I spent 5 years on the pill – 5 years that I can’t ever get back. During that time I swung from one major imbalance to another. Your story might sound a lot like mine: I was 17, cruising along doing my teenage thing and then suddenly my period started acting up. By the time I was 19 I was getting it every 3-4 months and my gynecologist decided the pill was my only hope of ever getting “back on track”! {insert eye roll}
At the time I was thrilled because I wanted to be like all the cool kids who were already on the pill. The pros – within months, my terrible period symptoms began to subside – I no longer had 7-day long periods that were super heavy, the vomit-inducing cramps were almost gone and the PMS and bloating were a thing of the past. I’d finally conquered my period problems…or so I thought! If only I’d known then what I know now!
Here’s what I didn’t know – the pill was merely masking my underlying hormonal imbalance which was being caused by insulin dysregulation. How’d that happen? My meat and potatoes diet topped with lots of sweet treats. Frosted Flakes for dinner anyone?
Who knew that insulin was causing my ovaries to ovulate less. Or that the pill was chipping away at the hormones I did have, leaving my body so depleted that when I came off at 24 I wouldn’t get back my period for many months. In addition, my digestion was ruined (they thought I had Crohn’s), my hair was thinning, I developed melasma on my face, I was constantly sick and run down, I had awful joint pain and my sex drive was at an all-time low (which was a good thing because I was plagued with chronic yeast and urinary tract infections anyway!).
Here’s the straight truth – on the pill no woman’s body is capable of functioning at its optimal level. The body has a delicate system of balance and each woman’s system is different, but the pill is a one-size-fits-all jam. Modern medicine’s biggest flaw if you ask me.
Here are 5 side effects of the pill that all women should know about:
#1. The pill royally messes with your digestive function.
No joke, 95% of women who come to me with whacked out hormones also have some form of digestive disorder and almost all of them have taken oral contraceptives at some stage. A 2012 study linked BC pills with a higher risk for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. It appears that synthetic hormones change the permeability of the gut lining and synthetic estrogen does a number on the “good” bacteria in our guts. [1]
Symptoms ranging from migraines to infertility, endometriosis, psoriasis, chronic yeast infections, PMS, depression, fibromyalgia, digestive disorders and many other seemingly unrelated health problems have been attributed to gut bacterial imbalances. If you’re on the pill please include fermented foods in your diet and/or take a good quality probiotic.
If you’ve come off the pill and you’re experiencing digestive problems (IBS, IBD, leaky gut, chronic constipation or diarrhea or both, inflammatory bowel conditions etc), then I highly recommend Microbiome Labs Total Gut Restoration. It’s a 3-product/3-step protocol including MegaSpore Prebiotic, MegaSpore Probiotics, and MegaMucosa, a gut mucosal barrier rebuilding product.
These are exclusive products only available through practitioners. Go to Microbiome Labs to place your order.
#2. The pill inhibits the absorption of B vitamins and minerals.
The pill messes with your gut’s ability to adequately absorb B vitamins, especially folate and vitamin B12. It also inhibits the absorption of zinc and magnesium. [2] If you’ve ever read anything about fertility and hormonal health, you know that these vitamins and minerals are crucial for us. Hint: Zinc deficiency literally equals infertility for some women. You can read my take on B vitamins here. I recommend a good Vitamin B Complex and a quality mineral supplement while taking oral contraceptives.
#3. The pill affects who we are attracted to.
Whoa what! It turns out that the BC pill alters how we choose our mates.[3] Humans tend to choose partners based on their differences rather than their similarities, but women on the pill choose partners based on their sameness.[4] One study even suggested that when “a woman chooses her partner while she is on the pill and then comes off it to have a child, her hormone-driven preferences change, and she may find she is married to the wrong kind of man.” I wouldn’t believe this if I hadn’t seen it happen with a client!
#4. The pill can cause vaginal dryness.
When a woman is on the pill, her body will cease to send signals to her cervical crypts (producers of fertile cervical fluid). Extended use of the pill literally shrivels these crypts up because they are not being used if a woman is not ovulating. This atrophy can be hard to reverse for many women and some find it difficult to get pregnant because of the lack of fertile cervical fluid. The only way to address this issue is to get off of hormonal birth control.
