Cycle Suppressed: What Birth Control Isn't Fixing

For decades now, hormonal birth control has been marketed as a fix-all for everything from acne to PMS, and certainly as a contraceptive. But what if the very pill that's supposed to bring you freedom and control comes with hidden costs to your mental health, your fertility, and your overall well-being? Today, we're taking a closer look at hormonal birth control, its downsides, and what you need to know to make an informed decision about your menstrual cycle and overall health.

Giselle’s Story

When Giselle first came to Radiant Clinic, she was frustrated, exhausted, and unsure of what to do next. She had been on hormonal birth control for over a decade, which was originally prescribed to regulate her irregular periods as a teenager and to help with her acne.

Over the years, Giselle stayed on the pill, even after getting married because it was convenient and felt like the responsible choice to avoid pregnancy until they were ready to start having children. However, Giselle gradually realized how much it was negatively impacting her health. Over time, she had begun to feel like a shadow of herself – her moods were unpredictable, and she ranged from anxious to depressed and irritable. She often felt disconnected from her body, experienced significant fatigue, and had nearly completely lost her libido. On top of that, Giselle started to worry about her long-term fertility.

After a few years of marriage, she and her husband were planning to start trying for a baby, but she had no idea what her natural menstrual cycles were like because she had been on birth control for so long. When Giselle stopped taking the pill, she hoped that her body would bounce back, but instead, things got worse. Her periods were incredibly irregular, her acne flared up even worse, and she started experiencing severe PMS symptoms like she had never had before. It felt like her body was struggling to find balance, and she was lost.

Giselle and I started working together after she had been off birth control for a few months, and my first step was listening to her story, her frustrations, and her goals. Together, we developed a plan to support her body as it transitioned off hormonal birth control. We started off with getting her charting education to track her cycles and make sense of what was going on on a daily basis.

We then turned our attention to replenishing her deficient nutrients, balancing her blood sugar, and evaluating her hormone levels further. Over the course of the next several months, Gisele finally began to notice some changes. Her cycles became more regular, her PMS symptoms reduced, and most importantly, she felt like herself again. Her mood stabilized, her libido returned, and she regained confidence in her body's natural ability to heal. When she and her husband decided to start trying for a baby, she felt empowered and informed, knowing that she was in tune with her fertility.

Giselle's experience is not unique. There are many women out there who feel stuck between managing symptoms of menstrual periods and dealing with hormonal birth control side effects, as well as having concerns about the fallout when they decide to come off the pill. However, Giselle's story also shows that with the right support and tools, it's possible to restore balance, improve overall health, and take control of your reproductive journey.

How Hormonal Birth Control Actually Works

There are a few different mechanisms by which hormonal birth control works as a contraceptive, as well as to regulate your cycles. One mechanism is designed to suppress ovulation by changing your natural hormone patterns. Most birth control pills have both synthetic estrogen and progesterone in them, and it's designed to make your hormone levels stable all the time. The upside to this is that you don't experience significant mood shifts from day to day, but the downside is that the birth control is suppressing ovulation. The birth control suppresses those natural rhythms that should be happening on a regular basis. Another way that hormonal birth control works to prevent pregnancy is it thins the lining of your uterus to prevent implantation and thickens your cervical mucus to impede sperm.

Now, we all know there have been cases where women still get pregnant when they're on birth control, so we know these mechanisms don't work 100% of the time, but for most women, this is how birth control is designed to work.

Women are prescribed oral birth control pills for many different reasons. Certainly, some are prescribed it specifically for contraception, but we are seeing more and more that any hormonal abnormality, any menstrual cycle abnormality, or quite frankly, any symptom that may be hormonal is getting prescribed birth control. I see women all the time who were prescribed birth control to treat acne, migraines, possible endometriosis that may or may not be diagnosed yet, irregular cycles, PCOS, or painful periods. While birth control is being offered as a helpful treatment in all of these situations, in none of these situations is the treatment getting to the root cause.

I realize that, for many women, it's convenient, it's easy, and it's pretty simple to get a prescription for birth control, but I want you to know that it can come at a significant cost.

The Hidden Costs of Hormonal Birth Control

Let's talk a little bit about some of the hidden costs of hormonal birth control that may or may not have been fully explained to you when you were given that prescription at your doctor's office.

One of the most important hidden costs that I want to shout from the rooftops is the significant impact on mental health. There have now been a multitude of studies done – both short-term and long-term – that link hormonal birth control use to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and mood swings. This effect is significantly worse when women are started on it at a younger age, like when they are teenagers.

It’s also known that hormonal birth control can disrupt neurotransmitters like serotonin. Now, serotonin is one of those good endorphins in your brain that helps you to feel nice, calm, and relaxed. It helps to regulate depression and your mood. We know that synthetic hormones across the board can disrupt those neurotransmitters, which can then throw things off when it comes to your mental health.

