adjust not being on the pill anymore. During this period, I also learned that the cause of my irregular bleeding was a large uterine polyp (I am only 23.) i am convinced that the birth control was the cause. I had the polyp removed a few months ago and my period is finally normal. I now am glad to have a few days of heavy bleeding because it is a sign that my body is finally working properly, and my uterine lining is finally shedding like it should.
Andrea Gulde
Would this apply to the Mirena IUD as well? I am curious as I have had the Mirena for about 6 yearS and have not had a period for about 5, I just had a new one put in about two months ago, and I feel like complete crap and very bloated!
carla
Mirena gives a low, local dose of hormones. you should get very little in the way of systemic symptoms.
Erin
Nutrition is not something most doctors know a lot about, and even fewer keep up with modern research done on the topic. Calling it a scam implies knowledge of being deceitful on the part of the scammers, so the title of the article is unnecessarily inflammatory. That being said, I thought it was a good article on the side effects of the pill, which are often minimized.
Also, I keep reading these claims that irregular periods, PMS, etc are the result of improper nutrition (and can thus be cured that way), but have never seen any scientific studies to back up that claim. Sources?
Catherine
Hi Erin,
Plenty of sources to back up poor nutrition as the #1 cause! Most of the references should supply what you are looking for.
Catherine
Erin
More specifically... What studies were done? By whom? When were they conducted and where? Which peer-reviewed publications can I located them in?
Catherine
You don't have to look any further than a physiology book. Hormones are made from cholesterol (building block of all sex hormones), and if you don't have enough T3 (thyroid hormone), vitamin A, etc. hormone synthesis is slowed. If peer reviewed studies are what you are looking for-- I'd use google. I talk more about the specific nutrients in this article: https://butternutrition.com/secrets-to-hormonal-balance-and-pms/
Anything by Ray Peat, PhD is a great place to start: raypeat.com
Erin
Thanks. I will look into that. If you are going to give medical advice, however, you should pay attention to medical studies, or risk missing out on new information and wind up giving bad advice.
There are any number of things that can affect your levels of hormones, vitamin levels, etc. (besides nutrition). Nutrition is one of the best place to start for some of these things, since it is not in any way invasive and usually minimal on the serious side effects. It should be done in consultation with your doctor (and/or dietician), though.
Catherine
Erin-
I'm not giving "medical advice" or trying to. The following disclaimer is found on every post on my blog: "This content is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease, or as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with your advising physician before for starting any treatment for a medical condition. Butter Nutrition, LLC shall not be held liable or responsible for any misunderstanding or misuse of the information contained on this site or for any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by any treatment, action, or application of any food or food source discussed in this site. The statements made on this site have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."
I'm simply trying to give more information about "the risks" than people will ever hear from a doctor. You can't give an RX for nutrition, so you won't find your doctor doing that. They don't teach that in medical school, it's focused on "medicine."
As a nutritional therapist I see "food" as medicine.
Catherine
Erin
You are right--doctors don't deal with nutrition (which is what I originally said). They refer their patients to dieticians.
I also already said this was a nice list of side effects of birth control pills. I really only didn't like the name of the article, and asked for more sources.
Your disclaimer is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that your article has a clear bias against artificial hormone-based birth control. Advising people to consider multiple methods of managing health problems is smart, honestly, but it is still advice.
Being up to date with recent scientific studies on nutrition will only add to your site/articles/opinions, and I'm not sure why you reacted so defensively about it. I am not your opponent. I agree that nutrition can heal, which is why I am always looking for studies that back it up scientifically. There are far too few of them.
Catherine
I shy away from speaking in medical studies. Why? Because I think we can learn a whole lot more without medical bias by studying the way people (and cultures around the world) have eaten since the beginning of time. I find that much more valuable. If you are looking for articles backed up by studies, you won't find that here. Wasn't it "medical" studies that started the cholesterol/saturated fat fearing culture that has hurt the health of our whole nation- why yes, I think so.
Yes- I do have a personal bias against artificial hormones. And this blog is my learned opinion, so it of course reflects that.
