Hormone imbalances and contraception? Why can’t we be more critical of the pill?

Hello hello!

So I have been wanting to write about this for a while now and one of the main reasons I wanted to start a blog. Although something a little off topic from my usual fashion/style related posts where you will have more than likely found me from over on Instagram, I really wanted to start a discussion on this topic mainly because this is something that really affected me at the beginning of 2018 and I wanted this to be available to any of you lovely ladies who needs support or comfort on the matter, as there was ZERO information available online and my GP was no help either.. I’m now on the other side of it and feeling myself again, however recently another of my friends has had a similar experience with a hormonal imbalance, which emphasised my want to make a post like this accessible for anyone who needs it. Please note* by no means am I a health professional offering health advice but, wanted to share my experience and the things that helped me get back to myself 🙂

My choice of contraception has always been the pill, as annoying as periods are – I opted to have a 7 day break each month and have the withdrawal bleed (I know I know not a real period but still, it freaks me out the thought of not having a period each month – I mean where does it go!?) although, I totally understand why others decide against having periods/withdrawal bleeds – just do whatever is the best thing for you!

 

So I have been on Microgynon 30 since I was 16 (minus a 2 year break) which is almost 10 years! crazzzzy! My mum has never been a fan of the idea of me being on the pill.

”Pumping your body with all those fake chemical hormones”

I used to be so irritated by whenever she said it. However in the past year or so my periods started to change and I wasn’t happy with it, so I took my mums advice and came off the pill in February of this year. Previously on the 2 year break of my 10 year stint on the pill, it took my body 6 months to regulate my hormones and have a period. So you can imagine my surprise when my period came back, like normal, a month later this time! I thought great, back to normal… How wrong was I!!!

Straight after my first ‘real period’ I started experiencing the most horrendous panic attacks/nervousness/constant feeling of dread and the most horrific insomnia! I could not understand what was happening to me and nothing drastic in my life had changed for me to suddenly react this way. After a week of suffering with no prevail I took a trip to my GP and shared my thoughts on the pill vs hormone imbalance, the response was ‘A hormone imbalance would not affect you this badly’ although, it seemed obvious withdrawal symptoms from the pill could exist because of the sudden change of level of hormones my body? I needed answers/a cure and all I got was even more questions because it didn’t answer – why I was experiencing this? As for the lack of sleep, it was really affecting me after a week of not a single wink (I had never experienced a struggle to sleep in my whole life – who doesn’t LOVE sleep) my GP offered me either: Strong anti – histamine (a temporary solution for sleep issues to send me to sleep) or to my surprise, anti depressants. I couldn’t believe it, without my GP having any background knowledge of myself.. was I actually depressed? I refused them. Because I knew in my heart that wasn’t the cause of this and I wasn’t about to pump more chemicals into my body.  I did get the anti-histamine which didn’t work when I was in the midst of a full blown panic attack. I also had blood tests which was all normal, frustrating because I was hoping this would indicate what was wrong with me! The heart palpitations, panic attacks, state of dread was not subsiding. No one could console me nor help and it put a lot of pressure on my boyfriend and my mum. I continued to go to work which was hard because I have a commute to Manchester and driving on no sleep for weeks was scary.. There was a day when I was driving and thought someone suddenly braked in front of me on the motorway, so I slammed on. But then I realised it was me hallucinating, yep! very dangerous. I tried EVERYTHING essential oils, relaxing epsom bath salts, breathing exercises, meditation, NHS apps, more exercise to tire me out, new pillows, new PJS, trips to holland and barrett for all the herbal remedies and night aids you could think of, Inulin: a prebiotic which promotes a healthy gut and improved sleeping, listening to Enya HA no judging I love a bit of Enya, you name it I tried it.. NOTHING was working (minus a few nights on the booze to knock me out haha)

After around of month of probably 5 nights sleep in total – the only thing that was keeping me going each night when the world was sound asleep, I found just one forum online where plenty of other women were experiencing similar symptoms as me, I read each comment countless times. Probably as a mantra in my mind to keep persevering. I was not about to give in and go back on the pill. So my research into withdrawal symptoms of a hormone imbalance led me to researching further into vitamins.