#5. The pill effects your sex drive.
The pill isn’t called birth control for nothin’! Not only does it stop ovulation, it literally stops your sex drive in it’s tracks too. Basically the liver makes a protein called Sex-Hormone Binding Globulin. SHBG binds to testosterone and makes it inactive. The pill increases SHBG production which lowers the amount of free testosterone. Bad news for your libido. [5] A woman not on the pill typically has a SHBG level of 20-30, but a woman on the pill can have a SHBG level of 200-300 and even up to 500! Again, the only way out of this is to ditch your birth control.
The sad part of all this is that modern medicine has convinced most women that they are not in charge of their fertility, that it is impossible for them to pinpoint when they can or cannot be pregnant, and that the only way to prevent a pregnancy is to take hormones every day. This is a blatant lie, as there are many ways a woman can learn to listen to her body’s signs, and avoid unwanted pregnancies. It’s just a matter of doing a little upfront work.
Trust me when I say you can avoid the pill altogether if you want.
I know this is a scary prospect for many women but I personally think choosing the wrong husband is more terrifying! Here’s what to do:
How to come off hormonal birth control:
#1 – Get my Fix Your Birth Control Protocol
I’ve created the ultimate step by step protocol to help you transition off hormonal birth control (the pill (patch, IUD, implant etc) and take back control of your hormones, your body and your life. Check out my Fix Your Birth Control Protocol here!
#2 – Use the Fertility Awareness Method
I highly recommend a natural birth control method called the Fertility Awareness Method (which I talk about extensively in the Protocol above). This involves observing your cervical fluid and other fertility signs and taking your basal body temperature each morning. Using FAM has seriously changed my relationship with my body and has given me an immense amount of data to work with.
#3 – Become “Period Literate”
If you want to know more, get your hands on the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Sources:
1. Doheny K. Birth Control Pills, HRT Tied to Digestive Ills: Researchers found apparent connections between estrogen treatments and Crohn’s Disease, colitis. HealthDay. May 2012; Accessed May 2012. http://health.usnews.com/health-news…digestive-ills
2. DDW: Estrogens Tied to Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. HealthDay News. May 2012; Accessed May 2012.http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/29237
3. Walsh N. Estrogen a Culprit in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Positive relationship discovered between hormone replacement therapy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. MedPage Today. Medical Review Jasmer R. MD. May 2012; Accessed May 2012. http://www.everydayhealth.com/womens…l-disease.aspx
4. Kluger, Jeffrey. Why We Love. January 16, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1704355-1,00.html.
5. Wedekind, C. et al. (1995). “MHC-dependent preferences in humans”. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 260: 245–49.
- *Furlow, Bryant., F. (1996). “The Smell of Love.” Psychology Today Mar/Apr.
- Scent of a Man – New Scientist Feb 10, 2001
- Elder, Rob. (2001). “The Science of Attraction,” Journal of Hybrid Vigor, Emory University, Issue 1.
Additional articles:
- http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/09/science/studies-explore-love-and-the-sweaty-t-shirt.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/magazine/does-a-more-equal-marriage-mean-less-sex.html?_r=1
6. (2006, January 5). Oral Contraceptive Pill May Prevent More Than Pregnancy: Could Cause Long-term Problems With Testosterone. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060104232338.htm
Additional articles, books and websites:
- http://www.sweeteningthepill.com/resources.php – MASSIVE RESOURCE LIST!