Leanne
I'm with Erin. Although you posted that disclaimer, your articles still come off as giving medical advice, especially to younger people who read these articles and consider them fact instead of opinion, Medical studies provide the most up to date views in the medical world, and yes, they're not always 'correct'. But posting things like this without any references to current scientific findings makes your articles look unscrupulous, and there is too much unvalidated health advice on the web as it is. Especially on blogs that warn their readers that they include affiliate links.......
K.A.T.
Does anyone know what material the man-made hormones of the pill are made from? Mexican yams, ovarian tissues of cows, etc? I can't seem to find this information. Shoot me a link if anyone has one. Thanks!
Ash
Hi Catherine,
I liked you article, it definitely gave a different perspective on the use of pills. I agree with you completely on taking synthetic medicines and having them override the natural flow ofthings in your body.
However, I believe in the power the pill and generally medicines, being a biochemist myself, since the age old saying goes 'too much of anything can cause you harm'.
I started taking the pill 4yrs ago when I was 18 not because of any of the reasons listed above, simply. I could not physically move when I was on my periods, I was bed ridden for 3 days out of the month, in excruciating pain, forcing me to miss school. When I started to take the pill, all that pain and discomfort left, and I haven't looked back since.
So, what I'm saying is that the pill with all it's unknown effects, isn't a scam. It's a product to be wary of like any other medicine and it increases your risk of certain illnesses, like any other medicine; however in the world that we live in today, even if you live a completely organic lifestyle, you will be diagnosed with an ailment (BP, heart disease,respiratory, diabetes... Possibilities are endless.)
Thank you
:')
Lauren
The pill is not for everyone! After years on it, my IBS was getting worse and worse. I'm ~6 months off it and am still working on regulating my cycles again. It's terrible that physicians don't tell women about the side effects, especially nutrient deficiencies and hormonal imbalances. If I knew, I doubt I would start taking it. I wish I knew about alternative methods like cycle charting (FAM) but glad I know now!
Angie
Right now I´m on a three months treatment taking the pill to regularize my cycle. My gynecologist also told me to eat more carbohidrates and to buy a drinkable protein. To be honest, I have only been taking the pill, but my alimentation haven´t changed a lot.
I´ve always been skinny, even though I eat a lot, but after my doctor told me to eat more of certain foods I´ve realized I don´t eat much carbohidrates. This year I´m trying to eat healthier and reduce the chemist I consume, but I don´t know if I should stop this treatment since my menstrual cycle has regularized.
What should I do to keep my hormones balanced? Should I talk to my gynecologist about other options? How could I improve my nutrition in a caribbean country?
carla
I appreciate you're just giving advice, but you're doing it in a terrifically bias way. it's kind of frightening that there are these articles online, and that people take them seriously. yes, there are alternative routes, but that does not make western medicine inherently evil (which I'm getting undertones of in your article).
I went on the pill at 17 for acne and PMS. (p.s. did you know that irregular, very heavy cycles and PMS are actually normal when you're in the early years, up to your mid twenties, because your follicles aren't always releasing an egg, and your body is getting use to masses of new hormones it isn't used to. Not just your body's cry for help at all) and it was an absolute godsend. I stopped being depressive and turned in to a functional human being. Some people simply cannot cope with those symptoms, and the pill has given them a treatment for it.
I appreciate that there are other options, but there are also other options to the path that you're proclaiming as the absolute right one. Please, in future, right with a little more balance in your articles?
p.p.s, please don't tell people cancer is normal (as read in your article about mamography) it kills people. not irregularly.
carla
oh, also, soley breast feeding women have an innate contraceptive for the first 6 months, after that they are put on the minipill, a progesterone only tablet which has little to no effect on the baby.
Catherine
Hi Carla,
Thanks for joining the conversation. I do not think Western Medicine is "evil" but I'm trying to share another side your doctor may not tell you about {changing your symptoms with food, and listening to your body}. I find food a much less dangerous treatment option, without the side effects of RX drugs.
Doctors go to school to learn how to treat dis-ease with medicine, not food. They are not trained in nutrition.
Everyone has their own story, thank you for sharing yours.
