Birth Control Pills
Are They Really The Answer To Your Hormone Problems?
Have you ever wondered why so many women are on birth control pills for reasons other than contraception? Although preventing pregnancy is the top reason to start oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), many women use the pill as a way to address other hormone issues.
Here’s a list of reasons doctors prescribe OCPs unrelated to contraception:
- Painful periods
- Breast tenderness or cyclical breast pain
- Endometriosis
- PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder)
- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)
- Acne
- Irregular periods or absent periods
- Heavy, clotty periods
- Fibroids
- Functional ovarian cysts
- Perimenopausal symptoms
- Hirsutism (excess hair on the body or face)
- Alopecia (hair loss on the head)
- The most misguided reason – to avoid the “inconvenience” of periods
Your Period as your “Fifth” Vital Sign
There are four vital signs that measure your body’s most basic of functions: heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure and temperature. Your menstrual period can be considered the “fifth vital sign” of health, letting you know that your hormones are in check. Unfortunately, menstruation has been vilified as a nuisance and inconvenience. When hormonal symptoms displease us, we look to banish them rather than understand why they are trying to get our attention.
Gynecologists are taught to manage the majority of hormonal symptoms with OCPs.
The pill can have a dramatic effect on symptoms of hormone imbalance. Understandably this is what most women want when they are uncomfortable. No matter what the issue is, the doctor can just throw a birth control pill at it and get a relatively rapid response. I know because I used to do that all of the time in my practice. It’s a very attractive option when you have 40 patients in the waiting room and limited time to spend digging deeper into a patient’s problems. Now I know better. This is a temporary band-aid solution that does NOT address the root cause of a patient’s problems.
Are You Pulling the Battery out of the Smoke Alarm?
Using the pill for any and all hormonal problems is similar to pulling the battery out of the smoke alarm to get it to stop squawking – it may feel nice at the moment to not hear all that noise, but you will soon be sorry you did that. (Cut to scene of a fire consuming a house.)
But what about the short term and long term side effects of OCPs? And what about ignoring the underlying reasons behind hormone imbalance? It’s not just about reducing the symptoms. Putting a sticker over your check engine light in the car is not necessarily the best idea. You no longer see the warning sign, but the problem is still there and likely getting worse.
Side Effects You May Not Know About
Most of us are aware of some minor side effects associated with the pill like bloating, breast tenderness, headache, water retention, weight gain, weird spotting or bleeding during the month, poor driving skills, inability to load a dishwasher, missing the hamper by three feet. But here are some not so evident effects you may not know about…
- Gut problems: gallstones, inflammatory bowel disease (like Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis), gut permeability or “leaky gut,” imbalance of your beneficial bacteria
- Low energy levels and fatigue
- Depression, anxiety
- Low libido
- Vaginal dryness and painful intercourse
- Vitamin and mineral depletion
- Missing periods, light periods, irregular bleeding
- Headaches and migraines
Serious side effects
- Increased risk of blood clots (strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolism)
- Increased risk of breast, liver and cervical cancer
- Increased risk of diabetes
- Increased risk of autoimmune disorders
What’s the Post Birth Control Syndrome (PBCS)?
PBCS describes a combination of symptoms that some women may experience once they stop using OCPs. The pill basically cuts off communication between the ovaries and the brain. Once you stop taking the pill and this block is released, things may not go back to normal. In fact, whatever was going wrong before you started the pill, will likely continue to go wrong or might even be worse since the reasons for having these issues were never addressed.
PBCA symptoms include:
- Lack of period altogether (amenorrhea)
- Adult acne
- Infertility
- Birth control pill induced Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Under-active thyroid
- Gut issues
- Persistently low libido
- All the issues that prompted you to start the pill to begin with!
Final thoughts
- OCPs can come with some serious and concerning side effects you may not be aware of
- You are not necessarily getting a free ride by going on birth control pills to deal with hormonal symptoms.
- Covering up your symptoms by using OCPs may allow the underlying problem to continue to get worse over time
- Consider looking for the underlying causes of hormonal imbalance symptoms before starting OCPs as your solution
Please Share the Health if you liked what you read!!!
For more information about my wellness programs and my practice, check out my website drsadaty.com. Hey Look! You are already here…
Ready for the legal disclaimer? Information offered here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. As with any health recommendations, please contact your doctor to be sure any changes you wish to consider are safe for you!