What You Need to Know: How the Pill Affects Your Body.

I have shared a bit of my story about why I came off the pill and what happened to my body after.  It took time to figure out why my period was missing because there wasn’t a lot of information out there. I wanted to know how the pill affects your body and what I could do to heal faster.

Post Birth Control Syndrome isn’t acknowledged as real thing by doctors even though it happens to MANY women. And many women are told to go back on the pill to get there period back. This makes no sense because you are still messing with the hormones and not normalizing them. So I wanted to write this post to explain how the menstrual cycle works, how the pill affects your cycle, and what can happen to your body post-pill.

Why I love learning about period health.

Besides my own story, there is something divinely magical about being a woman who has a period. In a world where we are striving to be equal to men, we need to acknowledge we aren’t men. And we will never be equal because we give birth to babies and have an entirely different chemical structure. We need to learn how to nourish WOMEN’S body to her upmost health. We cannot keep following health advice that is only been researched on a man.

“Women are not small men.”

Lara Briden

How the Menstrual Cycle Works.

If you took Anatomy and Physiology, you should have learned female anatomy (one of my favorite sections), but for those of you that did not or forgot everything. Here is a brief explanation of how the menstrual cycle works and how balanced hormones look:

Menstrual:

The beginning of your cycle is the MENSTRUAL phase. We have on average a 28-day cycle and day one of the cycle is the first day of your period. This when the lining on your uterus sheds. This lining is used to protect the potential baby, it is shed if there is no pregancy.  The hormones estrogen and progesterone are low which signals the pituitary gland to produce FSH or Follicle Stimulating Hormone.

Follicular:

The next phase is called the FOLLICULAR phase. When FSH is in the body, it stimulates the process of maturing a new follicle so you can hopefully get pregnant during the next cycle. *Note the pituitary gland is a gland in the brain that releases various hormones that get sent to various organs.  This is when hormones are starting to rise especially estrogen.   This increase in estrogen stimulates the pituitary gland to release LH or Luteinizing Hormone. 

Ovulation:

This leads to OVULATION Phase. When LH is in the body it tells the follicle to rupture and release the egg down the fallopian tubes.  The egg will only live for about 12-24 hours. (This is when you can get pregnant) Ovulation typically happens around day 14 in a 28-day cycle.

Luteal:

Last is the LUTEAL phase. FSH, LH, progesterone, and estrogen all decline. The egg will produce progesterone which will slowly rise.  Progesterone will stimulate growth of the uterus lining to prepare for pregnancy.  The estrogen will rise again to support pregnancy.  If there is no pregnancy, then the hormones will decrease and signal the body to head back into the menstrual cycle.  

And that is what a normal balanced cycle looks like! If you want to learn more about what you should do to support your body physically and emotionally for each phase, check out my post on how to cycle sync here.

How Does the B.C. Pill Work?

Now that we learned how a normal monthly woman’s cycle should look.  Let’s talk about what the pill does to that cycle.

The most commonly used form of the birth control pill is a combination of synthetic (man-made) hormones estrogen and progestin.  Essentially, when you take the pill day by day you are providing a steady stream of estrogen/progesterone to your body.  This causes your body to not ovulate because you need different levels of these hormones to signal each phase.  This steady stream of estrogen causes your body to not ovulate, which prevents pregnancy.  This is also why your “period” on the pill is not a real bleed!

As you can see, the pill does not “balance your hormones”. The BC pill tells your hormones what to do and they are not balanced because they do not follow the up and downs of a healthy menstrual cycle.  Also taking the pill for a long period of time can slow down your natural hormonal signals. (not always) Your body forgets how to make estrogen and progesterone on its own so when you come off, your period goes “poof”. (don’t worry it can come back) There can be lots of underlying reasons why your period is missing, and I will go into that deeper in another post.

How the Pill Affects Your Body

This leads me to talk about post birth control syndrome.  This term is used to name the collection of symptoms you have after coming off the pill. The pill messes up the body in MANY other ways besides just potentially having a missing period.

Nutritional Deficiencies

If you come off the pill, and you get your period right away, GREAT! But that doesn’t mean your body did not entail any damage. The pill has been found to deplete the body of many vitamins and minerals. Specifically, b-vitamins, vitamin c, e, selenium, zinc, and magnesium. These are CRITICAL nutrients to provide energy, relaxation, boost the immune system, and thyroid function. (and more) Everyone’s body will react to the pill differently based on their genetics and unique lifestyle, and this is very general advice on how the pill *may* impact your body.  If you want personalized support on how the pill impacted your body, I recommend specialty testing to figure out exactly what your body needs.

FIX: I recommend taking a B-complex, vitamin C, and magnesium supplements at minimum to replenish nutrient stores. Click here to see products. There is no way to truly know where you are deficient without specialty testing. Everyone is unique. Apply here for a consultation. 😊

Leaky Gut

B.C. pill messes up the gut bacteria and can lead to leaky gut and digestive issues. And if you have a past of taking antibiotics daily (like me) than you MUST MUST MUST focus on healing your gut and digestion. If you struggle with food sensitivities, slow bowel movements (less than 1 per day), bloating, any digestive issue, low immune system, anxiety, depression, etc. PLEASE support your gut health and make it your number one priority. And if you need professional health for mental health – please reach out to a health professional, don’t just try to heal using holistic methods on your own.  But I highly recommend using both modalities together which will accelerate your healing.

FIX: I recommend fermented foods, a soil-based probiotic, and possibly digestive enzymes. Depending on your unique story and labs, these recommendations could vary. For personalized support, apply here for a consultation.

Liver Health

The liver is one of the main organs for removing excess hormones and that includes hormones from the pill. Supporting the liver is essential to getting a healthy cycle and especially when you come off the pill. Unfortunately our liver has a large burden compared to 50 years ago. We need to not only address our food, but our environment. Check out this post where I talk about how to nourish the liver for balanced hormones. And this post for my favorite non-toxic living resources.

Fix: Doing a yearly detox is essential to balanced hormones. This is something I support my clients with in my 4 month 1:1 program.

Here are some other side effects from coming off the pill: Hormonal headaches, acne, losing your hair, hypothyroidism, infertility, mood swings, PMS, etc

I believe it is SO important to be educated on these topics because it isn’t talked about enough! We need to be empowered so we can make the best choice for us! Whether you are on the pill or not, understanding its impact is key so you can take steps to reduce the damage and keep your body feeling good. And if you are struggling with any of these things after coming off the pill, you can start to understand why and take steps to truly heal you body. 🙂

This is part 1 in a series of posts about post pill healing and balancing your hormones.