The birth control pill is one of the most common forms of birth control out there. We’re told it will prevent pregnancy, clear our skin and make all our period problems go away. No more cramps, no more heavy bleeding, we can even skip it altogether!
For me, it was a way to prevent pregnancy with the added bonus of shortening my period and being free from the cramps and pain I would feel down to my thighs. The first 2 days of my period were not a good time.
It started off well enough, I wasn’t noticing any side effects, my periods were a breeze! Then about a year into being on the Pill I started seeing some changes.
I seemed to be gaining weight and my mood was all over the place. I was bloated after pretty much every meal; my gut was not happy with me most days. Something wasn’t right.
I still didn’t do anything about it right away. Even though I was experiencing all these symptoms, I didn’t know where to start. My doctor’s suggestion was to try another pill which didn’t sound like a good plan to me, who knows what other symptoms would pop up!
Finally, one day, years later, I came across a post talking about side effects of the Pill. Some I knew, like the possibility of weight gain, mood swings or high blood pressure and clots, then some I didn’t know, like all the nutrients the Pill depletes and how it wreaks havoc on your gut microbiome. Not once did my doctor mention that and that seemed to be what was going on with me.
After looking into it more, I planned to switch to a non-hormonal form of birth control.
So here are 3 reasons why I decided to ditch the Pill.
1. My mood was really taking its toll on me and those around me. I would be ready to cry at any moment, I was getting defensive and would get into arguments and I just couldn’t let things go, even if I knew it wasn’t that big of a deal, I couldn’t help it. It didn’t feel like me anymore.
2. My gut health was suffering. Cramping and bloating was a “normal” part of my life after eating. I had been pretty regular before starting the pill but now I was going from one end of the spectrum to the other in a matter of days. Well, it turns out that the pill can actually alter your gut microbiome resulting in more inflammation, excess estrogen that can’t be detoxified from your system, an overgrowth of harmful bacteria and malabsorption of important nutrients. Yikes!
3. The Pill depletes nutrients involved in digestion, thyroid health and stress management. These include B vitamins, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Selenium and Zinc, just to name a few. Since getting my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s last year, I often wonder if the pill had something to do with it.
First steps to ditching the Pill
Before coming off the Pill, I needed to support my body so the post-pill symptoms didn’t hit me too hard. This could be symptoms like acne or irregular and painful periods.
1. The first thing I did was add in foods and practices to support my liver and detoxification pathways. Your liver has a major role in getting rid of excess hormones. Some awesome liver loving foods include greens and cruciferous veggies, beets, ginger, garlic, turmeric, teas like roasted dandelion root and milk thistle.
2. I also made sure I was getting enough fibre in my diet and drinking lots of water to help with elimination. There’s no point in doing all those things to help with detoxification if you’re not actually eliminating the toxins!
3. To support my gut health, I also added fermented foods to my day. Sauerkraut or kimchi are great to add on the side of savoury meals. A glass of kombucha is a nice alternative to pop, especially here in BC, we have so many local companies that use high quality ingredients and taste good! Yogurt is an easy way to add probiotics to your day too, just make sure you’re getting plain, unsweetened yogurt and adding your own fruit and sweeteners like honey or maple syrup if needed.
4. To help with the bloating, I started using digestive bitters before meals. I tend to go for bitters over digestive enzymes because the bitter taste actually stimulates the release of more saliva and gets your digestive juices going.
5. Since the Pill depletes so many different nutrients, I started on a prenatal multivitamin as it had a little bit of everything I was missing out on. You can absolutely just focus on specific nutrients though! A good quality B complex in the morning and some magnesium in the evening are great to start with so you’re not overloading yourself with supplements. Food should always be the main source of nutrients but in times of depletion, supplements can give you that boost you need to get you feeling better sooner.
Did you know about those side effects from the birth control pill? Have you been going through a similar situation?
Send me a message or book a free call if you’d like to learn more about how you can support your body while transitioning off the Pill or even if it’s not feasible for you to come off of it, there’s still so much you can do to alleviate those side effects!
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