- The Pill: Are You Sure It’s For You? by Alexandra Pope
28 thoughts on “5 Side Effects Of The Pill That No One Tells You About”
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I’ve been off the pill a year now and the thing I’m suffering most with is terrible joint pain. I feel like I’ve aged 30 years in one. I’m in agony on a daily basis and I just wondered what has helped others. I know it’s down to coming off the pill because I was fine until I decided to quit it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
When I first began having sex everything about my body was perfectly fine, I had a normal sex drive and no issues with my period, and then my mother found out.. She didn’t want me to get pregnant so she told me I had to get on the pill. I only lasted a few months on it because it was making me extremely dry “down there” and it was awful. Even after I stopped taking them it took a while to even out. When I went to the doctor she told me to take new ones and I listened thinking that different pills may not cause the same problem. I was wrong. It became so awful that I decided I was never again taking the pill. Now I have an incredibly unbalanced period that lasts much too long and only gets worse when I try to have sex and it is still occasionally painful when I have sex. It is so frustrating when I go to the doctor and they tell me nothing Is really wrong and I should just start up in the stupid pill again. How can they say nothing is wrong if my body is clearly not working properly anymore? I don’t understand why they don’t look for the underlying problem instead of forcing the pill on me..? But I know my body and I won’t break, I will Never take them again.
There are a lot of incredible questions on here, but it’s so much easier to get clear answers in our Know Your Flow Facebook group. Just paste the following link into your browser:http://tinyurl.com/pkflo6r
There are tons of women in there who’ve had similar experiences and it’s much more private. I also have a free Period Survival Guide for you here: http://tinyurl.com/nh7y55g
Nicole, this is one of the best article I have read on OCPs and their effects. I listened to Dr Gottfried talk about them earlier this week as well and describe the pill as “evil”. Thank you for breaking it down into focused points with good data to back you up. You rock, woman!!
Thanks for this article! I took the pill for about six months and stopped when I realized it was the reason my husband and I were at each other’s throats on a daily basis. Since then, I have had digestive issues that never had before, my hair thinned so terribly that I had to cut it all off, and my periods became so heavy they were debilitating. All issues I never had before the pill. My body seems to be finally getting back to normal, two years after giving them up. Of course there could be some other factor that caused all these issues, but I can’t help but blame the birth control.
I’m glad that things are getting better for you!
Wow! That is very scary. I have been off the pill for a year and I never want to go back on!
Great article!
I am on a low dose Microgestin for the management of stage 4 endometriosis. Before this, I was in the ER monthly in horrifying pain, to the point I was ready to meet my maker.
I’d LOVE to get off BC all together and let my body do what it needs to do naturally, but I cannot live in extreme pain every month. Do you have suggestions on how to manage stage 4 endometriosis without BC? (I do use essential oils)
I totally understand why so many women think the pill is one of the best options for preventing pregnancy and “balancing” hormone irregularities, because that is all that we’ve heard from doctors and authority figures for many years as an easy, effective option. But long-term use of the pill has many documented cases of side-effects that can be severe, and it isn’t right that it is pushed on young women when there are many other reliable sources of birth control, like the Fertility Awareness Method, that don’t require ANY hormonal birth control and won’t create imbalances that affect women’s quality of life.
Just an fyi, I met my fiance before I went on birth control. ” ) My mom pressured me to go on birth control because she didn’t want any surprise babies. I never had a migraine before bc, and headaches and migraines have started to effect my daily life. I’m exhausted all the time (before bc, people have told me that I was the most hyper person they had ever met), my hair is slightly thinner and not as curly. I just hope that I haven’t been on bc for too long that I can’t get back to normal.
Incredible. There is truly an army of women behind the message of body awareness and empowerment. I’m completely blown away by all these amazing stories and everyone’s insight.
Anon, one of the main reasons for this post is that I see hundreds of women each month who are experiencing the devastating side effects of the pill and it’s just heartbreaking! I was definitely not attacking the institution of the pill, merely stating (in my own sassy way) that women need to be much more aware of what a powerful drug the birth control pill actually is. And unfortunately, I give women far more credit than the average medical doctor does…my comment on choosing the wrong husband was my funny way of saying that we need to be paying attention to millions of years of evolution.
Great post Nicole! I was also on the pill for many years as that is just the “normal” thing to do. At 23 when I decided to get off the pill I realised I have major hormonal imbalances that I never knew about as the pill was masking the symptons. The doctor just suggested I get back on the pill. I refused! How is that going to help???!?
Since then I have changed my lifestyle and diet and things are getting back on track.
I learnt a lot from you and would recommend seeking altnernatives to birth control to everyone. Thank you for everything!
