A MUST Read For My Ladies on Hormonal Birth Control (And The Men Who Love Them)
Before I dive into the meat of the subject matter, for those of you who know me, you know that my posts are long. For those of you who may be reading me for the first time I want you to know that I’m not a believer in our fast food culture which insists on articles with titles like “10 ways to…” or “3 Steps to… “I believe in supporting you in having the best life possible and in your own liberation. There are no quick fixes for that and I’m not going to lie to you or try to sell you something using those tactics. I know your time is precious. We are all so busy these days, which is why when it comes to information that will empower YOU, I think you’re worth your own time. So if you’re new to GinaCology and Gina Cloud, give it a shot and read through the whole post. I promise always to open a new door or window inside of you and to give you information that will truly help you make the best choices for YOU.
So use this time as a time to relax, a time to connect with you and a time to connect with me. Grab your favorite beverage, relax, and receive. And guys, if you have women in your life you care about, don’t exit this post, please.
Okay, here we go…
I recently had an experience with a coaching client that inspired me to write this particular post. Many of you ladies that are using hormonal birth control, aka the birth control pill, any of the patches, any of the injected long-term birth control, may not realize the toll that it is taking on your body and also many of you may be unaware of the fact that even though you bleed during the cycle of your pills, it’s not a real period, that you are not experiencing a TRUE menstrual cycle, and if you have been using them for a year or more, you’re actually in what I call chemically induced menopause.
That last sentence probably got your attention in a big way. Go ahead, read it again. And let me explain..
Without getting too technical, the way that hormonal birth control works is to keep you from getting pregnant. How does it do that? The hormones that are in the pills that you take daily or the shots that you’re given or the patch that you wear cause your natural hormonal cycle to actually stop. It creates a sustained level of hormones that prevents your body from releasing an egg, commonly known as ovulation. When your body doesn’t ovulate you can’t get pregnant.
So when you stop taking those pills for a few days your body suddenly says, “oh, hormone drop, let’s bleed. ” And for those of you with pill packs for every day of the month, there are a number that are sugar pills pretty much. They help you stay in the habit of taking the pills and not forgetting. That bleeding that happens when you’re on the pill is just devised to make you think that you have a period so that you feel more normal, because you know you’re supposed to have one.
The truth is that that bleeding is not a menstrual cycle in any, way shape or form. It’s a total fake. Our menstrual cycle involves an almost daily fluctuation in our levels of hormones , primarily estrogen and progesterone but also testosterone, and others related to ovulation. Ovulation is also an extremely important function in our female bodies because ovulation generates a surge of progesterone production in our bodies, which is a very protective hormone for our entire system. When you don’t ovulate, you don’t get that dose of progesterone.
Now the other part of that sentence is probably shocking to you as well, the part about your being in chemically induced menopause, so let me explain that.
The definition of menopause pretty basically is a year with no periods. When you have gone 12 months without a period You’re officially in menopause. Why do your periods Stop? Basically because you stop ovulating. Ovulation is a key to the other half of your cycle, your bleeding. Although menstruating women can have cycles without ovulation. While there are many health conditions and illnesses that can affect our cycles, I’m speaking to the average, healthy, and normally cycling woman.
Do you see the similarity? Hormonal birth control equals no ovulation, 12 months of no ovulation equals 12 months of no periods, which equals chemically induced menopause. Menopause equals no ovulation for 12 months, no periods for 12 months, but the difference is that menopause is natural and doesn’t have dangerous or life-threatening side effects.
If you’ve been on hormonal birth control for a year or more and think you’ve been getting periods, YOU HAVEN’T HAD A SINGLE ONE.
Long-term use of the pills in some women can also contribute to an inability to get pregnant when you’re ready. Your body’s natural cycling goes completely dormant and has to wake up again. For some women their fertility comes right back, but in many it takes some time.
Many of you have been using birth control for years. Some of you started because your doctor gave it to you to regulate your periods when you were in your early 20’s or late adolescence. Some of you have just been using it without thinking anymore about the effects it has on your health and your life in general. I don’t know if you’ve ever taken the time to read the literature that comes with your birth control, but if you do, it should alarm you.
Now it’s obvious that I clearly have a bias against the use of hormonal birth control which I’m not trying to hide. Primarily due to an unshakable faith in my body’s innate ability to do what it knows how to do if I take care of it, and years of experience in the field of women’s health and sexuality. Which is why I respect your choice to do whatever you choose to do with your body and if you choose to take these pills/patches, shots, I respect that completely. What I always, always, always strive to do is to give you information that you may not be receiving so that you can make the MOST INFORMED CHOICE for yourself.