I do need to back track a bit on this one to talk a little about said vitamins ooo exciting you must all be thinking haha! But there is an ongoing joke between my boyfriend, his sister and her boyfriend because there is ALWAYS something wrong with us girls, the doctors surgery is 100% our second home. So I’ll make this part snappy as possible – basically my right knee cap likes to slide out of place if I’m sat funny or end up twisting it in a weird way *vom* and last year (October 2017) I did just that and my boyfriend ended up having to firemans lift me out of work! Waiting for a referral for the physio was ENDLESS so after being in a cricket splint/crutches and unable to bear any weight, David at Colne Osteopathy was recommended to me and he listened, gave me advice and helped me in so many other ways than just with my knee, I told him I suffer with regular water infections (once every 6months I would say) He advised I get a good quality Vitamin C supplement, which has no sugar/salt/starch in because most supplements will have a lot of these factors present which makes your body difficult to absorb vitamin in all it’s entirety. SO I did some extensive research and decided on ‘SOLGAR’ brand and purchased Vitamin C, B complex and fish oil (these are high quality and quite expensive but I cannot recommend them enough! (And for David’s advice obviously) I haven’t had a water infection, cold, flu ANYTHING since mid 2017 which is massive for me (especially with all those horrendous strains of flu over the christmas period)

There are many websites which explain how the pill causes nutrient deficiencies, because in order for the body to metabolise the pill the liver requires extra amounts of vitamins including:

• Vits B2 B6 B12
• Folic acid
• Vit C
• Vit E
• Magnesium
• Selenium
• Zinc

So long term use of the pill depletes these and disrupt your gut function. If you don’t get your period back straight away (unless you’re obviously trying for a baby) I would say don’t worry JUST YET because it can take up to a year for you to regulate (according to the NHS website) but everyone is different. It was so obvious this was what was happening to me, alas some kind of relief!

Through taking the Vits C, B complex and fish oil I definitely felt like my period cycle regulated quickly this time because of the supplements. However, after reading up on magnesium and its health benefits – you only need to read the reviews on amazon. Here is a snippet taken from https://www.floliving.com/benefits-of-magnesium-for-hormonal-balance/

The benefits of magnesium

These are some of the ways in which magnesium is vital for your hormonal balance and overall health and why it is critical to supplement when dealing with PMS, PCOS, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, thyroid disorder, perimenopause symptoms, and really any issue relating to your hormone cycle.

1. Cortisol regulation – magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents the creation of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. When your stress hormonal system is in balance your levels of progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, FSH and LH will be too.
2. Blood sugar balance – magnesium helps to control insulin production and reduces sugar cravings, as such preventing blood sugar spikes. This is vital when it comes to healing hormonal issues like PCOS.
3. Thyroid support – magnesium helps the production of the thyroid hormone and, as an anti-inflammatory, prevents thyroid disease.
4. Sleep aid – magnesium will make sure you get to sleep and stay asleep through the night. It also prevents the chronic urination that can be a sleep interruptor.
5. Hormone creation – magnesium actually makes your hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone, so if you’re getting into peri-menopause or just off the Pill and your levels are low, it’s a great help to your body.

It was worth a shot and after taking 1 tablet morning and night, I gradually, slowly started to improve! After a couple of weeks, the panic attacks, nervousness, feeling of dread AND insomnia eased and started to feel more myself. Happy Danielle 🙂

Reflecting on what happened, I’m so happy I refused the anti-depressants and persevered with finding something more natural to find a way through. But still, I find it so crazy that this is not discussed nor much information/advice readily accessible for us. Even went we go to the doctors to go on the pill? The side effects are rarely discussed.

Ladies if you are struggling with this don’t give in and go back on the pill or take the anti-depressants try the supplements first, it is so hard but it’s so worth it to be free of chemicals. You will be ok – there is light at the end of the tunnel, it just takes a little time! If you want to chat about this, I’d love to hear your experiences and what helped you?

Hoped this post helped, if only one person! I know I needed something like this in the wee hours of the night when my mind was running wild!

Lots of love

Dan x

 

 

*please note not all of these images are mine some from pinterest and the world wide web 🙂

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

Submit

Δ