Catherine
Carol S
Thank you for writing this Catherine, it's important and potentially life-saving information. I am 55 yrs old and during the mid 70s in college was told I must be on the pill for irregular periods, acne, various ailments despite not being sexually active. Fast forward to 25 yrs old, still on the pill and progressing in my all important career, putting kids off until my 40s, tried to stop taking them and got terrible acne as well. Long story short, had an inability to maintain a pregnancy, kept losing the baby from heavy periods, and continued to suffer from hormone imbalance. At age 41 I was diagnosed with Stage IIB Breast cancer and after surgery, chemo and radiation was thrust into early menopause. There are recent studies from India directly linking birth control pills to breast cancer, it is a FACT. This information is suppressed in the US but is easily available on the internet. I am so sad that young women today are continuing on my past path and may likely suffer the same fate- no kids and a terrible cancer experience( which I am thankfully so far surviving). I applaud you on informing young women about this, my own nieces don't want to hear it. I know Breast cancer is a frightening subject, but women should be FULLY INFORMED, Not lied to by medical professionals and the media and large corporations selling these products.
Amy
You just described my life. Irregular cycles from the day I started, late, I might add, at age 14. I never had regular cycles and at age 18 was put on the pill to "help" me. After several years on the pill, into my mid 20s, I was married and we decided to try to have children. Guess what? I was infertile. Later diagnosed with PCOS, I went through every conventional treatment and test over the next 6 years, all the way up to IVF. I felt horrible most of the time. I never was able to even complete those cycles due to overstimulation. It was then that I realized how much the doctors had promised and how little they could deliver. Sense got the better of me and we walked away from infertility and adopted. I wound up having endometriosis symptoms as well and finally had a complete hysterectomy at age 37. Then began the maze of HRT, and finally about 5 years ago, I dropped that as well and began my journey of natural, herbal ways to deal with menopause. Two years ago, I had the onset of gallbladder attacks, adding to years of IBS and acid reflux. Then I was diagnosed with osteoporosis and that was the last straw. When my doctor again offered medicines and scare tactics about my precarious health, I lost hope in the ability of medicine to right what was obviously terribly wrong with my body. I walked out of that office determined to find another way. Thus beganmy research, leading to gluten intolerance, so I went GF. Then to whole foods eliminating processed foods. From there to making my own personal care items and we are all natural now right down to cleaning supplies and yard treatments. I am so blessed that we have come so far, a journey that I have no doubt God set me on, putting people in my path to guide me. Websites like yours and several others have given me such insight and education to help me on my journey to better health! I do not know how my osteoporosis is because I decided that was a general scale and everyone's bone density could not possibly measure the same according to their charts. Additionally, why would I want to expose myself to radiation, year after year, as I had been for mammography and bone density and dental exams. Those would only serve more detriment to my overall health. I stopped having all of those and I am walking on in faith! I play outside with my children, jump on the trampoline, moderate weights on a home machine, do Pilates and aerobics, and hike with my family. I feel so much better! It makes me sick to think of what I had allowed my body to go through all those years.
Michele
This was a very informative read. I completely agree with your stance on birth control, I think its dangerous and they should make men take birth control for a change.
Julia Spiegel
i would like info on just taking progestogen (progestin). i take a pill with just that. no estrogen. what would long term side effects be from that? it stops my period by spoofing pregnancy. if i remember correctly. no eggs are dropped because body thinks it's pregnant. i can't ingest sugar. i get crazy high blood pressure symptoms. please comment here if you have any info.
Marjolein
Hi Julia,
You don't give enough information to respond to properly. Did you get the blood pressure symptoms and sugar problems after starting taking the pill? For me, that would be enough to stop taking the pill you're on and watch what happens, giving your body time to get back at it's natural state (this can take months, in certain cases longer than a year or even years, depending on your own body, the amount of hormones you put in it and for how long you've taken these, and what other hormone interfering substances you come in contact with. Look up BPA's and paraben for example). Progesterone is a hormone as well and thus interfering with your natural hormone balance.
Think about why you are using something that tricks your body into thinking you are pregnant. Do you really need it? Look inside yourself and think about that for a while, I mean really think about it. Are the 'upsides' worth the downsides?