In my view, and my GinaCology world, you are the top and the bottom line. And all the stuff in between.
The revelation that you are actually not having a menstrual period when you are taking those pills/patches/shots is usually a huge shock for most women when they hear this. The pharmaceutical industry is actually now admitting to it because there are birth control pills that allow you to skip periods for months or longer and they are now using the fact that you’re not really having a period anyway as part of their marketing. They deceptively omit this information in marketing to you one version, and then use that same deception that it’s not a real period to market yet another version.
Because we women are so poorly educated around our own bodies and there is so much shame and embarrassment around the menstrual cycle, most of us don’t understand even how it works or why cycling is so important. It’s a fundamental and vital part of being female and yet we mostly try to live as if it doesn’t exist.
You cycle and your psyche are inextricably intertwined. If you’d like to learn more about that concept and to understand why your cycle is your GPS, check out my specially created tutorial, Your Menstrual Cycle as Teacher, Mentor, GPS
Here are some questions I’d like you to ask yourself if you are still on hormonal birth control (HBC) after many years. Why were you initially given the HBC? Did you go on them because you wanted to prevent pregnancy? Were you in a relationship and it ended but you stayed on the HBC? Are you NOT having sex at all but on HBC? Did your doctor give HBC to you because you were complaining about some particular physical distress? Did you have acne? Were your periods irregular? How old were you? Do you ever stop to think about going off of HBC? Does your doctor ever test your hormones? How long have you been using HBC? Do you have a deep understanding of the importance of the relationship between your menstrual cycle and your psyche? Have you ever stopped to think that if you are experiencing symptoms like bloating, depression, breast tenderness, lack of sexual desire, that you may very well be experiencing side effects from the birth control and you have just come to accept this as normal?
I’m a crazy question-asker, so I could keep on rolling here, but I think you get the point. I’m inviting you to use my GinaCology principle number one to its fullest and become your own best doctor. You can find my GinaCology Principles here on the site on the menu bar. But so you can stay here and continue reading, here’s No. 1: You are your own best doctor. No one knows your state of health and wellness better than you do. Your doctor is a team member, but not the boss of you.
“Great, thanks, Gina. But ignorance was bliss. Now what am I supposed to do? I really don’t want to get pregnant.”
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news in the sense that maybe you’re now more aware of the downside, but there are other ways. And you could still choose your HBC with more awareness. Maybe you’ll decide to have a definite timeline when to stop. Do what feels right to you, but KNOW the pros and cons.
There is a wonderful device with as high an efficacy as the pill, called LadyComp, which I have personally used myself. There are also methods that involve tracking your cycle, and though not fool proof, they actually build a tremendous amount of intimacy with yourself and in relationship by keeping you and your man aware of your menstrual cycle.
Speaking of your man, he would also benefit greatly by listening to my audio product above.
Now those of you out there who are using HBC because you’re just having casual sex, you might want to read my blog post on Why There’s No Such Thing As Casual Sex and The Wisdom and Vulnerability of the Vagina. They’re found under the Blog tab on the menu. Just sayin’… It might add some food for thought as you ponder you HBC use.
Hear me loud and clear on this point: I pass no judgment about your choice. I’m all about being able to do what you choose. It just makes me angry to see us deceived into making choices we wouldn’t make if we had ALL the facts.
And even after saying all of this I invite you to NOT believe me. Do your own research. I know that it will do two things for certain. It will make you feel empowered as an advocate for yourself and it will likely build trust between us for the future.
I care deeply about you and my mission is to do what I can to help you live fully and freely AS YOU. Your trust in me is important. That grows when we work together. You’ve invested however long it took you to read this. Now take a few more minutes and do some research to answer some questions that you may have after reading this. And by all means take the time to ponder the ones I put to you about why you are using HBC.
And guys, if you have a woman in your life on HBC (wife, lover, friend, sister, mother, daughter), please share this with her. And I hope some lightbulbs went off for you, too. Most men are truly in the dark about this topic.
If this somehow made a difference in your life, please share it with others you know. If you’re new to GinaCology and want to keep in touch with me, join my mailing list. I don’t spam or over email you. In fact, I definitely under e-mail you. And there’s a free gift as a thank you for your trusting me with you most coveted e-mail.
Feel free to leave comments and to ask questions by contacting me using the contact link on the menu bar. As always, I am grateful to each of you for allowing me into your life, even if it’s only electronically. If I make a difference, then my heart is happy.
With love & gratitude,
Gina