Anon, I don’t think that this article is trying to deter girls from choosing birth control, I think that it is trying to make them aware of possible side effects that not many doctors inform their patients about. I wish that I had educated myself more about the pill/shot before I decided to start them. I have no religious or moral qualms with birth control, but I think that people should at least be made aware about the negative side effects. I thought that any side effect was worth the 99% guarantee that I wouldn’t get pregnant. I was wrong. I am not the same person as I was before I started birth control, and I cannot wait to get back to being myself!
I can personally attest that the pill nearly ruined my life. I was on the pill from age 16 to age 28 off and on. I tried many different kinds, too. Not only did I choose the wrong man to marry in my early 20’s, whom I later divorced( I seriously wonder if I would have married him had I not been on hormonal birth control), but it wreaked havoc on my health. I have been off all forms of hormonal birth control for almost 2 years and it was THE BEST decision I have ever made for my health and well being. As a result of the pill, I had and still somewhat have: hormonal imbalances, possible slight PCOS, thinning hair, mood issues, digestive issues, etc. It also took me 6 months and extensive treatments with an acupuncturist and dietary changes/supplements/self-care to get my period back. I am now a huge advocate against the pill and I believe it is nothing but poison!
At 24 years old while taking a shower, I found a lump in my breast. Though diagnosed as a benign tumour, because it was rock solid, the doctors wanted it removed. I tried every delaying tactic, but about 4 months later found myself on a surgery table for the first time in my life. Between my diagnosis and that surgery table however, I did the following. 1) Started leaving the office at closing time rather than having dinner at my desk; 2) Went on a mini vacation; 3) Cut back on my junk food intake; and 4) Came off of the pill. After a couple of months it felt to me as though the tumour was slightly smaller. When I finally made it to that table, the doctor examined my breast while preparing for incision, and found that the tumour had indeed shrunk. He cancelled the surgery and told me to continue with whatever it was that I was doing and we’d monitor. A few months after that, the tumour was gone. Sadly, some of my old habits have resurfaced, but I haven’t touched the pill since! And though I can’t say with certainty that there’s a link, all I know is… Now at 33 years old, my showers remain a happy space and my breasts are lump-free!
While I agree that the invention of hormonal birth control has allowed women more control over whether or not they want to have children, I also agree that it is absolutely vital that women are educated on the effects of BC so we can have control over our health. I have always suffered from very painful periods and was given the pill to manage them. The first two times I just took them for 3 month intervals so I could skip my periods for important events. I noticed it was around this time that my always very manageable skin because very unpredictable and I started getting hormonal acne. Later in college, I started taking the pill in hopes of curing my cramps, fatigue and acne. My Dr handed me over my pills with nothing more than a “here ya go” and that’s when my real issues began. I started losing weight due to feeling nauseous whenever I ate, I started feeling so fatigued that I never wanted to go out and eventually I started having pretty severe panic attacks that I couldn’t predict or control. I was constantly searching for the answer as to why my health had all of a sudden taken a turn for the worse when I finally figured out it must have been the BC. I got off of the BC and within weeks started to feel better, but the new problems I had developed didn’t completely healed. Eventually these symptoms got so bothersome that I decided against my best judgement, to try the Nuvaring as my Dr said it was the only option. HELLO mood swings and insomnia! I called the Dr after weeks of not sleeping and experiencing hot flashes (I’m 24 btw) and they told me that i just had to keep taking it until I adjusted. 3 months later, I did adjust for the most part, but it simply didn’t help my symptoms. Long story short, I ditched BC for good and started learning how my body works and ways that I can actually heal my issues from the core. Not only have I seen more positive results than I ever had from taking BC, I have gained more respect for my amazing female body!
Hi Nicole! I love this post. You are so right on. While the pill is certainly a useful solution in some cases. It’s essential that women (and young girl and their parents!) know what they are signing up for if they use the pill for reasons beyond birth control. I’m all for modern medicine, but for far too long the birth control has not come with truly informed consent. For more of the scientific evidence base regarding the birth control pill and it’s side effects, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7AgxDDMQw.
Keep up the advocacy for women, Nicole!