Kind regards,
Marjolein
Alicia
I honestly don't know how more women don't think this way. I was on the patch for a year when I was in high school, and I will never be on it again. I was having irregular periods to where I could go 6 months without having one, but when I did have my period they were terrible, debilitating even. I was finally convinced to go to the doctor, and she put me on birth control without even doing an exam. I just said I wasn't having my period and she wrote me a prescription and walked out - I think she was in there maybe a total of 15 minutes. Birth control made my already 7 day long period longer, more painful, and I gained an obscene amount of weight. I hear constantly "You just didn't find the right birth control for you". I say to the those people: I was a teenager. Teenagers do NOT have regular periods. Hell, most women don't even have regular period until they're in their 20's. Birth control is not a kill=all for my symptoms. My periods are still irregular, but I don't ever go over 45 days without having it. I did it off birth control. All I did was adjust my diet very slightly; I still eat pretty poorly but nothing compared to how I was eating back then.
I also am flabbergasted as to how many women are floored that they're infertile in their 30's - if you're on birth control for 15 years, you can't expect for there to be no side effect of that, you were purposefully putting hormones in your body that would prevent you from getting pregnant. You also can't expect that you'll get pregnant within a month of being off it - it is going to take longer than 30 days to get something out of your system that was routinely put in for 15 years.
Kim
I've been in birth control for atleast half my life. First was depo, which destroyed me in the worst mental and physical ways possible, then on to pills and the patch and then finally the IUD. The IUD was the best for me but at that point the damage had been done. I didn't realize how badly all the synthetic hormones had effected me until i went to visit a chiropractic naturopath. I'm completely deficient in all the vitamins and minerals you listed. I've been told my teeth are weak from all the sugar, but i now know i hadn't had sufficient calcium since i was 15. My liver is weak and I'm anemic because I'm not regulating all the nutrients most people have, naturally. I have an electrolyte deficiency that causes low blood pressure. Now that I'm in my 30s finally of all synthetic hormones, I am trying to get things back to normal. It's going to be a long road, one in not sure will be easy. It's been a year, and i don't feel any better. I wish someone would have told me what would happen if i took this all these years. I didn't want kids, so I'm not upset if i cannot conceve. I'm upset because it's been literally destroying me for half my life.
Marie
I have been On the pill since I was 15 and I am 39 now. I have never had any issues and I have perfect health and great skin. From what I'm reading in the article and in the comments it sounds like if I stop taking the pill I'm going to have all these horrible side effects. I never really thought about the pill being an Issue. Going off the pill and using condoms with my husband is not an option. I don't know of any other options out there and it seems the pill is doing its job without any bad side effects and I would hate to get off something That's working and cause worse issues in the process.
Lucy8a
BEWARE!!!
Not mentioned in the article, but Google both control pills and blood clots. Almost lost my 22yo daughter to massive (many large) blood clots. Doctor said if she had walked into the ER 30 minutes later she would have never left alive. She's now estrogen dominant, which is a whole new set of issues.
pat kaufman
I would like to add my two cents to this conversation. When I was in my twenties my doctor prescribed birth control pills for me to prevent pregnancy. I already had 3 children and didn't want any more at that time. I don't remember how long I was on them, maybe a little less than a year, when I started having vision problems. I couldn't walk and look straight ahead, I had to look to the side and I started having horrific headaches. My doctor told me I needed to get my eyes checked immediately, so I left his office and went to an optometrist. He checked my eyes and said I needed to see an ophthalmologist and he made the appointment for me to leave his office and go directly to the ophthalmologist's office. During his examination the ophthalmologist almost jumped out of his chair and told me that it wasn't my eyes, it was something in my brain and he was going to send me to a neurosurgeon who would want to hospitalize me immediately. I was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks having spinal taps, blood tests, x-rays, and every kind of test you can imagine. I was in the first stage of going blind, but they didn't know what was causing it. They thought it was a brain tumor but couldn't find one. The last test they did was called a pneumoencephalogram and also had me scheduled for a craniotomy if they found a tumor. Thankfully, they didn't find a tumor and my diagnosis was a pseudo brain tumor. I had all the symptoms of a brain tumor but there was no tumor. There were several things that could have caused it, but I didn't have any of those things. One was a hormone imbalance which I didn't have, but the neurosurgeon told me to stop taking birth control pills and to never take them again. It took about 2 years of medical care to get back to normal. Even though the doctor didn't say that it was definitely caused by the birth control pills, I believe that since there was no other reason for me to have this problem and it went away after I quit taking them, they had to be the cause. After many years, I have never had any kind of hormone problem. There is no doubt in my mind that it was caused by the birth control pills and I recommend to everyone I know to NOT take them. My case wasn't an average case, but I have heard so many stories of side effects that women have had, there is no way I would ever take them. .