Another hidden cost of hormonal birth control is that it can have a significant impact on your fertility long-term. Now, some women, as soon as they stop birth control, a month or two later, they get pregnant when that's their intention. And that can certainly happen. However, other women experience a phenomenon called post-pill amenorrhea, which basically means that after she stops taking birth control, her period doesn’t come back. For some women, it can take up to 18 months before their period returns. Post-pill amenorrhea happens because birth control shuts down ovulation, which then throws off the natural hormone balance. When the hormone balance is disrupted for long enough, it causes ovulation to stop occurring, so we stop cycling. So when we just stop taking birth control, that ovulation can take quite some time to return.

The other thing that birth control can do long term is it can have an impact on egg quality and cervical mucus production. So if you're planning to get pregnant anytime in the future, even if it's not right now, know that birth control can have a negative impact on your fertility for the long-term.

Other impacts of hormonal birth control that may not be present for everybody but definitely have good documentation are the physical side effects. The common ones I hear about from patients are weight changes, headaches, and decreased libido, among many other complaints. There are also more serious potential side effects, like increased risk of blood clots, stroke, or heart disease, especially if you're a smoker or if you're over the age of 35.

Another important consequence to be aware of when you're on hormonal birth control is they oftentimes will deplete your key nutrients, like your B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and selenium. All of these deficiencies will further impact your mood, your energy, your fertility, your thyroid function – all of which can have significant, long-term consequences on your health.

The final concern that I have about hormonal birth control is that it often masks the underlying issues. If your body is expressing things like an irregular cycle, acne, or PMS, and we're not addressing the root cause(s), then we're just covering up those symptoms and delaying the diagnosis and treatment.

So it's really important to understand the symptoms you’re experiencing. Yes, they may be annoying, but they're trying to tell you something. That's why it's incredibly important to work with a knowledgeable healthcare professional who can understand the nuances and determine what's going on. Is there PCOS? Is there a thyroid imbalance? Are there nutrient deficiencies? Is there estrogen dominance? A knowledgeable healthcare professional can identify the root cause and treat that, rather than just masking it with birth control.

A Different Option

So what is a woman to do? We go to the doctor, we tell them all of our symptoms, and the only thing they offer us is hormonal birth control.

I propose a better way forward with fertility awareness methods – tracking your cycles by observing your daily biomarkers, things like cervical mucus and basal body temperature. Even things as simple as your cycle length and the different phases of your cycle can empower you to prevent pregnancy or plan for natural conception down the road.

I encourage you to look for root cause treatments for irregular cycles. By addressing hormone imbalances and focusing on dietary changes, lifestyle changes, supplement or food choices, as well as using prescription strength medications when necessary, it is possible to improve the root cause, which will then help resolve the irregular cycles or symptoms.

At Radiant Clinic, we practice restorative reproductive medicine to treat things like PCOS, endometriosis, and painful periods. We really get to the root cause of those to impact change, reduce your symptoms, get cycles back on track, and maintain your fertility for the long term, even if the intention is not to get pregnant right now.

As far as trying to come off birth control, I would refer you to episode 65 of my podcast, Cycle Wisdom, where I talk all about how to come off birth control. I explain how to restore your hormone balance after stopping birth control, specifically in regards to prioritizing nutrient replenishment, balancing blood sugar, and reducing inflammation to help regulate your cycles naturally.

I want to acknowledge that every woman's journey is unique. And although oral birth control is one of the most commonly prescribed medications to women across the entire country, it's crucial to be aware of the potential impacts that may or may not have been fully explained to you. I would encourage you to weigh the pros and cons before committing to anything, and ask your doctor for other options. I encourage you to be your own advocate! You know your body best, you know what works for you, and you know when something doesn't sound quite right. So seek the care that aligns with your values and your long-term healthcare goals.

I would also encourage you to track your cycles through a fertility awareness-based method and consider working with a healthcare professional who can help uncover the root causes of hormone imbalances, evaluate your cycles, evaluate your labs, and help you get things back on track naturally.

One of my very favorite resources to track your cycles is the ChartNeo app. The first 45 days of this app are free so you can check it out. If you are a client working with our clinic for medical evaluation, we include a year’s subscription. It's a great tool that you’re able to share directly with the healthcare professional who’s working with you so we can see your charting in real time and work together to understand what's going on with your cycles and get you back on track without having to go the route of birth control.

Imagine if you had a better way to address your menstrual cycle concerns besides just going on birth control. You don't have to suffer with side effects and unintended consequences. Let's create a personalized plan for you to improve your menstrual cycle health and maintain your long-term fertility. If you're ready to work with our elite team of healthcare professionals, schedule a free discovery call with me and learn more about our package-based pricing for comprehensive care.