Here’s a great video for anyone interested in learning more about how the pill can affect parter preferences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKbvEJD-qYE&index=4&list=LL6bz0z-Fbze2En7HUu5dmCQ
What about the IUD? I am currently suffering from low energy and roller coaster emotions and I have a feelings it’s to do with a hormone imbalance. How does the IUD affect women?
I’m always interested to hear from those who say people who have had bad experiences with the Pill are “biased” because of that experience – but they themselves claim to have an unbiased stance, despite also using their own experience as evidence!
Nicole is correct – for the majority of women who take the Pill this drug will not keep them at optimum health and will actually suppress their overall health and well-being. With side effects it’s a case of WHEN and not IF a woman will experience them. Some women will have a more pronounced experience than others. Sure, if they have endometriosis, they may feel that the benefits outweigh the risks, but most women who take the Pill are healthy or have curable hormonal imbalances and do not NEED to be taking a pill every day for years that significantly messes with their endocrine, metabolic and immune systems.
If we say that “the majority” of women are better off on the Pill, we are saying that being female is a state of inherent sickness. Or we are admitting that the majority of women suffer with some sort of hormonal imbalance due on diet or environmental causes and that we don’t see fit to help these women regain their hormonal balance, instead we want to replace their hormone cycle with a synthetic cycle – until, that is, they want to have children. Either way it’s careless, negligent and misogynistic.
Women’s health is important and the Pill is a crude form of medical treatment (like “tinkering with nuclear bombs to cure the common cold” as Barbara Seaman once wrote, or like “fixing a Swiss watch witha sledgehammer as Geraldine Matus once wrote). It is not miraculous. It is not magic. It is a drug that has very real, powerful whole body effects.
I’m so glad you posted this Nicole! I was put on and off of the pill for years when I was younger, and to this day, I have no idea why! I remember going into the doctor’s offices thinking “I want to make sure they don’t put me on the pill,” and somehow or another I’d walk out with a prescription for it, having been talked into it because it was going to apparently “solve all of my problems.” I wish I had known what I do now, back then.Thank you for helping spread the word to so many girls out there, this will help them make an informed decision and take control of their own health:)
This is such a great post and pretty much summarizes EVERYTHING I wish I had known earlier in life. I was on birth-control + an IUD for WAY too long. I also was just never taught to tune into my body, read it’s signals and take it’s clues for imbalances. I am now 30 and am still struggling with getting my period back regularly (after stopping BD about 1.5 years ago). I simply feel like doctors and our society at large doesn’t do a great job at all when it comes to raising awareness and educating women on what the actually pill does, it’s side effects, AND other natural methods that are clearly out there but simply “less convenient” than just mindlessly popping a pill every day. Awesome post, Nicole!!!
For me, the pill was the beginning of my journey away from my intuition. I started too young, and feel it’s affected me me for over ten years afterwards. Hormonal balance us much more sophisticated than I gave it credit for in my teens and I wish I’d understood a bit more before I toon the plunge into taking false hormones
The upside is it’s never too late to make a change and try to get back on a natural track. I’ve never felt so in control of my hormones.
Nicole, how long did it take for the pigmentation to go away? I’ve been off the pill for almost 2 years and it’s still there! ARGH!
Personally, I wish I had never gone on the pill. If I had the knowledge I have now, I never would have but I didn’t and trusted my doctors.
Also “choosing the wrong husband”? I’m sorry to put down your article so much but give women some credit! This is an absurd claim and totally trivializes what goes into picking a partner. That’s all.
This article is biased due to a bad experience, not sourced, and is giving girls the wrong idea. I’m all for living “natural” but the pill is a modern miracle and for some (read:most) can be life changing for the best. For me personally it has allowed me to stay fertile, eliminated my acne, and regulated my hormones in general. I’ve had nothing but an excellent experience and I don’t think deterring young girls, who may need the pill for a number of reasons, is appropriate.
I’ve been looking for a good post to share with friends & the pill! It totally screwed up my digestion, and I don’t think a lot of people make that connection. I’ve been off the pill for ~10 months now, and I’m just starting to have regular cycles again.