Kathy Robertson
It also predisposes the body to yeast infections.... but still, glad I didn't have kids. Stopped the pill with tubal libation
in 1978.
Lenny
as I got miscarriage last year wth type 1 diabetic, it was higher bt nt more thn 30 bt aft miscarriage it been controlled nd its lower thn 4,I was thinking of becoming pregnant again bt still im using CAL-G tablets nd follicles acid pills evm im yang prevention wth deboh, all I want to gt pregnant agn what should I du so I bcome pregnant again as I'm using ths pills,PLZ HELP
faith
0 to 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never used the pill. thanks for this information
k560
Thanks for the post! I do a lot of research on the pill because of what it did to me. I had a pulmonary embolism as a result of taking the pill for 8 months, Healthy, active, non-smoker, mid 20's, no kids, no genetic disorders, no health issues, no surgeries, no long plane or car rides. Just the pill and it's wonderful side effect of thickening the blood so much that it causes blood clots that can break apart and travel to your lung.. or your brain or heart if you're not as lucky as me. If it can happen to me, it can most certainly happen to anyone. So if you're on the pill and have strange chest pains or pains in the lungs/back side areas that don't go away - do not hesitate to visit the ER and get a CAT scan - saved my life. Be safe ladies.
Ivy
the post that you have created is complete and utter bullshit. myself and many other people whom live in this world do not take the pill because we cannot withstand from sexual intercourse, but rather because it is the only current medication proven to help my conditions. if you truly believe that the pill is killing people then i suggest you fight for it to be banned from people without severe problems. Without the pill I would continuously be in agonizing pain, and in and out of the hospital, as I was before I started taking the pill. Like any new medication I take, I search it, and coming across this after seeing how much better I feel because of the pill is so unbelievably discouraging.
Think of all sides of things before making such an ignorant post.
Kay
The pill is definitely a scam! Big time. I spoke to my family doctor about it and he said all doctors get kick backs from prescribing drugs. Just depends on which drug company pays more. Have you ever noticed that a lot of these pills get pulled off the market only to come back in a few years under a different name? I've known women to get pregnant, get cancer, and even lose fertility all over birth control. Your body is made to cycle every month. Some BC stop that from happening. That seriously does not raise a red flag for you?
Use your head
Maree
Thanks for your article! More awareness is needed, and what you are doing is commendable!
My experience on the pill (Im 45) was always a positive one. No side effects or issues. However my daughter was another very different story! She had bad acne and asked the doctor what her options were, she was 17. He said try the pill. No talk about side affects at all. Because I hadn't had issues I thought it was a fair option. So she went on Yasmin. It was the darkest 3 months of her life! My normally very confident and driven girl became anxious, had panic attacks and felt episodes of depersonalisation and derealisation. She thought she was going crazy. She had her major exams at the time and I thought these symptoms were due to exam stress. Until the exams were over and she still felt like she was going crazy. I went on the Internet and found so many stories like that of my daughter! And realised it was the Yasmin birth control that did this to her! There should be warnings on the box or doctors made to disclose them! She immediately stopped the pill. It has only been a week but she's starting to feel better already. We both hope she gets back to herself when her body is back to his natural sync. What a nightmare! Once again thank you for being proactive about an issue in women's health that truly needs to be talked about.
izzy
Thank you so much for this article! I really enjoyed reading about stories and how birth control has effected you all.
Haley
Hello I just wanted to say that yes the pill is not for everyone (including me) as of recent I have experienced the worst anxiety and depression when my prescription was changed. And I’m terrified to try a new brand so I have decided to go off. I also gained weight and have had acne when I usually never do. Luilky ive only been on the pill for about a year so hopefully everything levels out soon
T
I'm 22 and have had irregular periods since I was 17 or so. My new gynecologist wants me to take birth control pills. I'm refusing and she was upset and acted like I was ridiculous and was going to kill myself.
Megan
Hey girl, I love that you spoke out about this!! I have never been on the pill for various reasons. But a huge thank you for speaking out! You have some really awesome information on this post, I will definitely use this in the future for ladies I talk to.