For women, menstrual health and overall health are interconnected. Hormonal birth control is both a popular method of controlling the health of the menstrual cycle and eliminating the potential of pregnancy. In fact, “the pill” is the method of choice for approximately 25% of women ranging in age from 15 to 44.
The pill, a popular oral form of hormonal birth control, was conceived in the 1950s when contraception was not yet legal. To solve this problem, it was prescribed to “regulate menstruation” by delivering steroids and suppressing ovarian function. Regulate was a euphemism for getting your period and not being pregnant.
Now HBC is being used to solve other health-related problems. It suppresses skin oils, so it clears up pimples. It overrides hormones, so it eliminates symptoms. It induces a monthly bleed, so it regulates periods. However, eradicating indicators of health can be problematic for realizing overall health.
“Being on hormonal birth control can mask some things,” according to Health Coach Suzi.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recognizes menstruation as a vital sign of overall health that when concealed by HBC eliminates indicators of health status that function as a health “report card.”
Health Coach Suzi has experience with women who are on birth control and want to get off it; looking for a way to support their bodies while it’s still on it; and off it but having a negative experience by focusing on “natural ways to balance your hormones as you are coming off and the process thereafter.”
“What you are eating plays a huge role,” said Health Coach Suzi of the role of food in supporting and balancing hormones. Getting adequate fiber helps with hormone production and eating with the seasons is aligned to what your body needs for the time of year. Locally sourced whole and fresh foods will help maximize the nutrients available to your body.
While transitioning your diet, using what is bioavailable to you and making lifestyle changes, adding supplements can help fill in the gaps between what you are eating and what your body needs. Fish oil, vitamin D3, B6 and B12, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C and selenium are great considerations.
“If you are eating high-quality food, you shouldn’t need a bunch of supplements,” said Coach Suzi, recognizing they do have their place for supporting the body, especially for addressing oxidative stress and providing liver support.
“The liver takes a huge hit when you are processing synthetic hormones,” said Coach Suzi, stressing the importance of supporting the liver while on or recovering from HBC.
Milk thistle, turmeric, burdock and dandelion are great forms of herbal support – and conveniently combinable in a tea. Drinking lots of water can help keep the liver flushed and supported in moving out residuals from synthetic hormones. Supporting the lymphatic system with daily dry brushing – especially on the neck, under arms, breasts, back, reproductive area and inner thighs – also can help move toxins out.
“The lymphatic system is huge; you want to make sure it’s healthy because it affects your reproductive system,” Coach Suzi said.
Hormone testing can help determine which foods and supplements are appropriate. Everlywell is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified lab for home testing that offers insights into hormone levels such as progesterone, testosterone and cortisol.
“It’s like taking your health care into your hands,” noted Coach Suzi.
Coach Suzi helps her clients key in on self-care and their intuition, as well as address congestion in the body.
“For people who are trying to transition off of it, yoga is great,” she said, adding lying on your back and resting your legs up the wall can help relieve pelvic congestion and that consistent movement and motion benefits bothr the reproductive system and the mind.
“Take out 10 minutes and go for a walk, or walk after dinner, do some yoga or do short increment sets,” she suggested. “All of it geared toward promoting a healthier core and a healthier mind-set.”
She said exercise helps with “energy levels across the board” and it “is what regulates your hormones.”
Sleep, the body’s time for healing, supports this work as well. Encouraging consistent sleep and waking times, Coach Suzi said “the circadian rhythm is huge for reproductive health.”
“Keeping the eating, the sleeping, the exercise connected, you’re doing your body a great service. You’re building strength,” said Coach Suzi.
As for returning to a healthy menstrual cycle, it can be difficult to navigate the shift from HBC “cycles” and the even dose of synthetic hormones it administers. The ovulatory process and subsequent production of progesterone – present in a natural menstrual cycle – are not happening while on HBC. With these absent, the bleed is a withdrawal bleed from the medication and a product of an artificially stimulated uterine lining.
Taking HBC can hit the pause button on the cycle’s maturation process, and it may take some time for the body to find its rhythm after transitioning from HBC. From the beginning of one’s cycling, it can take up to 12 years to develop a mature menstrual cycle with healthy, regular ovulation and an optimal level of progesterone, according to Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, a Canadian endocrinologist with expertise in reproductive hormones. The steroid drugs in HBC function as a hormone replacement, which are not the same as the body’s own estrogen and progesterone. Upon removing it from the body, past users may experience headaches, nausea, mood swings, changes in sleep and weight and post-pill absence of menstrual periods.
All of these tools for supporting your health – nutrition, supplements, sleep, movement – can prepare the body for coming off birth control and propagate overall health.
“If you’re really afraid of getting off it, maybe get some counseling or coaching,” said Coach Suzi, noting one of her clients said “I don’t think I could have done this alone” upon coming off HBC with Suzi’s support.
When making this decision about your menstrual health and overall wellness, Coach Suzi recommends that you “put more faith in who you are and where your life is going.” There may be more change on the horizon, but knowing your body and its complicated beauty is worth it.
As for controlling fertility, condoms, diaphragms, intrauterine devices and fertility awareness methods are birth control options that don’t depend on hormone disruption and replacement.
Information for this article was gathered from interviews with Health Coach Suzi as well as from the “Period Repair Manual” by Lara Briden, ND and “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler, MPH.
By Molly Sherman
